Chapter 12 Let Me Hold You For A While

Amelia lowered her head as they headed inside the villa. She followed behind Lucian and Shelly who were busy chatting away. When she finally arrived at the kitchen, she took a deep breath.

Now that she was thinking about it, maybe it was better that she stay in the kitchen to cook. At least this way, she didn't have to be around them and be uncomfortable.

"Mrs. Amelia, what can I do for you?" Darren suddenly went into the kitchen and offered her help.

Amelia was startled by Darren's sudden appearance. When she had calmed down, she quickly waved her hands and said, "No, I'm good. Thank you."

Darren furrowed his eyebrows and then he opened his mouth and closed it several times as if he had something to say.

"Do you have something to say, Darren?" she asked upon noticing the complicated look on Darren's face.

Darren crossed his hands, lost in thought. After a while, he asked with a perplexed look on his face, "Mrs. Amelia, do you really love Lucian?"

Amelia felt her throat constrict as soon as she heard this. She was unable to utter a word.

She'd never thought of that before. She'd never even considered it because how could that be possible when they had no emotional foundation whatsoever?

On paper, Lucian was a good man. He was handsome and he was kind-hearted. He was definitely way better than Jasper who had cheated on her.

He was indeed a good man. It wasn't surprising that countless women clawed after him.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Amelia. I didn't mean to ask you that," he apologized at once.

Since they were already married, she had to play her part. She smiled easily and answered, "You know, the love between two people isn't only measured in how much they express it but in how harmonious they are together, in their everyday lives, and in the little things."

Amelia may be technically lying but she said what was in her heart. To her, that was what made a good marriage.

Darren nodded thoughtfully and said with a gentle smile, "Since there's nothing I can help with here, I'll go back to the mansion first."

"Thank you, Darren. You're free to join us for dinner before you leave." Even though she didn't really know Darren that well yet, she didn't feel as nervous around him as she thought she would. Perhaps it was because he was the same age as Vernon and she always respected the elder.

After cooking dinner, Amelia headed to the living room to tell them that dinner was ready. However, before she could even say anything, she was stopped in her tracks in shock of what she had seen.

"Lucian, come here and let me hug you. Since you have married someone else, I won't ever have a chance with you." Shelly was snuggling up in Lucian's arms, crying and clutching his arm. From her position, she had a clear view of Amelia who was stunned as she witnessed this. Shelly sneered and continued, "You've always protected me ever since I was a child. If anything happened to me and you weren't there, I wouldn't know what to do..."

What she said made Amelia's heart tighten. She couldn't help but think of Jasper. Jasper who used to protect her and had now left her.

She had nothing but sympathy for Shelly.

"Shelly, you're not a kid anymore." Lucian had already shaken her off when he noticed Amelia standing by. He flashed her a smile and asked, "Is dinner ready?"

His voice was gentle and warm as he spoke.

Amelia looked up and nodded.

She looked at Shelly apologetically since she thought she had interrupted them.

During the dinner, Shelly wouldn't stop talking about her past with Lucian. She'd blabber on about how Lucian used to be, how much she adored him, how good he was to her. Safe to say that everything that came out of her mouth had something to do with Lucian.

Amelia remained nonchalant all throughout. When Shelly stopped eating, she urged her to eat more.

She meant to be polite but Shelly seemed to misunderstand her thinking that she was asserting her position as Lucian's wife.

After dinner, Shelly insisted on washing the dishes with Amelia. Amelia bashfully refused, waving her hand. She insisted that Shelly was a guest and that it was just a few bowls and chopsticks so she didn't really need any help.

"I'll just stand here and learn from you watching you then," Shelly said sweetly while rolling her eyes.

Learn? Amelia was confused at first but then she figured that Shel

ly was probably as rich as Lucian and had probably never had to do a single chore in her entire life.

Someone as wealthy as she was didn't really need to get her hands dirty. She had assistants to do all those things for her. The Mo family had servants too but Sophia was very exclusive with them. They could only serve her and Vernon. Thus, Amelia still had to do housework. The Mo family wasn't a big family either. Vernon only had a small company which only made enough to support the family leaving not much room for excess spending.

Shelly leaned against the door, with her hands across her chest as if she was presiding over a meeting of some sort.

"It doesn't matter if Lucian married you because his parents are never going to accept you. You're way too shallow. I bet you just seduced Lucian." Amelia dropped the dish she was washing in the sink. She hurriedly picked it up. While she was obviously shaken up, she was able to quickly gather herself and resume what she was doing.

Gone was the sweet Shelly from earlier. She was glaring at Amelia obviously angry and jealous. Right now, she was nowhere near the girl she was when Lucian was around.

While Amelia didn't know what the story was behind Lucian and Shelly, she knew she had to say something to defend herself. After all, she was Lucian's wife now.

"Should I really care whether or not his parents accept me? I'm already married to him. As long as he accepts me and loves me, I'll do whatever I can to receive his parents' blessing." Amelia really didn't know what was happening. For all she knew, Shelly could have been the one being wronged. If Shelly was, Amelia felt sorry for her but that still didn't change the fact that she didn't know what to say to her.

Shelly's chest heaved in anger. She raised her hand in an attempt to slap Amelia but Lucian stopped her in time. "Shelly, you can do whatever the hell you want. You're practically my sister after all. But when it comes to Amelia, I'm drawing the line. This is my wife we're talking about here."

He sounded so strong and so sure in his words. Amelia couldn't help but blush. This handsome man was fighting for her and defending her. Anyone would swoon over Lucian. He was like a knight in a shining armor.

The expression on Shelly's face darkened. She cast a furious glance at Amelia and said in a fluster, "Lucian, you're going to regret this!"

After this, Shelly left without even looking back.

Amelia's heart tightened. She turned to Lucian and said, "Hurry!"

"What are you talking about? She's not my wife," Lucian answered casually as he looked down at Amelia.

Amelia frowned, unsure what he meant.

"Then I'll go." It was already late and they were far from downtown. If something happened to Shelly, she would feel guilty.

"It's none of your business, Amelia. I've asked my driver to send her home," Lucian said coldly, blocking Amelia's path.

Amelia was a bit surprised. 'When did he have the time to tell his driver to send Shelly home?' she thought to herself in puzzlement.

She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, her eyes looking elsewhere. It took a while before she was finally able to choke out a thank you.

"You must be exhausted. You should go rest." There was a touch of warmth in Lucian's deep voice.

Amelia felt her heart jump upon hearing this. She felt a certain warmth filling her chest.

Lucian was actually showing emotions. He cared about other people too. Amelia felt heart tingling. She then raised her head and gave him a sweet smile.

Her smile reminded him of fresh lilies that had the softest graze of a fragrance. He was entranced.

Amelia looked even more beautiful when she smiled.

These past two days, she had mostly been frowning and she rarely smiled. Now, she looked like a beauty that reminded him of the sun brightening up a rainy day.

Lucian was quickly able to collect himself and put on his usual cold demeanor. She was a fresh breath of air. Unfortunately, Lucian just couldn't entertain whatever he was feeling right now.

He needed a fake marriage, not a real relationship. He didn't even want to think about what had happened to him three years ago. The pain from what happened tortured him for so long. He'd never put himself in a position where he could possibly get hurt like that ever again. This fake marriage was all that he could handle right now.