Chapter 94: Hidden Motive
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I was overwhelmed by the new discovery of the past. All these stories were buried deep into his heart. This family is more complex that it looks.
" You know, Theo, back in those days, I was a carefree guy. I did all sorts of things. I used to spend every night at the bar. Hooking up with women, drinking and spending my money thoughtlessly on everything. A spoiled arrogant brat, that's what I was.
Things changed when I got married. I also had an arrange marriage which didn't made me happy at that time. But I tried to work this relationship.
Soon Stella was born. I was very happy to see me first child. She was so adorable and so tiny. My hands were shaking when I held her in my arms. She was just the exact copy of me. As much it made me happy, my father was displeased.
He wanted me to have a son so that our company will have a new heir. It didn't bothered me that much but when Neil was born I decided to raise him properly as the next heir of the company. I didn't even realised that I had stopped spending time with my daughter. The distance started to grow from that day. " His agonising face kept gazing at the sky.
" I had struggled a lot to maintain the reputation of my company. Just when I gripped the soil of success, a new calamity knocked on my door. My friend betrayed me which caused me a fortune. I lost a good amount of money thanks to him. I wasn't really upset for the money but loosing my friend gave me more damage."
" That must have been tough." I said with sympathy.
" It was. He was a very close friend of mine. Can't believe he preferred the money over me. Anyway, after that incident I became very depressed. My relationship with my wife wasn't going well.
We always had some sort of disconnection. I was really fed up with my life. I desperately needed someone to talk so, I started to see someone.
I did my best sustaining my two lives. It was going good until Stella found out. That day, when she asked me about my affair, I can't explain how humiliating it was for me. It felt like I did the worst crime of my life. I couldn't even look at her." A little drop of tear fell down his cheeks. It took me by surprise to see him in this state. His gaze was fixed on the enormous sky, hiding his expression from me. " Human heart breaks but you can't hear the sound of it. Isn't that strange?" His face contained the regrets of the past and they begged for forgiveness.
" Does your wife know about your affair?"
" Yes." He sighed.
" I'm surprised that she didn't asked for divorce. Most other girls would have picked that option." It might be rude but I spoke the absolute truth.
" No matter how many problems we had, she never asked for divorce and nor did I. We both knew that getting a divorce will affect our children. They'll have to live separately. But she would have a chance to find someone better than me. She could have started her life again. Yet she didn't. Although I always pleaded her to stay. Maybe she felt sympathy for me and decided to spend rest of her life with a piece of shit like me. I'm the one to be blamed. I couldn't be a good husband or a good father."
" It's not late though. You can always start over. "
" Start over? That's not gonna happen. My kids can hate me all they want as long they're living a good life. I no longer have to worry about Stella since she married you. You see, back then in her high school, someone was bullying her. When her bodyguards informed me about it, I gathered information about that bully and made their company bankrupt. What a moron! Like I'd let them hurt my daughter. Listen Theo, when you have money, you have power." With a sinister smile he laughed, patting on my shoulder. Wait a minute, didn't Vanessa said that Stella was responsible for her tragic life? That means Mr. Carlton was behind it. And bodyguards? Stella has bodyguards? Did she know all these?
" Wait a minute. Does Stella know all this?" I exclaimed in surprise.
" No, and please don't tell her about the bodyguards. I was always worried about her so, I appointed some bodyguards to look after her. I also did a background check on you before agreeing to this arrange marriage. You may have dated few women in the past but you're not the type of guy who'd have a new woman every single day. I hope you would forgive me for spying on you." Of course he did a background check on me. I'm just relieved that he didn't found any strange intel on me.
" No, no. It's really okay. You have rights to know about the guy your daughter's gonna marry." Keeping my anxiety in contact, I replied. Dear lord! I wonder what I was thinking when I agreed to do that fake marriage!
" Thanks for understanding. Your parents may have said that you were single but it's better to confirm it." I don't know why did that guy failed to know that I was in a relationship with Regina but I'm glad he did.
Maybe because my relationship with Regina was very secretive. We were always busy with our work and we never spend too much time with each other in public.
Thanks to that guy's wrong information I was able to marry Stella. Mr. Carlton continued to speak, " I also thought about keeping the bodyguards with her for sometime to see if you guys are doing well with your married life. But that would have been a bit extreme." Oh! Thank god! It didn't happen. Or else he would find out about our fake marriage.
" I see." I replied being dumbfounded by lack of words.
" Besides Neil is there for her. If she had any problems adjusting there he would have helped her." He said with a fake smile as it reminded him of Neil.
Suddenly I remember another memory and continued my interrogation, " Then what about the nightclub incident? Your behaviour was definitely outrageous that day."
" Huh? Night club?.... oh you mean that incident? Did you know what actually happened on that night?" He halted and gave me a wicked stare before continuing, "Stella's friends were so busy with themselves that they left her alone. Someone had spiked her drink. If it were not for the bodyguards, she would have ended up in a terrible situation." He grumbled as he spoke of that dreadful night.
Who could have thought that this was the real reason. I suddenly felt guilty for not trusting my father-in-law. " Yes, I agree that I shouldn't have slapped her. But I was so angry, thinking about the outcome of that night. My rage took over my sanity and forced me to hit my daughter. My intentions were never bad although my methods were just .....outrageous." It pains me to think how much of struggle he faced in his life. I haven't faced such ridiculously tragic decisions of fate.
~ to be continued
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I was overwhelmed by the new discovery of the past. All these stories were buried deep into his heart. This family is more complex that it looks.
" You know, Theo, back in those days, I was a carefree guy. I did all sorts of things. I used to spend every night at the bar. Hooking up with women, drinking and spending my money thoughtlessly on everything. A spoiled arrogant brat, that's what I was.
Things changed when I got married. I also had an arrange marriage which didn't made me happy at that time. But I tried to work this relationship.
Soon Stella was born. I was very happy to see me first child. She was so adorable and so tiny. My hands were shaking when I held her in my arms. She was just the exact copy of me. As much it made me happy, my father was displeased.
He wanted me to have a son so that our company will have a new heir. It didn't bothered me that much but when Neil was born I decided to raise him properly as the next heir of the company. I didn't even realised that I had stopped spending time with my daughter. The distance started to grow from that day. " His agonising face kept gazing at the sky.
" I had struggled a lot to maintain the reputation of my company. Just when I gripped the soil of success, a new calamity knocked on my door. My friend betrayed me which caused me a fortune. I lost a good amount of money thanks to him. I wasn't really upset for the money but loosing my friend gave me more damage."
" That must have been tough." I said with sympathy.
" It was. He was a very close friend of mine. Can't believe he preferred the money over me. Anyway, after that incident I became very depressed. My relationship with my wife wasn't going well.
We always had some sort of disconnection. I was really fed up with my life. I desperately needed someone to talk so, I started to see someone.
I did my best sustaining my two lives. It was going good until Stella found out. That day, when she asked me about my affair, I can't explain how humiliating it was for me. It felt like I did the worst crime of my life. I couldn't even look at her." A little drop of tear fell down his cheeks. It took me by surprise to see him in this state. His gaze was fixed on the enormous sky, hiding his expression from me. " Human heart breaks but you can't hear the sound of it. Isn't that strange?" His face contained the regrets of the past and they begged for forgiveness.
" Does your wife know about your affair?"
" Yes." He sighed.
" I'm surprised that she didn't asked for divorce. Most other girls would have picked that option." It might be rude but I spoke the absolute truth.
" No matter how many problems we had, she never asked for divorce and nor did I. We both knew that getting a divorce will affect our children. They'll have to live separately. But she would have a chance to find someone better than me. She could have started her life again. Yet she didn't. Although I always pleaded her to stay. Maybe she felt sympathy for me and decided to spend rest of her life with a piece of shit like me. I'm the one to be blamed. I couldn't be a good husband or a good father."
" It's not late though. You can always start over. "
" Start over? That's not gonna happen. My kids can hate me all they want as long they're living a good life. I no longer have to worry about Stella since she married you. You see, back then in her high school, someone was bullying her. When her bodyguards informed me about it, I gathered information about that bully and made their company bankrupt. What a moron! Like I'd let them hurt my daughter. Listen Theo, when you have money, you have power." With a sinister smile he laughed, patting on my shoulder. Wait a minute, didn't Vanessa said that Stella was responsible for her tragic life? That means Mr. Carlton was behind it. And bodyguards? Stella has bodyguards? Did she know all these?
" Wait a minute. Does Stella know all this?" I exclaimed in surprise.
" No, and please don't tell her about the bodyguards. I was always worried about her so, I appointed some bodyguards to look after her. I also did a background check on you before agreeing to this arrange marriage. You may have dated few women in the past but you're not the type of guy who'd have a new woman every single day. I hope you would forgive me for spying on you." Of course he did a background check on me. I'm just relieved that he didn't found any strange intel on me.
" No, no. It's really okay. You have rights to know about the guy your daughter's gonna marry." Keeping my anxiety in contact, I replied. Dear lord! I wonder what I was thinking when I agreed to do that fake marriage!
" Thanks for understanding. Your parents may have said that you were single but it's better to confirm it." I don't know why did that guy failed to know that I was in a relationship with Regina but I'm glad he did.
Maybe because my relationship with Regina was very secretive. We were always busy with our work and we never spend too much time with each other in public.
Thanks to that guy's wrong information I was able to marry Stella. Mr. Carlton continued to speak, " I also thought about keeping the bodyguards with her for sometime to see if you guys are doing well with your married life. But that would have been a bit extreme." Oh! Thank god! It didn't happen. Or else he would find out about our fake marriage.
" I see." I replied being dumbfounded by lack of words.
" Besides Neil is there for her. If she had any problems adjusting there he would have helped her." He said with a fake smile as it reminded him of Neil.
Suddenly I remember another memory and continued my interrogation, " Then what about the nightclub incident? Your behaviour was definitely outrageous that day."
" Huh? Night club?.... oh you mean that incident? Did you know what actually happened on that night?" He halted and gave me a wicked stare before continuing, "Stella's friends were so busy with themselves that they left her alone. Someone had spiked her drink. If it were not for the bodyguards, she would have ended up in a terrible situation." He grumbled as he spoke of that dreadful night.
Who could have thought that this was the real reason. I suddenly felt guilty for not trusting my father-in-law. " Yes, I agree that I shouldn't have slapped her. But I was so angry, thinking about the outcome of that night. My rage took over my sanity and forced me to hit my daughter. My intentions were never bad although my methods were just .....outrageous." It pains me to think how much of struggle he faced in his life. I haven't faced such ridiculously tragic decisions of fate.
~ to be continued
I was overwhelmed by the new discovery of the past. All these stories were buried deep into his heart. This family is more complex that it looks." You know, Theo, back in those days, I was a carefree guy. I did all sorts of things. I used to spend every night at the bar. Hooking up with women, drinking and spending my money thoughtlessly on everything. A spoiled arrogant brat, that's what I was.Things changed when I got married. I also had an arrange marriage which didn't made me happy at that time. But I tried to work this relationship.Soon Stella was born. I was very happy to see me first child. She was so adorable and so tiny. My hands were shaking when I held her in my arms. She was just the exact copy of me. As much it made me happy, my father was displeased.He wanted me to have a son so that our company will have a new heir. It didn't bothered me that much but when Neil was born I decided to raise him properly as the next heir of the company. I didn't even realised that I had stopped spending time with my daughter. The distance started to grow from that day. " His agonising face kept gazing at the sky." I had struggled a lot to maintain the reputation of my company. Just when I gripped the soil of success, a new calamity knocked on my door. My friend betrayed me which caused me a fortune. I lost a good amount of money thanks to him. I wasn't really upset for the money but loosing my friend gave me more damage."" That must have been tough." I said with sympathy." It was. He was a very close friend of mine. Can't believe he preferred the money over me. Anyway, after that incident I became very depressed. My relationship with my wife wasn't going well.We always had some sort of disconnection. I was really fed up with my life. I desperately needed someone to talk so, I started to see someone.I did my best sustaining my two lives. It was going good until Stella found out. That day, when she asked me about my affair, I can't explain how humiliating it was for me. It felt like I did the worst crime of my life. I couldn't even look at her." A little drop of tear fell down his cheeks. It took me by surprise to see him in this state. His gaze was fixed on the enormous sky, hiding his expression from me. " Human heart breaks but you can't hear the sound of it. Isn't that strange?" His face contained the regrets of the past and they begged for forgiveness." Does your wife know about your affair?"" Yes." He sighed." I'm surprised that she didn't asked for divorce. Most other girls would have picked that option." It might be rude but I spoke the absolute truth." No matter how many problems we had, she never asked for divorce and nor did I. We both knew that getting a divorce will affect our children. They'll have to live separately. But she would have a chance to find someone better than me. She could have started her life again. Yet she didn't. Although I always pleaded her to stay. Maybe she felt sympathy for me and decided to spend rest of her life with a piece of shit like me. I'm the one to be blamed. I couldn't be a good husband or a good father."" It's not late though. You can always start over. "" Start over? That's not gonna happen. My kids can hate me all they want as long they're living a good life. I no longer have to worry about Stella since she married you. You see, back then in her high school, someone was bullying her. When her bodyguards informed me about it, I gathered information about that bully and made their company bankrupt. What a moron! Like I'd let them hurt my daughter. Listen Theo, when you have money, you have power." With a sinister smile he laughed, patting on my shoulder. Wait a minute, didn't Vanessa said that Stella was responsible for her tragic life? That means Mr. Carlton was behind it. And bodyguards? Stella has bodyguards? Did she know all these?" Wait a minute. Does Stella know all this?" I exclaimed in surprise." No, and please don't tell her about the bodyguards. I was always worried about her so, I appointed some bodyguards to look after her. I also did a background check on you before agreeing to this arrange marriage. You may have dated few women in the past but you're not the type of guy who'd have a new woman every single day. I hope you would forgive me for spying on you." Of course he did a background check on me. I'm just relieved that he didn't found any strange intel on me." No, no. It's really okay. You have rights to know about the guy your daughter's gonna marry." Keeping my anxiety in contact, I replied. Dear lord! I wonder what I was thinking when I agreed to do that fake marriage!" Thanks for understanding. Your parents may have said that you were single but it's better to confirm it." I don't know why did that guy failed to know that I was in a relationship with Regina but I'm glad he did.Maybe because my relationship with Regina was very secretive. We were always busy with our work and we never spend too much time with each other in public.Thanks to that guy's wrong information I was able to marry Stella. Mr. Carlton continued to speak, " I also thought about keeping the bodyguards with her for sometime to see if you guys are doing well with your married life. But that would have been a bit extreme." Oh! Thank god! It didn't happen. Or else he would find out about our fake marriage." I see." I replied being dumbfounded by lack of words." Besides Neil is there for her. If she had any problems adjusting there he would have helped her." He said with a fake smile as it reminded him of Neil.Suddenly I remember another memory and continued my interrogation, " Then what about the nightclub incident? Your behaviour was definitely outrageous that day."" Huh? Night club?.... oh you mean that incident? Did you know what actually happened on that night?" He halted and gave me a wicked stare before continuing, "Stella's friends were so busy with themselves that they left her alone. Someone had spiked her drink. If it were not for the bodyguards, she would have ended up in a terrible situation." He grumbled as he spoke of that dreadful night.Who could have thought that this was the real reason. I suddenly felt guilty for not trusting my father-in-law. " Yes, I agree that I shouldn't have slapped her. But I was so angry, thinking about the outcome of that night. My rage took over my sanity and forced me to hit my daughter. My intentions were never bad although my methods were just .....outrageous." It pains me to think how much of struggle he faced in his life. I haven't faced such ridiculously tragic decisions of fate.~ to be continued
