"I suspect these twins are actually the illegitimate children of Mrs. Smith and her lover."
"Do you even need to question it? It’s so obvious! Otherwise, why would she insist on transferring all of Mr. Dellon’s assets to them?"
"Poor Mr. Dellon. He has been jilted."
The guests at the banquet whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with pity and disdain when they saw the turn of events.
Tears streamed down my mother’s face. "Allan, can you see? They had deceived you. Your father and I warned you long ago that this woman has evil intentions and a scheming one. She only married you for money. We even told you these twins had an unclear background, but you refused to listen!"
My father, who had initially left in anger, returned, his face darkened with disappointment. "How could the Dellon family have such a disgraceful son? Why did you hand over all your assets to a woman? Have you lost your mind?" he asked.
The chatter around me grew louder, but I kept my head lowered as I stared at the divorce papers. No one noticed the faint smirk on my lips.
"Allan, you can’t blame me for this," Clara excused. "I’m a normal woman. You got a vasectomy and can’t have children. I had no choice but to find someone else to have children.
Clara attempted to justify her action. She wanted to point out the reason for her affair.
I chuckled coldly. "You were the one who feared the pain of giving birth and insisted we live child-free. I got the vasectomy for you."
She cut my words, "That was back then! The reality is, you’re sterile and I wanted children of my own. So, I had to ask Sean …."
Sean bobbed his head smugly. "That’s right. Can a man who is sterile still be called a man? Sounds more like a eunuch to me."
Laughter erupted throughout the banquet hall.
When my mother recalled the past, with tears in her voice, she confronted Clara, "You came from a poor rural family. You couldn’t even afford tuition and lived off plain buns in your dormitory. Your mother was gravely ill with no money for treatment. If it weren’t for Allan supporting you both, you and your mother would’ve been long gone!"
"When he knew you loved grill ribs, Allan hired the best chef to make them for you. He even learned to cook them himself. When your younger brother was unemployed for years and abandoned by his wife and children, Allan’s father took him in and gave him a managerial position with more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for his annual salary."
At that moment, the three of us fell silent, lost in memories.
Then, my mother muttered, "Our family treated you so well, yet you repay us by stealing everything from the Dellon family."
Clara remained quiet for a few seconds before smirking. "So what? What's the use of talking about the past now?"
She turned to me. "Alright, Allan, how much longer are you going to stare at those papers? Even if you don’t sign, it doesn’t change anything."
"After all, you already transferred the assets to the kids. Our marital assets are down to just a few thousand dollars. However, since you have given up so much for us, I’ll let you keep that few thousand dollars. Consider that money as your retirement fund."
Her grin stretched so wide as Clara smiled in triumph.
Smack!
Suddenly, my father lunged forward in a quick stride and slapped her across the face. "You damn whore!"
His fury at losing the family’s fortune could not be contained any longer.
"She's right. If it weren’t for Mr. Dellon, her mother would’ve died long ago and she wouldn’t be living so well now."
"Mr. Dellon was just unlucky because he had put his trust in the wrong person."
The crowd blew their breath in sympathy.
"Someone! Grab this old fool and teach him a lesson!"
Clara who was humiliated could not take this insult and with a wave of her hand, several security guards stormed in and circled my father with a menacing expression.
They were the same security guards who were, just a moment ago, at the start of the banquet, fawning and smiling while helping my father carry gifts into the banquet.
Now that the tides had turned, so had their loyalty.
"You dare lay a hand on me, huh?" my father growled.
"Why wouldn’t we? Who do you think you are?" one of the guards sneered.
Even though they said that, they were intimidated by the past power so they hesitated to make a move. Well … at least until Sean strode forward and slapped my father across the face.
