Chapter 118 Fearful of Seeing Her Child
But there was no response from Cecily's end.
Griffin was frantic, scratching his head and pacing back and forth, thinking, 'What should I do, what should I do?'
He knew he couldn't just sit around and wait for disaster to happen.
Griffin immediately called Rowan, who almost instantaneously picked up, "What's up, Griffin?"
"Are you and Mom at home right now?"
"I'm at home. Mom went out to eat at Watson's Family Diner."
Just as Griffin had suspected, Mom had been deceived into leaving.
Griffin had just heard some questionable woman talking about a hotel and was now even more worried about his mother.
"Rowan, have our godmother come to pick you up and get out of the house..." Griffin paused mid-sentence.
That was a mistake—the bad woman had people watching them before, and there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again.
It would be bad if they were spotted while trying to leave.
"What's wrong, Griffin?" Rowan asked hastily, noticing the urgency in Griffin's voice.
"Listen to me..." Griffin rapidly explained the situation to Rowan and thought of a countermeasure, as the two discussed their plan.
"Will this work?"
"We don't have any other choice. We have to do this."
"Okay, I get it. Be careful when you leave."
"Don't worry."
After hanging up, Griffin ran back to his room, stripped off his clothes, and lay on the bed. When the housekeeper came in to call him for dinner, Griffin yawned, "I'm really tired. I want to eat later. Please tell Dad."
The housekeeper, concerned, approached, "Are you feeling unwell, young master?"
"No, I just want to sleep."
Hearing Griffin's response, the housekeeper had no choice but to go downstairs and report to Darian.
Darian frowned upon hearing the news and headed upstairs.
Seeing Darian approaching, Griffin quickly closed his eyes.
Darian turned on the light and sat down by Griffin's bed, his profound eyes filled with worry. He reached out to touch Griffin's forehead...
Fortunately, there was no fever.
Griffin slowly opened his eyes to Darian's concerned face, "Dad?"
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
"I just want to sleep."
Seeing the little guy yawning repeatedly, Darian didn't make him get up. Instead, he tucked him in, "Sleep a bit. Come down for dinner later."
"Okay."
Darian rose and headed downstairs. Seeing Darian depart, Griffin kicked off his covers and scrambled up with vigor, quickly dressing and stealthily slipping out of his room.
In the dining room downstairs.
Ophelia naturally took a seat beside Darian, who gave her a cursory glance before dispassionately returning to his own affairs.
Ophelia quietly curved her lips into a coquettish smile.
Sandra saw that the meal was ready but Rowan was nowhere to be seen, and she asked, clearly displeased, "Why isn't Rowan coming down?"
"He's asleep," Darian said flatly.
"Sleeping at mealtime? What kind of sense does that make? Someone go wake him. Darian, you can't always indulge that child."
"You said it yourself, he's just a child," Darian replied, lifting his eyes and calmly taking a sip of water.
Sandra pulled at the corner of her mouth, realizing arguing with Darian about his indulgence towards the child was futile and decided not to bother further. "Let's eat. Ophelia, go ahead and start. It's not your first time here, no need to be so formal."
Ophelia moved her lips but then proceeded to pour herself half a glass of red wine before standing up, her eyes reddening.
Seeing this, Sandra furrowed her brows slightly and asked in confusion, "Ophelia, what are you doing?"
"Aunt Sandra, I want to take this opportunity to apologize again for the past incident. It was my mistake, I was too scared and failed to take care of you. I've been blaming myself, I don't expect your forgiveness, but I needed to apologize. I'll drink to that."
Before Sandra could stop her, Ophelia raised her hand unwaveringly and downed the half glass of red wine, "Cough... cough..."
She coughed lightly, her body wavering, then poured herself another generous helping.
Sandra quickly tried to stop her, but seeing Ophelia's earnest demeanor, whatever frustration she had dissipated. "Alright, Ophelia, that's enough. Aunt Sandra forgives you."
"Really?" Ophelia's eyes lit up, and a tear obediently trickled down from the corner of her eye—her distress looked so pitiable and endearing. "Thank you, Aunt Sandra, for not holding a grudge."
Sandra sighed. Hearing Ophelia speak that way, she felt a twinge of guilt.
Actually, it was normal to think of oneself first in that kind of situation; her previous thoughts were somewhat like moral coercion.
Ophelia didn't sit down, but stood with her drink, looking towards Darian with a soft voice. "Darian, I need to apologize to you too. Previously, I harbored resentment towards Rowan's mother and treated Rowan poorly because of it. From now on, that won't happen again. I'll treat Rowan as if he were my own child."
After she spoke, Ophelia tilted her head back and, with a show of bravery, gulped down her drink.
Darian's expression shifted slightly, but he did not intervene.
"Ophelia, stop drinking," Sandra implored, looking at her with concern.
However, Ophelia ignored Sandra's plea and poured herself another full glass of drink, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at them, "Auntie, I'm not finished, let me finish."
Her gaze stayed locked on Darian. "Darian, I know you're angry with me. I've done many things wrong, even scheming against Cecily, but it was all because I loved you too much. I was afraid of losing you."
"Darian, I know I was wrong. Can I make things right from now on? I will change, can't we keep the engagement, please..."
"What?" Sandra nearly stood up in shock. "Breaking off the engagement? Darian, what's this about?"
Darian's face darkened. "Leave it be."
"How can I leave it be? Tell me why you want to break it off? Is it because of Cecily?"
Sandra inferred from Ophelia's words that it was because of Cecily that Darian wanted to break off the engagement with Ophelia.
"No, that's not it, Auntie; it's my fault, it has nothing to do with anyone else."
"Darian, I'll finish this drink as an apology to Miss Cecily," Ophelia said, and without hesitation, she tilted her head back and forced the drink down.
Darian's brows furrowed upon seeing her body sway as she continued to drink. Eventually, he raised his hand and stopped her, "Enough."
As Ophelia felt her wrist being grasped, a faint smile crossed her lips. With a slight tremble of her hand, her glass tumbled to the ground. She pressed her lips together and looked up at Darian with tear-filled eyes. She was already strikingly beautiful, and now with eyes rimmed red and lips that seemed to weep for affection, she was simply irresistible.
Ophelia tightly clasped Darian's hand. "Darian, have you forgiven me? Can we please not call off our engagement? I can change, I really can."
Darian's brows were knit tightly together.
Sandra glanced at Darian, immediately chiming in, "Darian, Ophelia's being sincere. Let's leave the past behind, shall we? Calling off engagements at the drop of a hat isn't done. Your engagement party is next month. Ending it now, what would people think? The old man would never agree."
"And that Cecily, don’t let her bewitch you."
"Darian, Miss Cecily has already had a child with someone else, she's moved on with her own life. Shouldn't we do the same?" Ophelia implored, her face a picture of earnestness.
Sandra's expression darkened.
"Cecily had a child with someone else?"
"Yes, Aunt Sandra, Miss Cecily has a child."
"How are you so sure?" Darian's face hardened, his gaze as piercing as an icicle toward Ophelia.
Ophelia's eyelashes fluttered, and she mustered her courage. "Because I saw it myself. I was passing by today and just happened to see Miss Cecily with a child beside her. The child looked to be about two or three years old and bore a striking resemblance to Miss Cecily."
Of course, Ophelia had not seen any such thing; her words were a fabrication, but she believed Cecily indeed had a child – a truth yet to be uncovered.
She said this knowing it mattered deeply to Darian. As long as it mattered to him, he would surely seek out Cecily for confirmation.
And if he went, they could catch the child red-handed.
Fire burned in Darian's eyes, but he remained motionless.
Ophelia continued, "Darian, I really saw it with my own eyes. If you don't believe me, we can go over to Miss Cecily's place right now. I'm not lying."
Darian looked at Ophelia intently, his gaze heavy with a sense of oppression. Under such scrutiny, Ophelia didn't back down.
Darian stood up and strode off.
Ophelia felt a surge of triumph in her heart. Feigning urgency, she excused herself to Sandra and quickly followed Darian.
At the doorstep of Cecily's apartment, Darian was about to knock when he paused.
Rare hesitation flickered through his dark eyes, betraying his anxiety.
He was afraid.
He was scared of actually finding a two or three-year-old child with Cecily.
He would rather find the child that had disappeared with her five years ago, to prove that Cecily hadn't had children with another man during those years.
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