Chapter 387
Marcel snapped at Clara immediately, “Don’t talk rubbish!”
Clara was startled by his harsh response but was already used to it.. Hence she pouted her lips, trying to gain his sympathy.
“But I’m just saying.....” She trailed off upon seeing the murderous look in Marcel’s eyes and she bit down on her lips, aggrieved. What did she do wrong now? She was just trying to mend the relationship between father and son, why doesn’t Marcel appreciate it for once?
“You don’t have to scare the poor girl to get your point across, Marcelo,” Daniel said to him.
“Don’t call me that!” Marcel growled at him. Only his mother got to add that affectionate term to his name, he doesn’t get to have that privilege.
“See?” Daniel turned to Clara, as if he just proved a point, “He probably hurried over to confirm if I had died,” The man burst into long, boisterous laughter, coughing hard in the end while Clara stared on, horrified. How could someone joke about that? This family was something else.
“Don’t worry, that would change with time,” Clara decided to be optimistic and Marcel snorted from where he sat. That was the worst lie he had ever heard since he became an adult.
Would he and his father ever reconcile? That was only possible when one of them died. Even though they weren’t killing each other, the animosity between the both of them ran deep and wasn’t something a simple apology would change. Perhaps, if he brought his mother back to life, then all sins would be forgiven. But then, that was impossible. So yeah, he can never forgive him.
.....
“If I were you, I wouldn’t bother yourself with that, dear child,” Daniel said to her.
See? Even the old man knew that was impossible, Marcel sneered in his heart.
“The only thing I ask of you is that you concentrate on Marcel and give him the love I never gave him -”
“Thank God, you know that, ” Marcel mocked him.
Daniel didn’t point out his rude interruption, rather he took a deep breath and went on, “Perhaps, when you give him a son, then, he’d understand the hardship of fatherhood, and who knows, he would come to me for guidance. ”
Marcel was dumbfounded, no, he looked like someone just threw shit on his face. He was feeling so many emotions at the same time; disbelief, fear, anxiety, anger, horror, and then finally shame.
He was dumbfounded at the thought that his father thought he was giving Clara a child? That was never going to happen. Even if all of his plans failed and he ended up marrying Clara, she would only bear his title and never have his child.
But what if Clara mistakenly gives him a child? Does that mean he would hate his own seed? The thought made him panic. Would he turn out to be a lot worse than his father all because he doesn’t like the mother of his child?
No, that was why it would never happen. And the next, Marcel was disgusted at the thought of asking his father for pointers on parenting.
Marcel was determined to raise his child as far away from this man as possible and with enough love. It would just be him, his child, and his mother. And speaking about his mother, he already knew the perfect candidate for that. Red-haired children wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Clara blushed, laughing modestly, “I think you’re too ahead of yourself, father.”
“What nonsense!” Daniel claimed, “I would even be much happier if I got the news of your pregnancy before the wedding commenced,”
And at that statement, the both of them stiffened instantly. While Marcel remained passive, Clara looked at him hesitantly and wondered what Daniel would think if she told him that his son hadn’t laid a hand on her. They hadn’t even kissed since that first time at the family meeting, not to talk of being in close quarters with each other where anything could happen.
If she and Marcel couldn’t even have a proper conversation without it turning into a fight, how could they move to the subject of copulation? But then, since they were here, maybe his father could give them a boost. All she had to do was to suggest it and she knew Daniel would give Marcel the push he needed.
Clara sat up straight in her seat, having made up her mind already. She began, “Urm... the thing is, father – ”
Clara was cut off when a soldier ran across the living room and stopped short upon seeing them gathered there. It was obvious that he had not expected them to be there, especially Daniel – he thought the man was having his bed rest – else he wouldn’t have made that epic entrance.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, seeing the man was nervous.
“I-it’s nothing, sir.” He gulped.
Unfortunately, Marcel, who already sensed that this had to do with Arianna, butted in instantly.
“What do you mean by nothing when you’re sweating all over? Did you do something wrong and are afraid of being caught?” Marcel saw through him. He only hoped Arianna knew what she was doing.
Thanks to Marcel’s quick wits, his father suspected the same thing and Clara was all but forgotten.
Daniel asked once more,” What is going on?” This time, one could sense the threat beneath his voice and the soldier would be as good as dead if he lied to him again.
The soldier was a wise man or maybe he was that scared of Daniel because he confessed the truth this time.
“I think one of our men might have sexually assaulted one of the cleaners,”
Oh no, Marcel’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that report. It couldn’t be... no, that can’t... He was going to kill that bastard!