Chapter 6 Your Daughter
1010 Words
Leaving Josh's villa, Faye headed straight to the Whitmore Manor.
At least Derek wouldn't dare harm her in front of his grandparents.
But she hadn't expected Derek to be shameless enough to wait for her there with Kyle!
"Mommy, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"
Kyle hugged her as soon as she walked through the door, with a maid trailing behind carrying his medicine.
"Listen, dear, you're sick and need to take your medicine!" the maid called out.
"Mommy, the medicine is too bitter. I don't want to take it!" Kyle hid behind Faye, making faces at the maid.
Faye felt conflicted. This was the child of her enemy, and she should hate him.
But the faults of adults shouldn't be placed on this innocent boy. He knew nothing of the betrayal.
The blood ties might be false, but the three years they had spent together were real.
Both Kyle and her daughter were victims, mere pawns in the hands of two ambitious schemers.
Just as she softened and was about to pick Kyle up, Derek appeared and scooped him into his arms.
"Your mommy just got back. Let her rest," Derek said, glaring at Faye as if she were the Big Bad Wolf that would eat his son.
"I want Mommy! Mommy..." Kyle cried, struggling against the maid who took him away.
Despite being prepared for this, Faye couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness.
Derek did know how to love someone; he just wouldn't love her.
Yet he had pretended so convincingly that Oscar might owe him an award.
"Faye, you finally had the guts to come back! I've been looking everywhere for you," Derek said arrogantly, showing no remorse.
"Sorry to disappoint you by staying alive. What a shame for you!" Faye replied coldly, her face devoid of emotion.
Derek tensed up. "I'm sure you're smart enough not to say anything you shouldn't, right?"
For some reason, he felt an inexplicable unease.
The Faye standing before him looked the same but felt like a completely different person.
At least she had never spoken to him in such a tone before.
"What if I spill the beans? Will you send me to an asylum or shoot me?"
Faye tightened her grip on the gun in her bag. She needed to ensure her safety but didn't want to resort to violence here.
"That was just a misunderstanding. I wanted you to calm down," Derek quibbled. "We can still be a happy family if you want. Our life will be as harmonious as before."
"Enough of your lies! Just save them for yourself!" Faye stepped closer to him. "I'm here to tell you that your plans have failed. If anything happens to me, you'll all be doomed!"
Derek felt frustrated and whispered menacingly, "Don't forget, we still have your daughter."
Faye dug her nails into her palm to keep from strangling him. "Kyle is your son. Isn't she your daughter too?"
Caught off guard, Derek hesitated, even feeling a bit guilt-ridden.
Damn it! He shouldn't feel this way. He despised this woman!
He hated lying in bed with her for three years without feeling any desire.
He was the heir of the youngest generation of the Whitmore family. His great-great-grandfather was a highly honored baron, and his great-grandfather monopolized the tobacco trade across the entire country.
If his father hadn't passed away, he should have had a wife from a noble family or a mistress as seductive and alluring as Regina.
If not for his grandparents' affection for Faye, he would never have been foolish enough to marry this orphan with an unknown background, pretending to be a loving couple.
Also, he hated Faye's child, who was nothing more than a tool to let him get what he truly wanted.
He had no feelings for her.
So why did her words cause a pang of pain?
Their confrontation was interrupted as Henry and Olivia Whitmore, the current heads of the Whitmore family, descended the staircase.
The moment Faye saw them, her eyes welled up, but she hid her sorrow.
If there was anything she couldn't bear to lose, it was these two kind-hearted elders.
Though Derek was a jerk, Henry and Olivia were very kind and always treated her like their own granddaughter.
Learning the truth would surely break their hearts!
After a few seconds of contemplation, Faye decided not to drag them into this mess, at least not before it ended.
Derek also feared exposure, so they silently agreed to a truce.
"Lyla, my sweet girl, you're finally back!" Olivia exclaimed, giving Faye a big hug.
"I've already scolded Derek. How dare he offend you and even make you run away from home?" Henry said, glaring at his grandson.
"It's nothing, really. I'm sorry to have worried you," Faye said, looking pointedly at Derek. "Derek has done a lot recently."
Sweat beaded on Derek's forehead. "I'm very sorry for not being a better husband," he said, forced to play along.
"You are indeed a terrible husband," Olivia said, pulling Faye to sit beside her. "Lyla loves baby's breath, yet you bring her lilies!"
Derek winced internally, cursing Regina's meddling.
"No worries. I'll just throw them out," Faye said, tossing the lilies into the trash. "The right things belong in the right places, or there will be a mess. Don't you think?"
Derek gritted his teeth as he stared at Faye. The once obedient woman was now full of thorns, making him fearful.
They glared at each other, desperately hoping that their gazes could cut the other into pieces.
Their silent standoff was interrupted by Henry. "Since Lyla is back, you two should stay here tonight. Let's have a family dinner. Your uncle is finally back, and we should celebrate."
"Uncle?" Faye echoed, surprised.
The last she'd heard of Derek's uncle was when she was a teenager. Though she had heard about that mysterious uncle many times, she had never met him in person, not even at their wedding.
How strange that he would show up now.
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