Chapter 5 Cecily's Secret Is Exposed
"No!" Griffin snorted. "Are you my dad or hers? Might as well be hers, since you like defending her so much."
Darian frowned, feeling that Rowan wasn't himself today.
"You're only 5 years old. You can't sit in the front seat," Darian explained with the utmost patience. "Go sit in the safety seat in the back."
"Such a hassle." Griffin went to the back, sullen.
Ophelia, sitting in the front seat, turned back and smirked provocatively at Griffin.
He rolled his eyes.
Meanwhile, seeing Cecily running away, Rowan asked coldly, "Why are we running?"
"Because they're chasing us," she said.
Rowan pursed his lips, wanting to tell her that he was the reason they were being chased.
However, as he wanted to know whether she was his mom or not, he stayed silent.
Cecily thought, 'Perhaps Darian recognized me, and he sent someone to go after me. Or perhaps it was those who kidnapped Griffin. Anyway, the most important thing is to keep Griffin safe.
'Seems Darian has gotten suspicious. I've gotta stay under the radar for a while.'
She said to Rowan, "Griffin, I've got something to take care of, so I'll drop you off at Blaise's. is that OK?"
"No," Rowan in the back refused in a cold tone.
Cecily couldn't help but wonder when hearing his voice, 'When did Griffin get so cold and quiet? He's always a chatterbox.'
"Why? You don't like him anymore?" she asked.
"Don't know him," Rowan blurted out. In the next second, he realized that he had a slip of the tongue and rephrased, "I don't wanna leave you."
Cecily was puzzled for a second. Hearing him say so, she sighed, "I'm afraid I got caught up in some trouble. Your safety is my biggest concern, you know? Be good."
Rowan looked back and saw the car was no longer behind them. "I'm safe already."
He was so stubborn in refusing to leave her. Realizing that, she sighed again, helpless, "OK then. I'll take you back."
Not wanting to be followed, Cecily circled the road several times before returning home.
As soon as Rowan entered the living room, his bright eyes were drawn to a photo hanging on the wall.
A boy who looked exactly like him was happily nestling in a woman's arms in the photo.
Lowering his head, dejected, Rowan thought, 'Is she my mommy, too?
'For as long as I can remember, everyone told me that I didn't have a mommy and that I wasn't Daddy's real son. If Daddy hadn't taken me in, I'd be an orphan.
'If she's really my mommy, why didn't she come to me? Why did she leave me?'
He was overwhelmed by doubts, and the more he thought, the more upset he got. Quietly, he picked up the frame on the table and examined it closely.
Cecily noticed that. She walked over on tiptoe and suddenly put her hand on his shoulder, asking, "What are you looking at?"
She wanted to tease him, yet to her surprise, he shuddered violently, the frame in his hand dropping to the floor, glass shattering everywhere.
He turned around, looking at her in panic as if startled by her.
He looked quite odd. Seeing that, she paused and then asked nervously, "Griffin, what's wrong?"
Rowan frowned and crouched down to pick up the shard of glass. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
She immediately stopped him, saying, "Stop. I don't want you to cut your hand. Go sit over there while I clean this up."
Rowan stood to the side, watching Cecily clean up deftly.
Then he pursed his lips and mumbled, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I've told you many times though. Stay away from the debris when you break the glass, or you may hurt yourself. Remember?" she instructed worriedly.
"Yeah," Rowan nodded and said, his voice still cold.
Meanwhile, Larkin was standing trembling in front of the desk in Darian's study.
He thought, 'It's unbelievable! I actually found out that Astrid looks exactly like Mr. Fitzgerald's late ex-wife.
'Wait. I stand corrected. I think she is actually the late Ms. Watson.'
Darian clutched the photo, staring fixedly at the woman in the photo, his eyes turning red with anger.
"You sure this is her?" he asked coldly.
"Yes."
Larkin had double-checked, and he was pretty sure.
Darian's expression grew even colder as he thought, 'Cecily, you killed Ophelia's baby and then disappeared.
'When I saw the two death certificates and Rowan, I believed in your death and even felt a little guilty about you.
'So, I put tombstones on you and your baby who didn't make it, and I treated Rowan like my own.
'It never occurred to me that you weren't dead. Instead, you became a doctor in Dorde.’
'You fooled me. Good for you, Cecily! You faked your death, lied to me, got away, and abandoned your own!'
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He sprang to his feet. "To the hospital."
Ophelia had just reached the study door and was about to smile when she saw Darian. In the next second, he strode past her with a cold expression, leaving without a word.
"Darian?"
Darian didn't respond.
Frowning, Ophelia wondered what had made Darian so angry, so she entered the study and picked up the document on the desk.
It was a doctor's profile. As she looked down, her body stiffened, and she almost exclaimed when she saw the photo.
She thought, covering her mouth in shock, 'Fuck! It's Cecily!
'Isn't she dead? How come she's alive and even a doctor now?'
She clutched the document tightly, her knuckles turning pale, and thought, 'Shit! That bitch! How come she's so lucky?
'Rowan is already a pain in the ass. What should I do if she tries to get back to Darian with despicable means?
'No way! Over my dead body could that happen!
'I defeated her five years ago, and the result's gonna be the same this time.'
Biting her lips, she strode out determinedly.
After eating, Griffin strolled around the villa and explored the landscape thoroughly. The second he came back, he saw Darian, his bad daddy, and Ophelia, the woman he hated, left one after another. They both looked unhappy.
Feeling something was off, he pushed open the study door and entered after they left. The study was grand, with a dark gray decor that seemed a bit oppressive but was very much in line with Darian's taste.
As he walked in, he saw a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. He bent down to pick it up, and then he saw it was information about Cecily.
Frowning, he thought, 'So, they looked so angry, because they saw Mommy's file?
'I bet they know who Mommy is! I've got to tell her as soon as possible!'
Griffin hurriedly ran out only to be stopped by a servant, who said, "Where are you going? Mr. Fitzgerald told us not to let you out."
Anxious, Griffin looked around, knowing that the staff and bodyguards here definitely wouldn't allow him to go out alone. He was just a kid after all.
Even if he did go out, he'd be followed by a bunch of people, and there was no way he could go to Cecily.
After pondering, he looked at the servant, asking, "May I use your phone? I wanna call someone."
He thought, 'I've got to reach Mommy as soon as possible! My gut tells me something's off.'