CHAPTER 43: BEAUTY’S 18TH BIRTHDAY

Lucas swung the goblet in his hand, his prominent brows arched upward, scrutinizing with interest the girl standing before him.

After a few seconds, he spoke with a low voice, "You’ve changed a lot these past few months, but you still can’t drink.

Your wild temperament, however, remains the same."

Beauty let out a cold snort of displeasure.

Of course, she knew what he was referring to.

It was nothing more than her having another squabble with his beloved little sister.

Did he really need to mock her?

"I may be a wild girl with a bad temper, but what is your sister?

She lacks manners more than I do."

Originally, she wanted to say that Laura doesn’t have the etiquette a socialite should possess.

But upon meeting his icy gaze, she swallowed those words.

Lucas paid no attention to her words.

To him, these were just conflicts among girls.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling window, the landscape was still shrouded in rain and wind.

The sky outside was hazy, accompanied by a flash of lightning, followed by a sudden roar of thunder.

Both of them are reminded of the rainy night, as if something tender has overlaid their cold lips.

Beauty gently pursed her lips, picked up the Hermes handkerchief beside her, and dabbed at her lips.

Raising her eyes lightly, she began, "Mr. Lucas, why did you suddenly bring me here for a meal?"

Just now she wanted to call him "perverted uncle", but when she caught sight of his icy stare, she swiftly swallowed the word

"perverted".

How could Lucas have imagined that this little lass would regard him as a pervert to vent her desires?

Otherwise, he would have certainly grabbed her by the collar and thrown her out of the fifth floor.

In the whole city, which female wouldn’t desire even a modicum of favor from him?

On that power outage night, he merely mistook her for his deceased wife and kissed her.

She should count herself lucky!

"Do you forget what day it is today?"

If it weren’t for his reminder, she’d be more than glad to forget what day today was.

For others, birthdays should be a day worth celebrating.

But for her, it merely marked the beginning of a life of hardship.

She was considered a jinx since her childhood, and the neighbors called her "bad luck."

Her slightly flushed face turned ghastly pale after a bit of red wine.

Her hand, clutching the fork tightly, was slightly trembling, and her large black eyes fogged over with a gray haze.

The warm orange light in the dining room seemed exceptionally dim at this moment.

A streak of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating her silhouette and reflecting the tears sparkling in her eyes.

Accompanying the thunderous boom, Beauty let go of the fork and knife, burying her face in her arms.

She remembered her father once telling her that it was a stormy day when her mother gave birth to her, with dazzling lightning and rumbling thunder.

"Beauty, are you okay?" Lucas noticed her unusual display, immediately put down the stem glass in his hand, took a few steps towards her and gently held her wrist.

He could feel her fear and helplessness right at this moment.

He always thought she was a tomboy who feared nothing.

He never expected that the seemingly tough exterior would have such a vulnerable side.

Beauty wrapped her arms around his waist which was so strong that she could only get halfway around.

She buried her head deeply in his chest, and she could even hear his slightly hurried breath.

"Don’t abandon me, I’m not a jinx, don’t leave me."

Beauty kept muttering this under her breath, and her grip on his clothes toughened, refusing to let go.

Suddenly, her body was lifted into the air by someone.

Lucas enveloped her completely into his embrace, reaching out to close the curtains of the compartment.

He reached into the drawer and lit several candles.

"Don’t worry, no one will abandon you.

I brought you here today simply to celebrate your birthday.

From today on, you will be eighteen.

When you turn twenty, I will take you to all sorts of cocktail parties and banquets.

I’ll see to it that you become a true lady of high society," Lucas’s voice was soft, but carried a trace of unyielding dominance.

It was as though he was cherishing and nurturing a masterpiece in his arms.

Compared to their first meeting, she had shaken him more and brought him more admiration this time.

He hadn’t expected that in merely a few months, one’s personality could change so drastically, as if one were born anew.

The first time he saw her body, he had no interest whatsoever.

To him, her figure was no different from a boy’s.

But just now, when he glimpsed her slender, curved back, his heart started to race inexplicably.

In a rare moment of blushing, "I don’t want to go home today," said Beauty.

She leaned into his strong arms, like a bird with broken wings that finally found a towering tree for refuge.

Fearing that she might shatter this moment of warmth.

"Then don’t.

I’ll ask the staff to prepare a larger suite for us later.

We can stay and rest here tonight," his voice still cold, but his gaze upon her carried a touch more tenderness.

Conflicted hands touched her ridged forehead absent-mindedly.

Her lips, tinted with a grape-like purple hue from the recent indulgence in red wine.

The naturally unadorned girl looked charmingly beautiful under the warm light.

His gaze was drawn to her blush-flushed cheeks, which looked like they were brushed with rouge, and he found himself instinctively pecking her lips.

Lucas simply couldn’t resist kissing her lips, light as if he were a dragonfly skimming water.

Just as he was about to lift his head to take her outside, this little girl surprisingly wrapped her arms around his neck.

After all these years, he had seen many women come and go, but it was merely an emotional release.

Only this girl, whom he’s seen grow up, confused him, and to his surprise, had made him blush.

The exquisite softness of her seemed as if it could melt his thumping heart.

The inexperienced little girl left him somewhat overwhelmed.

Holding her chin, he thrust her onto the sofa to assert his dominance.

A restless flame of desire was running wild within him, and he could no longer suppress it.

His shirt, which had previously been

unbuttoned, was forced back on reluctantly. "Oh Lucas, she’s just a girl who hasn’t fully grown up yet, you’re being beastly!

" He berated himself silently within.

He got up from the sofa, tore open the neckline of his shirt angrily, and drained the red wine in his glass in one gulp.

The server wheeled in the cake and brought them to the suite, only closing the door once everything was set up inside.

When he left, his gaze towards Beauty was filled with both envy and jealousy.

Lucas didn’t pay attention to those people. The cake was ready, but to his surprise, that woman had already fallen into a deep sleep before it could be brought over.

"You guys go home first.

I won’t be going home today."

He sat on the sofa, made a call to his assistant, and after casting a glance at the soundly sleeping Beauty, who looked as peaceful as a hibernating pig, massaged his temples a bit.

The assistant never pried into his private affairs, only reminding him of the meeting schedule for the next day, then ordered the driver to drive home.

As for Beauty, this was certainly none of her business.