PHB 11
“Mr. Lucas, do you want me to drive, or will you take the car yourself?”
Felix observed Lucas as he prepared and put on his shoes. In a few minutes, the six-pack-bodied man was going to attend the subsidiary company’s inauguration, as his father had instructed.
Even though he was reluctant, Lucas couldn’t really avoid it. Especially tonight, he had to go and bring Devina along with him.
“I’ll drive myself. You can head directly to the event. We’ll meet there.”
“Mr. Lucas, do you want to stop by somewhere first?”
Lucas nodded. Rising from his seat, he reached for the key to the sports car that Felix handed to him.
“Yes, I have to pick up Devina first. The tribal chief will be angry if his beloved future son-in-law forgets to pick her up.”
Unconsciously, Felix laughed. Sometimes, he felt sorry for his boss. At his relatively mature age, Lucas had to bow to his father’s decisions, whether it was about his career or life partner.
What could he do? As the son and heir of the family, Lucas was brought up from a young age to be obedient and never to argue. Anything related to him had to go through his father’s strict selection process.
That’s why Felix also knew exactly why Lucas had been reluctant to be in a relationship with any woman. According to his boss, getting involved with women was a waste of time. In the end, it would never be approved, and he would still be forced into an arranged marriage.
“In that case, I’ll head to the event first, sir,” Felix said later. He also prepared to go to the car he was driving. “If you need anything later, just let me know as soon as possible.”
Lucas simply nodded, then hurriedly left. Revving his red Ferrari, he quickly set off to pick up Devina at her residence.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too congested on the streets this Saturday night. Lucas managed to arrive on time, just as Devina finished getting ready.
“Are you ready?” Lucas asked at the door while picking up his fiancée.
“I guess so… I look pretty this way.”
That night, Lucas admitted that Devina did look attractive. She was wearing an off-shoulder black party dress, matching his black suit.
Believing they were both ready, Lucas invited Devina to get into the car. He took his fiancée with him to head to the event.
“It’s Saturday night, if I didn’t pick you up and take you out, where would you go? Stay at home? Or go hang out somewhere?”
To break the ice, Lucas had to engage in small talk. Before the arranged marriage drama, he and Devina were actually very close. Somehow, since their engagement, their relationship didn’t grow closer but rather strained.
“If I just wanted to go out, I wouldn’t have to wait for Saturday night. So broke.”
Devina’s somewhat curt response immediately annoyed Lucas. He tried to be kind, but it seemed to mean nothing in front of his fiancée.
“You’re so grumpy. By the way, what are you thinking about? You’ve been quiet all this time.”
“I’m thinking about our wedding plans.”
“Weren’t we supposed to agree on getting married in three or four months?”
Devina nodded.
“I’m just thinking, if I marry you, it’s bound to be very complicated.”
“Why don’t you refuse your parents’ request yourself?”
“Can you refuse them?”
Laughter erupted from Lucas’ lips. To be honest, he shared the same thoughts as Devina. Unfortunately, both of them couldn’t refuse what had been decided by their respective parents.
“Well, I can’t either. But, about what you were talking about earlier… Living as a married couple is indeed complicated, isn’t it? In this world, the only simple thing is Padang food stalls.”
Devina turned to him and scoffed, finding Lucas’ joke not funny at all.
“If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to get married at all.”
“Why?”
Lucas furrowed his brow. While driving, he tried to respond to what Devina was telling him.
“Even if you weren’t arranged to me, you still wouldn’t want to get married?”
Devina nodded.
“I just don’t feel like it. Besides, guys, instead of making me happy, tend to hurt me more often.”
“Well, if they’re good at cleaning floors, we call them a janitor. But not all guys are like that. Look at me, for example.”
Devina let out a long sigh. She was so tired of dealing with Lucas, who had been joking around and not taking her seriously.
“Enough with the jokes. You’d better focus on driving so we can get to the event soon. Also, prepare yourself mentally and physically. Pretending to be a harmonious couple in front of so many people requires extra effort.”
Once again, Lucas smiled in agreement with Devina’s words. But instead of replying, he chose to focus on driving until they finally arrived at the hotel’s courtyard, where the inauguration event was being held.
Exiting the car, just as Devina said, Lucas promptly helped open the door and affectionately held his fiancée’s hand as they walked toward the party venue. Upon arrival, he was warmly greeted, acknowledged, and engaged in conversations with some business acquaintances who happened to know him.
Devina, being the daughter of a prominent businessman, was also engaged in conversations with many senior attendees. While her fiancé was busy entertaining some guests, Lucas took the initiative to fetch drinks and then greeted the guests who knew his father.
“Do you want to accompany me around or stay here?” Lucas asked before leaving.
“Just go around. Besides, my dad will be coming soon. So, I’ll wait for him here.”
Lucas nodded and walked away from Devina. He grabbed a drink, joined one of the guests, and engaged in a conversation. There was nothing else he discussed except business and partnerships.
At first, everything seemed to go smoothly. Lucas even enjoyed his time with his business colleagues who had gathered there.
Until suddenly, Lucas felt someone tapping his shoulder. Without hesitation, the person called out to him familiarly and pulled him to turn and face the source of the voice.
“Darling… I want to introduce you to my ex-boyfriend.”
Confused as he was suddenly pulled, Lucas turned around. The man froze for a moment when he saw the familiar face of Deasy.
“You…”
For a few moments, Deasy was taken aback. She stared at the handsome man she had just called “darling” as if experiencing déjà vu.
In her mind, Deasy was quite sure that the man she was looking at was the same guy she met a few days ago and invited for a one-night stand at her apartment.
Oh my, he’s the handsome prince I saw that night. So, I wasn’t dreaming, right?
“Are you…”
“Deasy… is this your new boyfriend for real?”
Before Deasy could fully recover from her shock and finish her response, another man’s voice interrupted and questioned at the same time.
Daniel, Deasy’s ex-boyfriend, looked equally surprised. He showed a mixture of bewilderment and doubt as he saw the man Deasy had just called and pulled to face them both.
“Y-yes,” Deasy replied, nodding. Trying not to show her nervousness, she boldly and recklessly held the hand of the man she had just called and warmly embraced him to introduce him as her boyfriend.
“Yes, of course. He’s my new boyfriend. Sorry, I just got the chance to publish and introduce him to you. How about it? He’s really handsome, isn’t he?”
Daniel looked the man up and down, scanning him from head to toe, and immediately felt insecure. However, in his mind, Daniel still couldn’t believe that this man was Deasy’s current boyfriend.
“It’s not convincing that he’s your new boyfriend.”
Deasy smiled mockingly, though inwardly cringing. The sly Magic Com in front of her was doubting whether she could get a boyfriend with a more handsome face.
“Why isn’t it convincing? Do you underestimate me?”
“Not really,” replied Daniel. “But… if he’s really your boyfriend, I feel really outclassed.”
“Don’t be insecure. When I was dating you, I was just having eye problems.”
Deasy turned to Lucas, giving him a signal with a wink, inviting him to play along.
“Oh my, darling, look at this. Can you believe that Daniel doesn’t believe we’re dating?”
Lucas, who was originally anxious and confused, tried to maintain a composed expression. It wasn’t the fact that Deasy lied to Daniel by claiming he was her boyfriend that worried him. Since the beginning, Lucas had been praying in his heart, hoping that Deasy wouldn’t recognize him as the “Lucas Cupu” who had been her subordinate all this time.
“Are you really Deasy’s boyfriend?” Daniel asked directly to Lucas before he could respond to Deasy’s earlier statement.
Lucas smiled. Feeling sorry for Deasy and wanting to help preserve her dignity in front of her ex, he agreed to play along with what Deasy was doing.
“Yes, we are both in a serious relationship.”
A bright smile instantly appeared on Deasy’s face. As if getting a breath of fresh air, she silently thanked the handsome man beside her for agreeing to help convince Daniel. Deasy was confident that after this, her ex-boyfriend would remain silent and would no longer belittle or mock her.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” Daniel asked, seeming dissatisfied.
Lucas hesitated for a moment, thinking quickly to answer Daniel’s question.
“My name is Lucas.”
Deasy was taken aback. She felt a sense of familiarity with the name mentioned by the handsome man beside her. Somehow, her mind was automatically drawn to the man she had slept with twice.
Deasy knew that the name Lucas was not unique in the world. But in her heart, she hoped that this handsome Lucas beside her was the same one she had invited to sleep with and had given her virginity for free, not the geeky Lucas who was like a little toy to her older brother.
Meanwhile, Lucas had his reasons for mentioning his real name. He thought it would be highly improbable to use a different name. Let’s not forget that his father had advised him that night to introduce himself to the business associates who were present at the inauguration event as his successor and replacement.
Most importantly, Deasy and Daniel didn’t recognize and realize his disguise all this time. After all, they were his superiors in the office.
“Lucas? A common name, isn’t it?”
“As long as his looks and wallet aren’t common,” Deasy defended when Daniel tried to mock.
Feeling defeated, Daniel chose to leave. He walked away, leaving Lucas and Deasy without saying much more.
“Thank you for helping me,” Deasy murmured shyly. She kept gazing at Lucas’ face, seemingly enchanted and hypnotized by the charm he displayed.
“You’re welcome,” Lucas replied briefly. He even prepared to leave before Deasy bombarded him with many questions.
“But, is your name really Lucas?”
Lucas nodded.
“Yes.”
“To be honest, your face looks really familiar,” Deasy honestly said. For whatever reason, she still believed, even more convinced that the man in front of her was the same person she made out with in her apartment a while ago. “I feel like I’ve met you before.”
“Oh, really?”
Lucas panicked because Deasy still remembered this. He should have listened to Felix’s advice not to accompany Deasy in his true identity, without disguise.
“It’s probably just your imagination. This is actually the first time we’ve met.”
“No,” Deasy shook her head, trying to refute his claim. But before she could protest further, someone called out to Lucas.
“Mr. Lucas, you’re asked to join now. Ms. Devina and the other guests are already waiting.”
Lucas nodded and turned to Deasy, smiling briefly before leaving without saying anything.
Meanwhile, Deasy initially wanted to follow, but Veronica, who had finished talking to someone, called her.
“Let’s go home now,” Veronica suggested.
“Go home? The main event hasn’t even started yet,” Deasy protested. She wanted to stay longer because she was still curious about the handsome man she had just met.
“Darwin asked me to pick him up right now.”
“Seriously, your husband is really a handful. Besides, I just met the handsome guy I told you about the other day.”
“Which handsome guy?”
“The one I slept with last time.”
Veronica frowned. She was confused by Deasy’s story.
“Didn’t you tell me on the phone yesterday that the guy who slept with you was the same person?”
Deasy pursed her lips, smiling.
“No … I’m sure this guy is the one I slept with the other day. I’m positive I’m not dreaming. Even if I was drunk, I remember his face clearly.”
“Then, does he remember you?”
Deasy shook her head helplessly.
“He said he didn’t know me and that this was the first time he met me.”
“You’re probably just dreaming.”
“No way,” Deasy confidently denied.
“Besides, if he’s attending an important event like tonight, he must be influential and have a high position. I suspect he already has a girlfriend or wife.”
“I don’t care, I don’t care. Whether he has a girlfriend or wife, I have to prove that my feelings all this time were right.”
“How do you plan to prove it?” Veronica asked, curious. Just that day, her friend confessed that she made out while drunk.
“How? I’ll invite him to sleep with me again. Then I can see if he still bites me like that night.”
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