Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 68

"Don't be ridiculous! Putting aside the fact that I'm your elder and Lucian's mother, we are both women. Only a woman can truly understand another woman. I'm telling you this woman-to-woman. If you insist I'm just looking out for my son, I won't deny it—because you two are going to spend your lives together, and I naturally want you to be happy."

"You've been angry for days now, haven't you? You don't even know this, but Lucian can barely function without you—he's been ordering takeout! You've babied him, cared for him, and compromised for him more than I have. You'd wake up early just to wait in line for his favorite pastries so he wouldn't have to eat the cafeteria food."

"You should have seen the state of his apartment when your dad and I went over today. It smelled awful. The table was covered in trash, and his dirty clothes were everywhere. I yelled at him, Amber. I really did. I told him he was an idiot for taking you for granted. I told him he must be blind to mistreat someone as wonderful as you."

"Just look at how pathetic he is—eating junk and wearing dirty clothes. Forgive him. I'll help you keep him in line, I promise. As soon as I go back, I'll make him apologize to you properly. Stop being so angry, okay?"

Grace even squeezed out a few tears. "I just got out of the hospital, I've been running around all day, the apartment is still a mess, and I'm starving. Amber..."

"It's a shame you didn't become an actress, Grace. Am I supposed to forgive him just because he ordered takeout and doesn't have clean clothes? Didn't he bring that on himself?"

"What, are you trying to manipulate me into acting like my dad? Doing everything for you while you lie in a hospital bed, having someone run your business and hand you the cash? You had a pretty comfortable stay, didn't you? If anything, you should be paying for that level of service. Only the one writing the checks gets to enjoy that kind of luxury."

Amber smirked. It was genuinely hilarious. Was she supposed to pity Lucian for living in his own filth? Wasn't it entirely his own fault?

He had despised her, spat on her, disgusted her, and ultimately killed her. Now he wanted to play the victim?

Did he even deserve her pity?!

"Amber..."

"I'm not going to play this game, Grace. Whoever wants to wait on your son can do it. Doesn't he like Joanne? Go give this speech to her. I'm sure Lucian would be much happier hearing it from her than from me."

"Alright, stop wasting my time. I have dishes to wash, a kitchen to clean, and studying to do. The Olympiad is tomorrow."

Amber shooed her away again.

Grace gritted her teeth. The girl was completely impenetrable.

"I am the adult here, and you're just a child. I'm not going to argue with you. I'll sit right here and wait for your father. I want to hear it from him if he really intends to cut ties with me over this."

Grace pulled out her ultimate weapon: sheer stubbornness. She slammed her hand on the small dining table and planted herself on the sofa, radiating entitlement.

She was going to demand an explanation today!

She wanted to see if Arthur actually had the nerve to turn his back on her!

Amber was completely unfazed. "Fine. Wait as long as you want."

He had gorged himself in the early hours of the morning, but hadn't eaten a bite since. Staring at the cold, empty kitchen, he muttered, "Ugh." He was absolutely sick of this.

Just as he was debating ordering takeout again, his phone rang. It was Joanne.

He answered immediately. "Joanne, where are you? Why haven't you answered me all day?"

Joanne was currently at a bar. Realizing it was late enough that Grace probably wouldn't be hunting her down anymore, and remembering Lucian had his big competition tomorrow, she graciously decided to return his call.

"I'm so sorry, Lucian. My phone died. Wade came over, and I've been trying to convince him to wait until tomorrow to get my dad's money back."

"Good luck on the Olympiad tomorrow! Promise me you'll win that fifty thousand dollars." She injected a fake sob into her voice. If Lucian had his past life's connections, he would know she wasn't negotiating with any loan shark. Dressed provocatively with a cigarette in hand, she was leaning against the bar's balcony, flirting shamelessly with a sleazy guy who was terrified she would leave.

The guy couldn't handle her teasing. If they hadn't been on an exposed balcony, he would have taken her right there.

Even without anything explicit happening, the tension was incredibly heavy.

"I have to go. Thanks for caring about me, I'll see you tomorrow after the competition." Joanne hung up the phone and immediately pulled the guy in for a passionate, highly inappropriate kiss.

Lucian furrowed his brow—why was it still so hard to be with Joanne, even after being reborn? Damn it, high school just needed to end. He wanted to be with Joanne forever.