Chapter 5
While Vanessa was smiling with delight, almost as if she already had her future grandchildren in her arms, Lucia, on the other hand, felt like she was about to faint from shock.
Although she was not opposed to marrying the two young men, it all seemed too soon. She would barely be sixteen in three months, and above all, she hadn't even started her studies at the Golden Magic Institute.
She wasn't a very romantic person, so she wasn't interested in romance. But that didn't mean she would mistreat her future husbands; she intended to fix the mess left by the original owner.
"Would you like to stay for lunch?" Vanessa asked with a smile. "So you can get to know each other better," she added cheerfully.
"Wouldn't that be inconvenient?" Lucas asked.
"Of course not. We will soon be family, so we should get familiar with each other," Vanessa replied.
"Well, alright," Lucas said.
Lucia, who had not spoken, kept her gaze on Sebastián. He didn't stop looking at her with burning eyes full of affection, which left her perplexed. She felt even more uncomfortable when she saw the longing in his eyes for her; she wanted to hide from the embarrassment.
"Alright, you wait here with Lucia. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare the meal," Vanessa said, glancing at the young men, who were surprised. They hadn't known that Duchess Evans liked to cook, and they watched as she left directly for the kitchen.
The atmosphere between them grew very tense, and no one said a word. Nobody knew what to say, but Sebastián stared at her so intently that it became unbearable for Lucia.
"My dear," Sebastián spoke, which sent shivers down Lucia's spine. Hearing that from someone she had just met felt very strange; she had never been called that before, at least not that she could remember.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Lucia asked, trying to sound natural.
"Why are you so cold to us? Why do you refuse so much to marry us?" His eyes reddened, and there were hints of tears. He looked adorably fragile, but Lucia was perplexed. Had she said something wrong?
While Lucia thought about what to do with Sebastián, Lucas hurriedly embraced her, which surprised her greatly.
What was happening here? On one side, there was a young man on the verge of tears, and on the other, another young man rushing to hold her in his arms.
"Please, don't leave us," Lucas pleaded.
Lucia didn't understand anything. According to the memories she had learned from the original owner, they had been seduced and led to bed by the previous Lucia, but why did they act as if they had known her their entire lives?
What Lucia didn't fully understand was that once men lost their mark of purity, their lives would be eternally linked to that of their spouse, for better or worse. But someone like Lucia, who had just awakened in this new yet strange world, didn't know that.
The most important reason for Lucas and Sebastián's behavior was that they had known each other since childhood. When they and Lucia were five years old, they had been childhood sweethearts. But only three years later, at the age of eight, Lucia had hit her head and lost her memory. From that day on, her personality had completely changed. She became rebellious and rude, spoiled, and seemed like an entirely different person.
From then on, she stopped speaking to them despite their attempts to rekindle the friendship, which broke their hearts. By that time, they had already fallen in love with the sweet and tender little Lucia of the past.
That was why they didn't hesitate when the previous Lucia approached them to seduce them. Although they knew the former Lucia had approached them with hidden intentions, they decided to trust her and give themselves to her.
And that was how they lost their purity by trusting the previous Lucia. Now, they didn't want her to leave their side. That was why they continued coming to the Evans mansion—not only for the future marriage but also because they were deeply concerned about Lucia.
But none of that was known to the current Lucia. To her, everything seemed very strange, and she was confused by the behavior of the two White brothers.
End of Chapter 5