Thalia put away her phone, feeling much better after reading others'' criticisms of Melody. Recalling how angry Lucas was with her earlier, she started to n how to change his opinion of her. Returning to her room, Thalia looked at the water bottle on the table for a long time. Then, she approached and poured a full cup of hot water. After some thought, she added half a cup of cold water. All she needed to do was to make her skin red.


    To win over Lucas, Thalia had to be ruthless with herself. She rolled up her pants and poured the water onto her ankle.


    "Ah!" she cried out, then bit her lip tightly. Even though she had mixed in cold water, it still hurt terribly when the water sshed onto her skin.


    Seeing her skin immediately swell up, Thalia limped over to the sofa. She trembled with pain but kept biting her lip.


    At that moment, Lucas went back downstairs. With his tall stature and confident stride, he exuded a certain aura. Despite not giving interviews to the media, discussions about him on the app were constant.


    It was understandable. After all, he was the youngest, wealthiestpany president in the country with good looks to boot. Who would not be drawn to him?


    Thalia, feeling envious, was determined to keep Lucas firmly in her grasp. Emigrating to Molomia with her family had been a big mistake, but since she was back, she had no intention of leaving.


    Lucas, seeing Thalia still seated on the sofa without any intention of getting up, assumed she was still pretending about her foot pain. He frowned slightly, wondering when Thalia had developed such a character, always seemingly lying.


    He walked up to her and asked, "Why are you still here?"


    He did not expect to see Thalia''s forehead slicked with sweat after she lifted her head. His frown deepened with puzzlement since it was not that hot.Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "What''s wrong?" he inquired because he thought she looked genuinely unwell.


    Thalia chuckled bitterly. "Lucas, I know you think I''m deliberately deceiving you, but how do you know my pain isn''t real? Since Melody got injured, you haven''t even looked at me properly. You took her to the hospital and brought her back. Did you ever consider that I might actually be hurt?"


    Lucas could not fathom how Thalia became so shaky when he had carried her back earlier. He frowned, lowering his head to inspect her, but Thalia pushed his hand away.


    "Forget it. I know you''ve given up on me. What do our years of friendship even matter? After tonight, I''ll buy a ne ticket back to Molomia. I won''t bother you or be a burden to you anymore."


    Lucas could hear the strain in her voice, sensing that she was enduring immense pain.


    ''But she wasn''t like this in the hospital, was she?'' he thought.


    "Exactly what''s the matter with you? If you''re injured, just say so. I can have someone take you to the hospital," said Lucas.


    Thalia pushed away Lucas'' hand, disappointment evident on her face as she stood up unsteadily, and staggered away.


    "Lucas, I know what you''re thinking. You think I''m just putting on an act again, causing trouble for you... But you have my word that from tonight onward, I''ll recognize my ce and I won''t bother you anymore." Lucas, already in a bad mood, felt a surge of impatience at Thalia''s behavior and decided not to deal with her anymore. However, he did not expect Thalia to stagger and suddenly copse off the sofa.


    "Ah!"


    Thalia curled up in pain, her leg feeling like it was burning from the inside out.


    Only then did Lucas notice the injury on her leg. Watching as Thalia rolled up her pants to examine it, he was shocked by therge, swollen area of redness that greeted his eyes.