Chapter 554 Not Allowing Her to Leave Him
"Darian? What is he doing here?" Percy stared at Cecily and asked.
Cecily immediately hid her emotions and calmly said, "I don't know. Are you curious, Uncle Percy?"
"A little. Weren't you two not in contact anymore? Why is he suddenly looking for you?"
"I'm curious too. Why don't you ask him for me?"Cecily responded.
"There's no need for that. If he's looking for you, it must be something important. You should go see him." Percy's probing made Evander worry for Cecily.
Cecily nodded and walked towards the foyer. Darian had just reached the door and met Cecily's cold gaze. "What are you doing here?"
Darian took one look at Cecily and immediately understood the situation. He quickly adapted, his voice cold and cutting. "I heard you're getting married. Those two kids are Fitzgerald family heirs. Hand them over to me."
Cecily's expression hardened. "How dare you come here asking for the kids? If you hadn't chosen to save Freya back then, my child wouldn't have died. You killed one child with your own hands. Do you really think you have any right to ask for the other two?"
"I'm their father. That gives me every right," Darian said, his lips curling into a cold smirk.
"Get out!" Cecily shouted, pointing towards the door. "Get out! If you want kids, have Freya give you some."
Darian sneered. "Cecily, you don't actually think you can marry into the Lockwood family with my kids, do you? Do you think the Lockwoods would be okay with that?"
"Whether they agree or not, I'm not giving you the kids. Get over it," Cecily retorted, tension thick in the air.
Darian's smile turned vicious. Without a shred of sympathy, he pushed Cecily aside, causing her to stumble and slam against the wall.
He paused for a moment, then gave a chilling command. "Find the children."
Bodyguards immediately surged into the house.
Percy and Karen watched in stunned silence.
Darian's eyes grew colder as he took in the room full of gifts. "So that's why she's so bold. It's because you're here too."
The bodyguards searched the villa with complete disregard for Percy and the others.
Percy's anger flared. "Darian, don't push your luck."
"Push my luck? And why should I care about your opinion?"
Darian's gaze swept over Percy and Evander with menace. "Or is it that you two have your eyes on my children?"
"Boss, we couldn't find the kids," one of the bodyguards reported after searching everywhere.
"Where did you hide them?" Darian's eyes flashed with icy anger as he glared at Cecily.
"You won't find them. Give up," Cecily said through her tears.
Darian grabbed her and pulled her close. "Do you think this will stop me? I'll find them eventually."
Tears streamed down Cecily's face. "Darian, you're about to marry Freya. Why can't you just leave my children alone?"
"That's a different matter. You can marry whoever you want, but those kids are mine. Got it?"
Darian released Cecily, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone before he turned and left.
Cecily wiped her tears, apologizing, "I'm sorry. I had no idea he'd show up today. I didn't mean to cause you trouble."
Karen immediately stepped forward to comfort her, and Percy showed no signs of suspicion.
Even Evander, who knew everything, began to question whether Percy and Karen were really having issues.
"Cecily, it's clear Darian won't give up easily. How about this: come stay with us at Lockwood Manor today. Darian won't dare to make a scene there," Percy suggested. Of course, he wasn't doing it out of kindness but to ensure things got settled quickly.
Cecily shook her head. "No, that would be too much trouble for you."
"It's no trouble at all. Besides, Bella would love your company. She's been talking about you non-stop," Percy insisted.
Cecily glanced at Vivienne, seeking her opinion.
Vivienne nodded in agreement. "Darian won't back down. It might be best for you to stay at the Lockwood family's place for a while."
"Exactly. No more excuses," Percy declared, clearly taking charge.
Cecily didn't argue further.
Percy felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. After all the back-and-forth with Cecily, they finally had a plan in place, and he couldn't help but feel pleased.
Meanwhile, Josep was glued to the latest news, his anxiety mounting. Percy had stirred up quite a bit of drama, and now he was off to the Bennett Manor to discuss marriage. Josep was on edge, worried about what would come next.
Just then, Mark rushed in, urgency etched on his face. "Mr. Fitzgerald, I've got the latest scoop. Darian caused a scene at the Bennett Manor trying to fight for custody of the children, and he ran into Percy."
"And then what?" Josep asked, his brow furrowing with concern.
"Percy seems to be planning to move Cecily to the Lockwood Manor," Mark replied.
Josep nearly choked on his breath. "Percy is moving fast! He's after Cecily's shares and the Bennett family's backing. He wants to dominate!"
With that, Percy dropped the pretense, and Josep followed suit.
"Thinking he can just marry Cecily? I'll be damned if I let them have what I can't," Percy said, his voice low and dangerous.
"Mr. Fitzgerald, are you suggesting..."
Josep's eyes gleamed with malice. "If we ruin Cecily, let's see if they still want her as a daughter-in-law."
Meanwhile, Cecily delayed the packing, claiming she needed more time. Once Percy left, Darian returned swiftly.
In their room, Darian was checking Cecily for injuries.
"I'm not made of glass! A little bump isn't going to break me," she retorted.
Darian pulled her into his arms. "Fair's fair; the Lockwood family has given us plenty of gifts."
Looking at the pile of presents downstairs, Darian couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"If you think they're generous, why don't you match them?" Cecily teased, a playful smirk on her lips.
Darian raised an eyebrow. "All my assets are in your name. The little I earn goes straight into your account. Cecily, I'm broke—I can only give you myself."
Cecily looked him up and down, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"What are you looking at?" Darian asked, feigning innocence.
Cecily shot back, "Just making sure you're worth marrying. I need to see what you've got left."
Darian chuckled, "Want me to strip for you?"
Cecily raised a hand to stop him from getting too close. "I think we can skip the stripping part."
"Then how will you see what makes me worth marrying?" he teased, leaning in closer.
Cecily nervously shrank back a step. "It's worth marrying you, worth it all," she said quietly.
Darian pulled Cecily back into his embrace. "If you're going to back down, don't provoke me. My self-control isn't great."
Getting back to the point, Cecily poured Darian a glass of water and handed it to him. "There's something I need to tell you. I'm moving to Lockwood Manor tomorrow."
"Oh?"
"You're not going to stop me?"
"Would it matter if I did?"
"No, it wouldn't."
Darian sighed. "Josep is bound to make a move against you soon."
"I know." Cecily was well aware that Josep wouldn't let her marry into the Lockwood family without a fight. It was inevitable that he'd try to hurt her.
But what Cecily wanted was to force Josep and Percy into a public confrontation.
"Percy won't wait too long. He's wary of prolonged delays and will likely push for you and Evander's wedding soon."
Cecily's expression turned serious. "The sooner, the better. It's best to resolve it quickly."
Darian asked, "What about Owen?"
"I'll be visiting him at the private hospital daily for his treatment. Don't worry; he'll wake up."
With Cecily's assurance, Darian felt more at ease.
Cecily had the gifts from the Lockwood family moved to the warehouse, meticulously catalogued and noted that everything must be returned exactly as it was, with nothing missing.
After lunch, as Cecily was about to visit Aurelie, she received a call from the bodyguard assigned to Aurelie.
"Miss Watson, people from Joshua's wife's side have shown up at Miss Miller's place, demanding either an explanation or repayment."
"Okay, I'll be there right away."
Joshua's wife, Barbara, arrived with Nicole, John, and a group of relatives, crowding around Aurelie's front door.
As Aurelie tried to step outside, she was immediately surrounded and nearly pushed over by the mob.
"Aurelie, how can you be so heartless? Joshua is your father. If you don't pay the debt, who will?" Barbara scolded, pointing an accusatory finger at Aurelie.
Nicole piped up, "Exactly, Aurelie. Dad has always looked out for you. How can you just turn your back on him? And I heard he got beaten up yesterday. Was that you?"
John joined in, "Yeah, if you don't take care of this, we might just have to take legal action."
Aurelie listened with a cold, detached expression.
"Aurelie, I heard the Lewis family is willing to help us, but they want you to donate your uterus to Miss Lewis. Why not just do it? It's not like they're asking for your life," Barbara tried to twist the situation, attempting to guilt-trip Aurelie.
Aurelie found the whole thing laughable.
Barbara and the others exchanged glances, clearly itching for a confrontation, but the two bodyguards weren't about to let that happen. They swiftly pushed their hands away.
Barbara yelled, "Aurelie, have you no shame? If you had any decency, you'd repay your father's debt immediately."
Frustrated, the group clawed at Aurelie, desperately blocking her path.
In a nearby black car, Nathaniel watched the scene unfold with a frosty expression. He had no intention of intervening, preferring to observe as Aurelie was cornered and harassed.
Aurelie was desperate to get away from him. If things got worse, she'd just hide herself. Nathaniel was momentarily unsure of how to respond.
However, with such a troublesome family, it was only a matter of time before she would come crawling to him. At that point, Aurelie wouldn't have any reason to leave.
The phone rang, and Nathaniel put it to his ear.
"Mr. Kensington, Miss Watson is on her way here."
"Find a way to stop her," Nathaniel replied coldly, his gaze still fixed on the chaos before him.
The crowd, growing more furious and desperate, couldn't get a handle on Aurelie. In a fit of rage, Barbara lunged forward, grabbing and tearing at Aurelie's clothes. "You won't even save your own father? Let's see if you have any heart at all!"
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