Chapter 129: What a Great Feeling
After the child left the study.
Franklin Whitman asked curiously, "What’s wrong? Was Ryan right about you, too?"
Yolanda Young clicked her tongue, glancing guiltily at Caroline Whitman.
’Though I don’t want to admit it, I’m the only one who knows about this.’
Caroline Whitman noticed her mother’s expression and narrowed her eyes. "Mom, are you hiding something from me, too?"
Yolanda Young gave a guilty laugh. "No."
"Hmm?" Caroline narrowed her eyes again, her demeanor shifting from being on the defensive to having the upper hand.
Franklin Whitman, whose own secret had just been pried out, naturally sided with Caroline. "Honey, just tell us. We’re all family. What secrets could there be?"
"Heh, don’t tell me you also took money and made some reckless investments, just like me?"
Yolanda Young: "..."
As expected of a couple married for many years, he had hit the nail right on the head.
Seeing there was no way out, Yolanda Young could only give an awkward laugh and look at Caroline.
"Caroline, don’t blame me. I don’t know what came over me back then. I just believed someone who was promising high returns on a high investment. I was just thinking about how hard you were working, running your business. I thought I could earn a little extra to help with household expenses. Who knew..."
Caroline Whitman: "..."
"How much did you lose?"
Yolanda Young held up one finger.
"A hundred thousand?"
"A million?"
"Ten million?!"
As Yolanda Young remained silent, Caroline’s voice grew louder and louder.
Yolanda Young nodded.
When Franklin Whitman heard that, he was floored. ’Wow, talk about a matching set.’ He thought he had been bad enough, but it turned out his wife was just the same.
Caroline turned away and put a hand to her forehead. "You two are really..."
"What did you invest in?"
"Real estate and some funds and stocks."
"..."
Caroline gave a helpless smile. ’What could she do about her own parents?’
"When did this happen?"
"Right around the time you went to college."
"..."
Caroline finally understood. No matter what business ventures she was pursuing back then, her parents were always supportive. It turned out they were too busy feeling guilty to pay her any mind.
Probably because these two secrets had been exposed, the couple no longer dwelled on the matter of the parallel universe.
Now they only had one question.
"Is this child really yours and Adrian Grant’s?"
"Yes. We both took paternity tests as soon as the child appeared."
Franklin Whitman said in amazement, "Wow, so in that parallel universe you mentioned, your DNA is actually identical."
"..."
That was an angle Caroline had never considered.
Franklin Whitman asked again, "So Jonathan Grant’s side already knew that Ryan is your child?"
Caroline nodded. "Adrian told them a while ago."
’So that’s why,’ he thought. ’No wonder Gavin Grant seemed like he wanted to say something but held back yesterday.’
The thought made Franklin angry. "Then why didn’t you tell us sooner? If you had, it’s not like we wouldn’t have been able to accept it!"
Caroline rubbed her nose. "I hadn’t managed to win Adrian over yet, had I?"
With so many uncertainties, if she had laid all her cards on the table back then, her relationship with Adrian would have been scrutinized under the watchful eyes of both families.
The two of them were left speechless.
At this point, what was done was done. What else could they say?
Their daughter rarely came home, and when she did, she brought such bombshell news. Now, a marriage alliance with the Grant Family was a sure thing.
So Franklin Whitman asked:
"So when are you two planning to get married? Will you get engaged first, or go straight to the wedding?"
Caroline: "We only just got together. Let’s talk about this later."
Hearing her say that, Yolanda Young didn’t press the issue. "In that case, let’s have him over for dinner some other day."
After speaking, as if she’d thought of something, Yolanda walked to the window. She looked at the car parked outside the courtyard gate. Normally, if Caroline had driven herself, she definitely wouldn’t have parked outside.
The perceptive Yolanda said quietly, "Adrian Grant must be waiting outside, right?"
Ryan Grant was at Jonathan Grant’s place just yesterday, but today he showed up at their house.
If Adrian hadn’t brought him, who else could it have been?
Seeing she’d been found out, Caroline had no choice but to nod.
Franklin Whitman: "In that case, why wait? Let’s do it today. I’ll have Miss Lynch prepare a few more dishes."
Caroline: "I’ll ask him."
Adrian Grant, still in the car, received a message from Caroline.
Caroline: [It’s all sorted out. They want to meet you. Want to have dinner at my place tonight?]
Adrian Grant: [Okay.]
As Adrian got out of the car, he also had his driver take the gifts he had prepared in advance from the trunk.
Seeing Adrian arrive with gifts, Caroline was taken aback for a moment.
She tugged on his sleeve and asked in a low voice, "When did you prepare these?"
"Yesterday, when you said you were coming back to the family home," Adrian answered truthfully.
Although his visit today was unexpected, it was always better to be prepared.
Ryan, who had been brought downstairs earlier by Miss Lynch, heard Adrian’s voice and ran over curiously from the backyard.
It really was his dad.
He thought it was strange when his dad didn’t get out of the car earlier and figured something must be up.
Now that he saw him get out and come inside, he felt much more at ease.
Ryan wanted to call him "Dad," but he suddenly remembered he wasn’t supposed to call him that yet.
"Godfather," Ryan’s soft, childlike voice rang out. "You’re here."
Caroline and Adrian: "..."
Including Franklin and Yolanda, who already knew the truth: "..."
"Ahem, Adrian, my boy, you’re here," Franklin Whitman said with a chuckle.
He never would have imagined that after calling him President Grant at their last meeting, he would now be calling him by a familiar nickname.
Adrian nodded slightly. "Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunt."
"Godfather, Godmother, come quick and look at the little house I built."
Ryan held out his small hands, covered in sand and mud, interrupting the adults’ pleasantries. He excitedly pulled the two of them toward the backyard.
"Look! This is the little house I made. This one is where Mommy and Daddy live, this is where I live, this is where Grandpa and Grandma live, this is where my other Grandpa and Grandma live, and this is where Great-Grandpa lives.
And this one, this is my playground."
The little tyke happily shared and introduced his masterpiece.
Franklin Whitman secretly watched the family of three for a while.
TSK TSK TSK.
He actually saw a glimmer of a doting father in Adrian Grant. ’It was like seeing a ghost.’
He was like a completely different person from the man who had just walked in, maintaining a hint of distance.
After watching for a bit, Franklin finally scurried back to the living room to share what he’d seen with Yolanda Young.
"Isn’t that normal? Even if they’re a father and son from different universes, they’re still bound by blood. If he’s not a doting father to him, who would be?" Yolanda thought he was making a big deal out of nothing.
"That’s true."
"Haha, but you have no idea how it felt when I called him ’Adrian, my boy’ just now—"
Franklin hadn’t finished speaking when Adrian happened to walk in from the backyard, and he immediately fell silent.
He gauged the distance, and once Adrian had passed by on his way to the restroom to wash his hands, Franklin slowly added in a low voice, "...it felt so damn good, hehe."
Yolanda Young: "..."