“Where is your biological mother?”
Percy curled his lips, a knowing smirk flickering across his face.
“Aunt Lettie, my mom’s overseas. She’s not coming back anytime soon, so you won’t feel upset.”
I narrowed my eyes at the boy dressed in flashy designer brands. Twenty years in business had sharpened my instincts; his mockery wasn’t hidden at all. He was clearly implying that if his mother returned, I’d throw a jealous fit, make a scene, and embarrass myself.
He tilted his chin, eyes filled with contempt.
“Aunt Lettie, at your age, you really shouldn’t still be fussing over love and emotions. Isn’t that kind of talk embarrassing already?”
An illegitimate child, yet so arrogant. He thought he had me figured out.
I let out a cold, cutting laugh.
“Your biological mother couldn’t give you wealth or status, so now you want me to be your mother? And you’re not embarrassed to say that out loud?”
Vale’s face darkened, but before he could explode, Percy slammed the table.
“Lettie!”
Soup splashed across my face. I remained still, calmly looking at the group.
Vale spoke with obvious displeasure.
“Lettie, how could you say that about Hyacinth? She gave up her career to raise those two children; she’s sacrificed enough. How could you humiliate her in front of them?”
Margaret, dressed head-to-toe in Chanel, suddenly stood up, pride brimming in her expression as she glared at me.
“What good is your sharp tongue? My mom may not have earned money, but she had my dad’s love, and she has us. Once we get the company, she’ll have everything she deserves.”
“If anyone dares disrespect my mom, my brother and I won’t hesitate to break your legs and feed them to the fish.”
Looking at the righteous fury on these illegitimate children’s faces, I thought, how bold they’d become. Vale had raised something else.
He quickly tried to calm them down, soothing their temper before turning back to me, his voice softening.
“Lettie, you’ve seen it now. They are caring. If you treat them like a mother, they’ll treat you like their own.”
“Hyacinth’s had it tough, too. It all started that night, we were drunk, and the children happened by accident. I wanted her to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused. She promised she’d never interfere in our marriage and would raise the kids alone.”
“Lettie, try to understand her. She’s softhearted. She couldn’t bear to harm two innocent lives. Without her, Percy and Margaret wouldn’t even exist…”
As he spoke, Vale’s eyes reddened, his voice catching in his throat.
Listening to that twisted logic, I felt my anger rise to the brink of eruption. Still unwilling to give up completely, I asked one final question.
“What exactly do you want?”
He stammered for a long while, then finally whispered, barely above a breath.
“Hyacinth has been overseas for more than twenty years, and the kids are used to living with her. I want to give her the villa in the suburbs. In the future, I’ll spend Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with them, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with you, and Sundays depending on my mood.”
I clenched my fists, cold to the bone. At that moment, all illusions shattered.
“If you want a big happy family so badly, then let’s get a divorce.”
Vale’s face darkened.
“Lettie, I told you, it was just an accident. I still love you. We’ve been married twenty years, can you bring yourself to divorce me?”
I cut him off coldly, spitting out every word straight into his face.
“Vale, do you think you’re some kind of king? You truly have no shame.”
All these years, he had used my money to support his mistress and raise illegitimate children; now he wanted to keep both families, expecting me to go on being the fool who paid for it all.
Those two looked at me with nothing but contempt and disdain. I wasn’t blind. Who knew how many years they’d been mocking me behind my back?
There was a time I had thought, if it was just an accident, maybe I could throw some money their way and let it end there.
After all, I was the one who had fallen for Vale all those years ago. And I had loved him for twenty years.
Even though it hurt, I had once been willing to give him a second chance.
