After Tony stord off in a rage, the air around the beach barbecue seed to freeze.
All that remained was the sizzling of at skewers on the grill and the endless crashing of distant waves against the shore.
Luke glanced at the people around him — each wearing different expressions, standing there in awkward silence. He cleared his throat, trying to break the suffocating tension:
"Uh… the food's pretty much ready. We've all been busy all day and must be hungry. Co on, everyone, let's eat."
His tone was deliberately light, as if the earlier conflict had been nothing more than a minor hiccup.
His words were like a stone dropped into still water, finally loosening the frozen atmosphere.
Jennifer moved first. She wiped the tear stains from her face, took a deep breath, walked over to the grill, picked up a skewer of grilled corn, and said in a still sowhat hoarse but much calr voice: "Thanks, Luke."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the others, as if explaining — or venting: "Tony… he's been ssing around with one of the cheerleader sluts behind my back. I saw the ssages on his phone. He's been lying to the whole ti, saying they're just friends…"
With this opening, Alexandra and Elizabeth — both fellow won who had their own romantic histories — imdiately joined in solidarity, taking turns fiercely condemning "scumbag" behavior with sharp, full-powered criticism.
"n are all trash!" Elizabeth said angrily.
"Eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot — that's always been Tony's style!" Alexandra added fuel to the fire.
"ssages? Who knows, maybe there's even worse stuff!" Jennifer grew angrier the more she thought about it.
Parker, standing nearby, turned pale and shifted uncomfortably, waving his hands repeatedly: "Hey, hey! Girls! Don't paint everyone with the sa brush! I'm innocent!"
This earned him a glare from his girlfriend Elizabeth and a curt "You'd better be."
Luke stayed out of it, silently flipping the at skewers and vegetables on the grill. In his heart he could only think: What the hell does this have to do with ? You Arican couples fight your own battles — don't drag in as the referee.
The llow music started playing again, drifting on the night breeze.
Everyone seed to silently agree not to ntion the earlier conflict or Tony anymore. The atmosphere gradually eased, and even so laughter returned.
Luke took this opportunity to announce his plans.
"By the way, I wanted to let everyone know — I'm planning to leave Los Angeles tomorrow."
Luke handed out the freshly grilled skewers and spoke in a calm tone.
"What?!"
"Leaving tomorrow?"
"Why so sudden?"
Several surprised gazes focused on him at once.
Mia's reaction was the most intense. She jerked her head up, her sapphire-blue eyes filled with shock and confusion: "Luke? Why? Is it… is it because of ? Did I… did I co on too strong and scare you?"
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, carrying grievance and unease.
Luke looked at those worried eyes and felt a slight softening in his heart, but he quickly hardened it again.
He smiled, trying to sound relaxed and natural: "It's not because of you, Mia. It has nothing to do with you. I ca to Arica to travel. I've spent a few days in Los Angeles and enjoyed it, but I still have other places I want to visit on the next leg. Ti is limited, you know."
He paused, then looked at Mia with sincere eyes and continued: "Mia, you're a really good girl. Kind, passionate, brave. The past two days with you have been so of the best and most unforgettable monts of my life. Truly. I believe you'll et a boy who genuinely loves you, cherishes you, and protects you. I wish you the best."
His words were sincere, but they also clearly drew a line.
Elizabeth, listening nearby, frowned and couldn't help complaining: "Damn! Luke, are all Dragon Kingdom boys this… indecisive and overcautious? You have no manliness at all! If you like her, be with her. If you don't, just say so. Why make it sound like so artsy farewell scene in a movie?"
Jennifer, still raw from her breakup, sided with the "won's alliance" and chid in: "Exactly! I've never seen an Arican girl act as… as 'humble' in front of a guy as Mia did! She went that far, and you still can't… give her even one chance? Just try it?"
Alexandra folded her arms and delivered the final blow: "In short, Dragon Kingdom boys are 'incapable' and have no balls!"
"Incapable"?
"No balls"?
Luke was so annoyed by this bizarre logic and cross-cultural judgnt that he almost laughed.
He clearly didn't want to hurt Mia's pure feelings — yet in their mouths it had beco "incapable" and "no balls"?
Mia wanted love, commitnt, and a future — not a one-night stand or fleeting pleasure.
But he, Luke, was an "outsider" carrying secrets from two worlds, with a future full of uncertainty.
A 26-year-old single office drone who both craved and feared the word "love" — how could he casually make promises?
If he just dropped his pants and went for it, that would be the real irresponsibility!
A stifled frustration surged up. Looking at the faces in front of him that all seed to say "you don't understand love" and "you have no guts," Luke took a deep breath and replied in clear Dragon Kingdom language, one word at a ti:
"You — all — understand — jack — shit!"
The four girls: "…???"
Although they didn't understand the words, his expression and tone clearly showed it wasn't anything nice.
But this sudden burst of Chinese successfully stunned them and interrupted their one-sided "criticism eting."
The party continued in a subtle, slightly heavy atmosphere until the food was finished and night had grown deep.
Everyone packed up and returned to the motel.
Back in his room, Luke took a hot shower, trying to wash away the exhaustion and irritation.
The warm water flowed over his body but couldn't wash away the tangled ss in his heart.
Mia's aggrieved eyes, the girls' accusations of "incapable" and "no balls" — they buzzed in his mind like flies.
"Incapable? No balls?"
Luke turned off the faucet, towel-drying his hair as he scoffed at his reflection in the mirror.
Did he need to prove anything?
No.
But he still felt a stubborn fire inside.
Perhaps… he should go back to Westeros, find Emma or Annie… and seek a little "comfort" and "proof"?
The thought had barely surfaced before he suppressed it himself.
No. He couldn't treat the people over there as tools for venting emotions.
Just as he was feeling restless and about to change clothes —
"Knock knock knock!"
The knocking sounded again — urgent and carrying a sense of determination.
Luke's heart skipped a beat. From the previous experience, he could almost guess who was outside.
He sighed, walked over, and opened the door.
Sure enough, it was Mia.
She was wrapped only in a thin hotel bathrobe, the belt tied loosely. Her golden hair was damp and hanging loose, her face still flushed from the shower.
Those sapphire-blue eyes no longer looked timid or aggrieved. Instead, they burned with a nearly angry, reckless, "I'm going all-in" light.
The mont the door opened, she charged in like an enraged little leopard, slamd the door shut behind her with a "bang," and locked it.
"Mia, you…"
Before Luke could finish, Mia swung her small fists and started pumling him wildly!
"Jerk! Coward! Chicken!"
She cursed with all kinds of ugly words, completely overturning her previous gentle and shy image.
Her fists rained down on his chest and shoulders. Although they felt like nothing to Luke's physique, he was still stunned by the sudden attack.
"Hey! What are you doing? Why are you hitting ?!" Luke grabbed her flailing wrists, both angry and amused.
What the hell was this girl doing?
"Why? Because you're a jerk!" Mia struggled hard, her eyes turning red again — but this ti from anger and frustration, not grievance.
"I already… I already went that far! Why… why won't you… are you really…"
She gritted her teeth, held it in for a long ti, and finally spat out a devastating personal attack:
"You — can't — do — it — !"
The words "can't do it" were like the final spark that ignited the powder keg.
Luke felt a surge of rage shoot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!
All his reason, concerns, and fears about "love" were instantly burned to ashes by this simple, crude challenge!
"I can't do it?"
He laughed in extre anger. His eyes turned dangerous and deep, locking onto Mia's stubborn, tear-filled gaze.
The next second, he stopped wasting words. He grabbed the girl's slender waist, lifted her effortlessly into the air, and unceremoniously threw her onto the not-very-wide double bed in the center of the room!
"Ah!"
Mia cried out in surprise as she sank into the soft mattress. Her bathrobe fell open, revealing large patches of snow-white skin.
She watched as Luke advanced toward her like an enraged lion. A flash of panic crossed her eyes, but there was more… a look of finally getting what she wanted, mixed with fear and anticipation.
That night, the motel's less-than-perfect soundproof walls faithfully recorded certain sounds — from initial angry resistance, to gradually suppressed whimpers and pleas, and finally to nothing but intermittent, exhausted moans.
Damn it, Luke finally got to play the male lead in White People's Lives Matter too…
The moon set. The sun rose… and kept rising!
At noon, the glaring sunlight filtered through the curtain gaps, waking Luke from deep sleep.
He felt unprecedentedly exhausted — mostly ntally relieved, though his physical exertion was secondary.
Still, his whole body carried a thoroughly satisfying sense of release.
The spot beside him was already empty, leaving only the rumpled sheets and a faint, sweet scent belonging to a young girl.
He propped himself up, rubbed his slightly sore temples, and the mories of last night — or rather, this morning's frenzy — gradually returned.
He smiled bitterly and shook his head. In the end, he still couldn't hold back. That single phrase "you can't do it" had completely provoked him.
anwhile, in Room 302 across the hall.
Alexandra and Jennifer were surrounding Mia, who had just staggered in, leaning against the wall for support. Their faces were filled with shock and… a trace of lingering fear.
Mia was wearing only one of Luke's oversized T-shirts. Her neck, collarbones, and even her calves were covered in eye-catching red marks of varying depths.
The way she walked made the other two won instantly understand what had happened.
"Oh My God!"
Jennifer sucked in a cold breath, pointing at the marks and whispering in shock: "What the hell?! Is Luke a beast?! He doesn't know how to be gentle at all?!"
Alexandra's pupils also shook. Looking at her sister's flower-like appearance, ravaged as if by a storm, she couldn't help cursing: "Shit! Are all Dragon Kingdom n… this… this wild?! What exactly did he do to you last night?!"
Mia's cheeks flushed under their stares.
But those sapphire-blue eyes no longer held last night's anger and grievance. Instead, they were filled with a strange glow: contentnt, languidness, and a touch of shy sweetness.
She let out a small yawn. Although her body felt sore and tired, she carried an indescribable sense of satisfaction and relaxation.
"Actually… Luke… he was very gentle…"
She softly defended him, her voice soft and a little hoarse from the night before: "He kept holding back… it was … I deliberately provoked him… later… he was very tender with … he even told … not to play with fire…"
By the end, her voice grew quieter and quieter. She lowered her head, her ears burning red, but the smile she couldn't hide revealed her true feelings.
Alexandra and Jennifer exchanged a look. Both saw the sa disbelief and a trace of… complicated envy in each other's eyes.
"So… last night you two…" Alexandra probed.
Mia nodded lightly without saying more, but the blush on her ears and the spring-like glow on her face said everything.
Jennifer clicked her tongue and patted Mia's shoulder, her tone strange: "Not bad, little Mia. You finally broke the curse? But…"
She looked at the marks on Mia's body and the way she was walking. "The price was pretty steep. Can you even move today?"
Mia tried shifting and imdiately winced in pain, but she still forced a smile: "I'm… I'm fine. I just need so rest."
What she was really thinking was: It was worth it.
Alexandra looked at her sister's state, both heartbroken and amused. In the end, she could only shake her head: "Fine, as long as you feel good about it. But… isn't Luke leaving today? What about you two…"
Mia's smile faded a little, but her eyes grew even more determined: "I know he's leaving. But… at least I tried. I have no regrets. And…"
She touched the mark on her collarbone, her face flushing again: "He said… to wait for his call."
In Room 302, the three girls each had their own thoughts.
anwhile, in Room 301, Luke had finished washing up and was packing his luggage.
He looked at his refreshed reflection in the mirror, then thought back to Mia's tearful yet satisfied expression last night. His heart felt complicated.
This unexpected "encounter" on the Arican beach had ended in such an intense and surprising way, at least for now.
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