Chapter 45: Lucas's Secret
1328 Words
Lucas had a secret. He had never told anyone.
He had liked Willow for a very, very long time.
Lucas and Willow's first meeting was beneath the willow tree by the little river.
That day, he had been hiding there because of rumors at school. It looked peaceful there, no one around.
Yes, he had been born out of wedlock. Later, after the family's legal wife passed away, his mother and he were brought back home. Although unexpectedly, his older half-brother hadn't given him a hard time. But the fact that he was an illegitimate child had still spread around. After all, considering his age, plus the fact that he appeared out of nowhere, this secret couldn't be hidden.
In wealthy circles, there was also a hierarchy of contempt. Illegitimate children were always at the bottom of the food chain. And at that time, Lucas had just transferred to this new school not long ago, so he wasn't prepared to adapt. His classmates kept their distance from him.
He liked lying in the shade of the willow tree, feeling the rare peace. No one called him a bastard here.
Rustle, rustle. Suddenly, there was the sound of a pencil drawing on paper.
Lucas opened his eyes and saw the girl.
Snow-white glowing skin, hair casually tied back, head bowed, leaning against the willow tree, carefully sketching the little river not far away.
"What are you drawing?" Lucas walked over and asked.
Willow was startled, jumping up, eyes wide, hand pressed to her chest.
"People can scare you to death!" Willow gave Lucas a white-eyed look of complaint.
Lucas shrugged.
"I'm sketching. I'm learning to draw." Willow said.
Lucas glanced. The drawing wasn't bad.
He was about to say something when—
"Hey, isn't this the little bastard who just transferred?"
" hid here laughing, did your mom come pick you up today?"
Inopportune voices rang out.
It was those two annoying boys from class again, breaking the tranquility of this place.
Lucas clenched his fists and swung at their faces.
For a moment, one against two, Lucas was at a disadvantage.
"The guidance counselor is coming!" A timid voice shouted.
The two boys immediately dropped Lucas and ran.
Only Lucas remained, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, sitting on the ground and looking at Willow with an amused expression.
Where did the guidance counselor come from? It was just something Willow made up.
"Are you stupid? Two of them, one of you—how could you win?" Willow shook her head, took out a band-aid, and stuck a cute, pink, little rabbit band-aid on Lucas's scraped hand.
Lucas looked at the band-aid on his hand, his mouth twitching.
"If I don't hit them, should I just let them keep saying those things?" Lucas asked.
"Cover your ears. If you can't hear them, they don't exist." Willow covered Lucas's ears with both hands.
"See? Now you can't hear them. People who don't matter—you don't have to pay them any attention." Willow said.
"You seem experienced at this." Lucas pulled Willow's hands down, feeling somewhat awkward, his ears slightly red.
"Yes, I'm very experienced. Hi, I'm a parasite." Willow extended her hand to shake Lucas's.
Lucas burst out laughing.
Seeing that Lucas was amused by her, Willow also started laughing.
That day the weather was beautiful, sunlight shining on Willow. Through her smile, Lucas could never forget that moment. It was truly beautiful.
"What's your name, parasite?" Lucas asked with a smile.
"My name is Willow. Don't call me parasite!" Willow said with a pouting expression, then grabbed her sketchpad and ran.
Willow...
Lucas looked down at the band-aid on his injured hand and smiled.
Later, Lucas discovered that Willow would always go to that willow tree to paint, painting for an entire afternoon.
Occasionally, he would sleep on the other side of the willow tree, also for an entire afternoon.
He didn't go disturb her, just silently watched her and kept her company. They never had more interaction than that.
It was just that Lucas found that listening to Willow's pencil rustling as she drew was unexpectedly calming.
Later, he entered senior year of high school. He had grown tall and handsome. The rumors at school had completely disappeared, thanks to his father's methods.
Then one day, a girl called out to him after school. The voice sounded very familiar.
Lucas turned around. It was Willow, head down, face flushed.
Was she going to...?
Lucas heard his own heartbeat, thump, thump, thump.
He quietly waited in anticipation.
Willow was about to say something when suddenly, a boy at the door interrupted everything.
That boy didn't look like a student from the school; he seemed a bit older than them.
Willow was interrupted. Lucas felt disappointed. Just as he was about to say something, Willow threw an envelope at him and ran.
Lucas picked it up. A pure white envelope with a heart drawn on it.
Was this a love letter?
Lucas didn't even dare open it.
He ran to the willow tree, breathless. It was only when he'd finally calmed down that he opened the letter. His hands faintly trembling.
Did she like him?
Yes! The confession in the love letter was gentle and delicate, just like her name! And he had seen her signature on her paintings—it was her handwriting! The more Lucas read, the more excited he became.
Until he saw the signature—
Sophie.
Who was Sophie? Wasn't her name Willow?
Later, Lucas figured it out quickly. He remembered that Willow had said very quietly before—
"This is from Sophie."
She was confessing for someone else.
Disappointment came rushing in. His heart went from the heavens to the ground. Lucas finally understood—he liked Willow...
After that, he began to wait for her occasionally, not just at the willow tree, but all over the school.
Until that day, he waited for her at the willow tree again. He wanted to confess to her. He had finally gathered his courage to step forward. Then he suddenly saw her drawing a person—a boy. Who was that?
Lucas approached to look. Very familiar. Oh! He remembered—it was the boy who had interrupted them at the classroom door that day.
Willow had also drawn many little heart bubbles around the portrait.
She liked him?
"Do you like him?" Lucas thought this, then asked out loud.
"Ah!" Willow frantically packed up her drawing, glaring at him again.
"You're so scary. And why are you looking at other people's drawings!" Willow's face was bright red.
Oh... she liked him. Even without answering, just looking at her smitten appearance, Lucas knew the answer.
Willow ran off with her drawing.
Lucas tilted his head, looking at the direction Willow ran away. He was thinking—did she not remember him?
Lucas's youthful heartthrob quickly withered.
Later, he heard the news that Willow and Adrian were getting married.
He was happy for her. She had married the person she liked... So Lucas went abroad. He chose to pursue further studies in his field of interest. Or rather, to leave this place and sort out his feelings.
A few years later, Lucas returned to China. He didn't join the Harrington family business. Instead, he chose to open a psychology clinic.
Actually, when he first saw Willow at the psychology clinic, he had recognized her immediately.
For a moment, he felt joy at their reunion, at the arrangement of fate. The next second, he felt heartbreak and regret—heartbreak over all the psychological trauma Willow had suffered, regret at why he had returned so late... even regret at why he had left in the first place. From the moment he saw Willow, he made a decision: he would win Willow back. Adrian wouldn't treasure Willow well, but he would! He had lost too much time. He wanted to make it up to her...
- Writer
