Gloria struggled fiercely, trying to break free from his arms.
"I don't understand what you are saying. The only thing I know is that I am doing great," she said angrily.
"Doing great? Really? Gloria, stop lying to yourself! Are you really doing great? Gloria, are you sure of it?" Lucas blurted out, yet in the next second, he suddenly stopped.
He forced himself to calm down, closed his eyes, and opened them again. When his hand touched her long hair, he stopped. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not living in the past? Then why do you still keep your hair long? Because of Patrick? Is he really that unforgettable?"
Gloria's face turned ghastly pale in the blink of an eye.
"Let go!" She panicked.
She wanted to escape. In such a case, she wouldn't need to face it, so she wouldn't be in so much pain.
Thus, she escaped.
The moment she did so, a strong sense of unwillingness appeared in Lucas' eyes.
Lucas wouldn't let her go. Her rejection made his innate desire to conquer burns like fire.
"Aren't you afraid that I will break the contract? Aren't you afraid that the cooperation between the two companies will be put to an end?" Lucas somehow managed to calm down.
Gloria felt that her heart stopped beating for a second. She played tough and said, "If you break the contract, you will have to pay a high penalty."
She calmly stated the fact.
Lucas' thin lips curved up slightly, revealing a smile. He said, "I don't care about money. I guess the technology I possess is the real reason why you want to cooperate with me, right? Well, now that the Carter Group's capital chain has been broken, I don't think the penalty fee I pay will be enough. What you really value is the sharing of this technology, and that's what it takes to get the Carter Group out of trouble. Am I right?"
Gloria swallowed hard, and she couldn't find a word to refute him, because he was right. What she and the Carter Group really valued was indeed the company's core technology.
The difficulties faced by the Carter Group couldn't be remedied by some penalty alone.
Besides, those from the Silver Spring Pack had been sitting on their hands, and she could only rely on herself.
"You know already?" Gloria then realized something. She thought, 'Yes, that makes sense. Lucas is so smart after all. How could he not know?'
"What if I say yes? What is your choice going to be?" He stared at Gloria without blinking.
He thought, 'Yes, I admit that I'm despicable, but I just want to give it a go.'
Lucas did not know that right now, he was like a gambler standing on a cliff, gambling on his last chance.
Even though he knew the answer already, faced with the last chance, he still chose to jump at it like a moth to a flame.
Was Lucas at this moment just obsessed with the desire to conquer her?
Gloria squeezed her hands hard, which were almost bleeding.
Right now, she hated Alger's guts.
Though back then, Alger turned a blind eye to her, she felt nothing but disappointment, and then she chose to numb her feelings and treated Alger as a stranger.
When she took over the company, she noticed that Alger secretly transferred the Carter Group's funds and led those from the Silver Spring Pack to sit back and watch. Even so, she had never hated Alger more than she did now.
She would not have had to make such a choice if the Carter Group's capital chain had not been broken.
It was a tough choice. It was about thousands of employees and their families' livelihoods.
Or, she could choose to compromise. She was at a loss. It was as if she had returned to Fittro Club three years ago and once again became a puppet compromising everything in the face of money.
How should she choose?
Gloria took a deep breath and looked at Lucas in front of her. "Are you really going to do this?"
He did not answer her. Instead, he asked, "Gloria, what is your choice?"
She was silent. Then, she stretched out her hand. Without a word, she opened the door in front of her.
Lucas, who was behind her, suddenly panicked.
He did not believe it!
He thought, 'Really? Gloria, I can't make you take me seriously, even so?'
Suddenly, he put his hands around Gloria's head tightly and lowered his handsome face. The moment he touched Gloria's lips, he was like a child who finally got the piece of candy that he had been longing for so long.
He felt her lips trembling, which made him shudder violently.
He tightened his grip on her head, but an indescribable strange feeling surged in his heart.
After a while, he moved his lips away in defeat. He met Gloria's crystal clear eyes, and there was a flash of pain in his eyes. He asked, "Why didn't you dodge?"
Gloria only lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Satisfied now?"
Her coarse voice echoed in the confined space.
Lucas, however, felt that her voice was like a sharp knife stabbing his heart mercilessly.
His face turned pale. He stared at the calm Gloria and gritted his teeth. Finally, he loosened his arms dejectedly and closed his eyes, covering the pain deep down.
Time passed by, and neither of them broke the silence. There was even no sound of breathing.
The next second, the door was quietly opened, making a slight sound.
Gloria's arm was suddenly gripped tightly. Startled, she turned over. "Lucas."
Lucas, who was in front of her, frowned. He asked her complacently, "Gloria, I'm hungry. I want pasta. Will you cook some for me one more time?"
He raised his chin and ordered proudly.
But for a moment, it was so clear to her that there was an oppressive aura around Lucas, and it was suffocating.
"OK," after a while, she replied softly.
In the kitchen, Gloria poured the water and cooked in silence. Not far away, Lucas sat quietly at the dining table, looking at her.
The scene in front of him reminded him of three years ago. The only difference was that the old apartment building was dark and old, and today, it was spacious and bright.
The familiar smell came to Lucas' nostrils, and he took a deep sniff. He had eaten the food she made many times, and back then, he had just thought it might be nice to try out different food once in a while.
Lucas quietly stared at Gloria. She was never hurried, just like in the past.
He could no longer tell whether she was with long or short hair. Her back was the only thing in his sight.
It seemed that he was looking at her. Or maybe he was looking into the distance by staring at her back.
She put the pasta on the table, and Lucas looked down at it. It was steaming hot. Suddenly, he stood up and left. Not long after, he came back with another set of cutleries.
He split the pasta into two portions and put half of it on the plate he brought over.
Then he pushed it in front of her and said softly, "Let's share."
He sat down and began to eat without saying a word.
When he saw Gloria sitting down and starting to eat as well, he looked away.
Lucas focused all his attention on the pasta in front of him, as if they were the only thing in his world right now.
He ate very slowly. When he was about to finish eating, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Gloria, who was sitting quietly opposite him. He shouted, "Just leave. And don't ever come back!"
Gloria glanced at him. Then she stood up and said, "Thank you, and sorry."
Perhaps she should never have started the partnership in the first place.