Chapter 1182



At that moment, Lucas’ brow furrowed slightly. “But to my surprise, my dad was completely against it. Not only did he force me to break up with Verena, but he also forbade me from ever seeing her again. I kept asking him why, but he refused to explain. He just said it was nonnegotiable—Verena and I had to break up. His overbearing attitude only fueled my rebellious side.”

He paused, a faint, ironic smile tugging at his lips before he continued, “Don’t let my dad’s calm and gentle demeanor now fool you. Back then, he was incredibly domineering, always insisting on having the final say and controlling everyone’s lives. I was exhausted by his constant interference. I wanted to push back. The more he tried to stop me from marrying Verena, the more determined I became to go through with it. But… I was still too young at the time. I didn’t have the power to stand up to him. And I had never expected he’d go as far as sending people to kidnap Verena to stop her from marrying me.”

Belinda was utterly stunned by Lucas’ revelation. She had never imagined that his relationship with Verena had been so complicated. It turned out that Lucas’ determination to marry Verena hadn’t been driven by love but by his desire to defy his father’s control. From the very beginning, Lucas had never truly loved Verena. The only person he had ever truly loved… was her.

This realization left Belinda both astonished and overwhelmed with emotion. A smile spread across her face, and she couldn’t contain the joy bubbling up inside her.

But as her happiness settled, a memory suddenly resurfaced. Her expression shifted, and she fixed Lucas with a teasing, sarcastic look. “So… later, to get back at Harold, you specifically went out of your way to marry someone who was fat and ugly, an illegitimate daughter. Isn’t that right, Mr. Clark?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Lucas’ expression froze. He was at a loss for how to respond. After all, what she said was the truth, and there was no way to deny it. Guilt washed over him as he looked at Belinda, his voice filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Belinda. I was wrong. I was such a jerk back then. It’s all my fault.”

Seeing how seriously Lucas was taking his apology, Belinda smiled and quickly reassured him, “It’s fine. I’m not really mad. I was just teasing you. It’s all in the past now.”

Relief washed over Lucas when he saw Belinda’s smile. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me,” he said, his tone softening.

“Let’s eat. I’m starving,” Belinda said, changing the subject.

“Okay,” Lucas said with a nod. He gestured, and soon, the restaurant staff brought over the dishes.

As the meal drew to a close, Lucas spoke up again. “Belinda, there’s something that has been on my mind for a while now. You promised that once our blood test results came out, you’d tell me. So now, shouldn’t you keep your promise and let me know… who is the man you’ve been keeping deep in your heart before?”

Although Lucas knew this was in the past—that the man was just someone Belinda had liked before—and now that they were together, that man couldn’t possibly come between them, he still wanted to know. He needed to know.

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