Chapter 23
Lucy and Maddox sat down, then called for a waiter to get them two more sets of cutlery.
"Lucy, look at yourself!" Kh was unhappy that her n had failed. "You always teach your son not to
waste food, but you ordered a table full of food and left without finishing it!"
It wasn''t easy for Maddox and Lucy to meet alone, but Lucy threw it down the drain. She should be told
off!
Lucy smiled and said, "I asked the waiter not to serve the food, so we didn''t waste anything."
Kh gave her a sour look.
Who cared if she wasted food?
Sitting beside them, Maddoxughed lightly at their bickering. He hadn''t seen Lucy in five years, but
she hadn''t changed much!
"Ahem, ahem!" Lucy felt a little embarrassed at beingughed at, and only then did she remember that
Maddox was with them. "Maddox, I forgot to ask you before we came here. Do you eat seafood?"
"Of course he doesn''t! Maddox lived overseas for five years. He must have gotten used to eating that
country''s local cuisine." Kh was in a bad mood, so she started roasting Lucy.
What Kh said made sense too, and Lucy felt a little awkward.
The most important part of treating Maddox to a meal was to know his preferences! What should she
do? Switch to another restaurant again?
"While I was abroad for five years, I always saw everyone posting pictures of seafood on Friendsbook.
I was craving it so badly. I actually feel tired of eating their local cuisine every day," Maddox said at the
right time and saved Lucy from the awkwardness.
Kh felt even more determined to matchmake them at hearing what Maddox said!
He was good-looking, educated, and thoughtful. He was obviously a hundred times better than Arthur,
who was bossy, rude, and threatening.
The seafood at that restaurant tasted pretty good, and they enjoyed their meal.
Caden ate a lot of lobster with Maddox removing the shell for him, and he was very pleased with his
substitute dad. If it weren''t because he was afraid Lucy would scold him, he would have hugged
Maddox and called him daddy right away!
"Caden''s tired. I''ll take him home for a nap!" After leaving the restaurant, Kh started thinking of ways
to leave Lucy and Maddox alone again.
Lucy tucked her fringe that was blowing in the wind behind her ear and said, "I''ll go with you guys."
"What in the world for?! It''s still early, and Maddox just came back from abroad. Take him for a walk!"
Kh gave Maddox a supportive look and hurried off carrying Caden.
Lucy looked down at her four-inch high heels, slightly worried that the heel would break off.
"Kh still has the same character as before." Maddox lowered his head to look at Lucy. Soft light
shone on her face, making her beautiful features look even more dazzling, just like the first time he saw
her.
"Kh still has the same character as before." Maddox lowered his head to look at Lucy. Soft light
shone on her face, making her beautiful features look even more dazzling, just like the first time he saw
her.
Lucy smiled. "You''re right, she''s always been this feisty! She''s already twenty-eight but still acts like an
eighteen-year-old teen!"
"You too, you haven''t changed at all. As pretty as always." Maddox''s expression was gentle and his
voice sounded exceptionally pleasant.
When he had first met her five years ago, she was already Arthur''s woman. He could only stay by her
side in the name of being her school senior.
But five yearster...he had a chance.
"Maddox, you''ve gotten more handsome than before!" Lucyughed, not daring to meet his eyes. "How
about we go for a walk in the park nearby?"
"Whatever you say," he answered dotingly.
They arrived at the park together, and Lucy pointed at the facilities and greenery there while telling him
about the changes over the years.
Maddox responded from time to time, but his mind was far away from those things. "Actually, when I
suddenly went overseas five years ago, it wasn''t because everything was too rushed that I didn''t get to
tell you in time."
The dreamy night and the faint smell of her perfume made him slowly get overwhelmed in his feelings.
Some emotions that he had held back for a long time were on the verge of breaking free.
"Hmm?" Lucy raised her head to look at him, not knowing why he would say so out of the blue.
Maddox took a few steps forward and stopped in front of her. When he looked into her eyes, a little fear
mixed with his affection. "Sometimes, people leave to run away from something."
He was afraid that he would be a third wheel in their rtionship, so he had chosen to run away.
Afraid that he would shrink from going abroad after seeing her, he hadn''t even dared to tell her.
"You''re right." Just like how she had chosen to leave Arthur five years ago, it had only been a form of
escape.
She knew what Maddox actually meant by that, but she pretended not to understand. If they addressed
their ambiguous rtionship, she was afraid that things would get awkward between them and ruin
their friendship.
Maddox hummed softly, feeling slightly disappointed in her feigned ignorance. However, he also felt
kind of happy. Staying the way they were, they could at least still take a walk together with no hard
feelings.
"I heard from Kh that you''re divorced?"
"...Well, you can say so. I got divorced five years ago."
Maddox went to a bench and wiped it down with a tissue, then gestured for her to sit. "You''re such a
catch. Didn''t you think of finding yourself a new man?"
His tone was a little cautious.
His tone was a little cautious.
"Nope." Sitting down beside him, Lucy tried her best to find a gentle way of letting his hopes down.
"Firstly, I haven''t met anyone I like. Next, I''m worried my son will suffer."
"What if...I''m just saying, what if your son likes a person enough to let him be his father? Would you
consider?" The park had just been watered down and the air was fresh. However, Maddox felt that his
lips were very dry.
Right then, he really wanted to hear her answer, but he was also scared that she would say something
that would break his heart.
Lucy didn''t expect him to ask such a direct question. For a moment, she was at a loss for an answer.
Silence hung in the air for a moment and all that could be heard was the sound of their breathing.
"It''s gettingte. I''ll take you home." Maddox stood up and changed the topic that made her feel
awkward.
Lucy wanted to say that she had driven over, but she didn''t think it was nice to turn him down, so she
epted his gesture.
Maddox was very good at carrying a conversation. In the car, he talked about everything under the sun
as though the awkward episode in the park had been nothing but a dream.
RêAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
About half an hourter, they arrived at Levi Street.
Maddox got out of the car first and opened the door for her chivalrously.
"Oh no!" Lucy called out when her dress got caught. She fell back onto the car seat.
"What''s wrong?" Maddox stooped and poked his head into the car.
Lucy tried several times but failed to free the hem of her dress. She answered with slight
embarrassment, "My dress got caught."
...
Not far away, in the Bentley.
Arthur was sitting as straight as a rod in the back seat holding a half-read document in his hands. His
expression was stormy.
He watched as Lucy got out halfway but fell against the seat again. Then, an unfamiliar but handsome
man reached his upper body into the car.
Their bodies pressed against one another in the night, painting an overly tantalizing picture.
She resisted him so much, but she was being so intimate with some other guy! What was he to her?!
"Sir, shall I drive up now?" The driver asked cautiously as cold sweat made his shirt stick to his back.
Arthur didn''t say a word. He locked his gaze on Lucy and Maddox, who were chatting amiably side by
side. He felt as though a bomb was ticking inside him, about to blow up in the next minute.