CHAPTER 39: A RAINY AND SCARY NIGHT

Ever since the fight with Laura, not only did Lucas lock Laura in the room for self-reflection all day, but he also hired several tutors for Beauty.

From etiquette to physical training to interest cultivation, almost everything from playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting have been covered.

No matter if she was at home or at grandpa’ s house, she was always left to her own devices.

No one ever forced her to learn anything; it was all what she was interested in.

Was it perhaps her inherited mother’s artistic temperament?

Even as a child, as soon as she picked up a pen, she would want to draw on white paper.

Just a few random strokes were enough to shape something, it was as if her talent was innate.

But over so many years she had not touched a brush for a long time.

For her, someone who had to worry about basic necessities, such luxuries were nonessential.

Ever since that time, she hadn’t seen Lucas for over a month.

The servants at home would never voluntarily mention him, and she did not ask.

However, everything in her life was closely related to him, especially the tutors he had hired.

It was as if they had his permission, they never showed her a friendly face.

"Miss Beauty, you’ve already rested for ten minutes!"

The cold voice of the physical training teacher passed over, as if it was drifting from a faraway place.

She didn’t know why, but these tutors who were invited over by him, they all shared his cold and indifferent character.

Their speech drifted, with exceptionally sharp eyes.

Where there was oppression, there was resistance!

Beauty, had been frustrated for a long time!

"I’m not practicing anymore!

Being tossed about like this every day, my bones are about to break.

You can report back to that crazy uncle!

Just tell him this miss will not do it anymore!"

Beauty gracefully sat down onto the couch, holding her slender waist.

She saw that her little feet were covered with wounds, and her right leg felt like it no longer belonged to her.

She arbitrarily pulled off the snow-white towel hanging around her neck and tossed it onto the rack, loudly saying, "You still have half an hour of splits and yoga left.

If you can’t complete them today, the task will be doubled tomorrow.

If you continue to not be able to finish them, I will come and monitor you every day.

If Miss does not eat, I will also not eat."

How dare they threaten her with meals!

Back in grandpa’s military district, although the conditions were not as good as these villas, she was not short of food and drink.

Her grandfather would always have the housemaid prepare whatever she desired to eat.

"You are physically punishing me!

What kind of place doesn’t allow people to eat?

If something happens to me, can you take responsibility?"

Beauty raised her chin, her eyes staring straight at the instructor.

After a full day of physical training, her legs and waist felt like they were falling apart.

She looked up only to find that it was pouring rain outside again.

Wind caused the plane trees on both sides to rustle, and a few small trees in the distance could not withstand the ravages of the storm and were cut off at the waist.

She sighed deeply, felt that one day her willowy waist and thin legs would be broken like that tree!

"Boom" Lightning struck from afar, one thunderbolt hit a big tree, causing it to break into two in an instant, like a green wall collapsing.

In her uneasy shock, Beauty suddenly noticed the studio lights unexpectedly went out.

It was pitch black all around, so dark she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her.

She pressed her body against the railing of the window and struggled to look outside, but it was still pitch black.

It was as though the entire world had darkened.

The villa area was located in a relatively remote place away from the city center.

Because Lucas loved quietness so much, aside from this big villa, there was only the riverside and park nearby, with no other households around.

The door to the dance studio was not closed, she could faintly hear the servants downstairs discussing something in a language she didn’t understand, probably about the blackout in the villa area.

Lucas wouldn’t allow her to use her cellphone, there was only a landline phone in the bedroom which she could use to contact him anytime, but she never did.

It was pitch black all around, especially inside this huge villa, which made everything seem even scarier!

The scattered shadows of trees outside shimmered on the glass window, appearing like a towering giant emitting a "huffing" sound under the dim yellow moonlight.

This made Beauty’s hairs stand up in fear.

Unfortunately, she had just finished reading a few horrifying novels, most of which occurred in large mansions like this one.

Furthermore, Favor was not around today, leaving her all alone on this floor.

The maid handed her a vintage European-style oil lamp.

Beauty held the oil lamp tightly, becoming more and more anxious.

Even her own shadow on the wall scared her half to death.

She missed a step and knelt down all of a sudden.

One hand held the oil lamp while the other rested on the ground; the pain in her knee furrowed her brows.

She had no idea where she was now.

It seemed that her room was around the corner.

Relying on the faint candlelight, she gathered up some courage.

As she opened the door, she found the room pitch-black.

When she entered, she realized she had walked into the wrong room, as the décor was wildly different from her own.

As soon as she walked in, a chill ran down her spine.

Suddenly, the housekeeper’s warning echoed in her mind, "Don’t enter the first room on the right on the third floor.

That area is forbidden in this mansion.

Other than the cleaning staff, only Lucas is allowed to go in."

"Could this be that room..."

A sense of foreboding arose in Beauty’s heart, but curiosity propelled her to continue forward.

She had always been fascinated by the forbidden area mentioned by the housekeeper.

She didn’t expect that its door would be left ajar today.

Naturally, she decided to satisfy her curiosity and have a look.

With the thought of possibly finding a treasure here, she began to tread carefully forward, afraid of kicking anything.

The howling wind blew in from the outside of the window, causing her to uncontrollably shrink back.

She moved forward to close the window, keen on preventing the rain outside from blowing in.

It seemed the servants cleaned the room in a hurry forgetting to close the windows and doors.

Having shut the window, a gust of wind swept past, and the oil lamp in her hand extinguished completely.

There was a faint glow originally, but now everything was pitch dark, even the faint silhouette of branches outside was invisible.

A chill ran down her spine, and she sneezed involuntarily.

Afraid of being heard by the servants, she quickly covered her mouth.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

As the light came near, she felt her whole body hair standing upright, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.

In the dim light of the sky, she clearly saw a picture frame placed in the center of the room, which was even taller than herself.

The frame was silver.

It was a picture of a girl.

Clear eyebrow, beautifully bright eyes, she stared directly at her.

What scared her the most was that the photo was in black and white, the girl dressed in a long white dress, her smile bright, her face full of happiness.

"Boom"

Another lightning bolt flashed across, and this time she saw everything clearer.

Underneath the photograph was a small tombstone with an inscription: In memory of beloved wife, Amelia.

Terrified, she dared not breathe heavily, and her hands tightly covered her mouth.

The surroundings were filled with white lilies and daisies, as well as portraits of various sizes.

There were individual pictures of the girl, as well as ones with Lucas.

Each one sent chills down her spine.

Ignoring her bleeding knees, she immediately scrambled up from the ground and staggered towards the exit.

She walked right into a solid chest that immediately repelled her frail body, causing her to fall to the ground once again.

The strong beam of the flashlight made it hard for her to keep her eyes open, and she shielded her eyes with her hand, turning her head to the side.

"Amelia, is that you returning?"

Lucas’s cold voice echoed, tainted with a hint of tipsiness, making his speech somewhat slurred.