Chapter 442 Have A Kid
At this point, even Gabriel shouldn't be able to notice anything suspicious.
Gabriel looked Desmond up and down before saying, somewhat satisfied, "Come to the study with me. We didn't finish our conversation yesterday, so you'll continue listening today."
Yesterday, Gabriel had called Desmond to the study for a severe scolding.
What Gabriel wanted to discuss now was related to Desmond's behavior today.
Desmond's performance had been decent, so Gabriel wouldn't just criticize him.
Emily felt a bit worried when she heard this, but she had never been able to handle big matters.
Despite her concern, she didn't say anything and could only watch the two of them head upstairs.
Desmond followed Gabriel, feeling anxious.
Once they were in the study, Gabriel asked, "Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
Desmond quickly replied, "I remember."
Although Desmond usually didn't pay much attention to Gabriel's scoldings, yesterday's lecture had been so serious that he couldn't forget it so quickly.
Fortunately, Gabriel didn't ask him to repeat it.
Instead, he said, "There's no one in Luminous City who thinks highly of you. Are you still in contact with Ms. Saunders?"
Desmond felt extremely nervous and quickly said, "Dad, Dione offended the Kate family. I'm afraid she'll drag our family into it, so I already broke up with her."
He thought quickly; this was the best excuse he could come up with.
Gabriel looked at him skeptically. "Didn't Maximilian say you offended Ms. Kate, which is why he sent you back?"
Desmond was at a loss for words.
How could he have forgotten that?
But he had a chance to salvage the situation.
"Dad, Emma likes Maximilian and wanted to use me to threaten him, so she said I offended him."
With just a slight twist of the story, Desmond turned himself into the victim.
"Is that so?" Gabriel frowned. "So you broke up with Ms. Saunders? You're about to graduate; it's time to find someone to marry."
Over the years, Gabriel had come to see Desmond as a failure.
He was increasingly disappointed in Desmond, but the hope he had placed in Desmond was hard to transfer to Maximilian.
This led him to inexplicably place his hopes on a grandson who didn't even exist yet.
Desmond didn't understand what Gabriel meant by this, so he carefully replied, "Dad, I broke up with Dione. As for marriage, I don't have any plans for now."
He didn't have no plans; he just couldn't bear the fact that Clara had been raped.
"No plans for now?" Gabriel was displeased. "You need to find a suitable person to marry soon. If you can't find someone, I'll help you."
After saying this, he realized he sounded too harsh and added, "Find someone to marry soon and have a child for your mom to take care of. She's always complaining about being bored at home."
Gabriel was used to having his way and didn't give Desmond any other options.
Desmond, who had been confused, suddenly had a guess.
Not usually very sharp, he realized Gabriel didn't just want him to get married; he wanted him to have a kid, and fast.
Desmond didn't argue with Gabriel and agreed in a calm tone.
They soon left the study, each lost in their thoughts.
Starhaven
Clara had been waiting for Desmond to call her back.
The longer she waited, the more disheartened and frustrated she became.
Just as she was feeling extremely annoyed, Ryan suddenly contacted her.
Despite her dissatisfaction, she had no choice but to answer.
When she learned that Ryan wanted her to come over, Clara eventually agreed.
Her goal was clear: she wanted to secretly delete the photos and then leave Starhaven.
Originally, she had contacted Desmond to ask about the situation in Luminous City.
But Desmond hadn't answered her call, and he still hadn't called her back after all this time.
Late at night, Clara hadn't found an opportunity to get Ryan's password, but she learned that Ryan planned to take action against Katniss.
Despite her worries, she still encouraged Ryan.
Under her encouragement, Ryan decided to take his men to kidnap Katniss the next day.
As part of the deal, Clara promised to introduce him to people from the Anderson family.
Clara agreed wholeheartedly, and Ryan, satisfied, pulled her into bed.
While they were in bed, Clara's phone rang, but she didn't have a chance to answer it.
As they made love, Dione was calling Clara, feeling frustrated.
Unable to get through, Dione broke into a cold sweat.
Emma was watching her, so she had to keep calling and explaining, "Clara is someone he likes, but I don't know why I can't reach her."
Emma didn't comment, but Violette, standing nearby, whispered, "Maybe she's asleep."
Seeing that Emma wasn't angry, Violette suggested softly, "Ms. Kate, how about we call Clara again tomorrow?"
Dione took over, saying, "We'll bring Clara to you tomorrow!"
Emma nodded irritably. "Fine, bring her to me tomorrow."
After Emma's people left, Dione and Violette breathed a sigh of relief.
They exchanged a glance, seeing worry in each other's eyes.
Unlike everyone else with their troubles, Katniss was quietly reading a book.
As night fell, everything was peaceful.
Maximilian stayed with her, and aside from occasionally turning a page, they didn't move.
"It's time for bed," Maximilian reminded her.
Katniss yawned and continued to lean against Maximilian.
Maximilian lovingly picked her up, placed the book on a nearby shelf, and carried her to the bedroom.
The night passed.
When Katniss woke up, Maximilian was looking at her with tender affection.
After they washed up and had breakfast, Maximilian, as usual, took Katniss to Starhaven Medical University.
Knowing about Ryan and Clara's entanglement, Katniss's bodyguards were more diligent than ever.
After saying goodbye to Maximilian, the bodyguards stayed close to Katniss.
Conrad, as always, stayed by her side.
They thought this setup would prevent any trouble, but unexpectedly, someone came directly at them.
Before Katniss even saw the troublemakers, Conrad and the bodyguards had already subdued them.