Chapter 78
Evie grinned broadly to show her half-grown teeth, and she hopped a little in excitement before nodding
her head and throwing her arms around Lucianne’s neck. Lucianne’s heart melted just like when Russell
hugged her.
Evie let her mother pull her out from the embrace but the little girl stubbornly took back her hand with
force before telling Lucianne out loud, “When I grow up, I want to be brave and pwetty. Just like you,
pwetty Lucy!” 1
The restaurant went silent, and Xandar was the proudest and happiest person in the room. (This
will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)Lucianne looked a bit embarrassed but she pecked a kiss on
Evie’s cheek as she said in all certainty, “Evie, when you grow up, you’ll be brave and pretty. Just like
you.” Lucianne’s index finger tapped lightly on Evie’s nose, and the little girl giggled in excitement. Her
mother made another apology and pulled away her excited daughter before little Evie prolonged the
conversation.
Mummers of affection soon filled the room at how Lucianne interacted with little Evie. Everyone was
throwing warm smiles in hers and Xandar’s way. But Lucianne was blind to all of this because her
attention was on Evie the whole time.
When Evie was dragged away by her mother, Xandar stood up and held out a hand to his mate as he
said, “Come, my love.”
Lucianne took it without hesitation, letting Xandar support her as she stood back up next to him. Her
eyes followed Evie and her mother until they reached their table. Xandar and Lucianne exchanged
smiles with Evie’s family before taking a seat at the table that the waiter led them to. Xandar pecked a
kiss on her cheek before letting her sit as he whispered, “You’re amazing.”
She blushed as she sat and said, “So are you, Xandar.” Lucianne then smirked as she commented, “I
can see you prefer little girls to little boys.” 1
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Of course. Little girls are no competition.” Xandar said.
Lucianne shook her head with a smile, still finding Xandar’s jealousy for Russell unbelievable. After
placing their order and the waiter disappeared, Xandar took her hand before teasing, “Brave and pretty.”
That got Lucianne thinking, “Brave how though? I mean, she’s not Russell or Rita(This will be daily
updtaed at www.jar.com). She doesn’t know me, so why did it feel like she knew that I’m a warrior?
How did her family know?”
Xandar chuckled at her seriousness, “My darling, haven’t you read the news?”
Lucianne’s eyes widened, “What news? What did you do?” She got out her phone and started scrolling
through a news site.
Xandar played with her fingers as she read through the headlines. Lucianne was shocked by
the photos they managed to get of her when she and Xandar had breakfast at the cafe on their first date
the previous day.
She tapped into one article and started reading it. Her head snapped up and she asked, “Did they call
you for an interview that I had no idea about? This article explains the new bowing formality in a lot of
detail. And how did they know that I’m a warrior of Blue Crescent? And this line, ‘Gamma of the
Gammas’ sounds exactly like Christian. You two did this, didn’t you?”
Xandar scoffed as he stroked her hands to calm her, “Babe, Christian and I are both busy with work, the
collaboration and our mates. It can’t be us. Probably should have been. But no, my love. I’m sorry to
disappoint you.”
“But then how did they-”
“Does it matter?” Xandar asked with those charming eyes of his as he cupped Lucianne’s hand in both of
his. “Lucy, the collaboration involves a lot of people. Any one of them could’ve been the source. In fact,
the journalists may have gotten more than fifty sources. Lycans aren’t exactly against gossiping. And the
wolves would’ve been more than happy to show you off. Let’s not forget the number of people who
greeted us at the cafe yesterday.”
She furrowed her eyebrows as she asked, “You knew this was all over the news and you didn’t think of
telling me?”
He defended immediately, “I honestly thought you knew. And I only read one article. One. Christian sent
it to me, and I read through it before I left the house this morning. He said it was the best one so I didn’t
see the point in reading the rest. Besides,” he lifted her hand up to peck a kiss on her fingers before
saying, “Why talk about what’s in the news about you when I can talk to you about you?”
“You’re trying to sweet-talk your way out of this, darling?”
He asked hopefully, “Is it working?”
“Fortunately for you, it is.” Lucianne smirked, and Xandar grinned as he continued playing with her
fingers.
Their food arrived shortly after that. After thanking the waiter, they began eating. About halfway through
their meal, a small voice came next to Lucianne, “Pwetty Lucy?”
Lucianne’s eyes snapped to her side and she saw a shy Evie. She put down her knife and fork before
turning her body to face the little girl with a smile as she spoke softly, “Hello, Evie. Did you have a good
dinner?”
Evie became less shy as she nodded and smiled with those half-grown teeth again. She then took out a
loose page from her sketchbook before handing it to Lucianne, “I drew this for you.”
Lucianne’s eyes widened in curiosity. When she looked at the drawing, her mouth gaped at the pencil
sketch in her hand. It was her upper body profile from the side, angled from the table where Evie’s family
sat. It was so lifelike and drawn with such detail that no one would
think a person her age could’ve done it. She even drew her scar! “Do you like it, pwetty Lucy?” Lucianne
pulled the little girl into a gentle embrace before letting her go as she held back her tears, “I love it, Evie.
Thank you. I’ll keep this forever.”
She did that cute little hop before her smile faltered as she looked at Lucianne’s scar. She poked at it
while asking, “Does it hurt, pwetty Lucy?(This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)” Lucianne
felt touched. “No, dear. It’s all healed. It doesn’t hurt anymore. You’re so sweet to ask, Evie.” Her fingers
brushed gently across Evie’s cheek and she hopped excitedly again before she hugged Lucianne briefly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHer sad eyes met Lucianne’s grateful ones when she pulled away and she said, “Mommy’s waiting for
me outside, pwetty Lucy.” She then waved her with her little hand and Lucianne waved back, watching
her run to the entrance where her mother was waiting.
After making sure Evie was by her mother’s side, Lucianne turned back to her seat and continued
looking at the sketch in astonishment.
Xandar was smiling radiantly throughout the whole exchange, and so were many of the other customers
in the restaurant, not that Lucianne noticed. Xandar couldn’t be more proud of his mate. After putting
down his wine glass, he reached for her hand to get her attention. Lucianne still had a look of disbelief
when she flipped the paper over to show Xandar what Evie did with a pencil in less than an hour as she
exclaimed, “She drew this! Can you believe i t?!”
Xandar almost choked on the wine in his mouth. He wiped off the stains from his lips before reaching out
to take the sketch from her hands. His eyebrows furrowed as he studied the sketch in detail. He then
looked at his mate and asked, “Can I have it?”
Lucianne’s eyes turn fierce as she whisper-yelled, “No! It’s mine! Give it back, Xandar!”
Ignoring her attempts to reach for the piece of artwork, Xandar gave the sketch another good look before
he uttered, “What are kids made of nowadays? One knows how to build a remote controlled car from
scraps. Now this one can draw like an artist at the age of four.”
“She’s four?”
“Just a guess, babe. It’s remarkable.” He took one more look and asked Lucianne again, “You can
always look at yourself in the mirror. Can I really not have this?”
“No, Xandar! Evie gave it to me! Go ask her for another copy if you want one.”
He chuckled at his ferocious-looking mate who looked more adorable than anything to him a she got out
his phone to take a photo of the sketch before handing the picture back to Lucianne. She snatched it
from him, and placed it carefully on her lap, under the napkin.
Xandar started stroking her hand as he said, “My dear, aren’t you overreacting over a little drawing?”
Lucianne challenged, “How would you react if someone tried to take something that was yours?(This
will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)” She only realised how her question could be
interpreted two ways when the words were out. Her free hand covered her mouth, already regretting the
way her words were framed.