Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 81 - 081 Territory Invasion, I Want to Elope with You

Chapter 81: 081 Territory Invasion, I Want to Elope with You

In the coffee shop

Zoe watched the person in front of her sipping hot chocolate. He was wearing a loose white T-shirt, his fingers clutched around the coffee cup—pale and slender. His dark hair fell over his eyebrows, giving him a fragile and delicate appearance.

Only the warmth of the hot drink seemed to add a hint of color to his lips, indicating a vestige of vitality.

It had been too long since they met. Two people, once familiar, were now left with nothing but silence between them.

It wasn’t until Lucas spoke up, calling out, "Sis..."

Zoe responded.

"Don’t stare at me like that."

No one could withstand being constantly watched by someone they liked.

"How have you been these past few years?" Zoe asked, looking down and taking a sip of the iced Americano before her.

"Not well."

Being forcefully sent abroad, Lucas couldn’t possibly have been doing well.

Especially after knowing she got engaged and stopped following her news. He was then unaware of many things that happened after.

Zoe said in a gentle voice, "I heard you studied finance abroad."

"I didn’t."

"Hmm?"

Zoe looked up in surprise.

He was sent abroad personally by Mr. and Mrs. Bell. To facilitate his admission, the Bells had donated a large sum of money to the school. It was rumored that he had performed well, and Mr. and Mrs. Bell felt proud and honored by his achievements.

"I changed my major back then and studied art analysis. You know, I was never interested in business," Lucas said casually.

"Do they know?"

"They don’t. Not even now."

"..."

Zoe stared at him. The Lucas she remembered was always obedient.

So when she discovered his secret crush on her, she was shocked. She didn’t immediately inform her foster parents but distanced herself coldly, using the excuse of going to another city to learn dance to cut off contact, hoping he would cool down.

As a result, his performance in that month’s exams was extremely poor. His teacher said he was distracted in class and suspected he had an early romance. Vivi Lange took the opportunity to search his room while he was at school...

And she found many of Zoe’s belongings.

He had treasured and kept them carefully.

Kevin Bell exploded, ordering her to return home and scolding her angrily.

He called her shameless, unable to recognize her position, daring to entice Lucas into an early romance. He also said that they were siblings, and if such a thing got out, the Bell family couldn’t bear the disgrace.

He accused her of being low, dirty, and disregarding ethics.

Then he pointed at Lucas, cursing him as a filthy-minded, shameless beast.

It was then that Kevin Bell destroyed all of Lucas’s photos in the house and warned him, "If your obsession is so deep that you refuse to go abroad, then Zoe’s life will be ruined by you."

Lucas was still young and couldn’t resist, so he fled.

But Zoe couldn’t escape, and her days in the Bell family became even harder.

During that time, Vivi Lange would often sneer in her ear:

"Lucas is so young, and you are truly shameless."

"Relying on your pretty face to seduce men everywhere, you don’t even spare your own brother."

"You are shameless, but our Bell family doesn’t want to be the talk of the town!"

"We provide you with good food and clothes, send you to learn dance, allow you to live a bright and beautiful life—this is how you repay us?"

...

Back then, Zoe was also young, with no one to confide in. Listening to those constant remarks, combined with a leg injury, she fell into depression.

That led to her developing an aversion to being close to men.

That naturally included Brandon Stone.

So, although the two of them dated and got engaged, they never moved forward. It was only after meeting William Hale that everything gradually began to change.

Seeing the surprise in her eyes, Lucas just smiled, "Is it necessary to be so amazed?"

"In a foreign land, you have no idea what I’ve been through these years."

"I even thought about running back..."

"With you, to elope."

"To a place where no one could find us, where nobody knew us, to start a life."

Lucas Bell caressed the cup, his eyes nearly contorting with suppressed madness, "I’ve even thought about taking you out of the country, hiding you away!"

Zoe Bell felt like she didn’t recognize him anymore.

Especially when he uttered such words, the calm and gloomy eyes she used to know, in an instant, radiated light and fervor.

It didn’t seem like a lie.

He must have really thought it through!

Amidst his excitement, there was even a hint of frenzy.

Truly insane.

"Lucas—" Zoe looked at him seriously, "You should be very clear that I only have sibling affection for you, it’s impossible between us."

"Then why can Brandon Stone."

"..."

"Mr. Hale can too!"

Zoe frowned.

There was a light in the depths of Lucas’s eyes, "Sis, why can’t I!"

"We grew up together since we were children, I understand you better than any of them, I know your struggles, your hardships, I would cherish you more than anyone else."

"Just because you call me ’sis,’ it’s impossible!" Zoe said gravely, cutting him off.

"Then it’s possible with Mr. Hale?"

"That’s none of your business."

"Can he give you a proper status, will he marry you? Do you know how the whole Greenland talks about you now that you’re with him?"

Zoe laughed, "And being with you would stop people from talking about me?"

Lucas was at a loss for words.

"They would only say things that are even uglier!"

"I’m not with you, and the key point is, I like you, I cherish you, but none of that is romantic love. After so many years, don’t you understand?"

Lucas’s pale fingers clutched the cup tighter, a morbid tenderness slipping through his gaze.

"It’s precisely because I understand too well that my life has been so difficult."

His love was like walking on thin ice.

His parents gave him money, but only demanded he study.

All he ever wanted was a sincere compliment from his parents, but Kevin Bell would only say, "It’s not even first place in the whole school, what’s there to be happy about."

This kind of crushing education left him repressed to the brink of collapse.

Zoe was the last glimmer of light in his desolate life.

But even that last glimmer had been thoroughly destroyed by them.

Over the years, he didn’t dare to return to the country, didn’t dare to see her, solely because he knew better than anyone that the chasm between them was not the brother-sister relationship, but the fact that Zoe had no romantic feelings for him.

Lucas just wanted to ask her face to face for once.

Because back then, he didn’t even have the courage to confess to her, he was like a lonely, shadowy stray dog in the dark, only daring to secretly adore her.

He needed to put an end to this relationship.

When he lifted his head again, he saw two figures.

One calm and composed, the other...

Sneaky!

After Lucas returned to the country, he heard about Mr. Hale and knew the relationship he had with Zoe.

Outside, they said:

His sister, she was a plaything kept by Mr. Hale.

A fleeting amusement, to toy with as he pleased, and if the day came that he grew tired of her, even if Zoe was kicked to the curb, she would still receive a handsome sum as a parting fee.

But when his gaze met Mr. Hale’s, he clearly saw a different kind of emotion flicker in his eyes.

His gaze was dangerous and stern.

As if his territory were being invaded, the warning was evident in the depths of his eyes.

As if should he take one more step, Mr. Hale would slay him on the spot.

"Lucas, I’m very grateful for your help today, but really..." Zoe treated him like a real brother, always wanting to persuade him to let go of his obsession, that redemption was just around the corner.

But before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.

Lucas suddenly stood up, his hands braced against the table as he leaned forward abruptly.