Chapter 3
Lucas was sitting in the backseat of a car with a sullen expression.
Kennedy’s appearance reminded him of the past that he didn’t want to remember.
Back then, he was called a bastard and an illegitimate child at a tender age, and got chased out of his home together with his mother, whose assets and valuables were all seized. He had a high, persistent fever at the time. And while holding him in her arms, his mother knelt by the Huttons’ doorstep and pleaded for help, only to hear them say coldly, “We don’t care about the lives of those who are not one of the Huttons.”
Afterward, his mother moved around and brought him to Orange County, where she worked hard to make ends meet. Although life was tough, she managed to raise him to adulthood. However, his mother developed an illness and collapsed after years of toiling and living a strenuous life.
At that time, Lucas had just graduated from college, and his meager wage was a drop in the bucket compared to the hefty medical bills. He swallowed his pride and tried to seek help from the Huttons, only to receive a heartless rejection and harsh mockery and criticism, which made him feel hopeless and resentful toward the Huttons.
Shortly after, he and Cheyenne were drugged, thus resulting in the scandal that spread like wildfire in the entire county. The Carters requested that he marry into their family.
He agreed on the condition that the Carters would lend him fifty thousand dollars for his mother’s treatment.
However, by the time he rushed to the hospital with the money, his mother had already passed away.
At that time, Lucas was devastated and felt like a complete failure in life. He failed to save his mother and wasn’t worthy of an outstanding girl like Cheyenne either.
To make matters worse, the Carters often mocked him in the past. Lucas decided to leave the Carters and join the military. He swore to make a name for himself so that he could stand proudly beside Cheyenne.
Now, he had returned.
——
The car sped along the road, and he soon arrived at the Carter residence.
Lucas stood outside the courtyard gate that he was familiar with and seemed rather nervous about returning home.
Years ago, he left without saying goodbye, and he didn’t know what Cheyenne thought of him now.
Just as he was about to go up and knock on the door, he heard some boisterous laughter coming from outside.
“Mr. Miller, since you’re so sincere about Cheyenne, we shall be straightforward. Let’s just settle on a date.”
Lucas was stunned. He reckoned that the voice belonged to Karen, his mother-in-law and Cheyenne’s mother.
1
“Missus—Karen, you’re being too polite. Since we’re going to be a family in the future, don’t be so formal. Just call me by my name.”
“Sure, sure, you’re so young and eloquent. Cheyenne is so lucky to have met you! As her parents, we can rest assured now!”
“However, I heard her former…”
“You mean that good-for-nothing? It’s alright. The law states that a missing person can be declared dead after being missing for four years. He’s already disappeared for more than six years, so he must have died in some hellhole! If you’re still worried, let’s go to the court and get a certificate.”
“In my opinion, Cheyenne is brilliant in all aspects, except that her husband, my brother-in-law, is a good-for-nothing.”
“That piece of trash isn’t your brother-in-law. From now on, your brother-in-law is Mr. Miller.”
When Lucas heard this, his face turned incredibly gloomy, and he couldn’t tolerate it any longer.
He had come back for Cheyenne, and yet he heard her family talking about her remarriage. No matter what, he had to see her to clarify.
Bang! Bang! He knocked on the door.
“Who is it? Coming.” Having settled her eldest daughter’s marriage with a wealthy man, Karen was in a good mood, and she opened the door with a gleeful grin.
However, her expression changed dramatically when she saw the person at the door.
“You… you’re not dead?” Shock was written all over her face, which seemed to have paled all of a sudden. Her expression was now full of disgust and disdain. This good-for-nothing is back!
Although Lucas’s appearance had changed over the years, she could still recognize him, as she would curse him in her head dozens of times each day!
“I’m back, Karen,” Lucas said calmly.
1
“How could you have the cheek to come back, you wastrel?! Don’t act so close to me! It’s Mrs Carter. Didn’t your dead mother teach you any manners!” Karen hollered, her brows furrowed and her hands on her waist. Her saliva almost landed on Lucas’s face.
Lucas’s heart was suddenly full of fury!
His mother’s death would forever be a sore spot in his heart and the reason for his rebellion!
He clenched his fists and repeatedly warned himself not to get physical because the woman in front of him was Cheyenne’s biological mother.
“What? Do you want to hit me? You’re such a jinx. Of all times, you had to come back now. I bet you’re bent on making life hard for us!”
“Who’s out there?” When Cheyenne’s father heard the ruckus, he walked out of the living room too.
When he saw Lucas’s face, his eyes widened immediately, and he charged forward with a furious expression in a bid to punch Lucas!
“Bastard, how dare you come back?! Why didn’t you die outside?! Huh?”
Just as his fist was about to land on Lucas’s face, a hand that was as strong as an iron clamp pinched his tightly.
“Old man, you must be tired of living! How dare you try to hit Lucas…” Jordan had been Lucas’s subordinate for years and had long treated him as his closest kin. How could he stand by and watch him get humiliated by others?
With an icy-cold gaze in his eyes, he emitted a murderous aura that frightened Cheyenne’s father to the point that he turned as pale as a sheet!