Chapter 2 Late Realization

Midnight. The airplane's contrail cuts across the vast sky.

The airport expressway is still busy, with cars coming and going.

A black Maybach speeds toward the downtown area of B City. The driver is focused, and the air in the car is extremely quiet, with the temperature set at the perfect 24 degrees.

Occasionally, the car's headlights illuminate the man's face.

The man in the back seat looks very young, handsome, with high eyebrows and a perfect bone structure. Perhaps because of the long flight lasting over ten hours, there is a faint weariness and detachment about him.

Lucas lowers his head and sees that it is 1,37 AM.

His destination at this moment is the First-class mansion.

Over the past two years, Lucas has been extremely busy with work, flying around the world for business trips, but most of the time, he stays at this high-end apartment located in the top area of the city, along with his girlfriend, whom he has been dating for several years.

Then Lucas sees a message his girlfriend sent him several hours ago on Whatsapp,

[Assistant Liam said you'll land around 1 AM, please be safe on the road]

[I'm waiting for you at home]

[Kiss.jpg]

Lucas' gaze lingers for a moment on the "Kiss.jpg" cute emoji. He wants to reply with something like "Don't wait, go to sleep first," but seeing that it's already been hours since the message was sent, it seems too late to reply with that.

The roadside sign shows that the downtown area is still 2 kilometers away.

Lucas turns off his phone.

The main ring road is clear at night, and the security guard at the entrance of the First-class mansion is still on duty, standing at attention as the Maybach drives in.

After nearly a month of business trips, Lucas finally returns to the apartment he spends most of his time at.

When he opens the door, the scent of food wafts in the air.

The apartment is lit with warm-toned lights. There's a late-night snack prepared on the dining table to the left, and the living room is quiet. In the corner of the sofa, a small figure is curled up.

Shirley, wearing an eggplant-colored silk nightgown and a gray cashmere blanket draped over her, rests on her arm. Barefoot, she must have fallen asleep while waiting for her boyfriend to return after his business trip.

Upon seeing Shirley asleep on the sofa, Lucas instinctively softens his footsteps.

He removes his suit jacket and tie, rolls up the sleeves of his shirt to his forearms, and instead of going to eat the late-night snack prepared on the table, he walks to the sofa.

The man's large shadow casts over the peaceful sleeping face.

Lucas silently watches Shirley, who had fallen asleep waiting on the sofa. His gaze lingers on her face for a few seconds, and then he decides to gently lift her up.

She sleeps deeply and doesn't react much when lifted, only making a soft sound before finding a comfortable position to continue sleeping. Lucas carries her back to the bedroom, and it seems only when he lays her on the bed does she stir.

Her peaceful dream is interrupted. The first thing she senses is the cool male scent, then she drowsily opens her eyes.

Against the light, she sees the familiar, handsome face of the man.

It's familiar because after years of being in a relationship, he has inevitably become the most familiar person to her, especially in such close proximity. It's handsome because, from this close angle, his good looks are so striking it almost makes her dizzy. So, in the past, when she couldn't resist some things under his charm, it didn't feel so unforgivable.

Shirley then realizes that she must have fallen asleep waiting for Lucas on the sofa.

Upon facing the man who returned from his business trip in the dead of night, still half-asleep, the first word that comes to her mind is "service."

Yes, Lucas came back early, and she's going to service him.

Shirley wraps her arms around Lucas's neck.

Lucas notices Shirley is half awake and seems to be about to speak, telling her to continue sleeping, but as soon as he pushes himself up, her arms immediately wind around his neck.

He hesitates for a moment and tries to remove her arms from his neck, but the next second, she主动 kisses him.

The kiss quickly ignites the familiar warmth between them, and their hands, which feel delicate and smooth, are hard to tell apart from the silk or the skin itself. At first, Lucas tries to hold back, but when he meets her dreamy, confused gaze-like she doesn't quite know why he's acting differently tonight-his throat tightens, and all his previous restraint evaporates.

Clothes fall one by one, the bed shakes slightly, and the moon outside, which had been visible all night, hides behind clouds, unwilling to listen.

...

The next day.

It's a workday.

Even though he just finished a long business trip and landed in the early morning, the man who is always busy with work still chooses to go to the office today.

The morning in the First-class mansion is as busy as usual.

In the walk-in closet, Shirley, still wearing her nightgown, stands in front of Lucas, tying his tie.

Tying a tie is something she's used to by now. Nearly every morning when they're together, she does this. But today, when she ties Lucas's tie, she feels like his gaze on her is somewhat different.

It seems like Lucas is always looking at her.

His eyes carry a vague meaning, as if scrutinizing, mixed with hesitation.

This makes Shirley subconsciously think of last night.

Lucas seemed a bit off; at first, he didn't seem like he wanted to continue with her, even trying to stop at first.

Of course, after things started, he didn't hold back.

Shirley finishes tying the tie and, with a slight furrow of her brow due to the slight doubt in her mind, hears Lucas say, "Shirley."

"Hmm?" Shirley instinctively looks up.

Lucas meets her gaze-her beautiful face, devoid of makeup, still as stunning as ever. His lips part as if to say something, but when he sees her clear, moving eyes, and her obedient, still posture waiting for him to speak, his words catch in his throat, and ultimately, he doesn't say anything.

Shirley waits for Lucas to continue.

Lucas grabs his suit jacket, "I'm going to work."

Shirley is a little confused but replies with an "Oh" and sees him to the door.

A new day officially begins.

For Shirley, aside from Lucas's early return, it's an ordinary day.

As Lucas's girlfriend, she doesn't have to work.

This doesn't mean Lucas forbids her from working-he's even suggested that she could do anything, regardless of whether she earns money-but Shirley feels that being Lucas's girlfriend is already a full-time job. She works 24/7, providing both emotional and physical support. Adding a job on top of that would be like working two jobs simultaneously, and it's unnecessary.

So, like now, she spends her days shopping, getting spa treatments, doing Pilates, occasionally attending flower arrangement or crafts classes-nothing too taxing.

In a way, it fills the emptiness of Lucas's hesitation in bringing up a breakup.

In the afternoon, after finishing her flower arrangement class, Shirley heads to a pre-booked hand-made dessert shop.

The waiter brings over all the shop's specialty desserts, filling the table with beautiful treats.

Shirley doesn't dive into the sweets immediately but glances at the empty seat across from her, checking her phone, waiting for someone.

After a while, the waiter finally leads someone over.

The person arrives and immediately exclaims, "You're going to make me fat!"

Shirley smiles, showing the time on her phone, "You're 20 minutes late today."

Abby sits down, placing her bag on the chair, and looks at the desserts, "Shirley, what's with all this? I can't eat anymore or I'll get fat. The editor's going to kill me if I keep eating like this. I'll never become deputy editor."

Shirley looks at Abby, who's looking at the desserts with longing but complaining about getting fat, "Does your editor still care about your weight?"

"It used to not matter," Abby replies, eyeing the desserts and swallowing. She takes a sip of unsweetened red tea before gritting her teeth, "But now there are two new interns who are so skinny they look malnourished, and I'm starting to look like a balloon. I think the editor's been looking at me less favorably lately."

Shirley chuckles.

Abby, unable to handle the desserts in front of her, calls the waiter to clear everything off the table, leaving only a small low-sugar biscuit. Shirley keeps a piece of tiramisu.

Once the high-calorie bombs are removed, Abby's mood seems to settle.

Abby begins talking about her work at the magazine when she suddenly notices a pink hickey peeking from Shirley's collar. Her eyes widen, "Lucas is back?"

Shirley looks down and feels her face warm as she quickly straightens her collar, "Yeah."

"He came back early last night."

Abby, now certain about the hickey, looks at her friend in front of her.

She remembers back when Shirley had sworn never to give up her body so easily, that holding hands was the farthest she'd go. She thought it was a quick, short-term relationship, but now, like an investment that's trapped her, she feels deeper and deeper. The guilt creeps in when she's finally having tea with her friend.

"I'm sorry, Shirley," Abby swallows hard. "I do bear some responsibility in this."

Shirley, confused, looks at her, "What responsibility?"

Abby, stirring her tea, sighs, "Well, I encouraged you from the start..."

Shirley, "..."

The two of them had been university classmates. When they first met, Shirley was still a part-time model working on scattered freelance gigs, while Abby was an intern at a fashion magazine. Over time, they became good friends.

Later, Shirley discovered that the exchange student with the tall frame, arrogant attitude, and handsome face was actually the heir to the Noble Group, a member of the William family. She also found out that this heir had a tendency to switch girlfriends as frequently as changing clothes, with his previous breakup settlement being in the eight digits.

At that time, Shirley was caught in the confusion of Lucas's misunderstanding of her and his possible interest in her.

Lucas thought she was the innocent, shy girl from an idol drama who could be the perfect female lead.

So when Shirley heard about the eight-digit breakup fee, she was tempted and unsure whether to give it a try. Abby wholeheartedly encouraged her.

"Go for it."

It was eight digits.

She'd calculate how many modeling gigs she'd have to book to earn that amount of money and how many unreasonable clients she'd have to endure. But after doing the math, she decided to go for it.

In the end, practice proved that Lucas, although seeming cold and distant, wasn't so hard to approach.

It was even Lucas who actively proposed they date.

"Do you think the rumors are true?" Abby sighs and slaps the table, clearly feeling that the gossip about Lucas was wrong.

"Who the hell said that Lucas changes girlfriends every three months? How many three-month cycles has it been now?"

Shirley leans back in her seat, her face a little despondent, "I think it's true."

If slander could be punished by law, she would sentence the person who spread the rumor about Lucas changing girlfriends every three months to life imprisonment.

The topic feels heavy, and after a while of silence between them, Abby changes the subject, "By the way, you called me out for afternoon tea today-what did you want to talk about?"

Shirley then remembers the main reason she invited Abby today.

Some feelings can't be fully expressed over Whatsapp and need to be discussed in person.

So, Shirley looks at Abby, furrowing her brow slightly, and carefully explains the unsettling things she's sensed since Lucas returned last night.

He didn't respond to her Whatsapp messages right away, at first seemed unwilling to continue with her, and has been looking at her with an odd, unreadable expression this morning... What's going on?

Why does it feel like this?

Why is he acting this way?

As she speaks, Shirley supports her chin with her hand and looks down at the table, her face full of confusion.

After all, being Lucas's girlfriend feels like a job now, and if she doesn't perform well, it feels like the boss is not satisfied with her-very troublesome indeed.

Maybe something's wrong, but it's been so long, she hasn't realized it before.

Abby, hearing all this, stares blankly at Shirley.

Then, after processing everything, she realizes what's going on. Looking at her friend's confused face, she can only make one conclusion.

"Shirley, from everything you've just said..."

"Does Lucas want to break up with you?"

"Huh?" Shirley freezes, as if something has clicked in her mind.