Laura’s POV 93
Yasmin blushed.
“Actually … I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Have you forgotten? I told you about it last time.”
After she reminded me so much I remembered, that time in the riding arena, I was surprised that Carter’s body recovered so well, Yasmin told me that he had two surgeries. But one of the surgeries had been a sudden, life-threatening hemorrhage, and Cameron’s blood type had been completely off again.
After all, The Lynch Group is a crowded place, and when word of this leaked out from whoever it was, there were some private conversations about how Cameron might not be Ethan’s son.
I was struck by the hopefulness of the rumor, but I also felt that it was borderline impossible.
If Cameron really wasn’t from The Lynch Family, why had my dad been rehiring him all these years?
“Don’t take it personally.” Yasmin said softly, “No one would dare tell you what’s really going on. I am just telling you that there is nothing wrong with the child at all, so don’t trouble yourself. Ms. Laura, I have taken care of you for so long, and you are about the same age as my daughter, so I treat you as if you were my own child … Seeing you like this, it breaks my heart! Do you realize how much weight you’ve lost?”
“Ms. Laura,” she patted me on the shoulder, “The most important thing to you right now is Sunny ah! Relationships and all that are nothing, children are the real thing!”
I looked up at her, tears falling down my face.
Yasmin was right, children are the most real.
I look at Sunny, it’s time for me to be strong for this little guy anyway.
I don’t have any sibling feelings for Carter, Mellisa’s identity was too much of a surprise for me to accept for a while. As for Ethan, he’s been dispensable all these years, so what if he was my real father? To me, he’s not nearly as present as Jacob.
But The Lynch Group and the property, it’s real in front of me.
Since my last name is Lynch, I deserve my share of these things. I have to fight for my fair share if I’m going to raise my children.
Once again, when fighting for these, I am no longer a weakling, not a tool to be used by anyone. I am no longer the adopted daughter of The Lynch Family, but the real Missy of The Lynch Family.
I held Sunny in my arms and walked along the beach, the sea breeze blew my hair, but blew my thoughts more and more clear.
Sunny suddenly cried, I snapped back to my senses, and was shocked to realize that I was cold from the knees down, so I was stepping in the water.
It’s high tide now, my foot slips and my whole foot sinks into the quicksand, struggling outward is quite difficult.
“Hey!” Suddenly a force grabbed my arm, “Don’t do anything stupid, come up!”
This voice sounded familiar. I turned around and he also froze, hurriedly dragging me towards the shore with force, “Come up first!”
Thanks to him, Sunny and I were safe.
The wind was picking up, the waves were getting bigger, and it was drizzling. He dragged me and fought his way to the car in one breath and shoved me in.
It took a lot of effort for me to coax Sunny into it.
“Are you stupid? What hurdle can’t you get through, bringing a child out to kill yourself!”
I was stunned by his yelling and looked at him blankly.
Patrick…
This man seems to be a memory from my past life. I haven’t seen him for more than a year, he seems to have gained a bit of weight, still thick and honest, giving people a sense of security.
And the eager care in his eyes hasn’t changed at all.
My heart was touched and I grinned at him in embarrassment.
“What? You think I’m out to kill myself?”
“Or what?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I was out for a walk with the kids?”
“Laura!”
He looked at me and let out a heavy sigh.
Suddenly a large hand covered the back of my hand.
“Laura,” he looked into my eyes, “if there are any real difficulties, I’ll face them with you. But please, for the sake of the baby, please live, do you understand?”
My eyes suddenly became wet, and a warm current surged through my heart.
And then I felt that I was really sorry for him.
He didn’t know that the baby was Cameron’s, and he didn’t know that a lot had happened in the meantime. I had lost contact with him since his last car accident, and it wasn’t until I heard from Carter that Holly had been taking care of him after the accident that I resolved to have nothing more to do with him.
I wasn’t good enough for him.
But now he showed up again.
Still with such a warm gesture.
I lowered my head, tears falling onto the back of his hand. He gently wipes them away for me and takes me into his arms with Sunny.
I told him that I didn’t want to stay at The Lynch Family, the atmosphere there was depressing to me. He didn’t ask many questions and was as eager as ever to help me find an apartment.
A colleague of his on the police force had resigned and it just so happened that a cottage was vacant, right across the street from his house. He immediately helped me rent it, and within a few days I simply packed up and moved in.
I didn’t expect him to move so quickly and clean the place up long ago.
There was also a tiny crib that was beautiful.
“Thank you, Patrick,” I was embarrassed, “always bothering you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” He looked at me, “Still friends, anyway.”
I lowered my head.
I owed him after all.
I was very comfortable in those days, Patrick took good care of me and I came out of the shadows quickly.
He worked during the day and came back at night to help me take care of Sunny, sometimes when the baby cried at night, he came knocking on the door and held the baby in his arms to put her to sleep without rest.
Sunny became more and more fond of him, when she was eight months old, she could babble some baby talk, hazily called out “mommy”, I was so excited that I almost shed a tear, holding her in the house around and around, but the result was that her little head tilted, and rushed to Patrick shouted, “Daddy.” Daddy.”
The atmosphere fell violently silent.
We both looked at each other, a little embarrassed.
Patrick lowered his head, his face a little red, and sat there rubbing his hands together while he ate and let out a laugh.
I felt quite bad inside. He had been taking care of us all this time, and Sunny was very close to him, so naturally she thought of him as her father.
But that wasn’t fair to Patrick.
I put Sunny into the bassinet, walked to his side to pat him on the shoulder, not yet thought of what to say, but he spoke first, “Do not take it to heart, children’s words … children’s words are reckless!”
Who knows Sunny waved his little hand, ink black eyes like two black grapes, blurred and called out, “Dad!”
Patrick laughed and walked over to pick her up, rubbing her little face affectionately.
“Patrick,” I said, “I’m so sorry to have bothered you all this time.”
“Say what?” He looks at me.
“I said we can’t bother you like this anymore.”
“Laura …”
“You’ve done so much for me, and there’s no way I can repay you.”
If there was a crack in the ground in front of me, I wouldn’t hesitate to dive in.
“Hehe,” I laughed helplessly, “You don’t even know who this child’s father is. Patrick, all the people living around here are your police force colleagues, I’ve already heard a lot of rumors these days, if this continues, how are you going to be a human being?”
“What whispers?” He frowned, “Laura, why are you being silly! As long as we live comfortably, what do you care what people say?”
“But I’m not comfortable right now.” I was a little heartbroken, “Patrick, you shouldn’t be so nice to me!”
“I’m being nice because I want to!” He blushed, “Laura, aren’t we friends?”
“Just because I think of you as a friend, I can’t handle it.”
“Laura!”
“Patrick, you really don’t have to take care of me too much.” I stepped forward to take Sunny from him.
These are the same words I’ve been trying to say to him, I’ve hurt him once, I can’t do it again.
And it was only a while ago that I gave him illusions again when I was too greedy, enjoying all the conveniences he offered me and treating him like a safe haven.
“I’m pretty much conditioned now too.” I said, “There’s basically nothing wrong with my body, and I’m in a good mental state. sunny is slowly getting older, and I can relax a bit. I’m going to get a babysitter and I’ll go out to work during the day.”
“You …”
“The rent for this house, I will pay you.”
“There’s no need to be so outgoing.”
“It won’t work.” I laughed, “Pro-brothers have to settle their accounts. Besides, this is a benefit from the force, so it’s already against the rules for me to come in and live here, so how can I not pay the rent?”
“Patrick,” I sighed, looking at him quietly, “If you really consider me a friend, then respect my choice, okay?”
“I consider you a friend too. That’s why I hope … you’ll think more about yourself, don’t always spend your time on me and Sunny, you should go find a girlfriend.”
He didn’t say anything and kept his head down, I couldn’t see his expression but I could feel that he wasn’t in the right mood.
It was very low.
After a long time he let out a soft laugh, “It really seems like you’re going to draw a line in the sand with me?”
“Not really.”
“Laura,” his voice was deep and a little husky, “why can’t my girlfriend be you? You’re not married right now, and I don’t have another woman!”
“But I have kids …,” I squeezed out the words with difficulty.
“I don’t care.” He held me by the shoulders, “I’m confident I can take care of you guys, I already think of Sunny as my own daughter.”
I have to say, those words got to me.
What woman could resist that kind of temptation?
A tall, loyal man with a good family and upbringing, a job he’s proud of, but only willing to give everything for you, even if you’ve betrayed before.
Even if you have someone else’s child.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
I really wanted to lean into Patrick’s arms at that moment. I was too tired to hold on alone and needed a shoulder to protect me from the wind and the rain.
I didn’t say a word, and an awkward silence spread in the air.
Sunny looked left and right with her little eyes, then suddenly giggled and touched my face with her little hand.
I snapped back to my senses.
Patrick’s hand loosened, disappointment swept across his eyes.
I carry Sunny back to my room, my back to him and whisper, “You deserve a better woman. Don’t waste your time on me, we’re from two different worlds.”
“Laura…” he murmurs my name.
And before the words left his mouth, there was a sharp knock on the door.
I was surprised, no one had been disturbed in the past few months, and who knew I lived here?
I exchanged a glance with Patrick, who was also a bit puzzled, and gingerly went to open the door.
Surprisingly it was Holly at the door!
She didn’t look good, and even the most colorful makeup couldn’t hide that distraught look. Her large eyes were almost sunken underneath her finely groomed eyebrows, but the malice in her eyes as they locked onto mine was even more profound than before.
“Heh, I haven’t heard from you in months, so I’ve been looking for you.” She looked at me.
I subconsciously hugged Sunny tighter.
“What are you doing?”
“What else could I be doing?” I can clearly feel Holly’s hostility towards me, “I haven’t seen you guys for months, so you’ve been together all this time!”
“Yes, I was the one who had to take care of Laura.” Patrick stepped forward to block me.
He secretly tugged on my sleeve and gave me a wink to carry the baby back to my room.
“Laura you stop!” Holly lunged in, but Patrick’s lanky frame was like a wall in front of her.
She couldn’t squeeze halfway across this threshold with all her strength, and her hysterical shouts shook the hallway.
“Shame on you, shame on you!” She cursed, “Lowly, vile! You want to find an honest man to marry after you’ve been played rotten by a public man? Why are you so shameless!”
“Shut up!” Patrick yelled at her, “Holly, look at yourself in the mirror before scolding her, how good are you? In front of a set behind a set, to fool people, to say shameless, you are really shameless!”
“You …”
Holly was stunned, staring at him in bewilderment, turning from incredulity to irritation.
She bites her lips tightly, trembling all over, and in the next second seems to want to fight with Patrick’s stance, hissing fiercely, “Patrick!”
Large tears fell down her cheeks, “Have you forgotten how I treated you in the days when you were injured? Who waited on you at the hospital day and night? Who took you to rehab every day, rain or shine? If it wasn’t for me, your leg would have been ruined long ago!”
“For those days, I’m grateful to you.” Patrick said lightly, “But Holly, you know better than anyone how I got hurt, aren’t you responsible for my car accident? Don’t think I was kept in the dark! It wasn’t even Cameron who did it to me, it was you and Carter!”
“But I love you!” Holly breaks down, “Don’t you have any feelings for you?”
“Love?” He laughed softly, “That’s not how loving someone works.”
“Please go back.” He still blocked the doorway, “I live across the street and if you ever bother Laura again, I’ll be the first one out. You know what I do for a living, and you don’t want to be invited to the police station for tea by me, do you?”
Holly gasped, her eyes abounding with anger.
She looks at Patrick and then crosses to look at me.
She took two steps backward.
I know she’s just physically stepping back; she’s not going to take this lying down. I’m afraid there’s going to be trouble after this.
“And …,” Patrick whispered, “in a little while, I’m taking Laura and the baby back to Canada to see my parents.”
“What?”
I almost spoke in unison with Holly.
I looked at him incredulously, and he just smiled at me with a slight sideways grin, then squared his shoulders at Holly, “I’ll protect Laura and her child from now on; my parents are enlightened people, and won’t care about Laura’s past.”
“Patrick …,” I tugged at him.
He suddenly takes my hand in a smooth grip.
“Trust me,” he looked me in the eyes, “I’ll make you happy.”
There’s no talking about believing or not believing right now.
His words were so shocking that they shook me so much I couldn’t say a word. How could he have taken it upon himself to decide my future with the baby?
Or, was this just his ploy to repel Holly?