Chapter 76 In The Throes of Impassioned Fury

"Please, take this with you." Amelia handed the coffee to Lucian then returned to her desk. Her shoulders slumped as she seated her tired form on her chair.

Lucian looked at the cup in his hand, and then turned his confused gaze to her. "Didn't you hear what Eric had just said? Come on, let's go to the next room and have breakfast."

"He meant me too?" Amelia asked, her surprise evident in her voice. Did she hear him right?

When Lucian mentioned the two-people breakfast, she had thought that was for him and another person. She didn't expect that his invitation meant her.

To anyone else, the offer would have been tempting. Amelia hadn't had her breakfast yet, and last night, sleep had evaded her. The lack of sleep was evidently showing— she was listless and she had lost her appetite, as if her anxiety had taken up all the space inside her body.

"Let's go and have breakfast together." Lucian reached out to her, coaxing her with his gentle voice.

Amelia was hesitant. She was not used to such gestures and gave him an awkward smile. "I had already eaten at home."

Lucian frowned in displeasure at her answer. "I asked Lily. She told me that you left home today without having even a bite to eat." His voice dropped lower as he continued, "I hate when you lie."

"I, uhm..." Amelia was unable to conjure up an excuse for her lie. She hung her head silently as she felt shame wash over her. No matter how hard she tried to conjure up an excuse, she couldn't seem to find words to dilute the blow. She had been dishonest, and she would only be more shameless if she tried to cover it up with another deceit.

Sighing, Lucian walked closer to her and led her by the arm to the office next door. A feast had been laden on the table, with all sorts of dishes lined up one after another. Amelia raised a hand to her empty stomach and sat down, settling with a bowl of millet porridge.

Lucian frowned at her choice for a meal. "Is that all? You didn't have breakfast today. Aren't you feeling hungry by now?"

He was becoming more and more upset with each passing minute. Lucian had already had breakfast himself, but knowing that Amelia hadn't yet, he had especially asked Eric to prepa

lasping the marble table with his hands and trapping her with his body. He had completely blocked her, leaving no chance of escape. A sharp, burning gaze met Amelia's eyes as Lucian forced her chin upward with one hand. "Now you're calling me cruel all because of that man?" he asked, his voice glacial with coldness.

The man in front of her was no better than a stranger. Amelia's chest beat wildly as she felt the anger from his fingertips.

She struggled as his body barricaded hers, but Lucian's hold only grew tighter.

"Isn't that the truth?" she challenged him.

She seemed calm on the outside, but her entire body was screaming for escape against the callous grasp that held her in place.

Amelia understood perfectly that Lucian's temper had reached dangerous height, but was not going to back down. If she submitted to him this time, then she would really have no respect left.

"Alright, then. Since you seem to have made up your mind, I'll be exactly as you think of me!" The next moments flew by almost like a blur. Lucian released Amelia's face as his hands tore at her clothes. His movement was screaming of fury.

Amelia could only watch for a shocked, uncomprehending minute as the fabric of her clothes was ripped. The next moment, she was desperately pushing Lucian away and shouting at him, "Lucian, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind!"

She was at odds. This man, looking at her with such fury that she trembled from the force of it, was he truly her husband? She looked at him, hopelessly searching to reconcile the disparate memory of gentle hands that touched her with nothing but warmth, or the eyes that looked towards her direction with tenderness. As he heaved long, enraged breaths, she recoiled in horror. She could see nothing but a monster.

At the sound of the fear in her voice, Lucian broke through the throes of impassioned anger. Amelia was pale and wide-eyed with alarm, her shaking hands clutching at her ripped clothes as she crouched away from him. He felt as if he had been doused in ice. What had he done? Even then, as he was being eaten from the insides with guilt, he was unable to bring himself to apologize. "Stay away from Jonny!" he snarled.