"You said you didn't know the father!"
Valerie bit her lips, pushing her brother away to face Marco. She needed to send him off first.
"Thank you so much, Marc. Roe had a bad day, I really need to put him to bed now." Valerie forced a smile.
"How about I..." Marco looked at scowling Victor, "...drop you off at your hotel, and we can talk?"
Valerie bit her lip, looking away. She could tell he really wanted to ask if Azrael Hawthorne was the father who was in 'heaven'.
"Umm... We really need to get a lot of things sorted out right now."
Roe yawned cutely. She smiled, stroking his hair.
"I see... but I'll see you soon, right?"
"Yes, of course! Just give me a call when you come back to the country." She noticed he looked hurt and averted her gaze again. "I'll pick you up, and we can... talk."
He reluctantly nodded.
Valerie picked sleepy little Roe up, and hurried to her car, leaving Victor to deal with the cops.
Looking at her leave, Marco felt a gaping ache in his heart.
Was Azrael Hawthorne her ex? No... she looked too shaken, and she promised to wait for him. There is more to it!
Marco's eyes sharpened. He needed to wrap up his work here soon and go back.
...
Back in her hotel, Valerie slowly patted Little Roe to sleep. She arranged pillows, making sure he wouldn't fall in his sleep.
A lot of thoughts raced through her mind that she didn't realize when her cheeks got wet. Quickly wiping her tears, she kissed his cheeks.
"You are the most beautiful thing in my life," she whispered, sniffling.
She took a shower and came out to see Victor sitting in her living room, exhausted.
He looked up, and her red eyes, swollen from all the crying, were glaring at him.
"How dare you come here!"
She clenched her fists. The air around them became suffocatingly heavy.
"Is he the father?" He asked sharply.
She felt her heart sink and quickly turned away.
"Vivi." He pleaded.
Sniffling, she poured herself some water as tears pricked her eyes again.
"Yeah... no. I don't know?"
"V!" Victor grabbed her firmly. "This is serious! That man is a cold-hearted bastard. He will use you and throw you without a second thought. You know who he is, right?"
Valerie nodded, not meeting his eyes. One of Hawthorne's subsidiaries was their biggest contractor, which alone generated 50% of the company's profit.
The Sinclairs' Firm was the only thing their parents left them, and it was their uncle and aunt's lifework.
This was one of the reasons Valerie kept quiet back then.
Sighing, Victor shook his head. "That's not even the real issue! Do you have any idea of the things he has done to rise in a family of ruthless oligarchs and cut-throat business moguls thrice his age? Why would you get involved with him?"
"I didn't get involved with him, he got involved with me!" She broke free from him, feeling wronged. "I don't know what happened! I was drinking some juice at the party, next thing I know I woke up aching all over, and—and there was this cheque and business card."
She brought out her wallet and took out a piece of crumpled paper. "That's how I knew."
One of the reasons she kept these was to throw them on his face. How dare he treat her like a prostitute? Did he think he could pay for her virginity?
Victor picked the card, and his eyes went wide. It was definitely Azrael Hawthorne's signature on the cheque.
"Vivi... he's a cruel man who can ruin us on a whim."
Valerie felt anxious.
What will they do now? He will not try to snatch Little Roe from her, right? After all, men like him who sleep with prostitutes have many bastard children!
Her eyes darkened. "He will not try to take my Roe from me, right?"
He let out a long sigh. "Well... I still can't believe Roe is his son. He's a cunning bastard, but his personal life is squeaky clean. So clean its suspicious. Women from all backgrounds throw themselves at him, but the man is a cruel, cold snake."
He felt like murdering the man who stole his sister's youth, but knew whatever he did would only ruin his own family. Victor was a smart man and knew there was no way to directly confront Hawthorne. He would need to think of another way.
Valerie's eyes widened in disbelief. "His personal life is squeaky clean? He sleeps with prostitutes despite being engaged!"
"Prostitutes?" Victor furrowed his brows. "Truth be told, he's famous for not accepting backroom deals at all. He even avoids private parties. They even say 'Ace' in his middle name is the guy's sexual orientation."
Asexual? Then did Little Roe fall from the sky into her lap!
She still remembered the marks he left on her body!
Scoffing, Valerie quickly looked away, blushing in mortification. Did she really need to explain to her stupid brother after she had shown him the cheque?
He treated her like a prostitute!
Understanding her meaning, Victor sighed in resignation. "Vivi, I really don't know what to do. I want to kill that bastard, but I'm powerless. I don't mind dying if I can kill him, but I'm afraid of what they will do to you and our family."
Victor's heart throbbed for his sister. She was naive and sheltered. He felt useless that he couldn't even protect her against the man who ruined her life.
Valerie shook her head. "I don't want you to do that. I just want us to be happy together. Tell me, he will not try to take Roe from me, right?"
Victor nodded. "Yes, he has no reason to want to claim an illegitimate child and ruin his marriage with the Whites. He will basically have the top two corporations under him with this marriage."
In his eyes, it would have been better if Azrael had taken the bastard away. It would save him the trouble of convincing everyone to send the boy to a hostel abroad. But what man would be foolish enough to willingly take in a bastard?
"Then why does he want to meet us when we get back to the country?"
"Probably to make sure you keep quiet about this," Victor said, searching his sister's face for disappointment, but to his surprise, Valerie sighed in relief.
If it was like this, then I have nothing to worry about.
They both sat in silence with their own thoughts for a while.
"Vicky, how many times have we met since I left the country? Seven times?" She turned to glare at him. "Every time you acted like my son didn't exist, and I thought you were still processing it."