Night Unfurls its Splendor

Inside Monet Restaurant, Maya and Lucas finished their entrees and were ready for the main dishes. As she watched the empty oyster shells being carried away, Maya couldn't help but sigh. Even though the french onion soup that Lucas gave her was quite tasty, she had been craving oysters ever since she saw it on the menu, so she was a little disappointed that she didn't get to eat more.

Lucas saw the disappointment in the woman's eyes and his lips curled upwards with amusement. Not wanting to tease the woman anymore, he decided to let her enjoy her main dish, so he did not make any other suggestive comments. But every now and then, he would lift his head slightly to glance at her.

Maya ate slowly, enjoying every bite. A few times, Lucas thought she was full and had stopped, but she surprisingly continued until the entire dish was finished.

"Can you still fit dessert?" he asked as he sat back and looked at the woman with fascination. There was a sense of warmth in his eyes that wasn't there when he first arrived.

Maya wiped her lips with a napkin and nodded her head, "There's always room for dessert."

Just as she said this, she suddenly noticed from the corner of her eyes that the fountain outside had stopped and the lights had turned off. Looking outside with curiosity, she whispered like an innocent child peering into a candy store, "What's going on?"

Lucas followed the woman's gaze and checked the watch on his wrist. Normally, the fountain repeated the same sequence every 15 minutes, but because it was new year's eve, there was a special show scheduled for 9pm and midnight. He didn't expect to still be at the restaurant at 9pm, so he had totally forgotten about it.

Glancing at the woman again, he noticed a sweet smile appear on her lips as she saw the fountain slowly light up again. The lights from the fountain reflected in her eyes and he found himself unable to look away.

At that moment, he remembered the quote that the woman had recited earlier: 'Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor...'

He smiled as he thought about that quote. The woman was right, the night was indeed growing unexpectedly splendid by the hour.

Just as he thought this, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Snapping out of his daze, he turned around to find a young blond-haired man standing beside their table. It was his personal driver, Noah Thompson.

Noah stretched out his hand to reveal a set of keys in his palm. "Sorry, Boss, I called you but you didn't hear me. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you tonight?" he asked.

Lucas grabbed the keys and shook his head. "Go enjoy your new year," he replied.

Noah looked at Lucas and noticed there was a woman sitting at the table with him. The woman was looking out the window so he couldn't see her face, but he immediately suspected that the man had something evil planned. [Is he planning to hurt another woman tonight?]

"Honestly, Boss, I don't have anything planned. Let me drive you tonight," Noah insisted.

Lucas furrowed his brows and shook his head. Taking a peek at the woman opposite him, he revealed a sneaky smile and deliberately said in a volume that she could hear, "I want to spend some time alone with my date. Do you want to be a third wheel?"

Maya heard the man say this and immediately turned her head in surprise. She lifted her foot subconsciously under the table but quickly held back. If she wasn't substituting for Delilah, the man would have been in so much pain...

Lucas chuckled obliviously. He loved teasing this woman.

But, as he looked at Maya smugly and she glared back at him, Noah stared at Maya in shock. This face was one that he recognized!

[What's Delilah doing here? Isn't she meant to be at the hospital?]

Noah ran his eyes up and down the woman in confusion. It didn't make sense for her to be there.

[No, this isn't right. Doesn't she have a broken nose?]

At that moment, Lucas noticed the way that Noah was looking at Maya and cleared his throat to get the man's attention. "If you're done looking, you can leave," he said sternly. For some reason, he didn't like the way that the man was looking at his date.

Maya glanced at Noah blankly and he noticed her empty gaze.

She had no idea who he was at all.

Slowly, his eyes opened in realization as he began to understand what this meant.

[This isn't Delilah...]

Quickly snapping out of his daze, he excused himself and started walking towards the door. As he stepped outside, he looked back through the glass doors and frowned. The woman inside looked exactly like the woman that he had saved the previous day, but her vibe was completely different.

"Identical twins..." he whispered under his breath with certainty.

[If Delilah doesn't believe me, I wonder if her twin will...]

Inside, Maya sat back and crossed her arms as she looked at the man opposite her. What did he mean by spending some time alone with her? Did he expect something after this date? Was he serious about seeing her with no clothes and testing out the oysters? Maya blushed a little at the thought. She didn't want to play any more mind games with the man.

"Mr. Lee, if I'm not mistaken, you seem to be quite interested in me," she said straightforwardly.

Lucas tilted his head in surprise.

Maya then added courageously, "Not only are you following my account on social media, but you're also making plans to spend more time together. Is it right for me to assume that this blind date was a success? If you're happy with what you saw today, let's cut straight to the chase: will you come back with me to Hong Kong?"

"...Your father is already preparing our engagement party..."

Maya understood how blind dates among the rich worked. That was another reason why she agreed to attend this blind date on behalf of her sister. It was almost as sterile as an arranged marriage. As long as the two parties didn't hate each other and the marriage was mutually beneficial, then it would go ahead like a business deal. There was nothing more to it.

Personally, it wasn't something that she agreed with. But she knew her sister was more than happy to marry a stranger (as long as that stranger was Lucas Lee).

Lucas leaned forward slightly and smirked. Why did this woman feel like she was in such a rush? "Success? Why do you make this date sound like some kind of a mission? Miss Yeung, you need more patience."

He then stared straight into her eyes with a trace of anticipation, "I admit that you have sparked my interest...but I don't care what deal you made with my father. If you want me to follow you back to Hong Kong...you will have to try harder than this."