2: 2
Owen Gilbert was shaking with rage.
I wasn't doing much better.
Twenty-some years of pouring our hearts into raising a son, and he turns around and stands with an outsider to squeeze and blame the two of us. Nobody could bear that.
Five years ago, the first time Caroline Morton set foot in our home, she made sure to put us in our place.
Owen and I had taken the meeting seriously. We'd started preparing three days ahead.
We'd even hired a Michelin chef to come cook for us.
And we'd had the welcome gift ready long before, a fat envelope with a hundred and eight thousand dollars in it.
But Caroline stayed cold the whole time, not a trace of courtesy or nerves, only contempt in her eyes.
Seeing that we were a little flustered, she took over the room as if she were the host.
She pulled a paper medical report out of her bag and dropped it on the coffee table.
Then she leaned back, folded her arms, and jerked her chin at Owen and me.
It was Sebastian's medical report.
Owen and I picked it up, puzzled, and went completely still.
The report said it plainly: Sebastian had severe sperm deficiency, with a natural conception rate of less than one percent.
The two of us froze where we sat, minds blank.
All these years we'd only known he was frail, sick more often than not. We had never known about a hidden condition like this.
Sebastian stood off to the side, his whole face flushed red.
Just as the silence stretched thin, Caroline lifted a hand and stroked her own belly, drawling out her words.
"But I'm pregnant."
"The doctor said it himself. That one percent chance, it happened to me."
As much as her lofty attitude sickened me, the moment I heard the word pregnant, all my displeasure got pressed down.
Whatever else was true, this was the first grandchild of the Gilbert family.
I softened at once and spoke up to reassure her. "Caroline, a baby is wonderful news. We'll hold the wedding as soon as possible. I'll buy the two of you a big three-bedroom in the heart of the city right away. The renovation, the furniture, the bride gift, the wedding, every expense, we'll cover all of it. You don't have to worry about a thing. Just rest and take care of the baby."
I'd thought that kind of sincerity would satisfy her. Instead Caroline's face filled with astonishment, as if she'd heard something absurd.
"You're supposed to be responsible for that anyway. You owe it to Sebastian!"
Owen and I sat there stunned.
Sebastian shot to his feet, cheeks burning red, years of pent-up resentment spilling into his voice as he shouted straight at us.
"My body was perfectly fine to begin with. I never had any sperm problem! It's because when I was little you two kept dragging me around to see doctors and have surgeries, all those drugs wrecked my body, and that's what left me barely able to have children!"
"You two are the ones to blame!"
I opened my mouth to explain on reflex.
But Sebastian gave me no chance, cutting me off at once, loud.
"Caroline's been studying Chinese medicine for over a year. She looked into it specially. It was your overtreatment back then that gave me this condition! If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten sick like this!"
Owen and I froze completely, staring blankly at the son in front of us, unable to get a single word out.
Seeing this, Caroline curled the corner of her mouth into a cold smile, laid her hand on her belly again, and spoke with arrogant force.
"This baby in my belly is the only heir the Gilbert family has now."
"Those terms you just offered? They don't even come close to making up for the harm you two did!"
Owen's face went livid, his fist clenching, on the verge of losing it.
I held him back, forced my own anger down, and asked her, "Then what exactly do you want?"
Caroline seemed to have it all ready. She didn't hesitate for a second.
"First, every share in every company under you two goes to my brother Wallace Morton, transferred for free."
"Second, you buy a standalone full-floor unit downtown, paid in full, registered in my parents' names. From now on their food, clothing, housing, medical care, retirement, travel, and leisure, all of it is on you two."
"My parents have to be treated exactly the same as you."
"Third, when my brother gets married, buys a house, buys a car, pays a bride gift, raises his kids, every last cost falls to the Gilbert family."
"My brother can't handle hardship. He won't be working for a living, so when the company gets transferred over, remember to hire a professional manager to run it for him."
Once she'd said all that, a secretive little smile crept across Caroline's face.
"I already read the tarot cards. This baby is one hundred percent a boy, and a born genius at that."
"Having a golden grandson like this is the greatest blessing of your entire lives."
Listening to her, I found it utterly ridiculous.
I refused right then and there. "These terms are impossible. We will never agree to them."
Caroline's face changed in an instant, the earlier ease and arrogance flipping into furious panic.
"I'm carrying the only heir the Gilbert family has! The only grandson you'll ever get! You'd better think hard, and don't be too stupid to know a good thing!"
The moment she finished, she didn't spare us another glance. She grabbed her bag, turned, and slammed the door behind her as she left.
The living room fell dead quiet.
Owen couldn't hold the fury down. He rounded on Sebastian, roaring. "Look at who you picked!"
But Sebastian showed not the slightest hint of reflection. He flopped down on the sofa and threw a tantrum, yelling.
"I don't care! You ruined my body! You ruined my life! And now you want to force me to break up, won't let me marry Caroline. Then what's the point of me even living? If you won't agree, I'll just go die!"
My heart was torn between anger and pain.
In the end he was the son we'd raised for over twenty years. We couldn't bring ourselves to truly push him.
So in the end I gave in. I didn't accept Caroline's outrageous terms, but I did agree to the marriage.
Owen looked down at his cracked phone screen and suddenly turned to me. "Honey, the next livestream, are we still going to take part?"
I sat there on the sofa, everything churning inside me.
The older a person gets, the less they crave great wealth or status. The only thing left to long for is a family whole and together, grandchildren gathered close.
I stayed silent for a long while, then let out a few soft words. "Let's do it."
