Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 11

Come to think of it, Amber almost wanted to laugh.

A thirty-dollar lipstick was the absolute bare minimum for any working professional.

Plus, she had bought it with her own hard-earned money.

Did that really make her a gold digger?

Even that bag wasn't a spontaneous gift from Lucian; she had practically begged him for it after closing a massive deal right around her birthday.

Lucian had simply told her, "Buy whatever catches your eye. Don't bother me with these trivial details—don't you have all my cards anyway?"

Back then, Amber had been deeply moved, assuming Lucian was giving her free rein over his finances.

Looking back, that wasn't it at all. He just didn't want her bothering him with something as insignificant as a purchase.

With the cards in her possession, wasn't it entirely up to her whether she spent the money or not?

Lucian just wanted Amber out of his hair.

"Dad, I'm full. Take your time. And remember everything I told you today."

Amber didn't bother sugarcoating it for her father, nor did she need to.

Putting down her silverware, she grabbed her backpack from the couch and headed out for evening study hall.

Seeing this, Grace called out, "Amber, wait a minute."

Amber had no idea what she was up to. She watched as Grace moved seamlessly into the kitchen, packed some leftovers into a disposable container, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it over. "Lucian hasn't had dinner yet. Could you drop this off for him, please?"

Amber scoffed in disbelief. "Grace, if you truly consider this your home, then go to the courthouse with my dad tomorrow and get the marriage license. If you're asking me to do this as my future stepmother, I'll humor you for his sake and graciously deliver Lucian's dinner."

"Amber..."

"Since you can't even commit, don't demand anything from me. Besides, I'd rather feed the stray dogs on the street with the food I cooked than give a single bite to that jerk!"

Slam.

Amber pulled the door shut behind her. The deafening thud made Grace jump out of her skin.

"Arthur..." she began to sob again. "What on earth has gotten into Amber?"

That girl used to cater to Lucian's every whim. If he wanted pastries from the shop across town for breakfast, she would wake up at the crack of dawn to stand in line. But now, she wouldn't even drop off a ready-made dinner? She'd rather feed it to a dog?

Were these two kids trying to torture her to death?

"What did we agree on at the start? We wouldn't discuss marriage until they were off to college. I didn't deny what Amber said, it was the truth. But kids are kids, and we are adults. We've both been married before, so why make such a fuss over a second marriage?"

"Arthur, do you really not trust me?"

Grace rested her head against Arthur's chest, her eyes darting calculatingly. Once Lucian secured his acceptance letter to an elite overseas university, she was going to pack her bags and move abroad for a while. There was no way she was legally tying herself to a manual laborer.

If she ever married again, he might not have to be a billionaire CEO, but he absolutely had to be rich.

"Alright, we'll do it your way."

Arthur was a pushover, as always.

This would give him the perfect window to deeply consider the hard truths Amber had laid out for him.

"Arthur, that's the right choice. Oh, right, you should go drop off Lucian's dinner. Study hall is about to start, and he's going to go hungry. It's terrible for his focus. I'll head back and rest after I eat. I have to wake up early tomorrow to set up the food cart," Grace said, playing the martyr.

"Thank you for all your hard work, Arthur."

Arthur frowned at the untouched meal Amber had made for him, grabbing the container. "Okay, you eat first and get some rest. I'll clean the kitchen when I get back."

When Arthur rode his bike to Riverport High to deliver the food, the security guard informed him that Lucian had never shown up for study hall—he was out shopping with Joanne Xavier.