Chapter 196: Web of lies
Lyssana ruffled Aresh’s kid, and after that, the kid ran to the indoor, inflatable playground. The older woman then turned to Knox with questioning eyes. She then asked what intrigued him.
"Is that kid...your son too?"
Knox was rendered speechless. He wasn’t naïve to not hear the curiosity and malicious intent behind her words. Did she think that Aresh was his kid before he met Azrael? That another alpha impregnated him?
He wet his lips and nodded, but also explained it well. "Yes. Adopted."
Lyssana’s eyes sparkled. "Oh, isn’t there a standard rule that unmarried individuals can’t adopt a child?"
"That’s true, but Aresh came from an orphanage sponsored by my family’s foundation. It was easier to adopt him without adhering to the rules. As the old saying goes, in every rule, there’s always an exception," Knox replied, masking his lie with unblinking eyes and a calm demeanor.
A hint of dismay flashed in the woman’s eyes. She nodded like she was agreeing, and thankfully, did not probe any further. She also knew that with power and great influence, even the judicial law can make exceptions.
Once seated, Lyssana wasted no time. "Thank you for coming," she began, her voice turned to a soft, velvety whisper that held an undercurrent of tension, completely opposite to the cheerful aura she showed the kid. "I won’t beat around the bush. I will tell you why I reached out to you in the first place. I know this might be hard to hear, but there are things about Azrael’s family you need to know. Things that will explain why he’s been so distant."
Knox’s eyes shook. Sweat trickled down his back as he could feel his anxiety rising within him. "How did...how did you know that Azrael...has been so distant?"