Chapter 190: Off The Market!
"Hey! Stop talking and come outside with me."
With so many people watching, Fiona’s cheeks flushed bright red.
She’d always been carefree, loud, and fearless, the kind of tomboy who never got embarrassed over anything. Yet somehow, this freshman had completely thrown her off balance.
Before anyone could tease her further, she grabbed the boy’s wrist and practically dragged him out of the restaurant.
Watching them leave, Luca smiled. "Does your best friend actually like him?"
Arabella calmly peeled a shrimp and placed it into Luca’s bowl before nodding.
"She does," she replied. "She just hasn’t realized it herself."
The very first time Fiona mentioned the junior to her, Arabella had already figured it out. Her best friend had fallen for him long ago.
The only person who hadn’t noticed was Fiona herself.
Still, Arabella had never intended to point it out.
To her, everything followed its own course.
Whether two people stayed together or drifted apart, fate would decide.
Just like her and Luca.
They should have remained two parallel lines that would never meet.
Yet on that particular day, her car broke down, and Luca just happened to be driving back from Silver Province.
That chance encounter changed everything.
She believed hard work could change many things, but the final outcome wasn’t determined by effort alone.
"I thought he was another one of your admirers, Sister-in-law," Lisa said, sounding disappointed.
It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.
Arabella was practically a legend around the university.
People often joked, "The San Fierro University confession wall only has two kinds of girls: Arabella... and everyone else."
That alone showed how popular she was.
What Luca didn’t know was that two years ago, the University City Forum had held a vote to determine the most beautiful campus belle among every university nearby.
Arabella had won by an overwhelming margin.
The funniest part was that she hadn’t even known about the competition until Fiona showed her the results afterward.
To countless students, she was the unreachable white moonlight they’d admired from afar.
"I don’t have that many suitors," Arabella said, shaking her head.
Lisa blinked. "Seriously? You’re not joking?"
She found that hard to believe.
Arabella was stunning enough to make anyone stop in their tracks. If she were a man, even she would have fallen for someone like that. How could there not be crowds of men chasing after her?
"I’m serious," Arabella replied. "A lot of people have confessed to me, but not as many as people think."
She wasn’t exaggerating.
Plenty of boys admired her, but most never dared to say anything.
Her cold, distant image intimidated them.
Many gave up before even trying, convinced they’d be rejected anyway.
A few minutes later, Fiona returned.
The boys from the neighboring table also came back and sat down.
The most eye-catching among them was Fiona’s soon-to-be boyfriend.
The grin on his face stretched from ear to ear, as though he wanted the whole restaurant to know he was in the best mood of his life.
Meanwhile, Fiona quietly sat beside Lisa, her face still bright red.
Every now and then she’d glare at the boy’s smug expression, growing more annoyed each time she looked at him.
Eventually, she gave up and buried herself in the delicious food instead.
After lunch, Lisa slung her backpack over one shoulder and skipped happily toward the exit.
"Arabella, you two go ahead," Fiona said awkwardly. "I still have something to do."
Even as she spoke, she couldn’t resist sneaking another glance back into the restaurant.
Arabella immediately understood.
Stepping closer, she gently squeezed Fiona’s hand.
"Good luck."
"Oh, stop it. It’s not even official yet," Fiona complained shyly, though the smile on her face betrayed how happy she was.
After saying goodbye to Fiona, Luca and Arabella returned to San Fierro University together.
The moment they appeared side by side on the campus walkway, they became the center of attention.
Within minutes, new posts flooded the university forum.
[Breaking News! The Ice Queen Campus Belle’s mysterious boyfriend finally revealed!]
[Campus Belle spotted walking hand in hand with her boyfriend!]
[Senior Arabella officially off the market!]
No matter how exaggerated the headlines were, one thing was certain.
Everyone now believed Arabella was officially dating.
Her rumored boyfriend had finally been confirmed.
Across campus, countless boys mourned in their dorm rooms.
Some girls with secret crushes on her quietly wiped away tears beneath their blankets as well.
The white moonlight they’d admired for so long had become someone else’s daylight.
A few hot-headed guys even rushed onto the forum, eager to see what kind of man had stolen their goddess.
The moment they saw Luca’s picture, however, they fell silent.
"..."
They finally understood.
His looks alone were enough to make them surrender.
’Fine... we can’t compete with that.’
Their fighting spirit vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Arabella’s boyfriend was ridiculously handsome.
Being handsome wasn’t his fault.
Stealing away the campus goddess with that face, though...
That definitely felt unfair.
Sure enough, handsome men and beautiful women really did belong together.
"You’ve gotten used to all the attention?" Arabella asked softly as she looked at Luca’s profile.
Students kept sneaking glances in their direction, and several were openly taking photos with their phones.
She had long since become accustomed to it.
She simply wondered whether Luca minded.
"It’s fine."
Luca smiled and gently patted her head.
’She’s way too popular...’
’I really need to keep a closer eye on her.’
"That’s good."
Arabella nodded before naturally slipping her hand into his.
"Luca... what would you like to do next?"
"I want the most beautiful girl on this campus."
He said it with complete seriousness.
Arabella blinked in confusion.
"What do you need her for? Isn’t she already standing beside you?"
She genuinely believed he was complimenting her.
One thing Luca had to admit was that, although Arabella often misunderstood romantic hints, she was surprisingly confident when it came to acknowledging her own beauty.
After thinking quietly for a while, she finally made up her mind.
"Would you like me to take you somewhere?"
Seeing the rare determination in her eyes, Luca suddenly became curious.
Even more surprising was the slight dampness of her palm as she held his hand.
She was nervous.
Hand in hand, they left the university and eventually stopped in front of the gates of an upscale residential estate.
Arabella didn’t notice the subtle change in Luca’s expression.
The moment he saw the entrance, his smile stiffened.
His heartbeat sped up like a roller coaster plunging downhill.
’Wait...’
’Why is she bringing me here?’
’Out of every place in San Fierro... why Golden Water Bay?’
He owned an entire apartment building there.
But that wasn’t what frightened him.
The real problem...
Naomi lived there too.