Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 87

Grace's face instantly went completely pale.

Was this wretched girl cursing her?!

—How vicious. Just because she lost a competition, she was cursing her to end up homeless on the streets?

Just wait until Lucian got here. She'd show this brat a lesson.

At that exact moment, Lucian walked into the restaurant. Grace immediately stood up to welcome him. "Lucian, you're here. You must be exhausted from the competition. I ordered your favorite iced drink. Let me know if you want anything else, just say the word."

Lucian's face revealed absolutely nothing. But the moment his eyes landed on Xanthe sitting intimately next to Arthur, his pupils shrank. He shot Amber a furious glare—*You introduced Xanthe to your dad early?!*

Seeing Lucian's eyes glued to Xanthe, Grace became immediately displeased. *You little punk, you haven't even been with a woman yet. Is she really that pretty to you?*

*You aren't even blinking!*

Xanthe observed Lucian for the first time. He was exactly as Arthur and Grace had described: handsome, confident, and clearly a top student. He and Amber looked like a perfect match on the surface.

But Amber didn't seem to like him anymore?!

Arthur had mentioned they had been fighting lately.

Putting aside how Grace was stringing Arthur along, this Lucian boy looked decent enough.

But Xanthe knew firsthand how deceptive polite, clean-cut men could be. You could know a person's face without knowing their heart. Sometimes, the most harmless-looking people were the most twisted monsters. Her ex-fiancé had been exactly like that.

If Lucian was genuinely good to Amber, Xanthe would respect him. But if he was just as manipulative as his mother, Xanthe was entirely on Amber's side.

"Lucian, let me introduce you. This is Xanthe Sutton. Loretta..."

"Just call her Xanthe," Amber cut in, overriding Arthur's introduction. "It's more familiar."

Lucian definitely recognized her. In their past life, when Grace was secretly going on blind dates with rich men behind Arthur's back, Lucian had helped cover her tracks. *What? Surprised? Did you think I was going to wait for Xanthe to show up on her own like last time? I'm not an idiot. Your mother isn't worthy of my dad. Xanthe is the only one for him.*

Lucian's lips twitched. Coming back to this life, Amber had somehow orchestrated countless things right under his nose. Impressive. But even if she brought Xanthe in early, she shouldn't forget that in their past life, Arthur had been just as pathetically obsessed with his mother as Amber had been with him.

Even if Arthur had a second chance, Xanthe was a waste of time.

Amber smirked slightly. Her eyes fired back: *We'll see about that. Let's see if my dad still wants to chase after your mother in this life. Just don't let your mom end up sobbing in regret like you!*

Lucian felt nothing but sheer contempt. *Make me regret it? Amber, you're giving yourself too much credit. You won't live to see the day.*

He wasn't going to regret anything. His life was only going to get better. He had Joanne and his mother.

The only ones who would be crying in regret were Amber and her father. And honestly, if Amber wanted to grovel and do his laundry and chores again, he might just take pity on her.

After all, hiring a maid cost money.

"Hello, Xanthe," Lucian said coldly.

"Nice to meet you, Lucian," Xanthe replied politely.

"No need to be so formal! Tonight's dinner is specifically to celebrate Lucian bringing home fifty grand. Look, Xanthe. Fifty thousand dollars in cold, hard cash. Amber, are you still going to say having a son is useless? How could my son be useless? That news story you mentioned was definitely made up. If some kid took out a loan and got chopped up, leaving his mom homeless, then the mother is entirely to blame for raising a failure."

"My Lucian is completely different. He is recognized everywhere. Every competition, every midterm, every final—he's always number one. Xanthe, listen to my advice. Find a man to marry, have a kid early, and enjoy an easy life."

The sheer humiliation of being overshadowed by Xanthe's beauty was finally fading. "Eat up, Lucian. Mom will get you some meat."

She completely failed to notice Lucian choking violently on his drink the moment she brought up the news story. Amber had clearly guessed about the loan. *Hah, trying to beat around the bush? Don't waste your breath.*

Amber didn't waste her breath at all. "Congratulations, Grace. Fifty thousand dollars from the competition is great! What about the thirty thousand Joanne owes you?"

Amber casually reminded Grace not to let that money go.

Before Lucian could even erupt, Grace waved a hand. "I promised Lucian that if he won the competition, I wouldn't pursue it. I'm a woman of my word, Amber."

*Bullshit!* Of course she was going to get it back! She had agreed to his face, but she was definitely going after Joanne behind his back. Now that she had the fifty thousand, what was Lucian going to do? Chop her up?

Just wait. The second dinner was over, she was going straight to Joanne's.