The Charismatic Lucas Gray

Chapter 6

Soon, news of what transpired between Lucas, Ariadne, the Brooks, and the Millers spread throughout the county like wildfire. Everyone on the street was discussing it. What the Millers feared most was happening — their reputation had taken a huge blow! To some, it had even turned them into a laughingstock!

'A so-called loser had barged into the cathedral and stopped Seth Miller's wedding, and the Millers, in all their might and power, had been too powerless to stop the catastrophe.'

This was all anyone could talk about.

At the same time, the Brooks weren’t spared from the gossip. Rumors flew about their daughter — the so-called infamous county’s belle — secretly being involved with a man everyone labeled a loser.

It was a complete disgrace!

The Brooks' reputation had crumbled just as much as the Millers’.

What was supposed to be a grand and joyous wedding had devolved into a humiliating spectacle for both families!

At the Millers' villa...

In the conference room, the whole place was erupting with commotion.

The Millers were shouting at the top of their lungs to let out their pent-up anger.

"How dare that loser? A mere country bumpkin? A dog? To disrupt Seth's wedding and bring shame upon us?!"

"Who does he think he is? A mere brat?!"

"If we don't teach him a lesson, he might really think we, Millers are pushovers!"

"Not only do we have to deal with him, but we must make him grovel and beg for forgiveness! He must apologize to us!"

"A brat like him dared to offend us the Millers! How brazen!"

"I'm beyond furious!"

After they felt they had cursed Lucas enough, their anger swiftly shifted to the Brooks and Ariadne.

"And those Brooks, how dare they bring this humiliation upon us? They couldn’t even control their own daughter!"

"We lowered ourselves to associate with a B-list family like them only because of Seth’s love for Ariadne, and this is how they repay us? They have no sense of gratitude!"

"And that Ariadne — what does she think she is? She had the nerve to embrace that loser right in front of us!"

"Was that all? She even sided with him! Why couldn't she lie? She was bent on humiliating us! Hah! The audacity! If we don’t teach she and the Brooks a lesson, they might start believing our show of kindness to them is a sign of weakness!"

"Ex–"

"Enough!"

Suddenly, Malcolm Miller, the Patriarch of the Millers, slammed his hand on the desk. The thick aura of a leader radiated from him, his eyes cold and unyielding.

Instantly, the conference room fell silent. No one dared to utter another word.

Malcolm swept his gaze across the Millers, his expression hard. "I know you all are furious, but what does shouting and bickering achieve? Are we market women?!"

"We are sorry, Patriarch."

"Sorry, grandpa!"

"Sorry, Sire!"

Knowing just how fearsome Malcolm could be when enraged, the Millers immediately bowed and apologized, their earlier fury replaced by tense silence.

Malcolm ignored their groveling. His sharp eyes shifted to the old man standing behind him, dressed neatly in a butler's uniform. "How is the situation?"

Chad Kennedy responded coolly, "It is only our reputation that has taken a hit, My Lord. Aside from that, nothing else. However, if we don't address this, any Tom, Dick, or Harry may start believing they can afford to provoke us."

Malcolm gave a slight nod, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. His gaze shifted to Seth, who stood in the corner with his fists clenched tightly at his sides, his face still contorted with anger.

"Seth, since this situation revolves around you, I’m leaving the decision in your hands. What do you think we should do?"

Seth took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions before facing his grandfather. "First of all, I want to sincerely apologize, grandpa. If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened," he said, his tone remorseful as he bowed to Malcolm.

Malcolm dismissed the gesture with a wave of his hand. "What’s done is done. There’s no point in blaming anyone now. Just tell me the next step you think we should take."

Seth straightened and met his grandfather’s gaze, a dark glint flickering in his eyes. "At first, all I wanted was to kill that loser for humiliating us and punish the Brooks for allowing it, but I’ve reconsidered.

"Killing him right away would be too easy. I want him to suffer. I want him to grovel at our feet, to watch helplessly as I take his woman from him — and only when he’s completely broken, I’ll end him.

"As for the Brooks, Ariadne is someone I've pursued for years. I love her and I’m not willing to give up on her now. So here’s what I suggest — we put enough pressure on the Brooks that they have no choice but to come crawling to us.

"When that happens, I’ll give them two options. First, that loser must come here, fall to his knees, grovel, and beg for our forgiveness. Second, Ariadne must divorce him. Only then will we let them off. Of course, that’s if you approve of this plan, Grandpa."

"Son, I'm okay with that loser groveling and apologizing to us, after which you can still end him for even daring to be that brazen. But I don't agree with you still ending up with that girl of the Brooks.

"You are the heir of the Millers, how could you end up with a divorcee? Additionally, in the cathedral today, that girl didn't even hesitate before rushing into that loser's arms and siding with him.

"After all that, how can you still be hung up on her? What is it really about this girl? Is it her beauty? There are so many other beautiful girls out there! Most from families on par with us! I don't agree!" Before Malcolm could say anything, a woman's voice rang out, laced with frustration.

It was Diana Miller, Seth's mother.

"The Matriarch is right, Seth. No one is denying that Ariadne is beautiful. But there are plenty of other beautiful girls in the county. Why must it be her you get married to?"

"Have you considered how people would mock you for marrying a divorcee?"

"You should listen to your mother!"

The Millers murmured their agreement with Diana.

Seth glanced at his mother, then at his relatives, and chuckled softly. "Indeed, there are plenty of other beautiful girls out there," he said evenly. "But how many of them are more beautiful than Ariadne and have her character? Yes, Ariadne was wrong for hugging and siding with that loser.

"But that loser is her man, after all. He suddenly came back, and a lie she believed for years was exposed. Her heart reopened. As a good woman, shouldn’t she have gone to him?" He scoffed. "I hated watching her run to him, but you know what? That act of loyalty only made me love her more. That kind of devotion is exactly what I want

"Most of the girls in this county, especially those from families on par with us, may be beautiful, but they’re gold diggers. Even if they agree to marry me, how many wouldn’t have their eyes set on the heirs of the top five families? How many wouldn’t leave me the second one of those heirs looked their way? You’ve all seen Ariadne's character.

"She’s even willing to be with a loser, defying her family and enduring humiliation. How many of those other heiresses would do that? If you ask me, there’s no one like Ariadne in this county, even if she’ll be a divorcee when we get together!"

His eyes gleamed with a dangerous mix of obsession and pride. "And let’s not forget that Ariadne has been pursued by numerous heirs and scions, even those from the top five families, yet she rejected them all. In the end, she chose me. Marrying her might be beneath me, but in a way, it gives me a sense of pride — because I'll be having something even the arrogant heirs of the top five families couldn’t get!"

As he finished speaking, silence fell in the conference room. None of the Millers, including Diana, had anything to say.

Seeing that, Seth's lips curled in satisfaction. He lowered his gaze to Malcolm. "Grandpa, I've made my decision. I'll wait for yours."

All eyes shifted to Malcolm.

Silence stretched for a moment before Malcolm finally spoke, his tone calm but firm. "We'll do as you said." Then, he turned to Chad. "You know what to do."

"Yes, My Lord," Chad replied with a slight bow before walking out.

A few minutes later, chaos broke out in the Brooks family!