Chapter 140 A Father’s Presence
chapter one hundred and forty
Valenticia’s POV
The words police custody echoed again and again inside my head.
For a moment I simply stood there, staring at Lucas while my mind tried to process what he had just said.
Stefan, in police custody.
I knew Stefan had a bad temper. I had seen his anger before. I had watched him lose control during arguments. But even knowing that, I never imagined things would go this far.
My thoughts raced quickly.
What could have pushed him to that point?
What could have made him attack Lucas in public?
Then suddenly the answer struck me.
The engagement, of course.
It had to be the engagement announcement.
The realization made my stomach tighten. Stefan had seen the news just like everyone else. He must have watched the headlines spreading everywhere.
Valenticia Dykstra engaged to Lucas Ryder. I slowly exhaled.
“Yes,” I murmured quietly to myself.
“That must be it.”
Stefan had always struggled with his emotions where I was concerned. Even after everything that happened between us, a part of him still held on to something.
If he saw the engagement announcement, if he believed I had truly moved on.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment. Maybe that was what pushed him over the edge. Maybe that was what made him lose control.
Just as that thought settled in my mind, the quiet sound of the door opening pulled my attention away.
I lifted my head immediately.
Lucas turned his head toward the door at the same time.
Both of us looked over.
A man walked into the room. The first thing I noticed was his age.
He looked elderly, maybe in his late sixties or early seventies. His hair was completely white, neatly combed back in a way that made him look sharp and composed.
But that was not the most striking thing about him.
It was the way he carried himself.
The moment he stepped into the room, the air seemed to shift slightly. There was a calm authority around him that felt impossible to ignore. His posture was straight and confident, and every step he took was steady and deliberate.
He wore an expensive dark suit that fit him perfectly. Power surrounded him. Not the loud kind of power.
But the quiet type that made people immediately understand that he was someone important.
His eyes moved across the room and landed on Lucas.
The look in them was intense, cold and commanding.
For a second, I felt that gaze pass over me as well, and it made my back straighten without me even realizing it.
I quickly stepped forward.
“Good morning, sir,” I said politely.
Before the man could respond, Lucas spoke from the bed.
“Dad.”
The word surprised me.
My head turned quickly toward Lucas.
Dad?
Then I looked back at the man again. So this was his father. The realization made my mind spin slightly.
This was the man who had Stefan arrested.
I watched him closely now.
Lucas’s father walked closer to the bed, his sharp eyes scanning Lucas’s face carefully.
“How are you feeling now?” he asked in a firm voice. Lucas gave a small shrug.
“A little better.”
His father did not look convinced. His eyes paused on the bruises on Lucas’s face, then on the bandage above his eyebrow.
I could almost feel the silent anger coming from him.
Lucas turned slightly and gestured toward me.
“Dad, this is Valenticia.”
My heart skipped slightly.
“And Val,” Lucas continued, “this is my father.”
I suddenly felt shy under the older man’s intense gaze.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said quietly.
For a moment, he simply looked at me. His expression did not change. His stare was sharp and heavy, almost as if he was trying to read something behind my face.
Then he spoke.
“It’s because of you that my son was hurt.”
The words hit me like a slap.
My body froze instantly. For a moment I could not even find the right response. Guilt rushed through my chest.
“I—”
But before I could say anything, the man continued speaking.
“You should stay away from Stefan,” he said coldly. “If you want to avoid scenes like this happening again.”
My throat tightened.
I did not know what to say. Lucas suddenly spoke up.
“Dad,” he said firmly.
His father’s gaze shifted toward him.
“It wasn’t her fault.”
Lucas sat a little straighter despite the pain clearly visible in his face.
“Stefan attacked me because he lost control,” he continued. “Val had nothing to do with it.”
For a moment the room fell silent. Lucas’s father looked at him quietly. I expected another harsh response. But surprisingly, he said nothing.
Instead, he slowly turned his attention back to me. The change in his expression was subtle. His voice became calmer when he spoke again.
“I heard about your grandmother,” he said.
My chest tightened slightly.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
The words caught me off guard. For a second I didn’t know how to respond.
My grandmother’s death was still something that hurt deeply whenever it was mentioned.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “I appreciate it.”
He gave a small nod. Then he cleared his throat lightly.
The sound seemed to break the quiet tension in the room.
His eyes moved between Lucas and me.
Then he asked the question in a calm but serious tone.
“When is the wedding?”
Lucas suddenly coughed.
The sound broke the silence that had settled after his father asked the question about the wedding.
He shifted slightly on the hospital bed and cleared his throat.
“We’re… working on it,” Lucas said quickly.
His voice sounded calm, but the answer caught me completely off guard.
My head turned toward him at once.
Working on it?
The words echoed in my mind.
What did that mean?
My thoughts began racing almost immediately.
Working on it…
Did that mean they had already been talking about the wedding?
My heart started beating faster as confusion filled my head.
Why would they talk about a wedding already?
The engagement had only just been announced. Everything that had happened between Lucas and me had been part of a contract. A public arrangement designed to stabilize my company and stop the scandal surrounding Stefan and Natasha.
That was all it was supposed to be.
A strategic engagement and nothing more. So why was Lucas saying something like that?
My confusion slipped out before I could stop myself.
“Wedding?” I asked slowly.
The word sounded uncertain even to my own ears.
Lucas glanced at me briefly, and for a second something passed across his face that I could not fully understand.
But before he could respond, his father spoke again.
“Your father is simply hopeful,” Lucas said quickly, cutting in before the older man could say anything else. “He tends to think ahead.”
I noticed the look Lucas gave me as he spoke.
It was a subtle, and quiet signal.
Almost as if he was telling me not to question things too much right now.
That look made me pause.
I understood what it meant.
This was not the time to push the conversation further.
Not in front of his father. So, I remained quiet. But my thoughts were still running in every direction.
His father studied both of us carefully.
There was something thoughtful in his expression now, something that suggested he was measuring every word and reaction happening in the room.
“Hopeful?” he repeated slowly.
He crossed his arms behind his back as he looked at Lucas.
“Why should hope be necessary in a marriage that will hold?”
His words were calm, but they carried weight. For a moment no one spoke.
Then suddenly his phone rang. The sound cut through the quiet room.
He reached into his pocket and looked at the screen. I noticed the shift in his expression immediately.
The calm authority on his face hardened slightly.
Whatever he was seeing on the phone clearly required his attention.
He answered the call without another word.
“Yes,” he said simply.
He listened for a few seconds.
His eyes narrowed slightly as the person on the other end continued speaking.
Then he gave a small nod.
“I’ll deal with it later,” he said firmly.
The call ended just as quickly as it had started.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked at Lucas again.
“We’ll speak later,” he said.
Then he turned and walked toward the door. Within seconds he was gone. The room fell quiet again.
For a moment I just stood there, staring at the door he had walked through.
Then I slowly turned back toward Lucas.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Lucas leaned back against the hospital bed. He looked tired, but there was still a faint calmness in his expression.
“That,” he said slowly, “was about our wedding.”
My eyebrows pulled together immediately.
“Our wedding?” I repeated.
“Yes,” he replied simply.
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Lucas… what wedding?” I asked.
My voice became firmer.
“Our engagement was part of a plan,” I reminded him. “A business arrangement. A strategy to protect my company and shift the public narrative.”
He remained quiet, watching me carefully.
“That’s all it was supposed to be,” I continued.
My chest tightened slightly as I spoke the next words.
“I would really like it to stay that way.”
I held his gaze.
“An engagement,” I said clearly.
“And nothing more.”