Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 459

Chapter 459 The Scent of Trouble

Lucas had clearly put a significant amount of thought into choosing this location.

When the server led Tammy inside, he looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. She walked with a natural, powerful confidence, the black gown contouring her athletic frame perfectly. Combined with her striking, exotic features, she looked like a goddess stepped straight out of Greek mythology–bold, vibrant, and stunning.

The moment she appeared, the eyes of every guest in the restaurant were drawn to her.

Tammy ignored the stares entirely, walking straight toward Lucas. It seemed that in this entire world, her eyes only held room for him. That was simply her nature–once she set her sights on something, she charged forward without a second glance at the scenery along the way.

“Have

you been waiting long?”

“No, I just arrived. Please, sit.”

Lucas stood up with gentlemanly grace and pulled out her chair. “What would you like to eat?” he asked, scanning the menu.

Tammy patted her stomach and offered a single, direct word: “Meat.”

She thought for a moment and added, “Lots of meat.”

A smile played on Lucas’s lips. “Alright. I’ll order plenty of meat for you.”

Tammy didn’t feel a hint of self–consciousness. Her eyes darted around the exquisite surroundings. “This place is beautiful. Is this how Hindersville used to look?”

“In a way. It’s modeled after the classical gardens. I’ll have to give you a proper tour of the history sometime.”

“I’d like that!” Her smile was so radiant it outshone the carefully manicured landscape around them.

Lucas began to relax, making light conversation with her, though he hesitated to broach the real reason for their meeting. He hadn’t yet figured out how to say what needed to be said. Tammy, meanwhile, was treating this as a pure date, her happiness written plainly across her face.

Halfway through the meal, she excused herself to use the restroom.

As she was washing her hands, a woman standing nearby looked her up and down with a sneer. She muttered under her breath, “They’ll let any kind of trash in here these days. This place is

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becoming a joke.”

Tammy turned off the faucet and turned toward her, her voice sharp. “What did you say?”

Her Mandarin had improved significantly; she was now fluent enough to catch the venom in the woman’s tone. She knew she was being insulted.

“I didn’t say anything,” the woman scoffed.

Tammy was tall and lean, but she carried the dormant power of a predator. Just by stepping closer, she exerted a crushing pressure that was genuinely intimidating. At nearly five–foot- eight, she easily towered over the smaller woman.

The woman instinctively recoiled, a flash of fear in her eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?

any closer and I’m calling the police!”

Get

Tammy arched an eyebrow, her expression mocking. “I haven’t done anything. Why are you so scared?”

“Just get away from me!”

“Coward.” Tammy dismissed her with a look of pure contempt and turned to walk away.

The woman shook with rage and spat at Tammy’s retreating back, “Just another whore out for sale. Who do you think you are?”

Tammy didn’t understand the slang, so she didn’t stop.

When she returned to the table, Lucas noticed her darkened expression. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”

Tammy was still mulling over the word. “What does it mean when a Hindersville person calls you a ‘chicken‘? Chicken is delicious no matter how you cook it. Why would she use it as an insult?”

Lucas’s expression shifted instantly. “Who said that to you?”

“So it is an insult?”

“Yes. It’s a very filthy thing to say. Who was it?”

Tammy pressed him. “But what does it mean?”

Lucas felt a wave of awkwardness, unsure of how to explain it to someone so literal. “It’s not important.”

“Tell me!”

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Under her relentless questioning, Lucas finally sighed. “It refers to the… ‘flower girls‘ on the island.”

Tammy surged to her feet, her face pale with fury, her teeth bared. “Are you sure?”

She knew exactly what a flower girl was. On the island, everyone worked hard to survive, mastering every skill they could. But there were always those who preferred to cling to others, refusing to rely on themselves. Those women lived in separate treehouses, taking in different men every night in exchange for food.

Tammy despised them. She couldn’t fathom why someone would choose to submit to a man when they were perfectly capable of feeding themselves. And now, someone had dared to call her that.

Seeing her face turn from pale to a dangerous, burning red, Lucas grew worried. “Tammy, calm down.”

“Wait for me!”

She turned and marched away. She was not the type to settle scores later; if there was a debt to be paid, she collected it on the spot.

The woman was no longer in the immediate area, but Tammy had memorized her scent—a cloying, artificial perfume. She could track her anywhere.

“Tammy! Don’t! Tammy!”

Feeling helpless, Lucas hurried after her. But Tammy was too fast. She ducked through a series of corridors and vanished. The restaurant was a literal labyrinth of garden paths and interconnected halls; even the staff took months to learn the layout.

Lucas lost her in seconds. A sudden spike of anxiety hit him, and he immediately called for the servers to help find her.

Meanwhile, in a private dining room, the woman was complaining to her friends, “I saw this street–walker in the restroom just now. Dressed like she was practically begging for it. I can’t believe they let people like that in here. It’s disgusting.”

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