CHAPTER 34
ROBERT’S POV
I scoffed in confusion and disbelief as my eyes raked the man standing before me from head to toe. Was he lost or something because it seemed like it?
“Excuse me?” I cocked a brow, growing impatient as time was running out and I needed to get to Jake’s school. “Does this building look like a place for keeping wives and kids? If your wife and kid are missing you might as well go to the police station to report the case instead of wasting your time here.”
Before he could open his mouth to say something, I turned to Martin and glared at him coldly. “How could you have let this man come into our house? What if he is a thief or something worse?”
I heard the man scoff in infuriation over my words. But I couldn’t care less. The earlier he left this house the better because I was losing my temper.
“He’s no thief, Robert,” Martin said. I couldn’t help noticing his expression was becoming bleaker by the moment as if something bad had happened and he didn’t know how to break the news to me. Was it about Jake? I knew he was lying to me earlier. I’m his father. I deserve to know what happened and how I can help. “He’s Scarlett’s husband and Jake’s biological father. I’m sorry…”
His revelation threw me off balance. I stared at him blankly with my mouth hanging open as I struggled to make meaning out of it. “What?…”
“Yes, my son,” my mum said, standing with a disappointed frown on her face. “Martin is right. Believe me, we were as shocked as you when we learnt about it. Turned out Scarlett wasn’t who we thought she was. She lied about everything. I can’t believe I saw her as the perfect daughter-in-law and wife for you.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I was still in utter shock while staring at them. I was yet to recover from the shock of finding out about her betrayal at the company from Frank and now this one that hit me ten times harder?
“You all have gone mad. Surely, you won’t believe this man. Scarlett is my wife!” I emphasized with a fierce intensity, unable to believe anything they just said. “We married nine years ago at St. Anne’s Catholic Church. We exchanged vows in front of thousands of people, signed the marriage certificate and our union was blessed with an incredible son, Jake. So no one can tell me otherwise.”
“If you’re still in doubt then you have to see this,” the man said behind me, causing me to turn and look at him.
He let out his hand to give me two sheets of paperwork. Reluctantly taking them, I briefly glanced at them. What I saw almost sent my eyeballs falling from their sockets. The first was a marriage certificate from nine years back with Scarlett’s name and that of the man, Raphael Walsh boldly inscribed on it as evidence of their marriage. The second was a DNA test result confirming he was Jake’s biological father.
“I came all the way from Phoenix, Arizona. Scarlett and I got married nine years ago, not so long after she left college. Shortly after my business collapsed and I started facing hardship, she disappeared without a trace or hint of where she might have gone without even telling me she was two weeks pregnant with my child. All these years, I have searched relentlessly for her all to no avail. It wasn’t until last week that I stumbled upon your wedding clips online that I decided to make enquiries and found out you and your family lived here. Your brother was the first person I met. He didn’t believe me at first and insisted I take a DNA test to confirm I was Jake’s biological father which I did.”
The man’s explanation left my world shattering like a thousand shards of glass before me. The marriage certificate and DNA test results I was holding involuntarily fell off my hand. I never thought a day like this would come. It all seemed surreal. Extremely hard to grasp.
My chest heaved as if my lungs were burning, struggling to pump air. Even standing became a difficulty. My knees were weakening underneath me. I had to force myself to a nearby couch to sit and get a grip. I dropped my bag and it fell on the floor, hurriedly took off my suit jacket and undid my tie so I could at least breathe properly.
Seeing my disarray, Ginny and my mother quickly moved to my sides, wrapping their arms around me to comfort me.
“I had always had my doubts about that girl,” my father who has been silent until now said with stern disapproval. “She was too extravagant and materialistic for my taste. But you were so blinded by love, you couldn’t see it. That’s why I always tell my children to love with their heads, not their hearts.”
“Julius,” Mum shot him a sharp look. “Now isn’t the time to point fingers. Our son needs all the emotional support he can get now. The least we can do is offer it.”
Father slashed out a furious breath and looked away. He was right. Turned out Lily was too. Scarlett never truly loved me. She was only with me because of my position as one of the most successful billionaires in the country and the luxurious life I offered her. Now, it was all clear to me. If she could leave this Raphael without a trace just because his business collapsed and he was facing hardship, then there was every chance she could also leave me if I suffered the same fate.
After I finished college, I struggled to get to the position I am now. Grandpa said I had to prove myself to him before he could grant me ownership of the company. My father didn’t help matters at all. He supported his father’s motion all in the name of brushing me to be a real man. He didn’t want anything I asked for handed to me on a silver platter.
Due to my financial struggles, Scarlett broke up with me and left without a second thought sometime after we graduated from college. That was the major reason I had to work hard and put in a lot of effort to get where I was now. But she suddenly came back after I regained my stand and became successful. I thought she had come back to stay with me forever. I was such a fool to think that. I should have known better.
Mum returned his attention to me, rubbing the top of my arm comfortingly. “Don’t blame yourself okay? It’s not your fault. You didn’t know, neither did we. We were all fooled by her. This is bigamy. You do realize it’s a serious crime against the law. She could serve a considerable prison sentence for it. I suggest you sue immediately. She can’t do this to you and get away with it…”
“Please don’t,” the man pleaded. “I know she messed up pretty bad and can be driven by money and material needs at times but she’s still my wife and the mother of my child. I don’t want him to grow up without a mother. And spending nine years away from him, I will be needing her help in explaining to him that I’m his biological father. I can’t do it alone. Your family is rich and influential. You can easily get any woman you want but not me. So please, don’t send her to prison. Just let us go and we won’t come back to this place again. I have suffered enough already because of this. I’m begging you.”
Ginny sighed in empathy as she looked at the man. “Poor Jake. I can’t imagine what he’ll feel after coming back from school and learning about this.”