The Charismatic Lucas Gray

Chapter 2

BOOM!

Lucas's statement was like a bomb going off in everyone's hearts. They inhaled sharply. Even the so-called expressionless bishop couldn't help but frown and subtly glance at Seth. If Lucas and Ariadne were truly married, then it was against the law to have her marry Seth since they were not divorced. In other words, it was impossible to continue the wedding!

"What nonsense!"

After a momentary stunned silence, a hostile voice rang out, followed by the appearance of a woman.

She looked to be in her late forties, clad in luxurious apparel from head to toe. Despite it being morning with the sun already in the sky, the glow emanating from her body was still blatantly visible to the naked eye.

If Seth was a human peacock because of his arrogance, then she was undoubtedly a human peacock because of her ostentatious clothing. She exuded the air of someone flaunting their magnificence.

Her name was Linda Pierce, and she was Ariadne's mother.

Standing in front of Lucas, she glared at him with contempt. "You lowlife, what nonsense marriage are you talking about? Why don’t I, as Ariadne's mother, or the rest of the family know about it?

"Besides, if I remember correctly, neither I, my husband, nor the rest of the family ever approved of you and Ariadne's union. Everyone in the family knows that I even gave you one hundred and fifty thousand to let her be. Didn't you take the money and disappear? Don’t you dare come here and spout nonsense!"

Linda's words were like another bomb detonating in everyone’s hearts.

At the same time, they ignited a wave of rage among the attendees.

When Lucas claimed that he and Ariadne were married, they felt that since that was the case, it made sense for him to object to the wedding. After all, which man would bear to watch his wife get married to another man while he was still alive and not divorced?

But now, it turned out he was lying! It was utterly outrageous! He was already a country bumpkin, a loser—how could he still have the shamelessness to lie in front of everyone, especially after being paid off?

"Lucas... were you really paid off?" Ariadne stammered, looking at Lucas, her fingers fidgeting under her gown.

"Ariadne, why are you asking him?" Linda snapped angrily. "Who doesn’t know that’s the truth? Don’t tell me you still love him and would believe anything he says after he left you for six years just for money!"

Ariadne ignored her mother, her gaze fixed solely on Lucas. "Tell me the truth, Lucas. If you really took the money and left... I wouldn’t blame you. I just want to hear you say it with your own mouth."

Though she tried to be calm and make herself seem understanding, everyone could feel the pain and fear in her voice.

If it turned out Lucas's betrayal was true, she would be heartbroken all over again!

Standing at the side like this had nothing to do with him, Seth had a bemused expression on his face. This was interesting to watch. Haha!

Meanwhile, for the first time since he arrived, Lucas's expression turned gloomy. Was this the lie Linda and her family had been feeding Ariadne for the past six years? A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

They were the ones who forced him to leave, yet they had the audacity to feed his woman such a lie? Hah!

Their boldness knew no bounds!

Good thing he had seen through them right from the onset! He slipped a hand into the right side of his coat and brought out a paper. He calmly stretched it to Ariadne.

Ariadne hesitated for a moment before taking the paper from him. "What is this?" she asked, eyeing the paper skeptically.

Lucas calmly explained, "Six years ago, your mom, brother, and sister asked to borrow two hundred thousand from me. That was my five years' worth of salary and the money I planned for our official wedding. The one we've always wanted.

"They claimed it was urgent, and when I was ready to propose to you, after all, they had no idea, we were already married, they'd return the money to me. But I'd always been wary of them, so I had them write an IOU and sign before I gave them the money. That in your hand is the IOU.

"The money she's claiming she paid me off with was actually the money I lent them! She was only paying me back!

"And it wasn't even complete! They refused to pay back the remaining 50k, thereby ruining my plans!" Lucas's face turned gloomier the more he spoke. One could clearly feel the pain in his voice.

He still has the IOU? Linda tensed up. She didn't seem to have heard anything else Lucas said. 'I thought that after all these years, he would have lost that,' she thought, eyes darkening. After all, without evidence, who would believe he lent them money and that the money she gave him wasn't actually to pay him off? But who would have thought he would still have it? This punk!

She gritted her teeth, but not willing to back down that easily, she turned to Ariadne and hurriedly said, "Ariadne, honey, don't believe his nonsense! He must have forged that to make up an excuse for running away! Your siblings are here, you can ask them!" She turned around and waved Ariadne's siblings over.

The two immediately made their way over.

"You punk, how dare you lie against us right in our faces?" Vera, Ariadne's little sister, snapped at Lucas, glowering at him.

"The IOU is in Ariadne's hands. It'll tell whether I'm lying or not." Lucas shrugged indifferently.

This made Vera even more enraged. She turned to Ariadne. "Ariadne, you can't believe his nonsense! That IOU was forged! We never borrowed any money from him!"

"Yes, Ariadne! That punk is corny. You can't believe anything he says. Someone who could leave you for six years without even a word — what can't he do? Besides, if he really lent us money and we only paid 150k and refused to pay the rest, why didn't he report it to you or the cops?" Kelvin, Ariadne's younger brother added.

"Indeed. Ariadne is his lover. If her family did such a thing, he could have reported it to her. Or better still, reported it to the police. With an IOU, the rest of the money would have easily been gotten. If you ask me, I think that punk is only lying!"

"Indeed! Losers like him lie a lot."

The attendees whispered amongst themselves.

"Heh!" Lucas let out a wry chuckle. "Kelvin, you'd have an Oscar by now if you were an actor!" Saying that, he reached into his coat and brought out another paper.

He tossed it at the young man. "I know how evil you Brooks are, so I kept every piece of evidence! That on the floor is the police report I made six years ago. One I know you guys are aware of. Didn't you three pay off the cops to ignore me? So all my efforts to use them to get the money were in vain? As for why I didn't tell Ariadne, let's just say that I didn't want her to know just how evil you guys are! I didn't want to cause a rift in your relationships. But now, I don't care! I'll let her see you all for who you are!"

This time, none of the attendees could say a word. The cathedral fell dead silent. Even Kelvin couldn't find a word to refute.

But if he didn't, how could Linda not have?

"Hmph!" She snorted coldly. "Such a lie. We've always known the cops to be unbiased. Rich or poor, everyone gets the same treatment! You could fool others with that lie, but not us!"

"Really?" Lucas sneered. "Then explain this!"