Secretly Mine-Chapter 157: Sudden Approval

After trying all of the desserts, we both made our way downstairs. The ending ceremony was about to begin, and I didn’t want my family to question me about my whereabouts.

Thankfully, the halls were clear of people, so we had an easy time making it back downstairs. I was originally worried that Christian would still be waiting for me around every corner, but there was no sight of him anywhere.

We entered the dimly lit hall just in time for a big applause from everyone in the crowd.

Did we miss the entire ending ceremony?

I glanced up at Lucas, seeing his surprised expression.

"I’m going to go blend in with the crowd over there," I said. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem. I’ll take care of things with your parents for tomorrow. I’ll see you after work."

I nodded, curious what he was going to tell them. Although I remained hopeful, I felt that chances were that they wouldn’t allow it. Shrugging my shoulders, I went to stand a few rows behind where Morgan and the other ladies sat to make it seem like I was hiding here the whole time.

A few minutes later, I noticed Morgan spot me. She walked over with Eve and Cherie, "Oh, this is where you were hiding the whole night. I was wondering why I couldn’t find you."

I nodded, "I had a small headache and needed to step away for a moment. I’m better now." Morgan and the others looked at me with disinterest before Morgan scanned the hall around us.

"Have you seen Christian? I haven’t seen him for over an hour," she said.

I felt my body tense up slightly at the mention of him. I quickly shook my head, "No, I haven’t seen him since before the event started."

"Where could he have gone? I was hoping we could walk around the hotel together." She pouted as she continued to look around the room for him.

From a distance, I could see my mother approaching us.

"Come on, Ladies. We’re heading home," she said, waving for us to follow her.

"But Mom, we came here with Christian. Shouldn’t he bring us back?" Morgan asked. She continued to scan around the room, looking for him. I, on the other hand, was very relieved that we would be going back home. The last thing I wanted was to run into Christian right now.

"He informed your father that he had important business to attend to and left a little while ago, so you’re both coming home with us," she explained.

While Morgan looked heartbroken, I let out a sigh of relief.

We followed our mother out front to get into the family limousine. I sat in my usual spot and kept my eyes outside the window, taking in the views of the city.

"Leslie. Tomorrow after work, you’ll start attending art lessons."

My mother’s words brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, full of surprise.

She agreed? Just like that? How did Lucas convince them so quickly?!

"What? Art classes? Why does she get to attend art classes now?" Morgan quickly chimed in.

"A skilled artist said that she had potential. He overheard her critiquing a few paintings before the event and said that someone with such an eye for detail would make a good artist and offered to take her as an apprentice." My mother explained with a hint of pride, looking at me with a rare look of satisfaction.

"Skilled artist? How do you know if he’s skilled or not?! It’s not like L.L. Lewis is taking her in!" Morgan scoffed, glancing at me with disdain.

"Actually, it is L.L. Lewis!" my mother said, dropping a bomb on both of us.

"What?!" Morgan gasped, mimicking my internal shock.

How did Lucas impersonate L.L. Lewis?! That’s incredible!

My mother turned to look at me. "So be ready promptly after work from now on. Don’t embarrass the Moresi name, understand?"

I nodded, still feeling completely shocked at how Lucas was able to pull such a big stunt. A part of me was slightly worried when the truth would finally come out, and that I wasn’t an apprentice to the famous L.L. Lewis. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Oh well, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

I no longer cared about getting in trouble. Since I was engaged to Karl, and Christian turned out to be a liar, I no longer cared about maintaining my pristine reputation.

The rest of the drive home was coated in the usual silence. By the time we arrived home, it was already very late in the night.

"Straight to bed, ladies. Don’t skip out on doing your nightly skincare," my mother said before walking towards her own room.

I nodded, but as soon as I entered my room, I took the dress off, hopped in the shower, and went straight to bed. All of the crying from earlier thoroughly exhausted me, and I lacked the energy to do anything extra.

Lying on the bed, I thought of how tomorrow was going to go. I didn’t want to show up to work at all, but I knew I didn’t have a choice.

Hopefully, Christian is busy. I’ll just stay in my office and mind my own business.

I tried calming myself, but the unease only grew. My emotions were starting to pull me in different directions. I didn’t want to face the hurt and the heartache when I saw him again, but a small part of me still craved his touch and affection.

These conflicting emotions continued to torment me late into the night, making it difficult to fall asleep, even with my exhaustion.

-

The following morning, I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. My body and mind were even more exhausted than the night before.

I slammed my hand on the alarm clock, snoozing it.

Let’s get today over with...

Crawling out of bed, I managed to make my way over to the closet. I originally pulled out a random blouse and skirt, but then I remembered that I would be meeting up with Lucas after work and decided to wear something nicer.

Should I bring a change of clothes? It’s a painting lesson after all...

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