Chapter 66

**SCARLET**

I woke up early the next morning. I could already hear murmuring in the kitchen. I smelled butter and bacon in the cold air. Nate was probably early today. It was unusual for him to come early because he was a sleepyhead.
I swung my legs out of bed and wandered out of my bedroom. Katherine wasn’t talking with Nate. Luke? I frowned hard and blinked my eyes a couple of times, but he was still there.
Luke and Katherine were in front of the kitchen. She was laughing at him. Luke was smiling back at her, as well.
“What is going on?” I told them.
“Oh, there she is.” Katherine grinned.
Luke turned around. He was still in a white long-sleeved shirt, and an apron hung around his waist.
“You... you are here?”
Luke smiled. “Do you want me to leave?”
“No, no.” I swallowed hard, still surprised. “I thought…” I don’t know how I should react. Of course, I was happy to see him. I missed him too much, but his presence made me sad at the same time. He didn’t know a single thing about Thomas’ plan for me. He wouldn’t ever forgive me if he knew. All I thought about was I only had a day to be with him.
“I came this morning. Why don’t you come here and give me a hug?”
I walked towards him slowly. I was expecting him to come to the commencement day tomorrow. He just came back from London, and he didn’t tell me about it. He went there for me. How could I ever leave him like this? I slipped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“I’m happy.” I hugged him tightly.
“Easy.” He chuckled. “We have a lot of time. I’m not leaving anymore,” he said softly.
We don’t have a lot of time. I’m going to leave. I’m going to leave you, and I promised your father not to tell you.
“You’re not?”
“My work here is done. Why are you crying?” His brows furrowed.
I shook my head. “Done?”
Luke pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I missed you so bad.”
“Alright!” Katherine interrupted. “This is your day. I should leave you two. I’ll just get one of these.” Katherine grabbed a toast and a glass of milk.
I chuckled. “Thank you,” I mouthed. I pressed my head back against Luke’s chest. He smelled too good; it was too much. I couldn’t take this anymore. “I missed you too.”
“Hey, I prepared breakfast. Why don’t we eat together?”
“Wait... did you tell your father that you’re here?”
“No. I came here straight. I wanted to see you.”
I nodded. If Thomas didn’t know, I had more than twenty-four hours with Luke.
We sat at the small table and began eating our breakfast. I watched him eat breakfast slowly, and how I loved watching him eat. But I wanted to tell him so badly and didn’t want to lie to him. He was still expecting me to come home with the family in Manhattan.
“Stop staring.”
I laughed. “Hey, can we go out today?”
He swallowed his food. “Of course. Where do you want to go?”
Well, there’s somewhere I wanted to go to. “Let’s go to the arcade!”
His eyebrows knit together. “Arcade?”
“Yes! Streetfighter? Dance Revolution?”
“Yes, I know what an arcade is. But why there?”
“Oh, come on, Luke! It’ll be fun. Can we just go out like normal people?”
“Of course, I’m coming with you, wherever that is. I’m just curious.”
“Because I’m supposed to go with Katherine, but you came. So, I’d like to go with you instead.”
Luke let out a soft laugh, “Okay. So, you are asking me on a date?”
I blinked. “Well…”
“Then I’ll take you to the arcade, but I know a good place to play.”
I hurriedly got out of the car when I caught sight of a Ferris wheel. “Amusement park? You brought me to an amusement park?”
“Why? Don’t you like it? They have an arcade inside.”
“No! I don’t like it. I love it, Luke!”
It was like coming back to my childhood. Mom brought me to an amusement park once, and it was far too long ago. If I were going to keep this special memory in my heart, it wouldn’t be hard to leave. At least I’d have something I could cherish that would remind me that Luke always had a place in my heart.
Luke walked towards me. He slipped an arm to my side. “Shall we?”
“Yes!” I bit my lower lip. I only had a day. It was not the time to be sad. I’d definitely enjoy this day with Luke. “Yes!” I grabbed his hand and dragged him with me toward the gate.
We bought two entrance tickets at the booth then we proceeded inside. I forgot about the arcade. My mind was set on riding every single ride in the theme park. We first went to the rollercoaster.
“I wanted something extreme,” I told Luke. “Come on! I’m so excited!”
“What happened to the arcade? I thought you wanted to play?” He chuckled.
“We are going to play. Forget the arcade. This is better!”
We both got inside and took a seat. An employee of the theme park made sure the belts were tightly locked on our bodies. “I’m nervous,” I told him.
“Hold tight.”
I nodded. Several seconds later, the rollercoaster train slowly moved forward. My eyes grew wide. “Oh, no!”
I screamed in pure shock. The train suddenly moved extremely fast, going down the rail. I felt the rush and the cold air against my skin. I felt like I was about to die. I could hear the people riding with us screaming as well.
Luke was laughing next to me. “You said you wanted extreme!” he screamed.
“I didn’t expect—” I screamed as the rail went up again. “Geez, can we stop this already?”
“No!” Luke lifted his arm in the air. The train went up this time.
I was getting ready for the next rolldown. “Damn it! Here it is again.”
I held the handle tight. I didn’t have the time to look at the surroundings at all, though I thought it was beautiful at the top. I screamed for my life. It was thrilling, exciting, and scary at the same time. I had never felt so alive.
The rollercoaster finally stopped after one full ride. We got off the train, feeling a little nauseous.
“That was fun! But damn, I’m dizzy!”
Luke chuckled like it was nothing to him. How did he do that? “Are you hungry?”
“No! No. Let’s get to the horror house instead. They say it is heart-pounding!” I exclaimed, still catching my breath. My throat felt dry. I screamed too hard.
Luke and I went to the horror house; it wasn’t scary. When I got bored, I asked Luke to ride the bumper cars, then to the Ferris wheel.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” I told him. The Ferris wheel was moving so slowly. The sky was getting dark. I could see the whole amusement park from the top.
“Yes, it is nice.” He stared at my face, “But not as beautiful as you.” he smiled.
I smiled back. “Thank you for this day, Luke. I loved it.”
“Anytime, love.” He winked.
“Oh, it’s my graduation tomorrow. I’m glad you came early.”
He nuzzled my forehead. “I wanted to tell you something.”
“Hmm?” I hummed, but my eyes focused on the beautiful scene in front of me.
“I’m sorry about the last few weeks. She’s just really a business partner.”
“I believe you.”
“I bought the Hightower,” he said out of the blue.
“You what?” That caught my attention. “What did you do?”
“You heard me.”
“It was Raoul’s club. How…” I swallowed hard. “That’s what you did in London?”
“I wanted to bring him down.”
That’s what Thomas meant when he said Luke was chasing the man after me. I didn’t know about his plan, but still, it was too risky. Raoul wouldn’t let this go if he found out.
“You didn’t have to…”
“I have to. I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
“What happened? I mean, how did you do it?”
“That’s not important. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet him. They said he’s here.”
I looked away. “I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “He sent me a message.”
“He—what?” Luke grabbed my arm.
“Don’t worry. He didn’t show up yet. I’m still wondering why.”
But yes. A few years ago, he promised that he’d come back for me.
“How come this doesn’t bother you? You should have told me!”
“It bothers me, okay? But he didn’t do anything yet.”
Luke’s shoulders fell. “I won’t let him come near you. I promise you that.”
I smiled faintly at him. “I’ll be fine. Really.”
He’d never come near me because, by that time, I wouldn’t be around anymore. Maybe I didn’t belong anywhere in Manhattan or Cambridge. Perhaps I really belonged somewhere else.
“Luke, can we just enjoy the night and forget about him?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried. So, what do you want to try next?”
I bit my lower lip. “Let’s go down. I want to see the arcade.”
He chuckled. “Not really going to let it pass, huh?”
“Yes, and then, dinner later!”