She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 320

“So they’re discussing marriage already?” Loyce was genuinely surprised. She hadn’t even had time to respond when Forrest Lonsdale—her eldest brother—came down the spiral staircase and picked up where Hank left off.

“Loyce, we’ll support you dating whoever you want,” Forrest said. “Even if you fell for someone with nothing to his name, as long as you were happy, we’d accept it. But Lucian is different. He’s complicated—and Zeke is the kind of man who lives by debt and loyalty. Even if Lucian cares about you, if the old man refuses, you’ll never be allowed to become ‘official.’”

Forrest stepped closer and gently rubbed her head, like she was still a kid. “Men are everywhere. Don’t get yourself hurt over an older man, okay?”

Loyce blinked. “So you’re worried that before rumors can turn ugly, I should cut ties with him—so I don’t get hurt.”

Both brothers nodded. Forrest even produced a tablet. On-screen was Morris Lonsdale, away at a music symposium.

“Morris agrees,” Forrest said. “If you insist on this, you’ll end up stuck in the middle—neither here nor there. It’ll eat you alive.”

All three brothers looked unusually serious, and in that moment, Loyce could feel it: they weren’t controlling her. They were protecting her.

She went quiet for a beat, ignoring the faint discomfort tightening in her chest, and then said with a small, composed smile, “There’s something you should know. This whole ‘dating Lucian’ thing was a lie from the beginning. We weren’t dating.”

Hank was the first to freeze. “Not dating?”

Then something clicked in his head—and his temper detonated. “Then what was that in the lab? Lucian wasn’t even wearing a shirt. That bastard was taking liberties with you!”

Loyce laughed. “Forrest’s surgeries were done by me too. Hank, do you really still doubt my medical skill? That day, I was treating him—nothing more. There was no line crossed.”

She continued, calm and matter-of-fact. “And later, calling it ‘dating’ was just to make it reasonable for me to board his ship as family. It prevented formal scrutiny, and it kept the wrong people from getting alerted. From start to finish, it was a plan.”

She looked at them steadily. “From start to finish, I never loved him. It was cooperation, not romance. I can swear that to you.”

Her expression didn’t waver, and she didn’t sound like she was acting. The brothers finally exhaled, tension easing.

“If that’s the case,” Forrest said, “we should have the media clarify it.”

“Forrest,” Loyce said, “we haven’t even held my welcome-back gala yet. Plenty of people don’t even know I’m a Lonsdale. I’ll handle the clarification. Don’t worry.”

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