Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 115

Vance was jolted awake by a freezing cold splash of water.

He opened his eyes to the expansive sky above and Amber sitting next to him, casually sipping an iced latte.

Startled, he bolted up. "Amber..."

He felt like he'd just had a nightmare where the two of them were surrounded by five thugs. But now that he was awake, there was only Amber. As soon as he spoke, she handed him a drink. "You're awake? Good. Now come with me to Madison Digital Plaza. My phone broke, and I need a new one."

She completely ignored the sheer bewilderment written all over his face. "Honestly, you're over six feet tall, and you passed out from heatstroke just walking to school?"

"And you have some nerve! Because you passed out, I had to carry you! We were in the middle of nowhere, I couldn't hail a cab, and I ended up falling and breaking my phone. I don't care, you're taking responsibility by coming with me to buy a new one."

"Got it?"

Vance shrank back like a startled quail. "Heatstroke? Wait, no, Amber..."

"What, you're gonna say we were targeted by criminals? And that you didn't have heatstroke? You're hallucinating. We're high school seniors, why would thugs surround us? To demand lunch money? All the way out here?"

Vance knew something felt incredibly wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

His eyes went wide as he stared at the bruises on Amber's face. Pointing at his own cheek, he asked in disbelief, "Did I do that when we fell?"

She shot him a glare. "Who else?"

"Hurry up and get off the ground. I need a phone. I already used yours to call Ms. Harper. We're skipping the afternoon classes and just going to evening study hall."

"Are you still dizzy? What, you want me to carry you again?"

Amber glared fiercely at Vance, who was still sitting in the dirt.

Scratching the back of his head, he stood up, practically radiating confusion. But before he could even ask another question, Amber had already hailed a taxi to the electronics plaza.

Amber kept the truth from him for his own good.

Thankfully, Sharif had assigned a private investigator to shadow her. While she was being chased, the investigator had checked on Vance. Luckily, they were in a secluded area, so Vance had just been tased and left unconscious without any permanent harm.

It was best to let the unpleasant memory fade away.

Back in the classroom, Lucian walked in to find that neither Amber nor Vance had returned. He immediately frowned.

A classmate teased, "Hey Prez, wondering where Amber and Vance ran off to?"

When Lucian didn't answer, the classmate flashed a knowing, suggestive smile. "Some alumni saw them holding hands and taking a stroll down in the development district. Do you think there's something going on between them?"

Both he and Amber were commuters. He had legitimate reasons to miss a few classes, but why was she skipping?!

His mind kept flashing back to the classmate's words: Holding hands and taking a stroll in the development district?! Lucian felt like he couldn't breathe. Amber didn't have many hobbies, but she loved walking, especially down quiet, scenic paths.

He always attracted mosquitoes and hated the outdoors, so she compromised by finding shaded avenues lined with sycamore trees or pristine, empty streets.

She used to tell him that simply holding hands and walking shoulder-to-shoulder in comfortable silence was the most romantic, blissful feeling in the world.

In his past life, he had been sponsored to study abroad for four years, and upon returning, spent the next five relentlessly building his startup. Honestly, they had never gone on a proper date.

No movies. No candlelit dinners at high-end restaurants.

Partly because he found those things superficial, but mostly because he legitimately had no time.

Reborn into this life, Lucian still found such trivialities beneath him. But Amber was moving way too fast. Giving the laptop she originally bought for him to Vance was one thing, but taking romantic strolls with him too?!

The more he thought about it, the more the veins in his forehead throbbed. —She really will do anything just to make me mad!

It wasn't like he hadn't told her—if she just swallowed her pride and apologized, he was still willing to give her another chance.