C161 The Realization

At that moment Sarah couldn't hold herself she stood up and ran towards her bedroom. Her footsteps gradually faded as she disappeared upstairs. The living room fell into complete silence. Neither Kelvin nor Tracy spoke for a long time. The truth... It was simply too heavy. Kelvin slowly leaned back against the sofa, his eyes fixed on the floor. His usually commanding figure suddenly looked several years older.

After what felt like forever, he finally spoke. "...So..." "The reason behind everything..." "...was Ben." No one answered. Because everyone already knew. Tracy wiped away the tears that refused to stop falling. "Our son..." "...has hurt so many people." She shook her head painfully. "No wonder Sarah came back from France so different." "No wonder she left so early that morning without saying much."

Kelvin slowly closed his eyes. His fists tightened. "So..." "The drink Ben spiked..." "...didn't only almost kill Christopher." "It also destroyed our daughter's peace." He let out a long breath. "I never imagined..." "...that one reckless decision from my own son..." "...would end like this." Across the room... Samantha lowered her head. Every word felt like another knife twisting inside her heart. She finally understood why Sarah had investigated that night so desperately.

She hadn't been trying to expose someone else. She had been searching for answers... ...to save herself. Unable to stay any longer, Samantha slowly stood up. "Father..." "Mother..." "I'll go check on Monica." Her voice was soft. No one stopped her. She quietly left the living room, leaving only Kelvin and Tracy behind. The silence returned once again.

After several minutes... Tracy finally looked at her husband. "Husband..." "What do we do now?" Kelvin didn't answer. She continued quietly. "Chris..." "He is Mike's closest friend." "And now..." "He may become our son-in-law." She sighed deeply. "How do we accept all of this?" The more she spoke... The darker Kelvin's expression became. He slowly looked toward the staircase where Sarah had disappeared. "Our daughter..." "...went to her graduation alone."

His voice trembled slightly. "We failed her." He clenched his fists. "Wife..." "Tell me..." "Did we mistreat Sarah?" Tracy immediately shook her head. "Never." Kelvin laughed bitterly. "Then why..." "...did she walk across that graduation stage..." "...without any family beside her?" His eyes slowly became moist. "A child graduates only once." "And where were we?"

He closed his eyes. "Busy." "So busy..." "...that another young man travelled across countries..." "...just to stand beside our daughter." His voice cracked. "Christopher..." "He was only working for our company." "He owed us nothing." "And yet..." "...he still flew to England." He lowered his head. "But her own parents..." "...never went." Tears finally rolled down Tracy's cheeks.

She covered her mouth. "I..." "I never even thought..." "...that she must have felt lonely." Kelvin slowly rubbed his forehead. "It was my fault." "If I hadn't insisted she accompany me to France..." "If I hadn't dragged her into that business trip..." "...none of this would've happened." Silence followed once again. Then Kelvin suddenly laughed at himself. "Wife..." "Tell me something." "How am I supposed to be angry at Christopher?"

Tracy looked at him quietly. "He was the victim." "He was drugged." "He nearly lost his life." "He carried guilt for months." "And despite everything..." "...he still supported our daughter." Kelvin slowly shook his head. "He attended her graduation." "He protected her." "He stayed beside her." "And what did we do?" "We weren't even there."

His shoulders slumped. "I don't have the right..." "...to chase him away." "I don't even have the right..." "...to question his feelings."

Upstairs... Sarah had calmed herself enough to leave her bedroom. She quietly opened the door. Her intention had been to return downstairs. But halfway along the staircase... She heard every single word. She froze. Her breathing became uneven. She had never imagined hearing those words from her father. The proud... Strict... Unshakable Kelvin Wood... ...was blaming himself.

Tears blurred her vision once again. Her lips trembled. "...Dad..." Before she realized it... She had already turned around. She hurried back into her bedroom. Bang! The bedroom door closed. Downstairs... Both Kelvin and Tracy immediately looked toward the staircase. "Sarah!" Without another word, the couple rushed upstairs.

Kelvin knocked gently. "My child..." No answer. Tracy also knocked. "Sarah..." "Please open the door." "We're not angry." Still... Silence. Inside the bedroom... Sarah sat on the edge of her bed. Her phone was trembling in her hands. She didn't know what to do anymore. After staring at the screen for several seconds...

She finally opened her messages. The first name she searched for... Christopher. She quickly typed. "My parents know everything. I told them the truth." She stared at the message for a second... Then pressed send.

At the Smith residence... The atmosphere couldn't have been more different. Laughter echoed throughout my bedroom. Chris had come over after work, and the three of us were sitting together discussing everything that had happened since the engagement. "So..." Chris grinned. "You two are officially husband and wife now."

I laughed. "Not yet." "We only got the marriage certificate." Alicia immediately corrected me. She crossed her arms proudly. "Which means..." "You can no longer escape." Chris burst into laughter. "My condolences, Brother." I pretended to sigh dramatically. "My freedom officially ended today." Alicia pinched my arm. We all laughed. Chris leaned forward curiously. "So..." "Tell me about Lucia Goods."

I smiled. "It was honestly surprising." "I expected Grandpa Peter to throw us into work immediately." "But instead..." "We got a complete company tour." Alicia nodded. "My dad personally became our tour guide." Chris blinked. "The chairman himself?" "Seriously?" I nodded. "He explained every department." "Every production line." "Every office."

Alicia smiled warmly. "And then..." "They showed us our offices." Chris looked excited. "How were they?" I laughed. "Far bigger than anything we've ever worked in." Alicia added proudly, "My office already has a nameplate." She smiled. "'Director Alicia Smith.'" Chris whistled. "Director already." Then he looked at me. "And yours?" "'Vice Director Michael Smith.'"

Chris stared blankly. "...Wait." "I thought you wanted to start as an assistant." I shrugged helplessly. "So did I." "But apparently..." "My father-in-law had other plans." The three of us laughed again. Chris shook his head. "Brother..." "Your life changed so quickly." "It feels unreal." I nodded slowly. "It really does." At that exact moment... A notification sounded from Chris's phone. Ding. He casually picked it up. Still smiling... He unlocked the screen.

The smile disappeared almost instantly. His face turned pale. The room became silent. Alicia immediately noticed. "Brother..." "What happened?" Chris didn't answer immediately. He read the message again. His hands slowly tightened around the phone. Then... In a trembling voice... He finally spoke. "Brother..." "My..." "My future father-in-law..." "...knows."

I frowned. "What?" Chris slowly looked up. His eyes were filled with panic. "Sarah..." "...just told me..." "...her parents know she's pregnant." Silence. Even Alicia stopped smiling. Chris swallowed hard. His voice shook. "She..." "She also said..." "...she told them everything." The room became deathly quiet. After several seconds... Chris looked between the two of us helplessly. His face was filled with fear. "...Please..." "...help me." He rubbed his forehead nervously. "What..." "...what do I do now?"