Chapter 213 Maximizing Benefits
Fiona's thoughts were in disarray. Somehow, she and Darwin ended up tangled together on the master bedroom's bed. It wasn't until he started to unbutton her blouse that she snapped back to reality.
"Stop!!" Fiona fought desperately.
But Darwin, who had feigned weakness just moments before, deployed his considerable strength now, easily overpowering Fiona's desperate resistance.
Her blouse was swiftly undone, exposing her to his gaze. Darwin's advances halted abruptly, however, when he saw a faint scar across her lower abdomen—a scar reminiscent of one he had seen in his childhood on Anniston, who had explained to him that it was left by the C-section that brought him into the world.
"Get off me!" Fiona lashed out fiercely, her foot meeting Darwin's chest.
Thrown off by the force of her kick, Darwin tumbled off the bed, his head hitting the wall with a thud.
"Oh my God!" Fiona gasped, startled by the noise.
The back of the head was particularly vulnerable. She clutched her clothes closed and hurried off the bed to Darwin's side.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me?" she asked, a mix of concern and urgency in her voice.
In truth, Darwin hadn't been entirely feigning his earlier weakness. His stomach pain was genuine, likely accompanied by a fever. Now, with a head injury, he felt even worse.
Darwin watched her with an intensity that always seemed to hyper-focus whenever stress was in the air. "Nervous? You think you'd be better off if I were dead?"
"It's not about being better off. I just can't have you dying on me. My daughter's still young, and I'm not going to jail over you!” She said this while swiftly doing up the buttons of her blouse. "Come on, we're going to the hospital to check for a concussion."
"I'm not going..." Darwin grimaced, a shadow of his former self looming over his expression. Some things truly never change.
"You could have a concussion!" Fiona asserted, her tone heavy with concern.
He was still tormented by that scar, and the presence of his daughter—burdens that weighed heavily on him. God knows how badly he wanted to just lose it.
"Why don't you just get a divorce?" Darwin blurted out.
Fiona froze, not expecting this. "..."
Typical Darwin. Everything before must have been an act.
"Why should I?" She countered.
"You promised grandma you'd forgive me, right? If you've forgiven me, you can't marry someone else!” Darwin held her gaze, his eyes red with desperation. "I can accept your daughter. I'll treat her well. Just divorce him and come back to me."
Fiona looked at him, her resentment growing even stronger.
"Mr. Solomon, you're right. Everyone would be better off if you were dead."
With that, she stood up to leave. Darwin, desperate, pulled her into a sudden embrace. "Don't go... Please don’t leave..."
Five years passed.
The pain Fiona felt because of Darwin was as sharp as ever. She thought to herself, how pathetic.
"Mr. Solomon, are you confusing me with someone else again?" Fiona bit back through clenched teeth.
Darwin's forehead rested against her back, his body trembling ever so slightly, arms wrapped tightly around her.
"At the hospital, you had me pretend to be your deceased fiancée. What are you playing at now?" Fiona demanded, her voice steady but concerned.
Darwin stayed silent, stubbornly holding her, silently rebelling against the words she had spoken.
"Talk to me!" she elbowed him, demanding a response.
"Divorce him. Now!"
Fiona was about to speak, but then Darwin collapsed onto her.
"Darwin!"
Startled, she turned around to find him with his brows furrowed, clutching his stomach in apparent agony.
"Where's your medication?" she asked.
"Just help me up…” He gasped for air, the pain seeming to intensify.
Fiona couldn't tell if this was another act. After a moment's hesitation, she still helped him out of the bedroom, directing her to the couch where a neatly folded throw blanket lay.
At first, Fiona didn't think much of it and helped Darwin lie down. "Where's the medicine?"
"Second drawer under the TV..." Darwin managed to respond.
Fiona moved to retrieve it, but Darwin suddenly gripped her wrist, his bloodshot eyes filled with a plea. "You're not planning to run off, are you?"
Fiona sighed, a complex mix of emotions swirling in silence.
At first, she hadn't even considered it, but Mr. Solomon's suggestion somehow made it seem possible.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Fiona snapped, her patience wearing thin.
After a moment of hesitation, Darwin finally released his grip.
Though it pained him, he still kept his eyes open, watching her hurried silhouette as she gathered medicine and warm water...
Then she hurried back to his side.
"Take this, quick."
Darwin took the pills, tossed them into his mouth, and washed them down with a swig of water.
She used to coax him into taking his medicine.
Now, she was so irritable.
Did she not love him anymore? Had she fallen for that girl's father?
The thought was agonizing, twisting his heart like a knife.
"You look worse after taking the medication," Fiona frowned with concern. "This won't do; we're going to the hospital."
Darwin shook his head.
Then, seizing a moment when Fiona wasn't looking, he took her hand and placed it over his heart. "I won't be reckless, just stay with me, please. I'm scared when I'm alone."
Scared?
Since when was Darwin ever scared?
Oh, that's right—he had a phobia of squishy bugs and snakes.
"Fiona." Darwin gripped her hand tighter. "When grandma passed, I became an island."
Fiona was taken aback.
Eyes closed, tears moistened Darwin's lashes.
"How could that be..." she murmured softly.
"Do you know why Anniston suddenly turned against me?" Darwin's voice was faint, as if fearing he might disturb something delicate.
Fiona pondered for a moment. "Why?"
The rumor was that Darwin had a fallout with Anniston over Lilian.
But the rift between Darwin and Anniston had likely started even earlier.
That was when Fiona was still alive.
"She realized that the son she had raised for over twenty years... wasn't actually her blood." A sad, absurd laugh escaped Darwin.
"You..." Fiona was taken aback, having never heard such a thing.
"Do you know how I came into this world? Whose child I am?" Darwin's eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a vulnerability Fiona had never seen in him before.
"If you don’t want to talk about it, it's okay."
Fiona already had a feeling that a profound tragedy lay behind his words.
"I want to tell you." His voice was a whisper.
Fiona remained silent, her silence giving him the space to continue.
"My biological father, his name is Aiden Solomon."
"Your uncle?" Fiona was shocked. "But your age... he had been gone three years by the time you were born."
Aiden Solomon wasn’t quite himself, and his grandmother had sensed it early on. Taking no chances, she preserved his sperm under the guise of a routine health check. After he passed away, she sought out a top academic female student and, sparing no expense, purchased her eggs. Following the creation of the embryo, it was implanted into Anniston, who was having IVF at the time.
Fiona was staggered by the revelation.
Darwin chuckled, “I’ve known about this since I was eleven. Grandma said it was all about preserving the family legacy. She preserved the lineage of her eldest grandson and made her youngest son's dream of being a father come true.”
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