Chapter 188: Do You Like Me?
After hanging up, Luca carried Arabella’s painting supplies in one hand and held her hand with the other as they made their way toward the riverbank.
Arabella wore a simple white dress that fitted her figure perfectly, accentuating her graceful curves without being overly revealing. Her slender waist was especially striking, delicate enough to seem as though it could be wrapped in one hand.
Her skin was almost snow-white beneath the sunlight, seeming to glow against the white strands of her loosely flowing hair. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet her already stunning features needed no embellishment.
With the gentle breeze stirring her hair and the quiet river stretching behind her, she looked almost like an angel who had wandered down from the heavens.
Cool sunlight.
A quiet river.
An elegant girl.
Even without doing anything, she was enough to become the most beautiful sight along the entire riverbank.
"Sit on the stone stool."
Arabella pointed toward a square stone seat beside the railing.
Luca obediently sat down.
She then walked around him several times, occasionally adjusting his posture.
"Um..."
Luca glanced at his pose and couldn’t help but mutter, "Doesn’t this look a little like Rodin’s The Thinker?"
He could already feel several curious gazes from people passing nearby.
Standing there and posing like this in front of everyone was honestly a little embarrassing.
Arabella, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
Instead, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Stay still. This is my final assignment."
With that, she picked up her pen and began sketching.
’Final assignment?’
Luca suddenly felt even more self-conscious.
Wouldn’t this painting be displayed around the university afterward?
He had no idea that Arabella’s work had been exhibited not only at San Fierro University, but at several other universities as well.
Her competition pieces usually required weeks or even months of painstaking work.
Compared with those, a final exam assignment was practically nothing.
She could draw something decent and submit it.
About an hour later, Arabella finally put down her brush.
Luca immediately stood and stretched.
Under normal circumstances, sitting still for an hour wouldn’t have bothered him much.
Lately, however, he’d been constantly exhausted from all sorts of exhausting activities, and his back had started to ache more often than he cared to admit.
Arabella looked at the finished painting.
"Hmm. Not bad."
She studied it for another moment before nodding.
"Very beautiful."
Luca immediately puffed out his chest.
"Obviously. It’s because the model is handsome."
Arabella glanced at him.
She didn’t bother arguing with such a childish statement.
Instead, she tilted her head and examined the painting again.
"It really is."
Her tone remained completely serious.
"Very handsome."
Luca was instantly satisfied.
Yet when he looked at her expression and saw how serious she remained, he couldn’t help but pout.
’Is she just humoring me?’
Of course, he kept that thought to himself.
He had known Arabella for quite some time now, so he understood her personality well.
"The painting is finished. What now?"
Luca gathered her painting supplies and carried them back toward the Ferrari.
Arabella checked the time on her phone.
"It’s almost lunchtime. There’s a good restaurant near the university. Do you want to go?"
"Get in the car."
Luca opened the door for her.
Inside the Ferrari, Arabella mentioned that she wanted to introduce him to a few of her friends.
Luca naturally agreed.
She also called Lisa Hale, who lived nearby, and invited her to join them.
As for Naomi...
Luca wisely decided not to mention her.
Naomi lived in Golden Water Bay, and the restaurant was less than ten minutes away on foot.
Still, there was no reason to unnecessarily create trouble in his already complicated romantic life.
’It’s better not to be too arrogant.’
Luca silently praised his own wisdom.
Unfortunately, his moment of self-satisfaction didn’t last long.
Arabella suddenly spoke.
"By the way, Luca, I just remembered something you still haven’t answered."
She rested her chin lightly on her palm and gazed out the window.
"What?"
Luca glanced at her.
"What question?"
Arabella calmly said, "The last time you gave me that brooch, I really liked it."
She paused.
"But I wanted to ask you something."
Her gaze remained on the scenery outside.
"Who is Sophie?"
The moment he heard the name, Luca was reminded of the message he had accidentally sent her.
The old incident had come back to haunt him.
His breath caught for a moment.
His fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel.
He secretly glanced at Arabella.
Her reflection appeared in the rearview mirror.
There was no anger on her face.
No accusation.
Nothing obvious at all.
She still wore that same calm, distant expression, making it almost impossible to tell what she was thinking.
But Luca knew her well enough by now.
She was definitely paying attention to his reaction.
And when he remained silent for too long, Arabella already had her answer.
In truth, she had suspected it for a while.
She had only asked because she wanted to confirm it.
His hesitation had done that for her.
"She’s very talented, isn’t she?"
Arabella was the one who broke the silence.
Luca nodded.
"Yes."
Then, perhaps sensing the tension in the car, he quickly added, "But you’re talented too. You’re beautiful, and you’re incredibly gifted."
Arabella gave a small nod.
She didn’t seem particularly pleased by the compliment.
Instead, she asked another question.
"Does this car belong to her?"
Luca’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel again.
The moment Arabella had entered the Ferrari, she’d noticed the faint scent of roses lingering inside.
The interior also didn’t feel like Luca’s usual style.
Everything about it suggested that a woman spent a lot of time in the car.
"Uh..."
Luca rubbed the tip of his nose.
"No."
The answer came out slightly awkwardly.
Silence returned.
This time, it was heavier.
Through the mirror, Luca could see Arabella’s chest rising and falling slightly faster than before.
Her fingers had tightened around the hem of her dress, unconsciously twisting the fabric.
She was angry.
But beneath that anger was something else.
Hurt.
The truth was that hearing Luca had so many women around him genuinely upset her.
Luca was the first man who had ever made her heart beat differently.
For most of her life, Arabella had poured all her passion into painting.
When she painted, she felt completely at peace.
As she grew older and more beautiful, countless men began pursuing her.
Some were wealthy.
Some were powerful.
Some were considered the most desirable bachelors in the city.
Yet none of them had ever stirred her heart.
Even the man known throughout the city for his romantic reputation, the one countless wealthy families wanted to marry their daughters to, had never interested her.
Then she met Luca.
Somehow, this man had slipped past every defense she’d built around herself.
Maybe he simply fit her sense of beauty perfectly.
Maybe it was his voice.
Maybe it was the way he’d looked that night when he was sick, anxious and completely flustered.
Maybe it was their first meeting on the highway.
Perhaps it was all of those little moments combined.
Looking back, everything seemed strangely inevitable.
On the day she left, when Luca closed his eyes, she had even felt an overwhelming urge to kiss him.
But in the end, she lost her nerve.
Now she knew he had girlfriends.
More than one.
And what did that make her?
Where exactly did she stand in Luca’s heart?
If she chose to be with him, could she accept sharing the man she loved with other women?
Arabella felt completely lost.
It was like having countless mathematical problems placed in front of her at once.
No matter how many times she tried to solve them, she couldn’t find the answer.
Finally, she spoke.
"Luca..."
Her voice was unusually soft.
"Do you like me?"
She continued staring out the window as though she were completely focused on the scenery.
But through the rearview mirror, her eyes were secretly watching his expression.
Luca answered without the slightest hesitation.
"I like you."
There wasn’t even a moment of doubt in his voice.
His feelings for Arabella had never been complicated.
He had fallen for her the moment he’d first seen her.
If he hadn’t liked her, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to give her a ride in the first place.
Of course, Luca admitted that her beauty had been what initially attracted him.
But after spending more time with her, he’d discovered that there was far more to Arabella than her appearance.
She was talented.
Hardworking.
Disciplined.
And surprisingly sincere.
In person, she wasn’t exactly the most talkative woman in the world.
Online, however, she was completely different.
She would occasionally share amusing stories about university life, send him interesting things she’d encountered during the day, and even reveal little pieces of her personality that she rarely showed in person.
That cold, aloof demeanor was simply the armor she wore around other people.
Deep down, Arabella was someone who could become completely absorbed in whatever she chose to pursue.
When she focused on something, she gave it everything she had.
And that was one of the things Luca liked most about her.