Chapter 8 Why He Didn't Have A Father

Henry's beautiful face was full of smiles, "Mommy, didn't you say that my dad died? You even said that the grass on his grave is taller than me."

Mr. Marcus, who was coldly dining at his villa on the mountaintop, suddenly sneezed.

Jessica, "…"

Since Henry was old enough to understand, he had asked once why he didn’t have a father.

At that time, Henry was three years old and attending kindergarten in France. There was a boy in his class who lived next door to them, and he often insulted Henry at school, calling him a wild child without a father.

One time, Henry got into a fight with him and lost. He returned home in tears with a large bruise on his arm. He asked Jessica why he didn't have a father.

At that time, Jessica felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

Henry was the best gift she had ever received in her life. He was her precious baby, and Jessica wouldn't allow anyone to harm even a single hair on him. But what hurt him the most was her, his mother.

She clearly remembered the resentment in Henry's eyes when he asked her this question.

He was a child prodigy, with an intelligence higher than other children from a young age. But at the age of three, he was still too young, just a little more sensitive than other children. Misled by other children, he thought it was his mother's fault that he didn't have a father, so he couldn't help but blame her.

That's when Jessica told him that his father had died. She even melodramatically made up a story about how the his parents fell in love, and his father was hit by a car and died, leaving his mother alone to raise him out of love.

From then on, Henry never asked about his father again.

It was really tough for Jessica to raise the child alone all these years, studying, working, earning her own tuition fees, and earning money for Henry's formula.

She was in Paris, where the cost of living was ridiculously high. During her hardest times, she had slept for less than 4 hours a day on average for a whole year.

As Henry grew older, he also understood the hardship Jessica had endured. With age, his intelligence grew in proportion, and his personality became so impressive that it left people astonished.

The topic of being a single parent could no longer hurt him. And naturally, he ignored the absence of the man who should have been a part of their lives.

Now that the topic of his father, which they had ignored for years, was suddenly brought up, Jessica felt awkward. The lie had gone too far. If she had known earlier, she would have told Henry that his dad had gone to Mars. At least he could have come back.

She didn't know if there was still time for her to say that his dad had come back to life.

Actually, Jessica didn't want Mr. Marcus to know about Henry's existence, but she also didn't want to lie to Henry.

Damn it, she was torn.

"Henry, have you ever seen someone come back to life?"

"Yes," Henry replied calmly.

Jessica fell silent, and Henry added, "On TV."

Well, Marcus Smith, let's talk about this question when you meet my son someday. I don't want to dwell on this question anymore.

"Never mind, let's not talk about it. Sweetie, next time tell that girl who likes you that you like chocolate." Jessica tore open the beautifully wrapped package and threw the chocolate into her mouth.

It was delicious!

"Got it, Mommy. What else do you like to eat? Something challenging, and I'll give it a try." Henry shook his head and smiled.

He liked his mommy just like this, a money-loving, cunning, and occasionally a bit silly.

"Durian."

Henry's eye twitched a bit, "Mommy, have you ever seen anyone confess to a boy with a durian?"

"That's why I want you to try it. You should know that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."

"Understood!" Henry calmly accepted the challenge and then kissed her on the face with a smile. "Mommy, sometimes you are really not just ordinary silly."

After saying that, he looked at Jessica with a sideways glance, as if to assure her that she didn't need to worry because she was his mommy.

******

In a luxury apartment located in the city center, clothes were scattered all over the floor, with torn dresses and sexy lingerie, and a man's tie...

The dim lights created a mysterious atmosphere, with a temperature of desire swirling in the air, a scorching passion that seemed to melt everything, intertwined with the low moans of the man and woman.

On the white bed, the bodies of the man and woman entwined like vines, fierce kisses landing hard, like a storm passing through, leaving marks of scratches and kisses on the pure female body that were shocking to the eye.

The man's ferocity and the woman's meekness made this affair sexy and sizzling.

"Marcus..." Crystal gasped. 

Tonight, Marcus was wild, ravaging her from the moment he entered, his face dark, as if releasing something.

His emotions hovered on the brink of collapse. Rarely rough, he pinched her delicate skin, leaving marks bit by bit.

Her seductive eyes, filled with mist, Crystal was beautiful, a combination of delicacy and innocence. Marcus suddenly stopped and looked at Crystal intently.

"Marcus, what's wrong with you?" Her desires stirred, uncomfortably rubbed against him, her voice, tainted by passion, was seductive.

Marcus's gaze was deep and his exquisitely handsome face showed no emotion.

The woman beneath him inadvertently transformed into Jessica's poker-faced smile, a face that was also very innocent.

Compared to Crystal, it appeared even more innocent. And it also possessed a purity that Crystal lacked.

Marcus couldn't help but wonder, if it were Jessica lying beneath him at this moment, what expression would she have? He was truly fed up with her trademark poker-faced smile.

"Marcus..." the seductive voice awakened his overflowing thoughts like a splash of cold water extinguishing all his enthusiasm.

Marcus got up from Crystal's body, his clothes slightly disheveled, and walked to the window expressionlessly, looking at the dim lights outside.

What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking of Jessica?

Crystal didn't know why he stopped, she hugged him naked from behind, wanting to kiss his lips, attempting to reignite his desire.

Marcus calmly turned his head away, and Crystal's lips landed on his chin.

Crystal gave a bitter smile, this kind of outcome seemed inevitable.

Marcus's lips were his forbidden zone.

No matter how intimate they were, he never kissed her. Nor did he let others kiss him.

Marcus's eyes fell on the bustling cityscape outside the window, his exquisitely elegant face half-illuminated by the night, adding a touch of desolation and melancholy.

"Marcus... what's wrong with you?" Crystal was a woman who understood the bigger picture, bitterness and jealousy fleeting moments. In front of Marcus, she was always gentle and considerate.

"I saw my father today." Marcus's deep voice revealed a cold resentment.

Gently, Crystal hugged him from behind. She could guess that after all these years, his emotions would always spiral out of control after seeing his father.

"It's okay, everything will be fine!" Her gentle voice brushed past Marcus's heart, allowing his tense muscles to slowly relax.

Crystal only knew that Marcus was a bastard child, his mother was a dancer who raised him alone for ten years, and he returned to the Smith family when he was ten years old.

Old Mr. Alston had originally planned to Marcus's mother as his third wife, but on the third day after their return to the Smith family, the young master of the Smith family, Charles Smith, was found murdered in Old Mr. Alston's bed, with clothes disheveled, and the prime suspect was Marcus's mother.

As she was being taken away by the police, Marcus's mother suddenly broke free from the detective's grasp and ran towards a truck, and was instantly killed in the collision.

The truth behind Charles's murder also became a mystery along with the death of Marcus's mother, and in the end, the case was left unresolved.

Naturally, Marcus would never tell her about these things.

At that time, this scandal of the aristocratic family was widely known, involving affairs and taboos such as a woman serving both father and son... Rumors filled the air.

Old Mr. Alston used his connections to forcefully suppress this scandal and married his current wife just ten days later.

The storm gradually subsided, but it was tough for Marcus. He had been present at the crime scene, witnessing his mother being taken away and running towards the truck to her death.

Because of this incident, Marcus had not spoken for three years.

He suffered from serious psychological problems.

Crystal had been with him for a few years and had never heard him mention anyone from the Smith family or his mother. In Marcus's world, it seemed like he was always alone, forever alone.

"Marcus, have you ever truly loved anyone?" Crystal asked softly, her hand resting over his heart.

"I love you!" Marcus's gaze swept over the small hand on his chest, his voice calm.

Love, what is it? For him, it was an extravagant luxury.

All the people who loved him would ultimately leave him, so Marcus learned at a young age that he should not love anyone.

After all, what use was love if it all ended in separation?

By not loving, he wouldn't feel sadness when parting ways, he wouldn't cry, he wouldn't close himself off like a fool, and he wouldn't lose the courage to keep living.

He had had enough of the pain of loss.

His mother, his sister...and who else? He couldn't remember; he just had a vague sense that there was another, but he couldn't recall her face. But Marcus knew they had all left him.

He had tried to hold on, but only emptiness remained at his fingertips.

Nothing was left.

If he could forget the cold loneliness and the empty void of the night, Marcus thought that living life like this wouldn't be so bad. He didn't want to endure another loss.

But some things are too important for certain individuals to lose, so they lack the courage.

Crystal smiled gently, her beautiful face filled with happiness and contentment, "No matter what, I'm happy to have been by your side all these years."

She knew that Marcus didn't love anyone else.

Although there were rumors that she was his beloved woman and that their relationship was deeply passionate.

But which man who truly loved his girlfriend would constantly change women? It was too much for her to bear.

Crystal knew that Marcus was just lonely... and lacking a sense of security.

It may sound ludicrous. Mr. Marcus, who ruled the business world with an iron fist, lacked a sense of security?

It seemed like a fairy tale, but Crystal knew that Mr. Marcus truly lacked it because he had closed himself off for three years and had suffered from severe psychological problems. He was indifferent to the whole world.

But sometimes, she also felt that he was waiting for someone.

He would often get lost in her eyes, he wouldn't kiss her mouth, but he would often kiss her eyes, tenderly, full of compassion.

Only in those moments did Crystal feel cherished.

A woman's intuition is often accurate. She knew that everyone was just a substitute for someone else, but she had searched for all these years and still didn't know who that girl was.

Who exactly was this mysterious girl who had remained in his thoughts all this time?