Chapter 16: Cut Ties

Liam was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected his usually mild-mannered and agreeable son to bring up old grievances so suddenly. After his initial shock wore off, embarrassment turned to anger. “You little punk, are you trying to rebel against me?!”

Alistair let out a scornful laugh. Rebel? “Life Choice Triggered! Host, please make your selection!”

Option one: Filial piety above all else. There are no bad parents in this world. Once you calm down, you decide to apologize to your father and follow his instructions to seek Rebecca’s forgiveness.

Option two: Not all parents love their children unconditionally! Blood relations don’t guarantee pure family affection. You are thoroughly disappointed in your selfish father, who disregards your feelings, and you firmly decide to cut ties with him!

Alistair stared at two clouds drifting lazily across the brilliant blue sky outside the window and smiled—only a complete idiot would choose the first option!

Though he had always craved family affection and once desperately sought Liam’s attention, he now understood that some things couldn’t be forced. After seeing the reality of their relationship, this so-called family bond meant nothing to him anymore.

“I don’t care about cutting ties!” he exploded. “From this moment on, we’re done! And whoever takes back these words is a real son of a bitch! You have the nerve to call me worthless? If you’re so capable, why don’t you pay back the two million dollars I gave you years ago!”

Liam was fuming at Alistair’s disrespectful way of speaking. “You ungrateful, disobedient brat! From now on, you’re not my son!” Liam didn’t say a single word about the two million dollars.

Alistair leaned against a telephone pole to catch his breath. The falling out with Liam hadn’t hit him as hard as he expected; instead, it gave him a sense of inevitable closure. So what if they’d cut ties? It honestly didn’t bother him that much. To put it bluntly, even though Liam was his father, what difference had his presence made throughout Alistair’s life? Their rare meetings always featured Liam showering praise on his stepson from his second marriage, treating the boy like the golden child.

Alistair had always believed he wasn’t good enough. He’d studied relentlessly, desperately hoping Liam would notice his achievements and offer some praise… Alistair let out a sneer. He’d been so naive, so foolish. At least he’d finally woken up to reality, even if it had taken this long.

Meanwhile, after ending her call with Liam, Rebecca waited anxiously at home. Sure enough, someone rang the doorbell. Rebecca sprang from the couch, then deliberately sat back down. She waited until she imagined the person outside was nearly at their breaking point before leisurely getting up to answer. Opening the door, she taunted, “I thought you were capable. Why come crawling back now?”

When she saw who was standing there, she froze. It wasn’t Alistair.

“Why did it take so long to answer? Were you sleeping? Oh my god, what happened in here? Everything’s a complete mess. Where’s Alistair? Why hasn’t he cleaned anything up? Alistair? Alistair!”

It was Cordelia.

Seeing Cordelia, Rebecca couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face. Cordelia, however, was too busy being shocked by the chaotic state of the house and looking for Alistair to notice Rebecca’s unusual reaction. Rebecca made up an excuse about Alistair’s absence and brushed it off. Cordelia found everything about the place irritating and called in the housekeeper to clean up. Cordelia couldn’t help but criticize Alistair again, despite Rebecca’s “defense” of him.

Cordelia was furious when she spotted the luxury menswear carelessly tossed on the sofa. “No wonder Alistair’s been getting too big for his britches lately! You’ve been spoiling him rotten! Why would you buy such expensive clothes for someone who just cooks and picks up the kids?”

She continued, “You’re dressing him up like he’s somebody important. What if he gets ideas and starts chasing other women? These young girls nowadays are trouble—always looking for shortcuts. Alistair is young and decent-looking. If he starts fooling around, you’ll be the one crying later. You need to be more careful!”

Rebecca felt a pang of guilt. The clothes weren’t Alistair’s. Alistair barely owned anything. The day after she kicked him out, Rebecca had hired people to clean up. After living there for six years, all of Alistair’s belongings fit into a single suitcase, which she had ordered to be packed up and thrown away. The luxury item actually belonged to Richard—she had bought it for him.

She had hidden the truth from her parents for six years. Now that Richard was back, Rebecca hadn’t figured out how to come clean to them. Just because Nathaniel and Cordelia looked down on Alistair didn’t mean they would accept Richard, even though Richard’s family background was heavenly compared to Alistair’s earthly one. If Nathaniel and Cordelia discovered Richard was Daniel’s biological father, would they subject Richard to the same belt punishment they had inflicted on Alistair? The thought broke her heart!

Six years ago, Alistair had been beaten so severely by Nathaniel’s belt that he’d spent two weeks in the hospital with open wounds. But that was different in her mind. Alistair was tough-skinned—what did a beating matter to him? He just needed some rest to recover. Richard was far too precious. Rebecca couldn’t bear the thought of her parents saying even a harsh word to him.

Seeing Cordelia’s anger, Rebecca quickly made up an excuse that managed to smooth things over for now. But this was hardly a long-term solution. She wanted to proudly bring Richard home and announce to the world that he was her husband!

Rebecca held her water glass and carefully played along with Cordelia’s comments, deliberately using a half-sincere tone as she said, “Mom, you’re absolutely right. How could I have been so blind to fall for him? Besides his decent looks, he’s completely worthless. What if I find a new husband? Someone a thousand times—no, ten thousand times—better than him. How does that sound?”

She had been spoiled since childhood. Even though she went through a rebellious phase that nearly gave Cordelia and Nathaniel heart attacks, causing them to distance themselves from her for four years, Rebecca remained the apple of their eye. After reconciling with her parents, Rebecca resumed her childhood habits of acting sweet and cute around them.

Cordelia lovingly touched her face and said, “You’ve gotten thinner. Yes, you must replace him! Alistair was never good enough for you. Your father and I disliked him from the beginning! There are so many excellent young men out there, but you were foolish enough to be dazzled by his sweet talk and insisted on marrying him!”

Rebecca’s heart leaped with joy. “Then I’ll divorce him right away and find a better husband!”

Cordelia smiled. “Good! Your father and I will be waiting!”

Rebecca felt elated, planning to share the good news with Richard as soon as Cordelia left. She intended to introduce Richard to her parents that evening. Still, Cordelia suddenly sighed and changed the subject. “Aside from Alistair’s family background and education, he doesn’t really have many flaws to speak of.” Rebecca bit her tongue.

“Your father and I truly didn’t approve of him at first, especially your father. If your grandfather and I hadn’t held him back, I’m afraid your father might have beaten him to death. But over these years, he’s been genuinely devoted to both you and Danny. He’s also fulfilled his responsibilities toward your father and me as a younger family member should.”

Rebecca couldn’t maintain her composure any longer. Her carefully laid plans had suddenly fallen apart!