The man chewed his food slowly, occasionally glancing at his lover who was so calm as usual. The Lucia he knew would immediately sway at his sight, but this morning she was much calmer and didn't even show her usual aggressive side.
In fact, he was already preparing to ask his girlfriend for money again, but seeing the unusual Lucia felt foreign to him. Let alone asking for money, even now he didn't know what topic to open the conversation with.
"Is there a problem, Honey?" he asked after a long period of watching.
"What trouble do you mean, Than?" Lucia asked back in a cold tone.
"Yeah... you've been quiet all this time and seem to ignore me."
Lucia was silent, she understood the feeling of Ethan who must have been very surprised by the change that was too different from her usual figure. She took a deep breath, trying to control her disappointment at the man she had thought of as an angel before. She realized that if she wanted to prove what she was going through in the future, she would have to be the usual Lucia while observing slowly.
"I'm not feeling well today, Than."
"Ah... I see. Then, after breakfast go back to your room."
"Uhm, I'm sorry for having to cancel our appointment today."
"It's okay, don't worry about me and just focus on your recovery."
"Thank you."
For a moment Lucia faltered at just such a minor concern. When she realized this, she immediately refocused on what she was doing at the moment; she set her heart. After finishing breakfast, Ethan helped the woman back to her room. He painstakingly carried Lucia to her soft bed, then wrapped her in a soft blanket.
"Waiter!" he called to a servant standing in the doorway. "Please bring some painkillers," he said in a soft tone of voice.
Seeing that, Lucia shuddered, remembering the figure of Ethan in the future that she saw was so much different than she couldn't believe she had ever thought of him as the protagonist in her life.
"Yes, sir."
The maid left, then it didn't take long for her to come back with the medicine box in her hand. She walked closer, suddenly the look on her face looked so scared when she accidentally met Lucia.
It was then that Lucia realized her current image was terrible. She understood why her subordinates chose to leave her and even looked so happy to be separated from this family in the future.
"Thank you."
Hearing that, the waiter and Ethan were shocked. Although it seemed trivial, a thank you was something Lucia had never said to her subordinates in the past. "Y-you don't need to thank me, Miss—"
"Why? You've done a great job, so I thank you."
The waiter looked confused, and so did Ethan. "Lucy, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just a little headache."
Ethan ordered the waiter to leave with mixed feelings. After all the servants left, Ethan immediately returned to his lover on the bed and hugged him. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look like the Lucia I know."
Lucia smiled faintly. "Why? Can't I be nice and kind to other people and have to be mean and mean?" asked Lucia.
Hearing that question, Ethan immediately shook his head slowly although that was what he expected. "How could I think like that. I mean ... it's a nice change, really," he argued.
Seeing Ethan so flustered like that made Lucia even more convinced that maybe she had returned to the past to change her dark future. "Ah... I thought so."
"I'm pleased with your change." Ethan gently kissed the back of the woman's neck, then gave Lucia small stimulations. "I missed you so much," he whispered.
Maybe she would have fallen for it in the past, but not this time— thought Lucia.
Slowly she freed himself from the man's arms. "Than ... I'm tired, want to rest."
"Just a moment, honey," he coaxed as he tried to hug Lucia again but the woman wrapped herself in her thick blanket instead.
"Next time."
Not wanting to be out of his mind, he hugged Lucia's body from the outside. "Honey... can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"That... My mother is sick in my hometown and needs money while my business is declining. Can you lend me some money? I promise, if one day my project is successful, I will replace all of that."
The exact words Ethan had said in her shadow in the past. The curious Lucia asked the man the amount to match the answer to her memory. "How many?"
"Not much ... only 50 million."
Lucia had gotten used to it and wasn't surprised anymore. The exact amount is the amount of money Ethan asked for in her previous life. In the past, she would have given the money as soon as possible, but now she doesn't want to provide the money and intends to play with the jerk who will be a disaster for her.
"Can."
Hearing that, Ethan was delighted. He tightened his embrace on Lucia with pleasure. "Thank you dear... thank you—"
"But there is a prerequisite."
"Condition?"
"Yes... Terms."
Lucia knew the man would do anything for money so that she wouldn't make this game over.