CHAPTER 110: DO YOU LOVE HER?

Sarah left the banquet before it ended, missing the scene where Drake and Samantha kissed in front of everyone.

Lucas glanced at his wristwatch, his brows slightly furrowed as he said coolly to Beauty, "I’ll have the driver take you and Laura home first.

I won’t be back tonight."

His gaze lingered on her face as he spoke, his thin lips parting slightly, his expression unreadable.

Beauty nodded obediently—she didn’t want to stay here anyway.

The sight of Drake and Samantha made her chest tighten with discomfort.

At least Mr. Ryan had already taken Sarah home, which made her even less inclined to linger.

Still, she desperately wanted to ask, *"If you’re not coming home tonight, will you be with Amanda?"*

But after catching a glimpse of the smile playing on Amanda’s lips, she swallowed the words.

What right did she even have to question him?

Guests were now leaving in a steady stream, with the elders standing at the hotel entrance to bid them farewell.

Drake, however, seemed in low spirits, his brows tightly knit as he ignored everyone around him.

"I’ll have the driver take you home.

It’s late, and you have work early tomorrow."

"But... I could stay and keep you company."

Samantha forced a faint, pleading smile, looking up at Drake with a coquettish expression, hoping to convince him to let her stay the night.

Though Drake often brought her home, he had never allowed her to spend the night.

No matter how late it got, he always had the driver take her back—a habit that wounded her pride deeply.

She was ready to give herself to him completely.

Though they had been intimate before, it had been so long she could barely remember the last time.

"It’s getting late.

I have other matters to attend to with Lucas later.

Be a good girl and I’ll see you tomorrow."

Drake’s face was set in stone, his expression as cold as if it had just been pulled from a freezer.

She knew that despite his detached tone, he was already angry.

If she insisted on staying, she would only provoke him further—and then she might not see him for days.

After all these years, she still couldn’t fully grasp Drake’s temperament.

The only thing she knew was that whenever he spoke to her with that look in his eyes, his patience had run out.

She couldn’t push her luck any further.

"Alright, I’ll head back then.

Don’t stay up too late—get some rest.

Happy birthday!"

Samantha stepped forward, her arms lifting slightly as if to embrace him.

But when she saw his utter lack of response, she let her hands drop, pressed her lips together, and strode away without another word.

From the very beginning, her love had been destined to be one-sided.

"You men are really..." Amanda swallowed the rest of her words.

She didn’t know how to describe it.

Maybe love was just like this sometimes—never quite what you hoped for.

And wasn’t she in the same boat?

But Lucas’s next words left her speechless.

Before she could even process Samantha’s melancholy, Lucas’s cool gaze settled on her for a brief moment before he said flatly,

"Should I take you home first?"

At the very least, she could take comfort in the fact that he hadn’t asked anyone else to escort her.

He was doing it himself.

Compared to Samantha, wasn’t she already lucky?

Ever since her cousin’s death, Lucas’s attitude toward her has remained unchanged—neither warm nor cold.

Yet he clearly paid her more attention than other women—perhaps a form of compensation in its own way.

It was as if he were transferring the care he once had for Amelia onto her.

But it was just that—simple concern, devoid of any romantic affection.

Many assumed they would naturally end up together.

Even she herself harbored the illusion that his love for Amelia might one day shift to her.

After all, no one understood his feelings for Amelia better than she did.

But still... The car ride was quiet, as it always was when they were alone together.

Silence had become their unspoken agreement.

"I heard some things." Amanda was the one to finally break the stillness, instantly replacing it with an awkward tension so thick it seemed to hang in the air.

Lucas remained as indifferent as ever, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Heard what?" "I heard about you and Beauty.

Is it true?"

She had been holding it for days, but seeing Beauty standing beside him today—looking so perfectly matched—had worn down her restraint.

A faint twitch flickered across Lucas’s brow, though his eyes stayed calm.

"What exactly did you hear?

Did Drake tell you, or was it Samantha?"

Instead of answering, he turned the question back on her, his tone icy and edged with displeasure.

The traffic light turned red, and the car rolled to a stop.

Lucas lowered the window, letting the night wind rush in, sharp and bracing.

"Does it really matter who told me?

I just want to know—have you really moved on from Amelia?"

Normally, she avoided those two words like the plague in front of Lucas, terrified of provoking his anger.

But today—whether it was the alcohol or the way he’d acted toward Beauty that stirred some inexplicable crisis in her—she felt reckless.

A cold gust of wind rushed through the window, sending a shiver down her spine.

She instinctively turned her gaze outside.

Compared to the icy aura radiating from Lucas, the chilly night breeze from the river was nothing.

The silence stretched for over a minute, so long she thought he wouldn’t answer at all.

Then, at last, his voice cut through the quiet, cold and detached.

Amelia is gone.

Whether I remember her or not, she’s never coming back.

Dwelling on it only tortures me—better to let go.

She’ll always have a place in my heart.

I’ve never forgotten her."

Amanda let out a sudden, bitter laugh.

She had no idea where this boldness came from.

In the past, she would’ve swallowed her words long ago.

"That’s just an excuse to make yourself feel better!

You’ve fallen for Beauty, haven’t you?"

Her face twisted, brows knitting together sharply.

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, threatening to spill over.

"You’re drunk."

Lucas ignored her question entirely, his tone a cold warning.

His patience was wearing thin—he’d never been a patient man, least of all with her.

The car pulled up in front of her family mansion, its windows aglow with light.

The driver opened the door, but Lucas remained unmoving.

"Get some rest.

You’ve said too much tonight."

"Goodbye... Goodnight."

She knew she’d angered him.

The past was a wound he couldn’t bear to have prodded.

He’d been unusually tolerant with her tonight, and she knew she’d pushed too far.

Reluctantly, she stepped out of the car, forcing a small wave before turning away, her steps heavy with resignation.