“Who is he? Why is he here with you?”
Zeke had come all the way to the US to surprise Caitlin, but now, he was the one who got shocked. He couldn’t believe his eyes-Caitlin was in the room with a man, and that man was only wrapped in a towel.
Seeing this scene, a surge of anger welled up inside Zeke. The bouquet of flowers he held drooped, and the air around him thickened with hostility.
“I didn’t expect you to show up today. Let me introduce you-”
Caitlin was about to make the introductions, but Sebastian interrupted.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Sebastian immediately realized that the man in front of him must be Zeke, the rival Caitlin had mentioned before-another man who pursued her. Now that the competition was right in front of him, his first instinct was to assert his claim.
He pulled Caitlin into his embrace and said, “Hello, I’m Caitlin’s man, Sebastian.”
“Sebastian?”
Zeke looked Sebastian up and down, and his hand at his side instinctively clenched into a fist.
This was the guy who stole Caitlin from him?
Without exchanging any more words, Zeke threw a punch at Sebastian.
Sebastian, despite being unable to see, had excellent hearing. He sensed the oncoming attack and blocked it just in time. Their fists collided, and both men fought with force in a silent battle.
Zeke’s nose wrinkled as he tried to pull back his fist, but Sebastian stood his ground like a rock.
Suddenly-
Sebastian swiftly spun around and gave Zeke a powerful push. Zeke’s wrist was twisted, and the sharp pain caused him to stagger backward, taking several steps.
Zeke wasn’t going to back down; he charged again.
Seeing Zeke coming at Sebastian once more, Caitlin quickly stepped between them, blocking Zeke’s path. “Calm down!” she shouted.
“Calm down? He forced you to marry him!” Zeke’s anger was now fully unleashed. How could he accept the fact that the woman he cared for, whom he hadn’t even proposed to yet, had already married another man?
“I didn’t force Caitlin!” Sebastian spoke up.
Caitlin also explained, “That’s right. He didn’t force me. It was my choice!”
“Why? Why did you marry him just to please him?” Zeke couldn’t believe it. Caitlin was an independent woman-there was no way she would make such a foolish decision, marrying someone out of superstition. This must have been some sort of scheme by the Vanderbilt family!
“He saved my life. Marrying him to repay him is the least I could do.”
Even though Caitlin explained that she married Sebastian out of gratitude, Zeke’s fury didn’t subside.
“Even if it was to repay him, you didn’t have to marry this guy! This guy looks like he deserves a beating! Move aside, let me show him a lesson!”
Zeke couldn’t control himself and tried to rush forward again.
Caitlin hurried to shield Sebastian. “You can’t hit him! He can’t see right now-what’s the point of hitting him?”
“He can’t see?” Zeke took another look at Sebastian and snorted, “He can’t see? Who are you trying to fool? I’ve checked-his injuries healed a while ago, and his sight was restored. Caitlin, don’t let him deceive you!”
“He didn’t deceive me. His eyes were indeed injured again.”
“That’s just a trick! He’s fooling you on purpose!” Zeke threw off his suit jacket, his posture arrogant and threatening. “Move aside! If I don’t deal with this liar today, I won’t call myself Zeke!”
Hearing Zeke call out his name, Sebastian realized-this man was Zeke?
Caitlin didn’t budge. She urgently tried to reason with Zeke, “You can’t hit him!”
“Why? Why are you protecting him?”
“Because he’s the biological father of my sons!”
“…”
Zeke froze.
Sebastian was the biological father of Bruce and Arthur?
Just the thought that Caitlin had children with this man made Zeke feel a wave of discomfort and frustration.
“It’s him?” Zeke pointed at Sebastian. “This guy? The one who caused you to get pregnant with quadruplets and almost killed you? This man?”
“Quadruplets?” Sebastian was stunned by the mention of “quadruplets.” He thought he misheard. “What? Quadruplets?”
“Stop pretending! You got Caitlin pregnant, and she carried four babies! How ruthless can you be? Do you know that five years ago, Caitlin almost died giving birth to them?”
If Caitlin hadn’t been in the way, Zeke would have pummeled Sebastian by now.
Sebastian reached out to touch Caitlin’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Caitlin, what’s going on? Didn’t you say there were three children? How come you’re talking about quadruplets now?”
Caitlin explained, her voice soft, “It’s true. We had four kids. The youngest was a girl, but she died after birth. She didn’t survive.”
Sebastian’s heart ached upon hearing this, his excitement from earlier turning into sorrow.
“I’m so sorry…” He whispered the apology, regret filling his voice.
If it hadn’t been for his request to help with having children, Caitlin wouldn’t have had to endure so much. She wouldn’t have suffered like this.
Thinking about how hard it must have been for her to raise the children alone, Sebastian felt deeply remorseful.
Caitlin saw his genuine remorse, her heart softening. His sorrow was evident-his clenched fists, the veins popping, and the tears welling in his eyes.
She sighed softly. “You don’t have to apologize. I never regretted having them. Now that you know the truth, I don’t want to hide it anymore. I think our daughter might still be alive.”
“What? Where is she?” Sebastian’s voice cracked with disbelief.
“Do you know Ximena?”
“Yes, I know her. Why…?”
“I saw a little girl named Patricia. She’s Ximena’s granddaughter, but she looks just like our sons. I’ve been suspecting that she might be the child we lost.”
“If that’s true, we can just find Ximena and get our daughter back!” Sebastian stood up eagerly, his heart racing. He couldn’t wait for his eyesight to return so he could see his children. And now, he was desperate to find his daughter.
“Don’t rush! This is just my guess. We need to confirm it first.”
Caitlin shared her thoughts with him. “Sebastian, I have an idea on how to verify if she’s our daughter. It might require your help.”
Sebastian’s heart was overwhelmed with excitement. “Anything to get our daughter back-I’m willing to go through anything for her. What do I need to do?”