Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 99

Under the glow of the streetlights, Lucian took in the deep affection shining in Joanne's eyes.

His Joanne was still so pure-hearted. For his sake, she was willing to face his mother's wrath just to clear the air.

This devotion, this profound love—he swore to protect it in this life.

"Alright. I trust you."

Before Grace could argue, Lucian turned to Arthur. "You can head back. Joanne and I will handle things from here."

The unspoken message was clear: he wasn't going to try and salvage the peace. If Arthur wanted to cut ties with his mother, fine. At least that way, Amber wouldn't be able to exploit his mother to scheme against him.

Arthur could handle things however he saw fit. But when it came to Joanne, Lucian would absolutely not allow Amber to harm her again.

Arthur frowned. Before leaving, he shot a glance at Grace, only to find her glaring stubbornly in the other direction, silently demanding distance. Fine. Staying would only give her another excuse to throw a tantrum.

Amber had been framed, Lucian had dodged his apology, and he still needed to check on Xanthe.

Grace had slapped her with full force, dragging an innocent woman into this mess. He hadn't even had the chance to apologize before carrying Grace away.

She had to be feeling terrible right now.

Without another word, Arthur lowered his head and walked back to his apartment.

Seeing him just silently turn his back and walk away, fresh tears streamed down Grace's face. "Arthur, you... you bastard!"

She sobbed brokenly, looking as if her heart had been ripped out.

Lucian shot her an exasperated look. "Mom, enough. Drop the act. Do you really think he can't see right through it?"

Grace glared at him. "You ungrateful brat! Who do you think I'm doing all this for!?"

He was going to send her to an early grave.

"Alright. Joanne said she wants to talk to you. Don't bully her. Have a proper conversation, and drop the issue with the thirty grand." Lucian figured Joanne was going to have to learn how to deal with his mother eventually. Given his mother's current vulnerable state, letting Joanne try to reason with her might actually smooth over the friction he had been dreading.

"She wants to talk to me? And I'm just supposed to listen? Lucian..."

Grace's eyes widened, and her voice instinctively spiked. Joanne immediately shushed her. "Grace, if we keep at each other's throats, it won't just ruin his exams—it'll give Amber another opening to tear us apart. You're his mother. You know his temper better than I do."

"I know you think I'm worthless trash. But with his exams coming up, if you try to force him into submission, he'll only rebel harder. Let him be. He's ranked number one in his class. He's going overseas to study. It's not like I can follow him, right?"

"As long as you drop the issue of the money, I'll play the perfect girlfriend right up until he finishes his exams. The day his acceptance letter arrives, I'll dump him. You'll never see me again, and he'll assume I was just playing him for the cash. He'll drop me without a second thought."

"What do you think of my offer?"

Joanne's eyes gleamed with cold calculation. Once exams were over, she was going to ditch Lucian anyway. Thirty grand? Hell, even if it were three hundred grand, Grace would have to search the ends of the earth to find her.

She might as well take the cash and run. Not only would it leave Lucian with the perfect image of her, but what if he screwed up his exams just like he did the competition?

The end result was the same regardless. Why shouldn't she secure the most comfortable path for herself?

Amber's scheming had been a wake-up call. There was absolutely no harm in having a backup plan. She and Lucian were never going to end up together in this lifetime anyway. No matter how deep his supposed love was, the second he saw her true colors, he would toss her aside.

She refused to end up a bitter, discarded woman. She was taking control of her own destiny.