Chapter 28 Crossing the line
Lucas’s jaw clenched as he stared at the screen, his heart pounding with fury. “What audacity he has,” Lucas muttered audibly.
His father had actually frozen his accounts. All of them. He ran a hand through his hair, breathing heavily through his nose as the waiter hovered nearby, trying to appear patient.
“I'll take care of it,” Lucas said, his tone clipped.
He reached into his wallet and pulled out the last few bills he had on him. A mix of notes but enough to cover the meal, plus a modest tip. He dropped the cash on the table, keeping the little remaining back in his wallet. He stood abruptly, grabbing his phone.
“Thank you, sir,” the waiter said gratefully.
Lucas didn’t answer. He walked out of the restaurant and into the night air, his fury simmering just beneath the surface. So this was his father's next move? Cut him off, punish him financially, like a child refusing to obey?
He paced outside the hotel, dragging a hand down his face. “Unbelievable,” he hissed. “He’s that desperate to control me? I had managed and walked away from a forced marriage. Now Dad is trying to starve me into submission?”
Lucas took a deep breath, pulling out his phone and turning it on. Messages lined up especially from his father and Derby. Without reading it, he deleted it all.
He opened his ride app but paused. No available balance. He had frozen everything.
“Alright,” he muttered. “Let’s play it like that, big guy. You have done your worse”
Lucas decided he wouldn’t beg his father, or call him. He would figure it out himself. He knew what his father wanted but he would not succumb to him. Lucas was more than ready to fight his way out of his father's obsessive control.
He went back to his hotel room to relax but couldn't. He walked from one end of the room to another. His mind kept swirling from one thought to another on how to handle the situation. Then his phone buzzed, it was his sister.
“Yes, Em,” he answered.
“Lucas, check your account because I just found out that my account was frozen.”
“What? What is the matter with Dad?”
Lucas's jaw clenched as the anger flared hot in his chest. “He froze your account too?” he barked into the phone, his voice sharp and full of disbelief.
Emily sighed on the other end. “Yes. He called me in for a talk but only to accuse me of helping you escape and that I was enabling your rebellion.”
Lucas’s fingers dug into his scalp as he dragged his hand through his hair in frustration. “This is insane. This isn’t parenting—this is control through blackmail.”
“He’s completely losing it,” Emily whispered. “I tried to talk sense into him, Lucas, but he’s not listening. He’s determined to get that deal with Ashton, and if you’re not playing along, he’ll burn everything down until you give in.”
Lucas’s breath came heavy. He stopped pacing and stared at the wall, jaw tightening with renewed resolve. “Then let him burn everything down. He thinks cutting me off will push me back into that ridiculous arranged marriage? He has underestimated me”
“Please don’t do anything rash,” Emily urged. “We can figure something out—”
“No, Em,” Lucas cut in, his voice ice-cold. “I’m not doing anything but I'm done playing the obedient son. If he wants to see what I’m capable of without his money, without his name, he’s about to find out exactly that.”
“Please, be careful and be safe.” Emily pleaded with him
“Listen, I’m not coming back to that house anytime soon,” Lucas said firmly, trying to keep his voice steady. “But don’t worry, Em. If you need anything and Dad won’t help, Diana will. You’ll be okay.”
“I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about you,” Emily replied, her voice thick with concern. “Where are you even going to stay if you’re not coming home?”
Lucas took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to Nathan—remember him? My friend from the culinary program. He just got hired at the Kornelly Hotel. He’s living in a one-room apartment. I’ll ask him to let me crash there for a few days. He’s a good guy.”
Emily hesitated, then sighed. “Alright. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself… and please, keep in touch.”
“I will. I promise.” He ended the call with a sigh of relief—only for his phone to buzz again immediately and it was his father.
He stared at the screen, tempted to ignore it. But then a flash of resolve sparked in his chest. “No, no more running,” he muttered, then swiped to answer. “Hello, Dad.”
“Lucas,” came the deep, sharp, angry voice on the other end, “where the hell are you?”
Lucas braced himself, jaw clenched. “Exactly where I chose to be.”
There was a brief pause on the line, then Mr. Westman’s voice dropped—calm, but laced with warning. “You think you can embarrass me, walk out on your responsibilities, and just disappear? Is that it, Lucas?”
“I didn’t disappear. I removed myself from a circus you think you orchestrated,” Lucas shot back. “You joined in a plan that will trap me in a deal disguised as marriage, and now you freeze my account like I’m one of your employees?”
“You are under my roof and my name,” his father snapped. “Everything you have is because of me. Your food, your car, your education. Don’t act as if you built yourself from scratch.”
Lucas’s eyes darkened. “You mean the life I’ve lived with you holding a leash around my neck? I don’t want any of it if it comes with such obsessive control.”
Mr. Westman’s voice turned colder. “Fine. Then survive without it. If you think this rebellion will earn you freedom, think again. You’ll crawl back—broke, humiliated, and forgotten.”
Lucas’s lips curled in defiance. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“You’ve made a mistake, Lucas. And you’ll feel it everywhere.”
“I’d rather feel it everywhere than lose myself to you again,” Lucas said, and hung up.
After ending the heated call, he stared at his phone, pulse racing, chest tight—but for the first time, he felt free.
He sighed heavily and slumped onto the edge of the hotel bed. His mind was burning with anger, but he knew stewing in it wouldn’t fix anything.
That night, Lucas couldn't sleep. He kept boiling with fury, wondering if his Dad was really his biological father. Close to dawn, he fell asleep and slept until ten in the morning.
On waking up in the morning, he showered and checked his wallet. He had only a few notes on him so he needed to leave the hotel.
He picked up his phone and scrolled to Nathan’s contact.
“Please pick up,” he muttered, tapping the call icon.
After a few rings, Nathan’s voice came through, upbeat as always. “Hey, Luc! What’s up, man?”
Lucas exhaled sharply. “Hey, Nat, sorry to bother you, but… I really need a favor.”
“Shoot,” Nathan replied without hesitation.
“I’m in a bit of a situation. I need a place to crash for a few days. Can I stay with you? Just until I figure things out.”
Nathan didn’t even pause. “Of course, bro. You don’t even have to ask. My place isn’t fancy, but you’re welcome anytime.”
Lucas felt a weight lift from his chest. “Thanks, man. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
“Everything okay?” Nathan asked, his tone shifting to concern.
“Long story. Let’s just say my dad’s trying to force me into a marriage, and I walked out on the wedding yesterday morning. Now he has frozen my accounts and he is still threatening me.”
“Damn. That’s crazy, man,” Nathan muttered. “Come over. We’ll sort this out.”
“I owe you one,” Lucas said gratefully.
“Nah, you owe me dinner. Now get your butt over here.”
Lucas managed a small laugh for the first time in hours. “On my way.”
He grabbed his things, checked out of the hotel, and hit the road.
While in the car, he muttered, “Dad, you crossed the line, but I won't give you another chance because I'm one step closer to reclaiming my freedom.”