Free Web NovelChapter 86: Come again soon.
"You need my help to open a can."
Dianne looked at him with a deadpan look on her face.
"That’s because I do not wish to crush it with my power."
"..."
Dianne didn’t know what to say, Martin just grinned. Lucian smiled at the interaction, then, he leaned towards Martin and—
"And where did you two go?"
He questioned seriously.
"Oh we went to many... many different places."
Martin answered with a dreamy look on his face.
"Gambling.
They went to gamble."
Dianne snorted.
"We only went there for a while."
Martin corrected.
"And you lost money."
"No, we gained experience.
It’s different.
First you learn, then you earn."
"Then why didn’t you earn?"
"I learned I shouldn’t gamble at all."
"...so you lost money."
"Woman, I said I gained experience.
I saved us from losing millions!"
Martin didn’t give in and the entire room just looked at him. Lucian actually smiled, these people... they were still like how they were before.
Dianne looked at him and smiled.
"The point is, men in this family have always been very good at making us worry."
She then looked at Lucian and—
"You are family too."
Lucian smiled at those words.
"I will try to be less worrying."
"Hmph!"
At those words, Naomi snorted in an instant.
"What?"
Lucian looked at her.
"You should be the last person I want to hear that from.
Less worrying?
You want me to list things you did in just a month!?"
"I said I will do better!"
Lucian countered.
"You say a lot of things!"
Naomi wasn’t having it.
For a moment, the two glared at each other. Martin leaned back and looked at the two.
"You two should spend more time together."
"For once, your father is right."
Naomi froze at those words.
Lucian looked at Martin and then Dianne.
"Mom!"
Naomi turned to her mother.
"What? The world is not a good place. People need people."
"A rare wise sentence from your mother."
Martin raised his mug. Dianne looked at him and—
"Darling, you don’t have any more sick leaves, remember? You need to go to work."
She ’smiled’ gently, Martin understood the meaning instantly and quickly turned silent. Dianne then turned back to Lucian and—
"You and Naomi grew up together, you know each other, you should not become strangers just because life became difficult."
Lucian smiled at those words.
"Closer huh..."
Lucian repeated those words as he looked at Naomi.
He had... complicated thoughts in his head.
He couldn’t exactly be close to her.
Not her.
He didn’t want her to get hurt.
However, as Naomi noticed his gaze, she completely misunderstood and remembered something she should not. Her ears turned faintly red, before anyone could notice, she quickly stood up and—
"I’ll get tea!"
"We already have tea."
Dianne frowned.
"I’ll bring more."
"Naomi."
"Snacks too!"
Lucian blinked at that reaction, Naomi rushed, then, just as she passed him on the way to the kitchen, she kicked his foot under the table.
"Ackk!"
He groaned in pain, just to give her the satisfaction, he obviously wasn’t actually hurt.
Martin watched the exchange with a light smile on his face.
"Hm."
Naomi stopped.
"What?"
She asked.
"Nothing."
"You said hm."
"A man cannot hum in his own house?"
Martin acted innocent, Naomi glared at him. Her reaction however, only made Dianne more suspicious.
"What happened?"
She questioned.
"Nothing."
Naomi answered almost instantly.
"Nothing happened, Aunt."
Lucian smiled lightly.
Dianne looked at the two of them.
"Ah."
Martin sipped tea with ease, but Naomi glared at him and—
"Do not ah either."
"I need a new house."
Martin complained. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Lucian laughed.
It had been a while since he felt... this strange warmth.
Dianne saw his smile and her expression softened, she then gently touched Lucian’s wrist and—
"Jokes aside, we mean it."
Lucian looked at her hand, then at her.
"Your parents were not just our friends. They were family to us."
That was when Martin’s face turned serious as well.
"That is correct.
Your father was my closest friend."
Lucian’s smile faded.
The room momentarily turned silent.
Martin looked at him and—
"He once told me that if anything ever happened to him, I should keep an eye on you.
I have done a poor job till now.
I’d like to change that now."
Lucian looked at him. Honestly, he didn’t know what he was supposed to say, but in his heart... he felt... grateful.
It felt good knowing he had these people, however, he wasn’t going to rely on them. He would maintain distance, he couldn’t put them at risk.
The dinner continued, seeing that the atmosphere was getting heavier, Lucian shifted the conversation to easier topics.
Martin noticed what he was doing and helped and soon, easier topics began.
Naomi’s classes, Martin’s opinion of modern music and how ’shit’ it was, Dianne pointing out how he liked most of the modern songs, Martin countering, they also asked about Lucian’s work, he only gave vague answers, Naomi once again accused Lucian of being suspicious, Lucian defended himself by saying how that was only a part of his charm, something Martin agreed to.
He gave Lucian the wise wisdom of how women liked puzzles and always chased after the mysterious, all while Dianne glared at him with a ’smile’.
Uncle Martin had no idea what was going to happen to him very soon.
Lucian who noticed everything only prayed for him, though he could see that wasn’t going to end well.
Eventually, the dinner ended and Lucian stood up to leave. Dianne packed more food for him despite his protests, the family walked him to the door and—
"Come again soon."
Lucian nodded.
"I will."
He had no intention of coming back.
Distance.
He needed to create distance.
With that thought in his mind, he walked away.
Bzzz
That was when his phone buzzed again.
A message from Claire.
For a moment, Lucian stood there with Dianne’s packed food in one hand and the Enclave’s message in the other.
And...
He couldn’t help but marvel at the contrast.
Warmth of a family and... coldness of his revenge...
It was... strange to think about how different it was.
Not that it mattered.
He had already made a decision.
Lucian’s violet eyes turned colder as he opened Claire’s text and replied.
Revenge.
That was the only thing that mattered.
