Chapter 234 A Bad Feeling
Though it was referred to as an observation deck, it was an open space of roughly 1000 square feet paved by cement.
They arrived early, but the deck was already occupied by people who were also there to see the total lunar eclipse. They were here with full sets of equipment and bags piled high.
In contrast, the empty–handed Lucian and Calista being around made it seem like they were being disrespectful to this rare astronomical spectacle.
After an hour of hiking up the mountain, Calista had lost her initial excitement and was exhausted. She paid Lucian little attention. She instead found a relatively clean spot to sit and rest.
However, even though the place had been vacant for a while, it wasn’t entirely clean. The sun’s rays could
barely reach the ground.
Chills would seep in if she sat like that, making her vulnerable to getting sick. Lucian took off his coat and gave it to her.
“Use this as a cushion. It’s cold in the mountains.”
Calista was covered in sweat as they had just climbed up. Her coat was still draped over her arm. Of
course, she wouldn’t take his coat.
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
The man fell silent. He forcefully tugged her to her feet and placed the neatly folded coat on the ground.
for her to sit on.
“The temperature drops rapidly in the mountains. I’ll have to carry you down if you catch a chill…
Lucian stared at Calista, whose eyes were growing fiercer by the minute. He swallowed the urge to make. a sarcastic remark.
“Put on your coat too.”
Calista jabbed a finger at a corner farthest away from her.
“Go over there and shut up. I don’t want your grumbling to scare the jaguar away before it devours the
moon.”
In ancient times, it was said a jaguar would attack and try to eat the Moon during lunar eclipses. He frowned.
“For your information, that’s because…”
She leaped up and covered his mouth.
“Can you please shut your trap, kind sir? Stay as aloof as you used to be. Keep your words short and
sweet.”
The woman’s palm was soft and delicate. Lucian could make out the faint scent of hand cream. Her palm was warm, likely from their climb up the mountain.
Lucian towered over her by half a head. With his head lowered, he could make out the glimmering starlights in the woman’s eyes despite her annoyance.
They were vivid and bright, a complete one–eighty from the lifelessness in them when she was hellbent on divorcing him. His lips moved slightly, brushing against her palm in a ticklish manner.
The atmosphere between them grew ambiguous as their gazes met.
Calista violently retracted her palm from his mouth. Before she could get far, Lucian firmly grabbed onto her hand. The tough pads of the man’s fingertips were pressed against the inside of her wrist.
“I apologize. I’ve done so much wrong.”
She wasn’t expecting him to apologize and was momentarily stunned. Then, she forcibly tugged her hand
out of his grip.
“It’s all in the past. To be honest, it’s not as if you did me any wrong. Our marriage was never based on
love anyway.
A marriage like that was a gamble. She lost. That was all there was to it. Before Lucian could continue this awkward conversation, Calista used his words to shut him up.
“Don’t forget. You were the one who said whoever brought up a remarriage is no better than a dog.”
His chest heaved violently. He looked as if he’d been wronged. It was absurd but she couldn’t help but compare him to a stray dog left in the streets.
She smacked her forehead. Having used a little too much force, the smack jolted her awake. Lucian? A
stray dog? Had her sanity also been chewed up by dogs?
Lucian knew well what the action implied. His expression darkened at the sight of her forehead, now red
from the slap. He then turned and headed for the spot Calista had pointed to.
The temperature in the mountains indeed dropped rapidly. Once her sweat dried, the chill began to set in.
She put on her coat and shot a glance at Lucian who was only in a shirt.
After thinking about it, she picked up the coat that had been left on the floor and approached him.
“Here.”
He took the coat from her and unfolded it. But instead of putting it on, he draped it over Calista’s
shoulders.
Calista did think the mountain breeze was rather chilly. But, she wasn’t so cold that she needed two coats. She tried to take it off but Lucian refused.
“Keep it on. It’s cold.”
Having previously undergone mountain training with a coach, he knew enough. As the sun set, the temperature dropped even more rapidly. She noticed the others putting on their coats,
The more experienced of the bunch had even started fires and brandished self–heating pots to show off.
On the other hand, despite wearing two coats, they barely protected her from the chill. Lucian suffered the most. He was only dressed in a shirt. It was so cold that his lips were tightly pursed.
It was a pitiful sight! But the upside was that a certain someone wasn’t making any more snide comments
To look more fashionable, Calista was in capri pants. The forest breeze, damp with moisture, seeped up
her pant legs and left her legs numb. Lucian spread his arms.
“Let me hold you.”
She cast him a disgusted look.
“Do you think you’re acting out a romance on TV? Will holding me keep us warm? Being held by you right now is no different from being embraced by a block of ice. You might as well stick the cash you have in your wallet on me. That would provide me with more warmth.”
He said nothing in response.
After saying that, she turned to ask for a light. It was a middle–aged man who started the fire. A fire was a generous description; it was just a few pieces of lit–up charcoal.
After all, they had to walk a long stretch of road after parking their cars. They were also carrying specialized equipment.
Since they weren’t going to spend the night, why would they bring charcoal for warmth? The man agreed to share his fire. Calista turned and signaled for Lucian to join her.
But Lucian stayed rooted in place, seemingly either too proud to move or the cold had gotten to him. She
With how urgent the situation was, there was no time to lose. It was too cold. Calista couldn’t be bothered to accommodate Lucian’s reluctance to compromise his pride.
She dragged him along without offering a word of explanation. It wasn’t until they sat in front of the fire that her numbed hands warmed up. It was a small flame but it was better than nothing.
It was 6 pm. The total lunar eclipse was still more than two hours away. The sky had yet to completely darken but the ominous clouds in the sky gave her a bad feeling.
The charcoal fire slowly lost its warmth, Calista was inwardly swearing at Lucian for being such an out–of-
touch bastard.
That was when someone suddenly said, “I think it’s raining.”
Calista was confused. Before doubt could creep in, she felt droplets of rain hitting her face. The tiny raindrop stung. She scrambled to her feet and couldn’t help but let out a curse.
The others were hastily packing their belongings. Their professional equipment was expensive. They
couldn’t let it get wet.
Lucian’s face had darkened to match the dark clouds in the sky. He dragged Calista and swiftly headed
down the mountain.
While doing so, he called up the main perpetrator, Cade. There was no shelter from the rain on the
observation deck.
If they got themselves trapped in the mountains when the rain intensified, they could suffer from
hypothermia.
If they could think of that, so could the astronomy enthusiasts. Everyone hurriedly made their way downhill….
