It seemed that Lucas was not keen on letting Ste know the truth of their rtionship.


    "Friend? As in, ''girlfriend'' or just a normal friend?" Ste teased.


    "Just a normal friend," Lucas replied without hesitation.N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Melody reacted somewhat awkwardly and pursed her lips. "Yes. Mister Lucas and I are friends-new friends, I might add. I heard about this event and persuaded him to bring me along and experience the sights. I hope you don''t misunderstand our rtionship."


    Since Lucas did not want Ste to know about them, she dutifully yed along with him.


    Ste did not seem to have any particr reaction toward Melody''s remark and reached out to hold Lucas'' hand. "A friend of Lucas is a friend of mine. Speaking of which, what was your name again?" "My name''s Melody," she answered. Despite ying the role of Lucas'' wife for so long, she had never been so intimate with him in public. He was, after all, averse to physical contact with members of the opposite gender, yet he neither flinched nor pulled away when Ste held her. The intimacy between them was so different from his usual reserved demeanor, and Melody felt indescribably uneasy because of that.


    "Nice to meet you, Melody. Since you''re Lucas'' friend, then pleasee with me." Ste smiled magnanimously and brought Lucas to the second floor.


    Melody answered softly and followed silently from behind. The second floor was a private zone, and Melody pushed open a door as she entered with Lucas. "Where were you, Ste? We''ve all been waiting to raise a ss to you!" someone called out to Ste as soon as they entered. "Oh, and Lucas is here too!"


    Melody just tagged along like an invisible, inconspicuous person. The room was filled with well-dressed young men and women. They were allughing and conversing like old friends. Melody recognized none of them, nor could she understand what they were talking about. She did not feel like she belonged there, and she had no intention of forcing herself to mingle with them.


    She found a quiet corner and sat down with a ss of juice. From time to time, she stole nces at Lucas from across the room, noticing that he had such a soft expression when speaking to Ste that it was almost as if he was a different person from his usual self. For some reason, Melody felt a little sad when she saw Lucas sitting there with Ste. She was his wife-granted, in name only-yet he treated her like a stranger while reserving his warmth for another.


    A sigh escaped her lips and she drank the juice in one gulp. Sheforted herself by reiterating that it was just a job. Just because her ''employer'' ignored her did not mean she could ck on the ''job''. Then, Ste appeared beside her and extended a ss of red wine. "Why are you drinking juice when there''s wine to be shared?"


    Melody took the ss with a grateful smile. "Thanks, but I''m not much of a drinker."


    "Loosen up, Melody," Ste insisted and clinked her ss against Melody''s. "These people here and friends of myself and Lucas. Just rx and enjoy the night."


    Though Melody had already made it clear that she did not drink, she felt that it would be incredibly rude to refuse, especially when Ste had already clinked sses with her. In the end, she gave in and took a small sip.