Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Lucas' POV

Friends.

I stared at my hand minutes after she'd gone, contemplating.

I wasn't sure if I was a big fan of the word. But it was a reassurance that she didn't hate me and wouldn't run away from me if she saw me again.

My phone vibrated and I picked it up when I saw the caller ID.

“Dad."

“Prepare yourself, let's have lunch with some of my friends," he said.

“Okay."

I sighed after the call ended.

Another time to turn on my charm and pretend to like another batch of people.

I got up and left the building, leaving a large tip.

I got into the car parked outside and gave a simple instruction.

I leaned back, closing my eyes.

My parents knew I wasn't the biggest fan of talking to business partners and friends. We had nothing in common and it was exhausting pretending. But they all seemed to like my personality. They jokingly said that “when you speak or laugh, it's like a halo is over your head. It's almost like we're speaking to some superior being." It was ridiculous, but I never complained.

They weren't the first people to see me like that.

Sometimes I just wanted to be around someone who didn't see that all the time.

“We're here," I was told minutes later.

I opened my eyes.

“Thank you," I told my driver.

I got out in front of the door.

I always felt like it was too big a house. We weren't a big family. I knew my parents felt some guilt for that, that's why I was spoiled. But it never changed the fact that I wanted a big, rowdy family.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

---

Hours later, I sat in an exclusive restaurant with two men, and my father.

My cheeks hurt from the forced smiles and jokes.

My father seemed pleased with everything, so I just kept going. I couldn't really be mad at him. He wasn't a bad guy, he just wanted the best for me. For me to have a good relationship with his business partners before the day came when I'd inherit the empire he'd built.

"So how's football, my boy?" One of the men, Mr. Alba, asked.

"Ah, I heard that as always, you did well... Your team won," the other man, Mr. Kelly, Anita's father added.

The man always made me uncomfortable. Ever since I got with Anita, he's been trying to get closer to me. Trying to push me to even admit that Anita and I'd end up together for real.

At first, I'd admit that I thought Anita was pretty cool. I liked her in a way. But now that our families were getting a bit too involved and ahead of themselves with plans, it was all starting to annoy me.

"Yes, sir," I said.

Mr. Kelly laughed. "That's wonderful. You're quite the star, succeeding in everything you do. I'm sure when the time comes, you'll do remarkably as the CEO of the company."

I smiled. "You flatter me, sir."

I took a sip of the wine in front of me, glancing at my father from the corner of my eye.

"Anita is very lucky to have someone like you," the man went on, as I expected. "She's not the most amazing at her studies, but that's alright since she has you. A wife doesn't need to be as successful as her husband anyway."

I tensed, but I didn't say anything. I was alert to their gazes. Whatever I say will be tactfully used to fuel their thoughts on Anita and I getting married someday.

The person's opinion I wanted to hear the most was my father's though.

He hadn't spoken too much, just laughing here and there. I was curious about what was going on in his head.

"What do you think, Lucas?"

I blinked. "Excuse me, what? I wasn't paying attention, please."

Mr. Alba waved it off. "I was just asking... Do you have any plans for Mr. Kelly's daughter?" He had on a conspiratorial smile. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

These old men and their damn-

"Why bother now? He's quite busy with school, and he needs to learn how to run the company too," my father shut everything down.

I looked at him in shock.

"He has a lot of years before he decides on trivial things like that."

The two men appeared as shocked as I was too.

My father never tried to interrupt people whenever they implied about me and Anita getting together. What exactly was going on?

"B- but what about a grandchild?" Mr. Alba blurted.

Mr. Kelly, who couldn't contain his expressions, added, "They seem to really like each other... I think our families getting together would be a really-"

My father slowly stood up. "I think... The time has come for us to go home, unfortunately."

I didn't say anything. It's not like I could anyway.

He bade them a goodbye and I followed suit, then we got outside.

I turned to him in confusion.

He looked at me, then frowned. "They're so annoying."

I stood in place for a minute as I watched him get in the car.

"What's going on?" I asked him when I sat beside him. "I thought you liked Anita."

"It's not Anita I dislike," he grunted.

"Mr. Kelly?"

"No, Mr. Alba," he said.

I waited patiently for him to speak.

The air became tense.

"He really has some audacity speaking to me so comfortably, you know. I brought him here because I wanted to see how he'd respond to you. Just as I expected."

My brows furrowed.

"The incident that day," he told me, staring out the window. "He was one of the people that joined forces to have me killed."

My blood ran cold.

My father looked angry for the first time in a while.

“Who told you this?"

“An informant," he said. “I've been searching for the root cause of what happened back then."

My father had a lot of enemies, so it was possible that it could be Mr. Alba and a lot others.

Why though, did I feel like this information he got wasn't… true? And if true, it wasn't complete.

Another thought flashed across my mind:

What about Mr. Kelly?