CHAPTER 438: CHAPTER 438: LUCAS’S GIRLFRIEND

As they were talking, Aurora’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID: Mary. She picked up, and Mary’s slightly excited voice burst from the other end.

"Aurora, Lucas is bringing his girlfriend home."

Aurora stopped walking so abruptly that Theodore nearly bumped into her. Her expression froze. "...What?"

Her eldest brother. Lucas. Lucas. The one who always said he didn’t have time for relationships.

The one who barely entertained friendships. The one who lived, breathed, and slept with business plans, development cycles, and market forecasts.

That Lucas had a girlfriend.

For several long seconds, Aurora stood completely still, her brain refusing to compute what she had just heard. It was as though Mary had informed her that the sun had suddenly decided not to rise anymore.

"...Mom," Aurora finally managed, "are you sure you weren’t dreaming?"

Mary huffed, annoyed. "I heard it myself. He said it in the family group chat this morning. None of you replied, so I called. Honestly, do you children ever look at your phones?"

Aurora dragged her hand down her face. She had seen the message, but she assumed Lucas was joking. Or drunk. Or kidnapped and replaced by a shapeshifter.

"How is it possible that my own brother has a girlfriend and I didn’t know?" Aurora muttered.

Mary paused for a second, then asked very cautiously, "...Are you worried?"

"Of course I’m worried," Aurora said. "It’s just... he’s never shown interest before. How did a girlfriend appear so suddenly?"

Mary exhaled.

"Actually... he mentioned her once before. He wanted to introduce her, but I thought it was impulsive and told him to take his time. But now he’s bringing her home again. And this time, from his tone... he’s serious."

Aurora’s heart tightened. Serious. Lucas was never reckless or emotional. If he was serious, he meant it.

"What’s her name?" Aurora asked.

"Her name is Jules," Mary replied.

Aurora let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Jules. Good. Anyone was better than Adeline. As long as it wasn’t that woman, she could manage.

She straightened and nodded to herself. "When are we meeting her?"

"Day after tomorrow," Mary answered.

Aurora hung up and immediately relayed everything to Theodore.

Theodore had been quiet this whole time, still processing his own heartbreak and the sharp truth he had learned earlier. When he heard Lucas had a girlfriend, his expression flickered.

"So even Lucas... found someone."

He drew a breath. His voice was steady but heavy. "Meanwhile, I was... devoted to someone who was playing with me."

The words were bitter but not self-pitying. They were simply the truth.

Aurora studied him carefully.

Theodore exhaled and straightened his posture. "...No. I won’t drown in the past. I’ll let go. And if Eleanor regrets it someday, good. But I won’t waste another breath on her."

He forced a smile, weak but determined. Aurora nodded with relief.

"That’s the brother I know."

With that, Aurora drove them home.

When they reached the apartment complex, the atmosphere inside was lively. It was clear everyone had gathered in anticipation.

Theodore immediately put on a casual smile and asked, "Where’s Lucas?"

Mary replied, "He’s still with Jules. He said he’s giving her a little pep talk before bringing her home."

Theodore snorted. "A pep talk? We’re not going to eat her."

Aurora leaned in close and whispered so only he could hear, "Are you being salty because your crush crushed your heart?"

Theodore’s smile twitched. He turned toward Olivia and announced loudly, "It seems we haven’t disciplined Aurora properly."

Aurora’s eyes widened. "Nope. Nope. Nope." And she bolted.

Theodore and Olivia chased her around the living room while Mary laughed so hard she nearly bent over.

Just then, the front door swung open, and Adam entered, slightly out of breath.

"WHO’S PREGNANT!?" He shouted dramatically.

Everyone stared at him.

Mary blinked. "Adam. What are you talking about?"

"I heard... I got... Someone told me... Lucas got someone pregnant!" Adam wheezed, clutching his chest as if he had sprinted across the city. "I drove through eight red lights!"

Mary laughed so hard she nearly fell over. "That was me. I said that so you’d come home quickly. Otherwise, you would’ve missed this. I needed to lure you!"

Adam stared at her. "...You lied? I almost got arrested."

Mary stuck her tongue out playfully.

Any irritation left in Adam melted instantly. His heart turned to soft clay. He sighed, defeated and fully domesticated, and then turned to the children sternly:

"This is all your fault somehow."

All of them stared at him in disbelief.

The ability to shift blame was apparently hereditary.

They remained silent because arguing with Adam was the fastest route to losing all will to live.

Adam cleared his throat and asked, "So where is Lucas?"

"He’ll be here soon," Mary said.

As if summoned, the door opened again, and Lucas stepped inside.

Everyone swarmed him instantly.

"Where did you meet her? At the park? Or library? Maybe a company?"

"How old is she? Maybe a senior or junior?"

"What does she do? A business owner like you? Or secretary?"

"Is she studying? Maybe working as an intern? Is it an office romance?"

"Is she cute? Or sexy?"

Lucas raised his hands slightly, expression calm as always. "She’s twenty-five. She dropped out of college and is self-studying software development."

Silence.

Dead silence.

They had expected someone around his age... maybe a junior, maybe a senior... not someone older, not someone who had dropped out.

Aurora’s eyes narrowed slightly, not in judgment, but in curiosity. The original timeline had been different. This was new. Her presence had shifted something. Good.

"What is her background?" Aurora asked gently.

Lucas paused. His gaze lowered. His jaw clenched faintly.

"...Her past is difficult," he said quietly. "She was married. Her ex-husband abandoned her. She was... very close to giving up. I met her then. And it took time to help her stand again."

The room went still.

Mary’s eyes softened, deeply, painfully.

Because she understood.

She didn’t have to know details to feel the weight behind those words. She had lived that pain once, the humiliation, the hopelessness, and the shattered sense of self-worth.

Mary stepped forward and placed her hand over Lucas’s.

"Then we will treat her gently," she said firmly. "No one deserves to face that kind of suffering alone. She has you now. So she has us too."

Everyone nodded quietly, the weight of Mary’s words grounding them.

This wasn’t a situation to gossip about.

This was a woman who had been wounded. Deeply.

And maybe Mary could sympathize with her. She had personally witnessed what it feels like to give up after getting divorced, and honestly... she only had respect for such a woman.

Meanwhile, in a small apartment across the city, Jules stood before her mirror.

She smoothed the skirt of her blue gown, the gown Lucas had given her, and tried to steady her breathing.

Her hands were trembling.

’What should I say? What should I avoid? Should I smile? Or speak less? Will they... look down on me?’

She practiced greetings three separate times, and none sounded right.

She closed her eyes tightly.

Her biggest fear was her past. People are defined by their past, and Jules had witnessed it firsthand. Hence, she was filled with fear.

What if Lucas’s family rejects her? What if they investigate her and misunderstand her?

From the past encounters, she was sure of one thing... and that was... Lucas’s family was well-off. And Lucas wasn’t lacking women.

Oftentimes... Jules was filled with insecurities...

What if one day Lucas feels that she wasn’t worth it and breaks off their relationship?

Even though Lucas repeatedly assured her... Jules’s fear didn’t reduce at all.

’If they don’t accept me... I’ll leave.’

She loved Lucas deeply. Enough to walk away for his sake. Enough to not become a burden.

She opened her eyes again and stood straighter.

’I will tell the truth. I will not hide. If they reject me, I will let him go.’

The day passed, and Jules didn’t sleep at all. It took six rounds of repeated soothing from Lucas’s family for Jules to finally fall asleep.

By the second day, Jules had overdosed on her insecurity round no. 2 and fell asleep due to stress.

After waking up late, she quickly went to a parlor to get her look done and left in a hurry. Hence, she didn’t see the figure who was watching her with astonishment, with deep malice hidden in her eyes.

Once back in her apartment, Jules looked at the gift prepared for her future in-laws and hoped they would like it.

Ding Dong!

’You can do it, Jules! ’

She took one more breath and turned.

The door opened behind her.

Lucas stood there in a fitted tuxedo, calm and steady as ever, but his expression softened when he saw her in the gown.

The blue ribbon in his pocket matched hers perfectly.

Their eyes met.

And the tension in her heart eased, just a little.

"You look beautiful," Lucas said quietly.