Chapter 967: Chapter 967 When Regret Came Crushing Down
[Parvati_Patel_3665: Holy crap, for real @Terri_Wright_3929?! That’s way too much of a coincidence if it wasn’t planned. And now Alice has suddenly gone missing... maybe she disappeared on purpose because she knew Lucas was about to be exposed, too?]
[Shell_Rodriguez: @Parvati_Patel_3665 That actually makes sense. Alice always acted like a "white lotus," and Lucas was pulling his own fake "green tea guy" routine. What if they’ve known each other for a long time and were working together all along?]
[DaoistFXzL3Z: Honestly, this is scary if true. Good thing both UE and SOE stepped in quickly to put a stop to it. Maybe they already suspected something and wanted to send a warning to the industry.]
[SIA: Now that you mention it, Alice really did vanish all of a sudden, and now this happens. It’s not far-fetched at all to think they plotted it together. Both of them have always wanted to mess with Sister Hera and Baby Logan. Sly and black-hearted, the both of them. No wonder they weren’t blessed with the same talent as Sister Hera and Baby Logan.]
[SIA: (≧▽≦)♡ (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)]
[FallingBloom: @SIA Totally agree~ ★>d(,,･ε´-,,)⌒☆]
...
After the clarification, the plagiarism discussion spiraled out of control. Soon, people began linking Lucas’s actions to Alice, dragging her name through the mud once again.
From afar, Alice read the unfolding chaos, her molars grinding as fury built inside her. With a roar, she hurled her phone against the wall. "Why can’t they just let me go?!!! These brainless fans!!!"
Her face twisted with rage until a hand slid gently along her bare arm, tracing her skin in a soothing attempt to calm her.
"Baby, don’t get so worked up over insignificant people. What can they possibly do to you now, hmm?" he murmured, pressing a kiss to Alice’s neck as he coaxed her.
Soon enough, her anger gave way to passion, bodies tangling beneath the sheets while the online world continued to spiral with speculation, dragging Alice deeper into Lucas’s mess.
Meanwhile, Lucas himself remained blissfully unaware. He was busy quenching his own desires with a female fan who had eagerly thrown herself at him. In his mind, since the rice had already served itself on the platter, it would be ungrateful to turn it down, so he indulged, enjoying her company all through the night.
But this wasn’t the first time for Lucas. He had long been exploiting women who admired him, making them do his homework and projects, rewarding them with nothing more than sweet words of thanks.
If a girl happened to be his type, he would offer something more: a kiss, a night in bed, or other intimacies to keep her hooked.
It was no surprise, then, that he had no qualms about sleeping with his fans whenever the chance presented itself. All the while, he carefully maintained his sunny, gentlemanly image for the world to see, a persona polished to perfection for the entertainment industry as though it were his true self.
But now, with his mask slipping, people could finally glimpse the ugliness beneath. If the netizens ever uncovered the truth about his fan encounters, another wave of hate and cyberbullying would surely crash down on him.
In that sense, tonight’s indulgence could very well be his "last supper"—a fleeting pleasure before the world judged him and branded him a sinner.
Meanwhile, Logan was bombarded with calls from his parents. Honestly, he no longer had the heart to answer. He didn’t know whether they were reaching out because they finally saw Lucas for who he truly was, or if they only wanted to plead for Lucas’s sake. Either way, Logan couldn’t bring himself to hear their voices or face them.
Too many disappointments, too many rejections, he had long since lost his trust in them. In fact, even the thought of them now left him numb, as if their feelings no longer mattered.
But how could he feel any different? When he needed them most, where were they? With Lucas, always with Lucas. Coaxing him, caring for him, putting him on a pedestal so that outsiders would admire them for being "good parents." They fussed over Lucas not out of love, but out of fear of criticism.
And Logan? He was forgotten, expected to silently understand, expected to accept neglect simply because he was their own son.
After staring at his phone for a long while, Logan finally chose to block his parents’ numbers. What he needed now was silence, distance from the very people who had caused him so much pain. For once, he decided to put himself first.
He no longer wanted to cater to their feelings, to keep walking on eggshells just to prove he was worthy of their approval. He no longer wished for them to see him, to love him the way they doted on Lucas. That illusion had shattered long ago.
Now, at last, he was breaking free from the toxic cycle. And it was thanks to Hera, because she had given him the courage and the way out.
Leaning back against his bed, Logan smiled as thoughts of his upcoming concert filled his mind. He had already sent Hera ten VIP tickets, hoping she would bring her friends to watch him spread his wings, to soar high like an eagle, finally breaking free from his shackles.
Excitement thrummed through him stronger than ever. For the first time, he felt he was truly living on his own terms, no one telling him what he should do, no one dictating how he should be. The weight of expectation was gone, leaving him light, unbound, and free.
With that newfound freedom warming his chest, Logan drifted into sleep—peaceful, untroubled, and for the first time in his life, truly at ease.
While Logan was finally finding peace on his side, his parents were thrown into panic after seeing the trending topics. Despite their age and limited tech skills, they had learned to keep up with the entertainment world ever since Lucas announced he was entering the industry.
Scanning headlines, following gossip, and keeping track of his activities became their way of "supporting" him, a daily habit they maintained faithfully.
But today, what they saw nearly shattered them. Logan’s father almost suffered a heart attack from the shock; fortunately, they were at home with a cabinet full of medicines for various age-related illnesses.
Still, years of overwork had left his body frail, and his heart especially weak, making the incident all the more terrifying for them.
The elderly couple sat frozen, reading through the evidence that UE and SOE had published online. Among the documents and testimonies were pictures and school footage, clips of Logan being bullied by his classmates, while Lucas stood nearby.
He appeared to intervene half-heartedly, but in truth, his actions only fanned the flames, encouraging others to go harder at Logan.
It was only after countless netizens pointed this out that the parents began to see the truth: Lucas had always twisted situations to his favor.
They remembered the times they had heard accusations of Logan bullying Lucas at school. Their initial disappointment in Logan never ran deep enough to give him the cold shoulder until Lucas opened his mouth. His words, carefully chosen, always played on their emotions, shifting their anger toward Logan.
Looking back, they realized it for what it was—manipulation. Lucas had been pulling their strings since childhood. Yet they had never once suspected him; it had always been this way. The thought that such a young child could be so vile, so calculating, had never even crossed their minds.
But now, it was painfully clear, they had been wrong all along, and in doing so, they had wronged their own child. As they continued to pore over every piece of evidence published online, their hearts shattered.
Logan had endured all of this alone. Though he had always been the innocent party, he bore the weight of being misjudged, punished, and scolded. Time and again, he had tried to explain, yet no one ever listened.
Eventually, he had stopped trying altogether, a silent proof that he had given up not only on defending himself, but also on them.
The realization was crushing. They were heartbroken, desperate to make things right."Honey... ca–call Logan. Call our son..." Logan’s father pleaded, clutching at his chest as his breath came heavy and uneven, his eyes fixed on the phone lying on the floor.
But his wife could only weep, her sobs unending, her hands trembling too much.
"He’s... he’s not answering..." Logan’s mother whispered through her tears, her lips trembling as she clutched the phone. She tried again—who knew how many times by now—only to be met with the same cold, mechanical voice: ’The number you dialed cannot be reached.’
And in that moment, the truth struck her like a blade. He hadn’t simply ignored her calls. He had blocked her.
"Our son... he blocked me."
Her voice broke, and a raw, heart-wrenching wail tore from her throat. Regret flooded her, regret for never trusting him, never listening to him when he needed her most.