Two-thousand-word self-criticism! Nervousness wrecked Amelia as she sat upright immediately and whispered in a shaky voice, "Two-thousand-words? That's too much!" She reasoned, "Besides, it is all about the writer's sincerity which is being expressed in a self-criticism text. It shouldn't matter on the word count."
After listening to Amelia's reasoning, Lucian got up and glanced at her. Then he spoke curtly, "No Amelia, two-thousand-words is too little. If you're talking about writer's sincerity, then it can only be showed through a five-thousand-word self-criticism text."
Soon after saying so, Lucian got off the bed. His face was devoid of any expression.
Amelia eyed Lucian's perfectly sculpted figure. Even with his pajama, he looked absolutely gorgeous. Although the warmth of his love made her feel at home every time he came closer, his daunting words hurt her heart deeply.
However she couldn't dare disregard his command. She had no nerve to displease him.
While overthinking the unwanted situation, a dreading thought crossed her mind. If she didn't accept the 5000 words now, there was a high risk that it'd end up in a 10000 words and that would probably wreck her completely.
She followed after him and got off of the bed. Which was when she reminded of Courtney. Her eyes went wide in concernment. She asked Lucian worriedly, "Lucian, where is Courtney?" Amelia felt absolutely irresponsible of her immature behavior. Instead of worrying about the most important thing, she was here squabbling with Lucian.
Lucian fixed his annoyed stare on her. Amelia felt the warmth creeping up her cheeks. He must have been thinking of her carelessness. Lucian retorted, "I'm glad that you aren't a mother yet. Else, you might have lost her due to your naivety."
Amelia's brows rose and mouth gaped at the remark. Though she tried to mask her stupidity with an awkward smile.
"She must have been up by now. She drank too much last night." Lucian cocked a brow squarely at Amelia, seizing her top to bottom, then threw a warning gaze at her. "If someone is really fond of drinking, I can ask Darren to bring the best wine that has been collected and reserved by our family."
Obviously these words were not for Courtney. These were addressed to her.
Even though she pretended to be aggrieved after being called a drinker by Lucian, her heart denied to accept his accuse.
However, she didn't want to dispute his words openly. Because she had seen in the past how he reacted while being angry. He practically became a scary version of himself which Amelia absolutely didn't want to bring back.
"You don't have to go to the company today. Change your clothes, go downstairs and eat something," with a quick glance at her, Lucian drawled in a flat tone.
"Uh ... okay!" She nodded obediently and obliged.
After changing in to a fresh pair of clothes, Amelia went downstairs and saw both Lucian and Lily. However, to her disappointment, Courtney was nowhere in the sight. She asked out of unsuppressed curiosity, "Where is Courtney?"
"Mrs. Amelia, Miss Courtney has already had her lunch. She was still feeling tired so she said she would sleep a little longer." Lily was the one to answer.
"Well, that's fine, I guess." Amelia understood Courtney's avoidance. She was in a bad mood, and it'd have been for the best if she leave her alone for a while.
Her eyes wandered toward Lucian and found him concentrating on his food quietly. She was sitting opposite to him. She picked the chopsticks intending to start eating.
"Lily, please serve Mrs. Amelia a bowl of chicken soup first." By saying so, Lucian got back to eating and never once looked at Amelia.
Amelia knew how much Lucian cared about her. She blushed at the thought while drinking from her chicken soup bowl.
"Mrs. Amelia, you really scared Mr. Lucian last night." Lily took the empty bowl from Amelia as she beamed and informed her. Amelia felt her heartbeat rising. She was sure her cheeks must have taken a shade of pink by now.
"Really?" Amelia lowered her eyes feeling ashamed suddenly.
"Of course. You know what happened? Last night..."
"Lily, if you're devoid of any task right now, please go and call Frank. Ask him to meet me at the SJ Garden after lunch." Lily was immediately interrupted by Lucian before she could spill about last night's events.
Lily grinned at Amelia, her eyes glinting mischievously. She then went to the living room to call Frank.
Amelia's heart was beating rapidly. What had happened last night which she had completely forgotten? She kept stealing shy glances at Lucian throughout eating. However, to the contrary, did not observed a single expression on his face. His face displayed only expression which she sometimes considered only suited his personality. It was cold, yet full of prowess.
After the lunch was over, Frank came to meet Lucian. They discussed few official issues in a low voice before Lucian decided to leave to take care few of his obligations. However, before leaving he instructed Amelia in a stern voice, "I am going out to work. But after coming back I want your self-criticism right on my hand. So, do not go downstairs without prior finishing your self-criticism."
Amelia recognized his cold tone. It was so familiar to Vernon, who used to scold her when she did her homework wrong. Lucian's stern voice sent chills down her spine.
Amelia pouted like a child at him and watched Lucian leave until she was left alone and with a dreading task to finish a five-hundred-word self-criticism.
"Mrs. Amelia, finally I have a chance to talk to you. Do you remember anything about last night? Last night Mr. Lucian was so nice and caring to you!" As soon as Lucian left, Lily straight away came to her and blurted everything about last night with excitement. It was evident that she certainly couldn't wait any longer.
"Lily, before you tell me everything else, first answer this one question of mine. Were you the one who changed my clothes last night?" Since she left the restaurant last night, she had forgotten everything. It was just today, while she was changing her clothes, she noticed they were different than those from last night.
"Of course, I'll tell you Mrs. Amelia!" Lily giggled as she told Amelia everything in detail about what had happened last night. She realized, it was Lucian who carried her into the room.
"You mean to say... Lucian... changed my clothes?" Amelia sensed the warmth on her face. Her eyes went wide at the unexpected information. The palpitating tremors in her heart returned with full intensity when she envisioned what might have happened last night.
The vision of Lucian taking her clothes off of her and helping her get into new ones, flashed before her eyes.
Her face flushed at the thought. She realized the truth that she no more had any privacy regarding her body in front of Lucian.
When they first met, he obviously had taken photos of her. But this... The color of her face took a shade of crimson.
Amelia couldn't imagine any further. She felt as if she was in a state of frenzy.
"Mrs. Amelia, why are you so silent? This shows how extremely important you are to Mr. Lucian. He truly loves you so much." In Lily's eyes, Lucian was a handsome perfect man. He was successful and she really considered him as a thoughtful husband who loved his wife dearly.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Since She Met Lucian