She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 350

Loyce withdrew her gaze and rose, walking toward the decorative screen.

Rounding the embroidered partition, she stopped and fixed her eyes on the man sitting by the window. The top three buttons of his black shirt were undone. The golden glow of the setting sun cast deep shadows across his sharp profile, highlighting the scar that snaked up from his open collar.

Lucian looked up, a cryptic smile playing in his deep-set eyes, which curved at the corners with an almost demonic allure. His deep, magnetic voice, laced with a subtle hint of intimacy, was like a feather brushing against her ear. "Feeling better now?"

So, it was Lucian who had given her the coffee shop.

Loyce sat down across from him. Lucian poured her a cup of coffee, and a comfortable silence settled between them.

While it was true you could buy anything on the dark web, that privilege was reserved for accounts with special status. To anonymously purchase an eighty-million-dollar cafe and have the owner deliver the deed within minutes meant Lucian’s rank on the dark web was anything but low.

But wasn’t he an admiral, a defender of the nation? Why would he have such a high-level account on a network teeming with money and crime?

Loyce had her questions, but she couldn't ask them without exposing her own secrets. She took a sip of coffee. "Why buy me a coffee shop?"

"Wasn't that woman bothering you?" Lucian stared at her. "All you did was a good deed, gently pricking a twenty-something heartthrob's chest with a few needles. How could that possibly kill him? It just doesn't add up."

Loyce blinked and set down her cup. "I feel like there's a hidden meaning in your words."

"How would I dare?" Lucian leaned back, turning his head to gaze out the window. "I was just helping you explain things, helping you vent. After all, you're my savior."

His tense jawline made it obvious he was a little angry.

Loyce swirled her coffee cup. She hadn't seen him much lately. What had she done to provoke him?

Racking her brain, she paused. "That time you brought me the dress… were you eavesdropping? Or are you just embarrassed that I returned all your assets untouched?"

Lucian finally turned back to her, surprised she'd brought it up. His foul mood today wasn't about that; it was simply the thought that she preferred young, fresh bodies over his.

And aside from working out to stay firm, there was nothing he could do about his age. He would only get older.

Lucian pressed his lips together, his tone dropping with a hint of self-deprecation. "Do I even have any pride left with you?"

He had never lost face in front of others, but before Loyce, he was one step away from begging her to just look at him. Yet, the girl seemed to be missing the part of her brain that processed romance. Either she didn't understand what he meant, or she was pretending not to.

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