Chapter 44

SYBIL took a deep breath and reached for the knob. She didn’t wait for Chase to open the door for her and got off immediately.
The retreat house wasn’t as extravagant as the Whitewood’s mansion. She wondered what kind of person Chase’s mother was for her to go to such a place. Was she humble? Or perhaps looking for an escape? She could only imagine what it would be like to be the mistress of such a huge house.
“Are you ready to meet them?” Chase wrapped an arm around her waist and ushered her inside the retreat house.
“I don’t know if I’m ever ready. I’m…” She heaved a sigh. Her heart was now racing. “I’m feeling nervous, Chase. I don’t know what your mother and sister would—”
“What did I tell you about it?”
She looked at him.
“Don’t mind them.”
“Correct. Just listen and forget about it.” He turned to her and smiled. “You are a wonderful person, Sybil. I knew that the moment you helped me. I know something they don’t, so there is no way they can change my feelings about you.” Chase kissed the side of her head.
Soon they arrived in front of a door, his mother’s room. Chase knocked and opened the door afterward.
“`Ma,” he greeted the sophisticated middle-aged woman standing beside a suitcase.
“Chase, dear.” The woman walked toward him and kissed Chase on the cheek. “I’m glad you are home again. I’m quite anxious after I heard from Julian that you left home a few days ago.”
The woman then turned in her direction.
“And who is this lady with you? Is she your new secretary?” Chase’s mother asked with a smile.
Though she could tell that that smile wasn’t genuine, it was just for show. Sybil’s instinct was quick to pick it up.
She heaved a sigh and was about to hold out her hand when Chase suddenly pulled her close to him. She saw how his mother’s expression turned grim when he snaked his arms around her waist again.
“Sybil, this is my mother, Cynthia. Mama, this is Sybil… my girlfriend.”
His mother’s mouth dropped open.
“G-girlfriend…”
“You heard it right.”
“But, Chase… You should—”
“I will tell Papa about this once he gets home.”
“Let me warn you that he won’t like this… piece of news.” Cynthia looked at her again. Her eyes showed more fear than disgust.
“Let’s go home,” Chase said afterward. “Where is Ruth anyway?”
“She already left early this morning. There is something urgent that she had to attend.”
“Oh, I see.” Chase looked at her. “Don’t worry. You will meet my sister once she gets home.”
“Hm.” She smiled though she was growing more and more anxious about the idea of meeting every member of the Whitewood family. “L-let me bring this for you, Madam.”
Sybil grabbed his mother’s luggage and headed out of the room ahead of them. She needed to do that, or she would feel suffocated.

FRANCIS put ice on his whiskey and went out of the bar to join his cousins at the table. They were sailing back home now from a cruise around Europe. He had been ecstatic the whole cruise, knowing that his son was back. However, he kept it to himself for days and would only tell the family now that they were on their way back.
“I have an announcement,” he said, getting everyone’s attention.
“What is it?” Armand asked before taking a sip of his drink.
“I know we’ve been on a roller coaster ride for the past few months when my son Chase went missing. But you can rest your minds now—”
“Didn’t the elders tell you already that we want to see results?” Robert sneered. “Enough of you bluffing now, Francis—”
“Don’t you want to hear first what I’m about to say?” Francis arched a brow.
“Say it now,” said Armand.
“Chase has returned home.”
Everyone at the table looked at him with eyes wide open.
“Francis, you’re not kidding, right?” Robert looked at him intently.
“I’m not, of course. If you want, everyone can come with me to our estate right after we get off this ship.” He leaned against his seat and sipped his whiskey.
Everyone nodded their heads consecutively, and he took that as a yes.
After a few moments, his phone rang. Francis excused himself and walked out of the bar to answer his wife’s call.
“Where are you?”
“On board. Don’t you remember that I’m cruising with—”
“When are you coming home?”
His forehead creased. There was urgency in his wife’s voice.
“Why?”
“I think we will be in trouble, Francis,” Cynthia said through gritted teeth.
“Goodness, Cynthia, cut to the chase!”
“I bet you didn’t know that Chase left. He came back with a girl.”
“A girl?”
“He said that girl is his girlfriend!”
Francis shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his knows when a sudden throbbing headache attacked him.
“Goddamn it… is he nuts?”
“You must do something! Now that he’s back, everything will eventually return to the way it was before. You know what will happen if the elders find out about this.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“I warned him that you are not going to like it.”
“And who’s this girl that he brought home?”
“I don’t know anything about her. He just introduced her when he picked me up at the retreat center.”
“Tell Julian to dig about her. I will be home in a couple of days.” Francis ended the call and cursed. He tried calling Chase, but he wasn’t answering the phone.

PRUDENCE was pacing back and forth inside her room with the phone in her ear. She had tried calling the boss many times already, but there was no answer. Just when she finally had something important to tell, the boss was out of reach. Groaning, she plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. After a few moments, the phone rang.
“What is it?” the boss asked on the other line when she answered the call.
“I’ve got news for you. Chase is back. He is alive.”
“What?!” She heard a groan in the background, and the sound of a glass shattering came next. “When did he return home?”
“I don’t know when. His brother told me this morning.” She sprung up from the bed. “What should we do now?”
“Chase will be back to his position sooner or later. If that happens, there is only one thing you must do. Marry him. We are aiming for the bigger fish here, Prudence.”