Chapter 43
Lucas knelt down on one knee among the flowers and raised his head to ask, “Will you marry me?”
Cheyenne covered her mouth as her tears rolled down continuously.
Surrounded by romantic flowers and lights and being proposed to by a handsome man with an exorbitant diamond ring was the scene that all women dreamed of.
Complicated emotions surged in Cheyenne’s heart, but she couldn’t say yes. “I’m sorry…”
Her words made a trace of disappointment flash in Lucas’s eyes, and he immediately smiled bitterly. Well, I failed to fulfill my duty as a husband and father for so many years and made Cheyenne bear such a huge burden all by herself. What made me think that I’d be able to make her accept me in such a short period of time?
The exorbitant jewelry and diamond ring were Lucas’s way of expressing his feelings, but he would never think that Cheyenne would agree to his proposal only because of the gifts.
The woman he had adored for so many years was definitely not that materialistic.
Thus, Lucas was already mentally prepared to be rejected by Cheyenne.
However, he still couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable after really being rejected by the woman he fancied, even though he had prepared himself for it.
When Cheyenne saw Lucas’s eyes becoming dimmer, she felt a little dismayed. “Um, I’m really sorry, but I can only think of you as Amelia’s father right now. I don’t see you as my husband yet. I hope you will understand.”
Lucas nodded. He naturally understood that Cheyenne was willing to let him stay with the Carters for the time being only for their daughter’s sake.
When he and Cheyenne got married back then, they didn’t have feelings for each other, and afterward, he left for so many years. Now that he had just returned, Cheyenne definitely wouldn’t fall for him so quickly.
“Do you hate me then?” he asked softly.
Cheyenne was stunned. She thought about it carefully and realized that Lucas hadn’t done anything heinous to her before.
The incident that they were embroiled in was all because they had been set up. Six years ago, Cheyenne’s parents told her that Lucas had stolen the family’s money and left her behind while he absconded.
At that time, she hated Lucas for being an irresponsible liar.
However, on the day Lucas first returned, Cheyenne knew that her parents must have lied. Lucas didn’t steal their money or abandon her on purpose.
Lucas had once mentioned that he left in order to become worthy of her. The fact that he had come to propose to her with a diamond ring worth tens of millions of dollars was the best proof.
Besides, after Lucas returned, he had been accompanying her to deal with the Carters, protecting her, and playing with Amelia. In particular, on that cold and harsh rainy day, it was Lucas who brought her away from that terrifying place and even took care of her when she was ill…
So, to be fair, Cheyenne did not hate Lucas and even had a good impression of him.
However, this alone was not enough for Cheyenne to accept Lucas as her husband.
Cheyenne bit her lower lip tightly and shook her head slightly.
Lucas looked at her gleefully. “Since you don’t hate me, that’s enough. I hope you can give me a chance. I truly want to treat you well. And if you can see my sincerity in the future and feel that you can trust me and depend on me, please don’t turn me down again.”
“Yes.” Cheyenne nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
When she came down using the elevator and returned to the banquet hall on the first floor, Cheyenne felt like she was in a trance and found it unreal.
Lucas’s sudden proposal and the fact that he was the mysterious man who caused an uproar in Orange County…
“Cheyenne! Where did you go? We were worried sick about you!” Karen hurriedly pulled Cheyenne’s arm and dragged her out of the surrealism.
“What’s the matter, Mom?”
“You still have the cheek to ask me? You went to the bathroom for such a long time, and we couldn’t find you! Oh right. It’s your wedding anniversary with Lucas today too. Did that good-for-nothing… not give you any gifts?” Karen asked, keeping her voice low.
Cheyenne immediately remembered all that happened on the top floor just now.
“I’m telling you, that kid Lucas is pretending to be poor in front of us. You have to make him give you more gifts! Don’t let him take advantage!”
Cheyenne was suddenly stunned. Did Mom find out so quickly that Lucas is that mysterious man who appeared at the auction?
Before Cheyenne could ask, Karen continued, “Hmph, you don’t even know, do you? The betrothal gifts that the Sawyers gave to our family were not for Charlotte but a token of gratitude for that good-for-nothing! Funny, isn’t it? Why does that garbage deserve such hefty gifts from the Sawyers?”
Cheyenne blinked and took a long time to react. “You mean that large box of gifts was not for Charlotte but a thank-you gift for Lucas?”
She had only been away for a short period of time, so how could so many things have happened?
However, when Cheyenne saw the look of displeasure on Charlotte’s face, she decided not to pry further. No girl would be comfortable about such a misunderstanding.
The few of them looked for William Carter, Cheyenne’s father, who was already drunk and hiding in a corner of the hall. Then they headed home.
After arriving home, Cheyenne finally listened to Karen’s account of how they met Ethan Sawyer and found out that the gifts were just a huge misunderstanding.
However, Karen certainly didn’t mention that she had almost agreed to let Cheyenne become his second wife. She simply emphasized how much of a pity it was that Ethan Sawyer’s son was already married and that Charlotte had missed the opportunity for a good marriage. She then started criticizing Lucas in front of Cheyenne.
“Cheyenne, your loser husband helped the Sawyers and received so many gifts from them, but he stayed mum about it! How inhumane of him.”
Cheyenne was a little speechless. “Mom, didn’t you put away all the gifts at home? Actually, since those gifts were for Lucas, you should give them back to him.”
“What?!” Karen screamed. “You want me to return them to Lucas? Impossible! Lucas is our live-in son-in-law, so the things given to him should rightfully belong to us. Why should we return them to him?” As she spoke, Karen poked Cheyenne’s forehead, expecting better from her.
“How did I give birth to such a stupid girl like you? You’re so eager to give away the wealth given to us! I didn’t tell you this for the sake of letting you hand the treasures to that garbage Lucas!”
“What exactly are you trying to say then?” Cheyenne asked, feeling uncomfortable.
“Are you stupid?! Think about it. Since the Sawyers have already said that Lucas helped them a lot, they must have given him more than merely a box of gifts. He must be holding more than that! What he has is yours. You have to hurry and think of a solution to get them from him! Otherwise, you’ll be letting him gain huge benefits when you get divorced in the future.”