Since She Met Lucian

Amelia blushed in embarrassment. She felt Lucian's eyes on her before he left. When she looked up again, he was gone already.
Afternoon had already come and the sun was up, giving her a bit of warmth.
"Amelia, you don't really have to push Lucian away because he genuinely loves you." Despite Carlotta not knowing the real
reason behind Amelia and Lucian's separation, she could tell how much Lucian loved Amelia based on his actions alone.
"Carlotta, come in and have a seat!" Amelia decided to change the topic since she really wasn't in the mood to talk about Lucian.
"You should definitely rest at home first before going back to work," Carlotta said in a worried tone—wisely taking the hint that
Amelia wanted to change the topic already.
Amelia couldn't help but be moved at how concerned Carlotta was for her. Carlotta even went to find Shelly for revenge on her
behalf. Carlotta was acting as if she was family to Amelia and that was very touching.
Amelia agreed. She had intended to invite Carlotta inside the house but Carlotta still had to prepare for a meeting that afternoon.
Perhaps it was the change in weather or her pregnancy but Amelia fell asleep as soon as she arrived home. When she woke up,
it was already evening. She went to the living room only to find that the house was completely dark save for the dim lights that
were turned on in the yard.
It was already eight in the evening—she had quite a long nap.
She couldn't find Mrs. Chen, perhaps she had gone to dance in the square nearby.
Suddenly, her phone started ringing. She reached for the lights and switched it on.
It was Jonny calling. She suddenly remembered calling him in the afternoon about the accident but had forgotten to update him
after.
"Lucian's already told me. How's the wound? Is it serious?" Jonny blurted out right away much to her surprise.
Stunned, she said, "It's not that serious."
"Shelly crossed the line this time. I need to tell her off," Jonny said rather calmly.

Amelia's heart immediately tightened upon hearing this. She quickly said, "If you really want the best for me, just let it be.
Pretend you don't know anything." Her intention for telling him wasn't to tell off Shelly but hope he could protect his own sister.
"The soft-hearted ones are always the ones who suffer." Jonny sighed then he added, "How's your appetite? Do you have
anything you want to eat? I can bring you whatever you want."
"My appetite's fine, Jonny. You don't have to worry about me. If I want to eat something, I can just buy it on my own. I'll take good
care of myself and the baby," she answered with a smile.
"That's good. You won't have to put up with any of this soon," Jonny continued.
Despite Amelia's confusion, she didn't think much about it. Putting on a smile, she said, "I'm fine. I don't feel bad or anything."
Mrs. Chen treated her like her own granddaughter. She lived in a good and quiet place and now with Courtney accompanying
her, she wasn't lonely at all.
After the call with Jonny, Amelia called Mrs. Chen and asked her if she wanted to have dinner with her at home.
When the call was picked up, Amelia heard the sounds of mahjong in the background. With that, she hung up knowing that Mrs.
Chen wasn't going to be home for dinner.
She liked her own cooking so she had no problems cooking her own dinner.
While Amelia was cooking, someone came knocking at the door. This confused Amelia as she thought Mrs. Chen wasn't going to
be home until later that evening. Courtney wasn't returning until later too.
'Could it be Lucian?' Amelia felt giddy at the possibility.
She tried to ignore the knocking but it just got worse—soon, the pounding was so strong that Amelia feared the door would break
down.
Amelia then figured that it probably wasn't Lucian because if it was, he wouldn't be knocking so harshly.
She walked to the door in a hurry, clenching her fists, she asked, "Who is it?"
The knocking continued as a male voice roared from the outside, "I'm looking for Amelia!"

Amelia was sweating out of nervousness and fear now. The man outside was specifically looking for her. At a loss, she took out
her phone but she didn't know who to call.
She came across Lucian's number and wondered if she should call him.
"Open the door!" the man outside urged.
Amelia dialed Lucian's number right away. Thankfully, Lucian answered right away.
When Lucian's voice came, Amelia felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. Holding her breath, she said in a low
voice, "Someone's knocking at the door and he seems very angry. I don't know what's going on..."
"Don't open the door. I'll be right there!" Lucian then hung up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Amelia leaned against the door, trying to calm herself down despite the commotion going on
outside.
"Amelia, I know you're there. If you don't open the door, I can't promise you your safety!" the man outside threatened her angrily.
Amelia clenched her fists. Beads of sweat were falling down her forehead and her heart was pounding wildly.
She prayed in her heart that Lucian would come over soon.
Crack! With a loud noise, half of the red wooden door collapsed. Frightened, Amelia stood up right away.
She was sitting by the door. Thankfully, she'd already gotten on her feet when the man broke down the other half of the door with
his car.
The bearded man looked like he was in his 40s. The minute he caught sight of Amelia, he charged towards her like a hungry
wolf. Seductively, he wheezed, "You're so beautiful. I've been lusting after you for so long!"
Amelia had frozen in fear, her face in utter shock.
This angered the bearded man even more. Licking his lips, he said, "Don't even try to resist or I won't hesitate to beat you up!"
He raised his fist as if to threaten her.

Suddenly, something seemed to click in Amelia's mind—she recognized the man to be the vendor at the fruit store she passed
by every day. How did he know that she lived here? How did he know her name?
She found this odd but she had to find a way to stall him as it would take Lucian at least 20 minutes to get here.
"Aren't you selling fruit under the pedestrian bridge?" Amelia remembered him because every time she passed by the fruit store,
she'd hear the man laughing and telling jokes to his customers. She'd actually bought from him twice already and his beard was
quite memorable too.
The bearded man seemed surprised that Amelia had recognized him. Mindlessly touching his face, he denied anxiously, "No! I
don't sell fruits! You must have mistaken me for someone else."
He started to pace back and forth, visibly embarrassed.
While Amelia couldn't understand why he would suddenly be so nervous, she knew there had to be a reason behind it.
"At your age, I should be calling you uncle! If you have any goodness left in you, you won't do anything to me. It's the best
decision for your sake and mine," Amelia tried to persuade him.
Unfortunately, the bearded man seemed unfazed. Suddenly, he closed in the distance between him and Amelia, wrapping his
one hand around her throat and the other pointing towards her room. He threatened, "Well, at this hour, no one would ever know.
I suggest you just shut up and do as I say. In the morning, you're going to pretend as if nothing happened."
This was horrible.
After a momentary pause, Amelia said coldly, "You did a bad thing and I covered it up for you but I'm not stupid!"
Suddenly, the lights shut off. The bearded man tightened his grip on Amelia's throat, effectively choking her. She tried to get out
a word but she couldn't.
"Then I'm going to teach you a lesson!" The bearded man wore a vicious expression. Grasping her throat, he used his other
hand to grip her waist.
Amelia tried to resist but she had to think of her baby—if things got too violent, it could hurt the baby.
The only thing she could do now was hope that Lucian would show up soon.

After getting the call from Amelia, Lucian quickly drove to her home.
Just when he was a few turns away from Amelia's place, he saw a sign for road rescue. Irritated, he made a turn and decided to
change routes.
With that, Lucian decided to call Amelia and make sure that she was still safe.
He dialed the number but no one answered.
This made him worry even more so he slammed his foot on the gas pedal, speeding off.
Amelia wanted to answer her phone but the bearded man blocked her.
"You stay quiet and get in bed! No one's going to come rescue you tonight! You're all mine!" The bearded man had shut off
Amelia's phone.
Amelia felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. As much as she wanted to fight back, she couldn't because she
had to think of the baby.
The man threw her phone aside and approached Amelia, an evil smile on his face.
"You keep still!" Amelia trembled with fear, her back sweating profusely.
"Dinner's served. Who could say no to a dish that's already been served on the table?" The bearded man approached Amelia. In
fear, Amelia tried to turn to the side but he had already pulled her into his arms. He whispered in her ear, "Well, aren't you
stubborn? I'm going to kill you if you move!"
When he had finished speaking, he eyed Amelia maliciously, ready to pounce on her.