The dining room was grand as Mira had expected. But then she wasn’t sure she was going to be surprised anymore when it ca to these rich people places.
Her blue dress, one she did not know whether to call borrowed or just hers, felt like so sort of armpit against her body.
She was still disoriented by the hidden cara she had found in the darn bathroom, and now she had to face Lucas too.
It was almost as if the universe kept throwing every single disaster her way.
Her eyes finally went in a straight direction and there he was.
The handso devil she wished she could whip hard. He was lounging at the end of the table as if he owned the place.
Lucas.
His posture was relaxed while he watched the room with the usual bored eyes of a predator who had already eaten.
But even at that, Mira could not help but notice the disdain and disgust in his expression, almost like this place was a house of poop he had forced himself to endure.
The sight of him, after he had literally left her to wolves, made her want to flip the entire twenty-foot table onto his head.
Couldn’t she just add that to her lists? The police already had so much over her anyways.
Damian stiffened beside Mira like a guard dog that had sensed a threat.
Lucas rose, and even that was done in such a graceful way it just made Mira roll her eyes.
The two n sized each other up in silence at first.
"Atkins." Damian broke the silence first, pronouncing Lucas’ last na like it was a curse.
"Johnson." Lucas replied in a low, neutral hum, almost like he could not be bothered with his shenanigans right now.
The handshake was brief, more like clenched knuckles and locked eyes. Mira felt satisfied that soone was standing up to the darn man on her behalf.
But then a dramatic gasp shattered the standoff as a lady floated in, dressed in more designers than Mira could count.
"Lucas Atkins?" she said with recognition in her eye as she moved into the room and closer toward Lucas.
"Such a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"
Mira did not need her to be introduced. Not anymore. She was the sa one who had walked in with Lorena’s mother the other day.
The other daughter of Evelyn, or better still the biological daughter.
Nonetheless, that made her Lorena’s sister too, Mira concluded internally.
Lucas turned his head but only a little as his gaze swept over Susanne. Then he looked away again. "Do I know you?"
Susanne was taken aback. It was evident by the way she almost staggered back. She expected everyone to know her. Or most importantly, him.
"We... we actually t at last year’s entertainnt award and we, you know? We ended up seeing more of each other that night."
Lucas took a slow sip of the wine that had been placed before him. "Hm, did we?" he asked in a tone that made it look like Susanne was not in his mory at all.
"There were so many people that night. Forgive if I don’t rember every single one," he simply added.
The brutal dismissal undoubtedly left Susanne choking on air for no reason. "I... I... we actually kis—"
Evelyn smoothly interrupted her as she patted a hand on Susanne’s arm. "The soup is getting cold, darling. Do sit."
But even a blind person could tell that she ant, stand down and stop embarrassing yourself.
Damian imdiately pulled out a chair for Mira to sit while the rest sat, his hand lingering on her lower back for a mont too long.
He didn’t sit until she was seated comfortably.
Susanne rolled her eyes at her brother’s antics like she was used to it but still couldn’t help poking at it.
"Oh brother. Why don’t you taste her food first in case there’s poison in it then, uh? Since you are back to keep playing the ever-attentive brother you never were with , your real sister!"
Mira did not need anyone to tell her now that this sister actually didn’t like her. At all.
And even though she was curious as to why, she wasn’t about to dwell on it. She was satisfied with the mother and brother.
Well, not everyone in the family can like you. There’s always one of those kind of people.
As soon as they started eating, Evelyn wasted no ti at all in ntioning the wedding, talking like she was an obsessed wedding planner.
"You know, Lucas. The Carlyle Hotel has that beautiful hall with the crystal chandeliers," she said, her voice bright with excitent.
"We could have the wedding there and then move to the terrace for the reception. I’m thinking one thousand guests minimum. And we’ll need to send out invitations imdiately."
"Why on earth would we do that?" Lucas cut in with an irritated tone. "I don’t get it. The marriage docunt has been signed already. Why would we need to do all of that?"
Evelyn looked genuinely baffled at his question. "What do you an? It’s a wedding. To the Lorena Sanders. Not only is she one of the most popular actresses, she’s also the daughter of Gregory Sanders! The world needs to see!"
Mira did not miss the way Lucas flinched at the ntion of the nas.
"The world," Lucas started, "needs to see nothing. Nobody cares what they see at all. At least not ."
"How then would this work? Did you not say you’d help Lorena? They would only keep throwing lawsuits and ridiculing her if they hear that she married soone just like that," Evelyn retorted.
Susanne snickered. "I can already imagine the headlines. Lorena Sanders rushing into marriage just to use another man for her sches yet again."
Evelyn glared in her direction and she shut her mouth.
But Lucas was ready to reply. "Well, that wouldn’t be a lie though. Would it?"
Mira was trying every bit of her power to remain calm, even though her fists were clenched in her lap.
After many more negotiations, which were more like passive aggression between Evelyn, Damian, and Lucas, a small ceremony was grudgingly agreed upon.
Finally, as the last course, one Mira was struggling to understand, was cleared, Lucas dabbed his mouth with a napkin and stood.
He was going to leave. Just like that!
That bastard hadn’t even said one word to her since he saw her. At a point, she had checked herself to see whether she’d beco invisible or sothing, but of course not.
She quickly stood too, not minding the chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Are you not forgetting sothing?"
Her voice ca out trembling, not because of fear but because of the pure, undiluted rage she was feeling. "Don’t we need to talk?"
Lucas paused and then turned to look at her.
Really look at her, like it was the very first ti he had done that all evening.
His expression remained blank as he replied, "Oh, do we?"
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