The car driven by Lucas entered one of the large hospital complexes. It was bustling with activity due to the weekend and approaching evening hours. Lucas had to be patient before finally gliding into the parking area. He entered while observing a specific spot where his usual car was parked.
The car came to a stop, and Lucas stepped out, carefully avoiding surveillance cameras. He approached his regular car to retrieve a bag containing fresh clothes. It did not take long for him to change clothes in the emergency room restroom.
Ten minutes later, Lucas sat behind the wheel and left the hospital with his usual car. He took a momentary stop in a secluded area just to burn the bag containing the blood-stained clothes.
Lucas continued his journey, briefly glancing at the watch he had not worn during the meeting with Ricardo. A splatter of blood could become a permanent memento.
The steering wheel turned as Lucas changed his destination. He had initially planned to go straight home to his apartment, but now he decided to go to his parents’ house.
“Are my parents at home?”
“Yes, Sir. They seem to be resting in their room.”
“Please tell them that I’m here,” Lucas instructed the household assistant. “I want to talk and that I’m waiting in the workspace.”
“Very well, sir.”
Lucas immediately headed to Jeff’s workspace. He waited for a moment, and soon enough, his parents arrived.
“I have important news for Mom and Dad.”
Sandra glanced at him with a sidelong glance, while Jeff appeared enthusiastic. Lucas’s arrival and words piqued his father’s curiosity.
“What important news?”
Lucas took a breath, maintaining a relaxed demeanor. He displayed the expression of a man who was happy to have received crucial information about the woman he loved.
“It seems my informant has successfully found Velia.”
Jeff’s eyes widened in joyful surprise. He wanted to congratulate Lucas, but Sandra was taken aback.
“W-what? You found Velia?”
Lucas and Jeff looked at Sandra together. They had not anticipated her shocked and unsettled response.
Sandra gripped the sofa tightly, her knuckles turning white. She stared at Lucas without blinking, her breathing changing.
“You said you found Velia?” Sandra asked again. “Is what you’re saying true?”
Agony struck Lucas. Sandra’s response revealed everything, even without her asking.
Bitterness. It tasted painfully bitter. It took all of Lucas’s strength to swallow it down.
It was not easy. Lucas was tormented by the effort to maintain a façade of normalcy in front of his parents.
“Yes, Mom,” Lucas answered with a nod. Remarkably, he still managed to smile as if nothing was wrong. “She said Velia is also in Ashford City.”
“Is that so?”
Lucas confirmed his father’s question. “It’s quite ironic. I thought Velia was still in Crestdale. Who would have guessed that she’s actually living Ashford City? She managed to deceive me for seven years.”
“M-maybe your informant made a mistake. Maybe it’s another woman who happens to resemble Velia.”
Sandra’s rejection earned Lucas a pained look. Did Sandra see it? Did she see the hope Lucas expressed in his heart?
“Perhaps my informant is right. Maybe it really is Velia.”
“So, you’re going to check it right away, aren’t you?” Jeff asked. “You must confirm it immediately.”
“That’s exactly what I’ll do, Dad. That’s also why I came to see Mama and Papa.”
“For what purpose?”
Sandra’s voice sounded different. Her tone conveyed emotions that could no longer be restrained.
“Do I need to explain it again, Luc? I don’t like seeing you with Velia!”
It was not Lucas who was taken aback by Sandra’s words, but Jeff. He frowned in disbelief and reached for Sandra’s hand.
“Honey, what did you say?” Lucas blinked, feeling not just bitterness, but a boiling heat behind his eyelids. He tried to hold himself together, but his voice trembled uncontrollably.
“I will never allow you to be with Velia,” Sandra’s gaze turned sharp. Each word she uttered was emphasized with conviction.
“You won’t approve of my relationship with Velia? W-why, Mom? Didn’t we discuss it last time, and you said you would accept Velia?” Lucas tried to reason, his voice strained.
Sandra did not blink, her unwavering gaze piercing through him. Every word she spoke carried an undeniable force.
“I would rather die than see Velia living happily with you,” she said with conviction.
Jeff instinctively tightened his grip on Sandra’s hand. “Sandra! What are you saying? How could you say something so cruel to Lucas?”
Lucas fell silent. He clenched his jaw as hard as he could, trying to contain the emotions that threatened to explode.
“I will never approve of your marriage.”
Sandra released her hand from Jeff’s grasp with a sudden jerk. She pointed at Lucas, her anger evident.
“Never! No matter how long, Luc! I’m not joking!”
It was not anger. It was not an outburst or rebellion. It was more like a piercing sadness. It brought forth a pain and anguish that Lucas had never experienced before.
“You will never accept Velia, Mom?”
Jeff sensed the tense atmosphere. He immediately intervened, trying to mediate.
“Lucas, listen to me. Of course, Mom doesn’t mean it. You don’t have to-”
“I mean it!” Sandra shouted, cutting him off. “I would rather die than accept Velia as my daughter-in-law!”
Jeff’s eyes widened. “What did you say?” he asked in disbelief, but Sandra’s gaze showed determination. “Is you aware of what you is saying? It hurts Lucas.”
Sandra snorted. Her eyes turned red with suppressed anger.
“I’m fully aware. So, hold onto my words. I will never approve of their relationship!”
Now the conversation was not just between Lucas and Sandra; Jeff was involved too. He reached for his wife’s body, facing her head-on.
“Lucas and Velia love each other. They have the right to be together.”
Sandra shook her head repeatedly. “I will accept ten other women whom Lucas loves, but not Velia. There will never be acceptance for Velia!”
“Do you hate Velia to that extent? What did she do to make you despise her like this?”
Sandra’s body trembled. The onslaught of emotions made it hard for her to remain seated.
“If… if.”
Lucas took a deep breath. Sandra’s rejection left him utterly powerless. His tongue became tied.
“If Velia has done something that truly hurt your heart, you can tell me,” he managed to say. The turmoil in Lucas’s eyes was evident to Jeff. He was taken aback, barely believing what he saw, as Lucas had always been a controlled man who rarely showed emotions.
Lucas was almost pushed to his limit. He was teetering on the edge of a precipice, struggling to hold on.
“I will tell Velia,” Lucas continued, his voice trembling. “I will ask her to apologize to you. Moreover, I will willingly kneel before you.”
Anything. Lucas would do anything.
“I will prostrate myself at your feet to forgive Velia. I beg you, Mom. Accept Velia for my sake.”
Lucas prayed. His hope echoed. Not an extravagant hope, he only wanted Sandra to accept the woman he loved. That was all he wanted, regardless of past mistakes and unknown history.
“I beg you, Mom.”
The strong and defiant impression had vanished. Lucas let go of everything as he pleaded with his mother, full of pity. It was the only path he hoped for, Sandra’s surrender.
It should have been like that. It should have happened.
Jeff never expected it. Lucas always had his pride. Regardless of Sandra’s position as a parent, he never imagined Lucas would sacrifice everything he had. Lucas had never done it before. Even if he desired something immensely, lowering himself was something he could never do. He would do anything to achieve what he wanted, and more. But not by kneeling and debasing himself.
It was all happening for the first time. Lucas abandoned his principles to plead. That’s why Jeff was sure no parent’s heart could remain unmoved. Especially because Lucas was their only child. What else could parents hope for other than their only son’s happiness?
“No.”
Unfortunately, Jeff was caught off guard. Lucas’s hopes were shattered.
“Whatever you do, it will never change my decision. I will never accept Velia as my daughter-in-law.”
“Sandra!”
This time, Jeff could not hold back. His outburst erupted when Sandra adamantly rejected Lucas’s plea.
“What made you like this? Lucas is our child. Have you ever seen Lucas plead like this? Ever?! Why is you not even slightly moved?”
“It’s precisely because Lucas is our child,” Sandra retorted, her voice hoarse. “I will do anything for Lucas to be happy.”
“Can’t you see that Lucas’s happiness is Velia?” Jeff insisted.
Sandra fell silent. She remained mute in the undeniable reality. Unfortunately, she would never accept that reality.
“I will never accept Velia. I will do anything to separate you two.”
Sandra stood up. After piercing Lucas’s heart with her words, she left.
Lucas closed his eyes. All the pain surged and overwhelmed him, leaving him in a state of constant anguish.
I beg you, Mom.
*
Sandra was truly furious. It was not just because of the conversation with Lucas, but also due to Ricardo’s unanswered calls.
“Where are you, Ricardo?! Damn it! Why do you disappear at a time like this?!”
Sandra growled, squeezing her phone, and pacing around in anger.
“Argh!”
Countless times Sandra tried to reach Ricardo, but the result was always the same. No connection.
Sandra’s frustration reached its peak. She slammed the phone onto the bed and sat down, gripping her hair tightly.
“Do you want to live happily with Lucas? Oh, don’t hope for it. I won’t let it happen, Velia!”
Sandra wiped her face. The anger that overwhelmed her transformed into something else. It was strange, but she started laughing.
“I won’t allow you to live happily with my son, Velia. No! Because I know you’ll only hurt Lucas in the end.”
The laughter continued. Sandra summoned memories from the past, and a flash appeared, causing a tear to fall from the corner of her eye.
“Just like your father did to me, Velia. You’ll surely do the same to Lucas, won’t you?”
*