“Carson, you’ve finally come around?”
I stared at her, surprise flickering in my eyes. “Come around to what? Isn’t this an Archival family matter?”
“Don’t just talk about officially recognizing your family’s eldest grandson, since Gideon fathered the child but has no legitimate standing, he should be the one marrying you.”
I returned her smile with calm confidence. “As for me, I’m more than willing to step aside and make way for him.”
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Eyes darted nervously between each other, tension thick in the air.
Primrose’s face drained of color. Panic seized her as she grabbed my hand tightly.
“Carson, what nonsense are you spouting? I told you, we will never divorce.”
“Even if the child is Gideon’s, I would never marry him.”
My gaze shifted instinctively to Gideon. He lowered his head, a pitiful look softening his face, but beneath it, a flicker of smoldering resentment glimmered in his eyes.
Right. She wouldn’t divorce me, but she would keep sneaking behind my back into Gideon’s bed.
She’d keep using overtime as a mask, reuniting with Gideon and their child like some little happy family.
“Carson, what foolish talk is this, divorce talk, during a family dinner?”
Elizabeth’s glare cut through me, heavy with disdain.
“By our Archival traditions, you didn’t even have to be invited today. It was only because my daughter respects you.”
“This child, Alec, arrived at just the right time. You should raise him as your own. That’s your duty.”
Her father, Vincent, joined in. “Exactly. If you don’t raise him, our precious grandson becomes an illegitimate child. Our family’s bloodline wandering aimlessly, what would the world think? We’d be the joke.”
Dinner felt like chewing on wax, each person was lost in their own agenda.
I glanced at the calendar. Three days left.
No matter if Primrose signed or not, it would all end soon.
After dinner, Gideon came into my room holding the child.
“Brother Carson, don’t argue with Primrose anymore. The one she loves is you. Even though we have a child, she never once thought about marrying me.”
Gideon forced a bitter smile and carefully placed the child into my arms.
“I’ve decided to go abroad. I’m leaving the child with you. From now on, you’re Alec’s father.”
I froze, stunned. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.”
Gideon’s eyes were red-rimmed. “This child and I were never meant to be.”
He patiently showed me how to hold the baby and how to settle him for sleep. But just as I cradled him, the child suddenly screamed out loud.
I frowned, and then I noticed a needle stuck in the back of his head.
Gideon’s face drained of color, turning deathly pale as he shouted, “Brother Carson, I know Alec isn’t your real son, and you have no bond with him, but you can’t be this cruel! If you have a grudge, take it out on me! He’s not even two yet. How could you stab him with such a thick needle?”
The noise startled the Archival family outside.
They rushed in to find me holding the child, a bloody needle clutched in my hand, my face frozen in shock.
Gideon was sobbing on his knees before me.
“If you have a grudge, take it out on me. Use the needle on me instead! Don’t hurt my son...”
Primrose’s parents hurried to help him up, their faces etched with sorrow.
But when their eyes fell on the bloodied needle in my hand, their expressions twisted into something cold and hateful.
“What crime have we committed? Carson, you can’t have children, and now you want to kill my only grandson…”
Primrose snatched the child from my arms, trembling as if I’d become a danger.
“Hurry! Call the private doctor!”
I stared dumbfounded at the needle in my palm.
Only then did the chilling truth hit me: I had walked right into their trap.
