#Chapter 174: Deceived Again

Lucas POV

"I'm sorry?" My father asked as his eyes hardened.

I decided it was finally time to come clean with my father. I couldn't keep living my life in a web of lies. It was taking a toll on me, and I couldn't handle the pressure anymore.

The realization that I've been lying to every single person in my life hit me like a ton of bricks. All it's done is confuse me and hurt people, and I knew I was about to hurt someone else by revealing this.

I glanced up at my father, trying to gain the courage to speak the truth.

"It was all a ploy," I admitted, my voice thick with certainty. "Everything."

My father faltered, confused by my confession. He raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised for the first time in a long time. "A ploy? What are you talking about?"

Knowing that there was no reversing the damage I had done or the consequences to my own actions, I continued, "Yes. A ploy. I pretended to want to get engaged to Victoria again to help Shana with her debt."

My father's face was