Chapter 243 How Should I Face You

Amelia arrived at the Zhan Group building, which was silent save for the faint noises of people on duty going about their work.

Considering the privilege of unlimited access to his office that Lucian had given her on a previous occasion, she didn't have to make an appointment to be able to visit him at work. The guard on duty let her pass unimpeded and respectfully greeted her.

The air inside the CEO's office on the top floor was acrid with cigarette smoke that permeated to the hallway.

When she pushed on the door to let herself in, Amelia couldn't believe the sight that greeted her.

One would never think that this was a CEO's office judging from its state of disarray. Empty wine bottles were piled up on the floor, and Amelia bent and picked them up, tiding stuff here and there while looking for her husband.

She found Lucian immobile on the leather sofa, dead drunk and seemingly fast asleep.

"Lucian?" Amelia tried to call his name softly. Deep inside, she was beset with worry. 'What's wrong with Lucian?'

Lucian stirred a little and said, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in?"

She could detect a hint of anger in his voice, but he didn't even lift an eyelid to express his annoyance.

"Come on, Lucian, let's go home..." Amelia knew that when Lucian was feeling pressured at work, he tended to knock back a drink or two to unwind. How stressed was he that he was able to finish all of these wine bottles?

Carrying someone as tall and built as Lucian was an exercise in futility for someone as comparatively small as Amelia. She attempted to do so but failed over and over.

"Let me go!" Lucian shook off Amelia's hand. In his drunken state, he muttered in a voice full of anguish, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Amelia was struck by the loneliness of that question. "Lucian, forget everything that has happened in the past. I'm here, and I always will be." Amelia gritted her teeth and heaved with all her might in a fina

had rarely mentioned his mother in front of Nicholas. There must be a compelling reason for him to be asking this question now.

"Why can't you just answer me?" Lucian implored Nicholas, disappointment slowly registering on his face.

The subject was like a locked door; the moment the gate was opened, the dust blew right in and got into his eyes, making it difficult to see.

After some time, Nicholas replied, "It was different time then. We did not have the freedom to choose the ones that we married. Love was not on the table." Nicholas stared into the distance, as if he was recalling what had happened a long time ago.

The indirect answer told Lucian all that he needed to know.

His parents' marriage had been arranged by their own parents, and love was out of the question.

"Do you mean to say... you had affairs with other women outside of your marriage?" Lucian's voice steadily rose with growing anger, and his eyes were ablaze.

Upon hearing Lucian's words, something clicked with Nicholas. He looked at Lucian for a while and asked with a smile, "Have the An family been telling preposterous tales again?"

If only that were so. Lucian would rather deal with hysterical gossip from the An family, and he would have been thankful afterwards. Instead, the cold, harsh reality of the paternity test results was looming before him, and it was something he couldn't run away from.

How could he explain it to Nicholas? How could he tell him that Amelia was his father's daughter out of wedlock? How could he tell him that he and his own wife were half siblings?

Lucian was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He had always believed that he's a strong man, and he never could have foreseen himself crumbling under the weight of this disaster.

"The day has eyes, the night has ears!" With these cryptic words, Lucian left.

He had always treated Nicholas with respect. This was the first time that he had been so disappointed and angry at his father.