Chapter 143

Lucas POV

Shana had fallen asleep over an hour ago as I held her in my arms. I watched as her chest rose and fell peacefully, savoring the quiet moment between us.

Never in a million years did I think I would be cuddling Shana in bed like this, as boyfriend and girlfriend. Memories from our childhood came flooding back to me and knowing that I shared so many precious memories with Shana made the realization all the more meaningful.

Back then, Shana had always had my back. I remember how cruel students were to me simply because of my weight.

I remember feeling grateful for her friendship, and my deepest desire was to always stand by her side. I wanted to protect her the way that she had protected me.

I would gladly do it, but in a way, I felt like I owed it to her. She deserved nothing but the best, and if I could shelter her from all of the bad things, then that's exactly why I would do.

That's why this entire situation with her father was so tricky. The fact that he could hurt her and cause irreversible damage to her life made me enraged.

I tried to calm myself by looking to Shana again. Her features were softly illuminated by the small lamp light.

Just staring at her made the emotions well up inside of me.

She wasn't just my girlfriend... she meant everything to me. It felt like we had been through so much together already. The way I felt about her and the love that I had for her was beyond comprehension.

I couldn't describe the feeling, but I knew that I was really falling for her.

Amidst my thoughts about how I felt for her, a painful realization gnawed at the back of my conscience.

I couldn't just let her deal with what her father had done to her on her own. I needed to find a way to rescue her from the distress he had thrust upon her.

There was no way she could come up with all of that money on her own. My father was loaded, but even I didn't have that kind of money available to me.

Everything I had was still in my father's possession, and I wouldn't have access to those funds for a long time. Otherwise, I would easily pay the debt off for Shana.

I began to ponder the various courses of action I could take to help her pay off the large debt. There was one potential solution that kept appearing in the back of my mind, but I knew that I would have to keep it a secret from Shana.

If she knew the truth, it would be a tough pill for her to swallow. Shana had explicitly mentioned to me that she didn't want to involve my father in any of this, but there really was no other option.

Not only did he own a portion of the casino, but he had thousands of dollars at his disposal. Twenty six thousand dollars was like spare change for him.

I knew that he would be willing to help me if I gave him something in return, and I knew exactly what he wanted.

My phone was within reach, and I picked it up, deciding to text Victoria.

I was a little nervous about bringing this up to her, but I knew that her wealth and influence could potentially help me resolve this situation.

That is... if she was willing to help.

It was a tough call to make, but deep down I believed it was my choice. It was the only logical plan I could think of that would work.

I clicked on Victoria's contact name and drafted a text message.

Lucas: Victoria, I know this is going to seem very random and sudden, but I need your help with something important.

I sent the message, hoping she was awake and would respond soon.

Just when I was beginning to lose hope, my phone lit up with a notification from Victoria.

Surprisingly, she was awake.

Victoria: Hey, Lucas. Of course, what's going on? Does it have anything to do with James?

I frowned, wondering why it would have anything to do with James. I thought Victoria hated James.

Lucas: No, it doesn't have anything to do with James... Why?

Victoria answered almost immediately.

Victoria: Oh, nothing. Then what is it?

Shrugging off her question, I found myself typing out a new message with a sense of urgency.

Lucas: It's actually about Shana. She's in some trouble, and there's really no way getting out of it. Her father stole her identity and used it to rack up thousands of dollars at a casino that my father owns.

Victoria: OMG Lucas. That sounds awful! I'm so sorry she was put into that situation... But how can I help?

This is when I began to grow nervous. What were the odds that Victoria would agree to my plan?

We had just managed to get ourselves out of this situation, and now I was about to ask her to start all over again.

A small part of me was telling me that this was a terrible idea, and that it wouldn't exactly turn out the way I wanted, but I had no choice. I wanted to do this to help Shana.

Bringing up the topic of my previous engagement with Victoria was tough... I knew that my father was still holding on to some kind of hope that Victoria and I would still go through with it.

And that was what my plan would be. Maybe if my father saw that I was serious about getting engaged to Victoria again, he would free Shana of all her debt.

Lucas: Hear me out. The only person who would be able to pay off all of Shana's fees is my father. I would say that I could do it, but he and I aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment. I think that if we tell my father we're proceeding with our previous engagement... he may be willing to step in and settle Shana's father's debts.

Right as I sent the message, I felt a wave of nerves hit me.

I didn't know what Victoria's reaction would be, or if she would even consider it.

I looked at my phone screen as the chat bubbles appeared, signaling her attention and pending response.

There was a brief pause, and then the chat bubbles appeared again.

Victoria: And what's in it for me?

I figured Victoria would question what was in it for her, but anticipating that question didn't make it any easier to answer.

We needed to meet face to face to really figure out all of the details to make sure we understood what this arrangement meant.

Lucas: I can explain everything to you in person. I think it would be better that way.

There was another brief pause before she agreed with a simple

Victoria: I agree.

As I locked my phone and looked back at Shana's sleeping body, I felt a step closer to being able to bring her some kind of peace.

I was willing to make this difficult decision, even if it meant making a deal I had long sought to avoid.

And it would mean that I would be letting my father back into my life.