She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 290

He suddenly leaned closer, lifting a hand to loosen the top two buttons of his shirt. The movement revealed the swell of his pectoral muscles and the faint, heroic scars from past battles that marked his skin.

The man’s long fingers tapped his own chest, drawing Loyce’s gaze downward to the tantalizingly exposed skin.

It was, admittedly, quite sexy.

“It’s nice,” Loyce nodded, then averted her eyes and let out a lazy yawn.

Seeing her display of disinterest, Lucian’s expression shifted from hopeful expectation to the dejection of a spurned suitor.

He shot a cold glare back at the glass-walled private room, where several of his men, who had been practically pressing their faces against the window, immediately scattered, whistling and looking anywhere but at him.

They would absolutely deny having witnessed their superior’s failed attempt at seduction.

From her corner inside, Giselle chewed on a piece of steak and marveled silently. She was starting to realize that anyone who spent time with Loyce naturally became either an adoring fan or completely smitten. Clearly, she now classified Lucian as the latter.

After finishing the chips on her plate, Loyce stood up, swaying slightly. “It’s about time. Let’s go. We can arrange for Sapphire to get the donor tomorrow.”

Lucian wrapped an arm around her lower back. “Steady.”

Only then did Loyce realize her vision was spinning. The lines of the wooden floorboards were twisting and warping. While she normally had a good tolerance for alcohol, she had seriously underestimated the new offerings from Crown Dining.

“I drank too much.”

She tilted her head up, her eyes glistening with moisture from a yawn, her lips a tempting shade of red.

The sight made the man’s gaze deepen several shades. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he covered her eyes with a hand, the veins on its back slightly pronounced. His voice was suddenly hoarse. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Her vision plunged into darkness. Loyce tilted her head, her senses dulled. “Why?”

“I don’t want to lose control,” Lucian sighed, turning his face away as he guided her by the waist. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Saphira looked at the tissue and then at the girl’s youthful face. “She’s had a hard life with me. Now that she finally has a chance to live like a princess in the city, I don’t want to drag her back into that hell.”

“How could being with your mother be hell?” When Giselle spoke of her own mom, her eyes sparkled. “My mother grows crops and raises dairy cows for a living. She earns her own money, and there’s no shame in any kind of work. I’ll always be proud to have a mother like her.”

“And I think,” Giselle said earnestly, “that you’re only enabling her bad behavior. She’s telling everyone at school that Mr. Shapiro is her boyfriend. What happens if he finds out one day?”

Giselle stepped aside, gesturing toward a man and woman not far away. “You’re an adult. You can see more clearly than us kids who he really likes, and whether your daughter is even worthy of him.”

The handsome, tall man was bent over, gently lifting the girl who was sick from vomiting. In the glow of the streetlight, the girl’s face was like a delicate rose, seemingly radiating a sweet fragrance. From a distance, the two of them looked like a perfect match.

Saphira saw it clearly, but she still murmured, “The Shapiro family owes us a life debt. If Cyrilla asks, Lucian has to marry her. Whether they’re a match or not doesn’t matter, as long as my daughter is happy.”

Giselle was speechless. After a moment of thought, she looked at the ruined cake and finally spoke. “Suddenly, I don’t feel sorry for you at all. You’re just as unlikable as your daughter.”