F Chapter 177 Sick of Him
Lily’s heart skipped a beat. The internet was abuzz with discussions about her and Lucian being
in a relationship. With the spotlight now on them, her status in the entertainment industry would
surely rise.
Lucian, however, wanted to clarify the misunderstanding.
This was no longer a personal attempt at breaking a rumored couple apart. He was directly
contradicting what was put out there.
Anyone would be able to tell the overwhelming blessings were the work of hired internet trolls.
“Nobody takes these rumors seriously, Lucian. The hype will die down on its own in a few days. If
you issue a statement now, it’ll only draw more attention to it.”
Before he could hang up, the manager of the PR department heard Lily speak. Lucian was now
divorced.
Even if he and Lily were caught together in photos, it wouldn’t significantly affect the company’s
stock price. They had a choice of simply waiting it out. Lucian paid her no heed.
“Find out which media outlet was responsible for reporting on last night’s news. We will
prosecute them according to legal procedures.”
She paled.
“Maybe we should drop this, Lucian. I’m planning on getting into showbiz. I can’t afford to upset
media outlets.”
She hadn’t been the one to hire the reporter, However, there was no doubt they would hold a
grudge if they were prosecuted.
They would never direct their frustrations at Lucian. She would end up being their target instead.
As long as she wasn’t caught, there would be no need for them to do anything. The world of
showbiz would sink its claws into her no matter how high her standing was as a dancer.
“Do as I say,” Lucian said.
He hung up the phone and studied Lily’s pale complexion.
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“There’s always a price to pay for doing the wrong thing. Some media outlets don’t care if they’re reporting lies for the sake of traffic. They’ll spin up fake news for clicks.”
Lily had a sneaking suspicion that he was directing his words at her. She had seen the news late last night. She was the one who paid the trolls who were hyping up their relationship.
She didn’t dare to say anything more. The last thing she wanted was for Lucian to catch on.
The phone in her hand kept vibrating. It was her manager sending her messages. Lily’s recent performance had left Queenie disappointed.
The two women had recently gotten into an argument that strained their relationship. Neither of them had contacted one another in the past few days.
Lucian drove on for another ten minutes.
Lily noticed the increasingly busy streets outside and couldn’t help but say, “This isn’t the way to
the cemetery, Lucian.”
“I’m dropping you off at your place.”
“But, you promised you would pay your respects to my father
There was not a word of explanation from Lucian.
All he said was, “Sorry.”
Capeton’s roads were empty during the New Year, safe for the occasional vehicle driving past.
Calista wasn’t driving particularly fast.
But the trip that usually took more than an hour was shortened to a mere forty minutes. However,
Lucian was already at her door when she got out of the elevator. He had smoked through two
cigarettes.
She wrinkled her nose at the suffocating smell of smoke in the air. She frowned and said nothing.
He shot her a distant and indifferent expression and said in a low voice, “The photo on the news
was taken at a compromising angle. I have no relationship with Lily. Last night was the
anniversary of her father’s death…”
Calista’s expression was placid.
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“Whether it’s true or not has nothing to do with me. I was mad because of Mrs. Selena. It doesn’t concern me whether or not you and Lily had slept together.*
She nearly slipped and called her “Mom” again.
Lucian looked downcast.
“His father passed away while he was on his way to see her. I was injured and unconscious at the time. I …”
“I don’t care, Lucian. I don’t care how her father died. All I want is for you to disappear from my sight. Even if we cross paths, I want us to be strangers.”
She wasn’t entirely unaffected. She had felt something when she heard that Lucian was going to visit Lily’s father’s grave.
Calista thought of her grandfather and mother. In their three years of marriage, he, as her husband, had never once visited them. (2)
The way Lucian indulged Lily had made their three–year marriage miserable. Perhaps it was that
sharp contrast that she divorced him.
She had given up after being left disappointed. She no longer felt love for him. There had never been a moment like now when she found his mere presence annoying.
He pressed his lips together into a thin line. Calista’s exhaustion and indifference were blatantly
apparent.
From the moment she had gotten off the elevator until now, she had only briefly made eye contact
with him at the start. After that, her gaze never went beyond his Adam’s apple. She opened the
door.
“Please take the trash with you when you leave.”
Lucian’s expression visibly turned chilly. He reached out, grabbed onto her hand, and dragged her
toward the elevator.
“Come with me.”
She felt physically ill the moment he put his hands on her. She tried to extricate herself from his
grip, but the man refused to relent.
Calista was stuffed into the car. The man then fastened her seatbelt for her. The action brought
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But she remained unperturbed She seemed almost distracted Lucian turned to meet her unfocused gaze His heart sank. He cupped her face in his hands to force her to focus on his face.
All she could say was, “I can smell Lily’s perfume in your car.”
His words were left stuck in his throat. He pursed his lips before speaking after a short pause.
I’ll have David deal with the car. Where’s your car? We’ll drive yours instead ”
He didn’t detect a hint of perfume in his car. But since Calista was claiming so, he could simply
switch to another car.
She had intended to anger him so he would leave. But the ever–thick–skinned Lucian only got
more shameless. His temper seemed to have improved too.
“Forget it. Let’s go. Drive.”
She had seen the side of him that refused to give up until he achieved what he set out to do.
Instead of wasting time arguing, it was easier to simply go along with him.
They were on the road for more than two hours before finally leaving the Quinctus Expressway.
Calista had just returned to the city. And now Lucian was driving them to the suburbs and into the
mountains.
She didn’t know what to say. However, she did feel tempted to curse at him.
There was a vacation resort up the mountain that she had never been to before. She had seen it on
a travel website before.
The car continued to navigate up the winding roads. Calista watched the unchanging scenery out
the window. Drowsiness soon began to hit.
She fell asleep. By the time she woke up, it was almost dark out. The car was now in the parking
lot of a holiday resort. She had no idea how long they had been there.
Calista realized that the place her head was resting against felt wrong. When she looked up, she
finally noticed that she had been leaning against Lucian’s shoulder.
She frowned and looked out the window.
“Why did you bring me here?”
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He opened the car door.
“We’re going to set off fireworks.”
She was puzzled. He went around the back to the trunk and brought out an assortment of
fireworks
Calista hadn’t played with fireworks in a long while ever since the prohibition of fireworks being set off within Capeton’s Quinctus Expressway.
She frowned as she studied a pile of fireworks that Lucian had unloaded. She didn’t say a word.
Did they come all the way here just to set up fireworks in the cold weather? Did the rich have nothing better to do? After unloading the fireworks, he opened the passenger door.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to celebrate the New Year by setting off fireworks with me? I’m
helping you fulfill that wish. Come.” O
“When did I ever say I wanted to celebrate the New Year by setting off fireworks with you?” Calista
asked.
“It was your birthday wish.”
This time, she had truly been rendered speechless.
“Making a birthday wish is nothing but a formality, Lucian. That was just a casual remark.”
Even if she had made that wish in the past, she no longer wanted to see it fulfilled.
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