Chapter 436 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“There is no relationship…” Lucas started to say but was interrupted by Amy.

“If I weren’t here, you would have stayed with her, wouldn’t you? So why not assume I’m not here and spend the night?” Amy asked, and Lucas scoffed.

“How can I assume you are not here when you are here?” He asked with a slightly raised brow.

“Fine. I’m not here then,” Amy said as she quickly grabbed her handbag from the couch and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Lucas asked in disbelief.

“Somewhere away from here. I will return in the morning when she wakes up,” Amy said, and before he could argue, she opened the door and stepped outside.

“Don’t leave,” Lucas said as he followed her out.

“Then will you please stay? If it weren’t something she wanted, I wouldn’t be stopping you from leaving. Please stay,” Amy pleaded, and Lucas ran his fingers through his hair impatiently before giving her a nod.

“Fine. Let’s go back inside,” he said, and they both returned to the apartment.

“Thank you,” Amy said softly, and Lucas gave her a curt nod as he returned to his seat and took out his phone once again.

“How is she doing?” Amy asked curiously.

“She is in pain, and she is sad. It’s a good thing you are here to be with her. No one deserves to be alone at a time like this,” Lucas said, and Amy bit her lower lip as she listened to him.

“Thanks for staying with her,” Amy said, and Lucas shrugged.

“It’s not like I had a choice. She is pretty persistent,” Lucas said on a light note, and Amy smiled.

“Yes, she is,” Amy said with a sigh, and they both lapsed into a round of silence.

After the silence had dragged on for a while, Amy glanced at him, “How did you meet her?”

“I met her right here,” Lucas said in amusement, and then his brows pulled together when he realized that it had only been that morning when he woke up in her apartment, yet it felt like he had known her for a long time already.

“As embarrassing as it is, and as much as I hate to admit it, I have to since I’m sure she will tell you about it eventually. I’m hoping it remains between us. By that, I mean my sister must not hear of it. I woke up here this morning. And according to her, she brought me here because I was drunk and passed out in a bar,” Lucas said, and he watched as Amy’s brows pulled together in a frown.

“I’m not an alcoholic. I don’t have drinking problems. It was a one-time thing,” Lucas said defensively when he noticed how she was staring at him.

“I didn’t think you were an alcoholic,” Amy said, and Lucas raised a brow.

“So what’s with the look on your face?”

“I was wondering why she would pick up a random stranger because he was drunk and passed out and bring him back to her place,” Amy said, and Lucas nodded.

“You will have to ask her that yourself. I don’t suppose you told Celsie anything about me being with your friend, did you?” Lucas asked, and Amy shook her head.

“It skipped my mind,” Amy said, and Lucas nodded.

“I hope it continues to skip your mind,” Lucas said, and Amy’s lips twitched in amusement as she stood up.

“Excuse me, I need to unpack and freshen up,” Amy said, and Lucas gave her a nod.

“Take all the time you need.”

“You are not going to try to leave when I’m away, are you?” Amy asked doubtfully, and Lucas raised a brow.

“If I were going to leave, I would have done so regardless of whether you’re here or not,” Lucas said, and she gave him a nod before walking away.

Once she left, Lucas sighed and relaxed against his seat as his thoughts drifted to Miley.

Why did he have to be so weak-willed? Why couldn’t he just say no and walk away from here now that Amy was here to watch over her? He mused as he wiped his face with his palm.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him that he had stayed back because he was worried about her and not necessarily because Amy had stopped him. He was gradually becoming entangled in her business, and he didn’t want any of it.

************

After freshening up, Jade went to knock on the door to Candace’s bedroom, and a moment later, Candace opened the door, dressed in a bathing robe with a towel in her hand, which she was using to dry her hair.

“Can I come in? Let’s talk while we wait for dinner to arrive,” Jade said, and Candace nodded as she moved away from the door to let Jade into the bedroom.

Candace sat on the padded stool by the dressing table, while Jade sat on the single couch in the room and stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankle, “I received a call from Benne a short while ago,” Jade started, and Candace sighed.

“I guess you want to talk to me about the message I left him,” Candace said, and Jade’s brow shot up.

“Is there something I should know?” Jade asked as her intelligent blue eyes watched Candace piercingly.

Candace dropped the towel on her lap and folded both hands in front of her, “Like I already told you before, I’m a mother, and I’m looking out for my son even if it means I have to be selfish…”

Anger flashed in Jade’s eyes, but she tried to keep her cool as she cut in, “I have no problem with you being a selfish mother. However, I have a problem with you pulling a stunt like that behind me…” Jade said and raised a finger to stop Candace before she could say another word.

“I am not done yet. You might think you are doing me a favor by following me here to meet with Jero, but trust me, you are not. I am the one doing you a favor by trying to make sure I lock your dangerous baby daddy and his cohorts behind bars for life. You can decide to opt-out of this now, and that will be completely fine by me. Do you know why? I’m unaffected by it. Apart from the personal itch I will get over not closing the case, I can easily decide to take my hands off this case, resign from the law firm and move on with my life, and no one, I repeat, NO ONE would dare come after me. But I can’t say the same for you, can I?” Jade asked, cocking her head to the side as she sat up and uncrossed her legs.

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