Chelsey shook her head. "Shannon's the only woman in Lucas' heart. No one can take him away from her."Josie said consolingly, "You and Luke have spent the past three years together; I'm sure he has feelings for you. He's only distancing himself from you now because Shannon's return has confused you."What you need to do now is take the initiative. As long as you get pregnant, Shannon will only ever be a mistress and a homewrecker no matter what she does."Josie spent the whole morning brainwashing Chelsey into finding a way to get pregnant with Lucas' child.Chelsey listened to her but didn't make her stance clear. This made Josie so anxious that she almost called Lucas and ordered him to come over so he and Chelsey could immediately start making babies.Unbeknownst to her, Chelsey was already traumatized. When Lucas had called out Shannon's name while above her, it had made her feel like she was the saddest woman in the world. She'd totally lost interest in sex.Chelsey only ma
A slight smile crept up on Timothy's face at being praised by Chelsey. "Do you like it?""I do!" Chelsey answered without giving it much thought."I'll give it to you then," Timothy offered generously."Oh no, there's no need for that. The exhibition is still ongoing. How can you just give it to me?" Chelsey waved her hands.She made a mental note to herself to watch what she said in the future. With Timothy doting on her so much, she couldn't be so casual in expressing her interest in things anymore.But Timothy paid no heed to Chelsey's refusal. He went up to a staff member of the exhibition and got him to take the painting down. Then after wrapping it up properly, he handed it to Chelsey.As he was adamant that Chelsey had it, she could only accept it."Hang it up when you get home," Timothy reminded."Sure!" With Timothy treating her so well, Chelsey could not bear to leave his painting gathering dust in a closet.Before they were done checking out the exhibition, Chelsea
Josie came out of the kitchen with two bowls of soup. "Lucas, Chels, have some soup first. Dinner will be ready shortly."Chelsey stood up. "Mom, I'll go set the table.""Oh, don't worry about that. The table's already set. Have a taste of the soup. It's your favorite chicken mushroom soup. "The chicken's really tender. I let it stew for five hours. Go on, try it."Josie placed the two bowls of soup in front of Lucas and Chelsey respectively.Chelsey couldn't help salivating at the aroma of the soup. Without waiting any longer, she picked up a spoon and started tucking in. The soup was rich and savory, and it was the best soup she'd ever had. "Mom, the soup's amazing!" Chelsey said."I'm glad to hear that you like it! You can have more later!""Okay!"Josie stared at Lucas with a sense of urgency, but he did not drink the soup."Lucas, you should have some soup too!"Under Josie's persistent urging, Lucas picked up a spoon and took a sip of the soup. He reflexively fro
Lucas wiped his nose with a tissue and found that it was covered in blood.Noticing it, Josie screamed, "Lucas! Your nose is bleeding!"Only when she heard Josie scream did Chelsey lift her head. She was shocked at the sight of Lucas' bloody nose.He was bleeding profusely. In the blink of an eye, his chin was covered in blood. He pulled out several pieces of tissues at one go and covered his nose before rushing into the bathroom."Chels, you should go check on Lucas," Josie said."Okay." Chelsey got up and headed over to the bathroom.Why was he bleeding so much all of a sudden? It was alarming! Was he suffering from some sort of chronic illness?The thought of that disturbed Chelsey to no end. Her eyes reddened, and she felt a lump in her throat.When she got to the door of the bathroom, she saw Lucas washing the blood off his face. He held a wad of tissues to his nose and turned to walk toward his room. Once inside his bedroom, Lucas opened the wardrobe and took out a whit
Chelsey was astonished to hear what Lucas said. She stole a glance in the direction of the door. True enough, she caught sight of a figure flashing past outside the door, which was ajar.Lucas continued, "She's going to keep trying all sorts of methods to get things going her way if this doesn't work out. So, please, just put on an act."And with that, Lucas' scalding lips landed on Chelsey's throat. He peppered kisses along her collarbone, planting love bites on her skin."Lucas …" Chelsey pressed her palms against his chest. Her breathing quickened, and her temperature rose.Looking at Lucas, whose eyes were filled with lust, Chelsey recalled the first time she'd met him. It was ten years ago. She had been 12, and he had been 20.He had carried her on his back as they made their way out of the vast mountains. He cheered her on and promised her that they would make it out alive.Even after so many years, she still remembered how broad his back was, and how thick his should
Chelsey walked out after announcing her departure."You haven't had dinner yet. Have something to eat before you leave," Lucas said.Chelsey used to obey everything Lucas said. Whatever he instructed, she would do accordingly. But now, she no longer took orders from him. She turned and left without paying him any heed at all.Lucas felt an empty feeling in his heart as he saw Chelsey scurrying away. It was such a huge house, and he was the only person in there. Apart from the stuffed bell peppers, all the dishes on the table were made according to Chelsey's preferences.Lucas picked up his phone and gave Josie a call."Hey son, you're done so soon?" He could hear the elation in her voice.Lucas took a deep breath and reminded himself continuously that she was his mother, and that he couldn't lose his temper at her. After taking a moment to calm himself down, he asked, "What was it that you made me eat?""Oh, relax, Lucas. It's just a tonic that's beneficial for your health. I
Chelsey retreated into the study. She didn't care even if Shannon turned the whole house upside down.She was moving out the next day anyway. She didn't want to stay in the house and constantly be reminded about Lucas.Every moment of the past three years was like a dagger coated with poison, stabbing her heart repeatedly. It was a silent ache that hurt to no end.Though Chelsey had a book in her hand, she couldn't process a single word she read. Her heart clenched in pain with every click of Shannon's stilettos against the floor. She could hear her making her way into the master bedroom.All of a sudden, Chelsey remembered something of utmost importance. She bolted up from the couch in the study room and rushed to the master bedroom.True enough, when she reached the door of the bedroom, she saw Shannon holding a photo of Chelsey and Lucas in her hands."Put the photo down." That was her only photo with Lucas. She had asked to have the photo taken on the day they'd registered
Chelsey knew that she was just a caregiver to Lucas. She wasn't even his bedmate. He would rather find his own release than get intimate with her."Haha! You know your place well." Shannon smiled even brighter. She had fulfilled her purpose of coming over today, which was to make Chelsey accept the fact that Shannon was the one that Lucas loved.As it turned out, Shannon left without taking away anything of Lucas'. She even informed Chelsey to pack his things up and that she would send some people over to collect them in a few days. She deliberately did that to irk Chelsey.Chelsey shouted at her retreating figure, "Don't ever come here anymore! I won't open the door even if you do!" Then, she turned and went back into the house huffily.Chelsey felt an empty feeling in her heart when she saw the ashes of the photo in the fireplace. The digital version of the photo was in her previous phone, which had been broken by Lucas. She didn't even have a backup of it.…Chelsey tossed