Chapter 530 No One Is Allowed to Hurt Her
After hanging up the phone with Fiona, Chris had been restless ever since.
Every so often, images of his mother when she was alive would pop into his mind, unbidden and raw.
Fiona was right on the money.
In his memories, his mom never seemed to be happy.
Always crying.
Always speaking wistfully of someone she missed.
Before Walker was born, she'd asked him out of the blue one day, "If a mother went to find her own freedom, would you blame her?"
She was genuinely happy during that time, as if eagerly awaiting something every single day.
A shadow flickered across his memory. ‘When, exactly, had the vibrant joy in her eyes dimmed?
'Yes, it was right after he confided in Dad about Mom's desire for freedom, even questioning if it meant she no longer wanted him.’
Chris vividly recalled his primary concern at the time—that he would be left without a mother.
Seated in his office chair, Chris tried to piece together the subsequent events, which seemed oddly elusive in his memory.
His recollections jumped to when his mother was pregnant with Walker.
‘If she had wanted to leave, why did she end up having Walker?’
The more Chris thought about it, the more anxious he became.
Suddenly, the shrill ring of his cell phone snapped him out of his reverie and drenched him in a cold sweat.
It was Crystal calling.
Chris exhaled, answering the phone with a calm voice/ "Honey, what's up?"
Crystal said, "Dad just called; he wants to swing by the house, said he's looking for something... I haven't been alone with him, so, dear, could you come home?"
"Looking for something?" Chris frowned.
He stood up instinctively and strode briskly out of his office. "Did he say what he needed?"
“No.“
"I'm on my way now."
Chris hurriedly ended the call and left the company, feeling wary about Justin, his defenses up. He didn't know what Justin wanted, but the fact that Justin chose to call Crystal, with whom he was less acquainted, instead of him, seemed rather deliberate.
Chris's home was a short ten-minute drive from the office.
When he arrived, Crystal wasn’t there.
He called her, only to be informed that she was at a nearby fruit stand.
After loosening his tie, Chris sank into the sofa and downed a glass of iced tea, when the doorbell rang.
Crystal could unlock the door with her fingerprint, so it couldn't be her.
Chris approached the door with a stony expression and opened it.
Justin's paternal smile faltered when he saw Chris, and his expression darkened. "Weren't you at the office?"
"I came back for something. What do you want?" Chris blocked the doorway, preventing Justin from entering.
"It's good that you're here; there are some things we need to talk about." With that, Justin brushed past Chris and made his way inside with bravado.
Chris was left dumbfounded.
There were times he really wished someone would confirm to him that Justin wasn't actually his father.
So, he didn't have to suppress his feelings for him any longer.
He followed Justin inside.
Settling onto the couch, Justin asked, "Where's Crystal?"
"What are you trying to pull here?" Chris frowned. "Haven't enough things happened around here already? Can't you just lay low for a while?"
"Why do you think so much has happened at home?" Justin shot back, glowering at Chris. "It's all because of Thalassa. If she had just behaved and kept out of trouble, would we be in this mess?"
Chris couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
"That's just like you, always the same. It's never your fault, is it?"
"I'm not in the mood to argue. I have something to show you." Justin pulled out a stack of slim A4 papers from his briefcase and laid them on the coffee table.
On top was a color printout—it was Kenny.
Chris frowned. "What the hell are you doing with his picture? Did you lose your mind?"
"Just look at what's underneath." Justin tapped on the table.
After a moment of hesistation, Chris picked up the papers.
After flipping past the photo of Kenny, the information that came next began to shock him deeply.
"The Walker family from North Alabama? You're saying he's Mr. Kenny of the Walker family from North Alabama?" Chris looked at Justin in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"I've checked it. The land Thalassa bought a few months back, that was Kenny's," Justin scoffed. "To be more precise, that land was a gift from Kenny to Thalassa. Poor kid, they were probably hooking up long before you and Crystal's arranged date. You've been wearing green without even knowing it, as oblivious as a pig."
"That's impossible," Chris instinctively argued.
"What's impossible? That he is Kenny or the fact that you've been cuckolded?" Justin didn't spare any sympathy for Charles, possibly wounded by this revelation.
His words remained sharply unkind.
"Thalassa’s not like that," Chris stated firmly, word by word, and tossed the description of Kenny back. "I was worried before that this guy was just a con artist after our money. Now that I know he's of such distinguished status, I can rest easy."
"You spineless fool."
Justin was stunned at Chris’s response.
The son he had raised was supposed to be just like him, and he had always lived up to those expectations.
"They get married immediately after your breakup, even quicker than you and Crystal, and you turn a blind eye to such blatant cheating and betrayal? Where's the manly pride I taught you?"
"What do you really want?" Chris was running out of patience.
Crystal could be back any minute.
He didn't want her to overhear a word about Thalassa.
After so many years together, you've shared a bed and all, and you're telling me you never snapped a few photos or something?" Justin looked at Chris, clearly looking to stir the pot. "Hand them all over to me."
"What did you just say?" Chris could hardly believe his ears.
"She cheated on you, dragged my name through the mud, and you don't actually think I'm going to let that slide, do you?" Justin slapped the pile of documents on the table. "She even tried to seduce her own stepdad, son. You think someone that sleazy deserves to marry into high society?"
"You expect me to hand over pictures or videos for you to take to Kenny?" Chris asked as if he'd heard the joke of the century. "Even if they existed, which they don't, you could kill me and I still wouldn't give them to you!"
"Say that again?"
Justin slowly stood up.
Chris stood his ground without flinching.
"Justin, I truly loved Thalassa. The fact that I'm not with her is my own failing and regret. Even in death, I would protect her and not let anyone use our past affection as a weapon to harm her."
The father and son duo were equally stubborn.
Justin was the first to back down with a sneer.
"You've got guts, impressive, a real man," he said.
Chris fixed his eyes on him, saying nothing.
"I'm curious to see if Thalassa will appreciate your nobility."
With that, Justin snatched up the documents from the table, bumped past Chris, and stormed off.
He'd just stepped out of the building when a voice called out for his name.
"Chris!"
Justin looked up to find Crystal standing there with several bags of fruit in front of him.
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