Part 49

49

Now Vano hoped this was a mistake and a first-time error, so nothing would disturb their relationship.

Chelsea took a deep breath. Trying to make peace with the situation, once again, she tried to make things okay.

Carlos slowly pressed the doorknob and entered Chelsea's room. He made sure to lock the door so that Margareth couldn't barge in and make the situation worse.

"Daddy..." Chelsea called out with tears streaming down her face. She really needed Carlos right now to ease the pain and disappointment that had mixed together.

Chelsea was also afraid that Carlos might be influenced by Margareth's words earlier, especially since he might have seen what Vano wanted to do with her.

"I swear, Daddy, Vano and I didn't..." Carlos covered Chelsea's lips with his index finger and sat beside her.

"You don't need to explain anything. Daddy knows who you are and what you're like. It's impossible for you to betray us, especially with your own stepchild." 

"Thank you, Dad." Chelsea hugged Carlos tightly, and in return, Carlos embraced Chelsea and planted a long kiss on her forehead.

"So, your ex-boyfriend is named Revan?" Carlos asked cautiously.

Chelsea nodded. "That's right. Do you remember, Daddy, when I said I wanted to resolve things with my ex-boyfriend first so that you wouldn't misunderstand? And this is what I was afraid of. If I hadn't told Daddy back then, it's uncertain whether you would accept all my explanations now."

Carlos listened to Chelsea's explanation. Although he didn't believe Margareth's words, he still needed a bit more explanation from Chelsea to confirm that it wasn't true. He wanted to know why and how Margareth had conveyed this to them earlier.

"Do you remember the incident at Indri's house that night?"

Once again, Carlos remained silent, not wanting to interrupt and allowing Chelsea to finish her words.

"That day, I broke up with Revan, but he wouldn't accept the decision I had made. The next day, Indri asked me to meet her behind the campus and conveyed her wishes along with an apology for what happened that night. Indri asked me to entertain her guest and split the money we would get because she really needed a lot of money to pay for her mother's hospital bills. She kept threatening me and was afraid of being trapped for the second time.

I admit that our relationship was more than just lovers, as you know, we met on a chatting application, and I was going to offer myself to be a sugar baby. That's why Indri knew who you were, Daddy, and could figure out where our relationship was heading. But Indri didn't know that we were already married, so our conversation cornered me, and I received insults from Indri.

She said I was a call girl, and I just confirmed it, but I never imagined that our conversation would be overheard by Revan so clearly.

He didn't mind if I had actually decided that because my future had turned bleak. Becoming a call girl. But because our relationship wasn't what they both had in mind, I still refused it, and once again, Revan couldn't accept that. Instead, he threatened to tell all the students and the campus authorities that I was prostituting myself to men. Until now, there's been no news of that threat coming true.

But apparently, without my knowledge, it reached your ears through Margareth's words earlier. As Daddy heard, Mom knew about it from Kevin. And Kevin is Revan's close friend. I swear Revan has never brought Kevin home to introduce him to Mom. They've never met, so I'm sure Mom has a special relationship with Kevin, which is how she learned so much about me and Revan."

Chelsea revealed the whole story and her speculation about how Margareth had come to know Kevin. At the same time, she took advantage of the fact that she wasn't Margareth's biological child, meaning she didn't have to show any more mercy to Margareth.

He cared less about the woman who had treated him well all this time. In his mind, Margareth was the biological mother who deserved forgiveness, even if it was just a tiny bit. But now, forgiveness was no longer present, and instead, resentment was growing in his heart.

Despite being an adopted child to Tomas, the love that Tomas had given him had allowed him to grow into the person he was today. Only Margareth, all this time, had never shown any affection toward him. Moreover, since Tomas's bankruptcy and illness, Margareth had become increasingly hurtful to both of them.

"I will find out about Kevin and Margareth. You don't need to worry about it, and I am genuinely concerned about your situation. You don't need to worry; I will never question your origins because I know that the woman who is my wife now is not defined by her past but by the person she is today. And I can see that you are a good woman who was raised well by a man who loved you deeply.

Never disappoint him by living a life contrary to the rules that exist. You must listen to Daddy and never think about seeking revenge on Margareth. No matter what, she is your mother. If that day Margareth hadn't given permission for your father to bring you home, we might never have met today. Even from all the pain you've experienced, it was from there that we were brought together and married.

I promise you that there will never be tears from here again." Carlos wiped away the remaining tears on Chelsea's cheeks.

"Daddy," Chelsea murmured, burying her face in Carlos's chest again. Since her father had taken his last breath, Chelsea's life seemed to crumble instantly. But ever since meeting and falling in love with Carlos, everything seemed to fall back into place. She had found a father and life partner she believed could complete her life until death came to take her away.

"Pa for Vano..." Chelsea once again wanted to talk about him and Vano, but Carlos didn't allow that so the man instead kissed both of Chelsea's lips. Very soft, but very immersive. Melt all the feelings of disappointment and anger that are lodged in your heart. Chelsea lay on her back, receiving touches from Carlos.

Letting her husband try to erase the traces left by Vano. Don't care about Margareth's whereabouts, who could be looking for Chelsea's whereabouts. Carlos hugged Chelsea tightly as he became a big baby enjoying his drink. Remember, just be a big baby, nothing more.

Margareth massaged her temples; her head was pounding and throbbing after her argument with Chelsea earlier. She now regretted letting her words slip and revealing Chelsea's true identity.

In this state of affairs, Margareth was afraid that Chelsea would distance herself even further and perhaps even develop a hatred towards her. She worried that Chelsea might incite Carlos to kick her out of the house. If that were to happen, Margareth had no idea where she would go because Chelsea was the only one who had kept her grounded in that house.

But instead, the girl had shown anger when she found out that she was merely an adopted child she had picked up from the street that day when Margareth and Tomas were returning from dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

They had accidentally spotted a woman carrying a baby in her arms. The woman seemed to be heading towards a bridge, looking around very suspiciously. So, Tomas hurriedly got out of the car and stopped the woman as she was about to throw her baby off the bridge.

"What are you going to do to that baby?" Tomas demanded, preventing the woman from doing whatever she intended.

"This is none of your business, so don't interfere. This child always cries when I'm with a client, so I don't make any money. If I don't earn money, I won't have money to eat, so don't meddle because you mean nothing to us!!" The woman shouted back and stubbornly insisted on throwing her baby away.

"This is not a matter of whose business it is, or who I am. This is a matter of a baby's life in your hands. Isn't there any other way besides killing him so that he won't bother you while you work?" Tomas tried to persuade, still trying to prevent the woman from acting foolishly towards her own baby.

The woman shook her head, frustrated but still feeling pity for the baby she had just brought into the world a few days ago.

"In that case, give the baby to me. Let my wife and me raise him. Luckily, I will never be trusted with a baby. Instead of killing him, it's better for us to take care of him and raise him."

Margareth, who had heard her husband's explanation, certainly did not accept Tomas's unilateral decision because she did not want anyone to know that they were adopting a child from a prostitute.

"You're out of your mind, Carlos! You want to take a child from this shameless woman?! She's the one who caused the baby to be born, and now she wants to kill him.

I refuse to raise a child from this woman."

Margareth, of course, did not accept Tomas's decision, which he had made on his own because she did not want anyone to know that they were adopting a child from a prostitute.