The Day My Contract Ended I Married Another Man novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I thought Alexander would call soon, but days passed without a single message.

Even Lucas hadn’t texted me much lately.

It wasn’t until that morning that he finally called.

“Do you like firework shows?”

I paused, then remembered–the lakeside mall was hosting a molten metal fireworks show that

evening.

When night came, Lucas waited for me downstairs. The roads around the mall were packed with

cars, so he didn’t drive. We walked hand in hand toward the mall.

New York City was slowly entering autumn. The night breeze brushed across my face, bringing

with it a rare sense of ease.

“You never used to like these things,” I said.

“You’ll like it,” Lucas replied. “Sorry I’ve been busy at the research institute these past few days. I haven’t had time to keep you company.

“For your brother?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’ve taken on a few extra projects.”

He paused. “My parents sent him to the army. This will be the last thing I do for him.”

I sighed. “Brotherly love? If it were my brother, I’d let him fend for himself. Guess he’s lucky to have such a soft–hearted big brother.”

Lucas lowered his gaze to look at me. I laughed softly.

He didn’t understand why I was smiling, but seeing me happy made him smile too. “You’ve never talked about your family before. This is the first time.”

“Really?” I hadn’t realized. I simply never mentioned them because I didn’t want to think about the past.

“You never asked,” I said.

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“I thought you only talked about your family with people you’re closest to,” he replied.

I looked up at him, smiling. “Mr. Harris, aren’t we close enough?”

I lifted our intertwined hands, then rose on my toes and kissed his cheek. “Close enough?”

Lucas thought for a moment and shook his head. “Not enough.”

I blinked in surprise–then he leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips.

“Now it’s enough.”

I stared at him, wide–eyed. “Lucas, where did you learn that?”

He smiled, holding my hand as we quickened our pace. “It’s about to start.”

The firework show was free, taking place at the lakeside plaza outside the mall. By the time we arrived, the entire square was packed.

All I could see were heads and raised phones, with no trace of the sparks.

We gave up on squeezing through and sat down on a nearby bench, listening to the cheers from

the crowd.

For some reason, a thought struck me. Maybe decades from now, Lucas and I would still be sitting on this same bench, watching the tide of people go by.

I’d rest my head on his shoulder, and the streetlights would stretch our shadows long across the

ground.

It was peaceful, soft, and so full of quiet happiness that it filled my chest like warm bubbles.

I had always longed for a life like this.

“Lucas,” I whispered, “how long do you think I’ll live?”

“The average life expectancy here is seventy–seven,” he said.

I sighed regretfully[语义重复,sigh本身就有regret的意思,可删除regretfully]. “But I want to live

like this for a long time. I want to spend more years with you.‘

Lucas’s voice softened. “Then I’ll lend you some of mine.”

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I playfully smacked his arm. “Are you stupid? If you die, who’ll stay with me?”

He laughed too. The warm streetlights shimmered through the trees, swaying gently in the night wind, casting shifting shadows across his face. His eyes were calm–like the deep blue of the sea.

My heartbeat stumbled out of rhythm. I looked at Lucas; he looked back.

We inched closer, close enough that I could smell that familiar hint of pine–his scent.

I closed my eyes. Just as our lips were about to meet, my phone rang.

I froze, opening my eyes to see the name flashing on the screen.

[Alexander.]

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