Chapter 108: Do You Know Who Your Father Is?
Michael finally understood what was going on.
It became clear now that the boy had been pranking him the entire time, including when they met at the airport and at the party. Not daring to touch the tap again, he could only make his way to the refrigerator for some ice cubes. However, they had just moved in yesterday, and the refrigerator was completely empty.
Without any other choice, Michael could only hold the refrigerator door open and stick his head in. The frigid air immediately made him feel much better.
"Why did you do that?" asked Michael as he stared angrily at Jake with his eyebrows raised. "You also added salt to my water, right? What was that for?"
"Mister, what are you talking about?" said Jake in response as he blinked, looking as innocent as ever. "I didn’t do anything to your water." He had cleverly avoided Michael’s question about the tap.
Looking at Jake, Michael wanted to sigh. The boy was just as good as his mother was at feigning innocence. Feeling angered, he said in a deep voice, "You should not have done that."
"Ah!" Jake suddenly cried out. He covered his mouth as a horrified look filled his face, "I’m so sorry, mister, I accidentally knocked over the saltshaker just now. I didn’t think that it would make a difference, but I guess I was wrong. I’m terribly sorry, please forgive me."
No matter how innocent Jake Iooked, it was impossible for Michael to believe his words, that he had done it by accident. This was not the first time that the boy had pranked him.
There was no way that it was an accident or a coincidence.
However, Jake was still his biological son, and Michael knew that he had not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father. On top of that, he was not one to hold grudges against children.
Michael waited until his scalded hands felt slightly better before closing the refrigerator door and returning to the living room. Gazing at Jake, he said sternly, "Jake Stewart, do you know who your father is?"
He initially did not plan on telling Jake too much, because he was afraid that the child would not be able to accept such overwhelming news. But after everything that Jake had done, Michael realized that he had nothing to worry about. It was evident that the boy was extremely sensible compared to other people his age. Michael should feel happy about his son’s intelligence, but he could hardly bring himself to feel any joy after being pranked so many times.
Perhaps it was a bad idea to mention that topic.
The moment Michael brought it up, Jake’s face grew sullen. He knew that the man standing before him was his father. But since his mother refused to acknowledge Michael as Jake’s father, Jake decided he would do the same. He hated whoever his mother did. Clenching his fists, disgust and anger filled his eyes as he said, "I don’t have a father."
Michael was not surprised to hear Jake’s response. He knew that since Wendy hated him so much, there was no way she would have told their son about him.
After a moment, Jake continued saying, "My father died long ago. He died before I was even born."
"He died long ago?" Michael’s face darkened when he heard that. For Wendy to tell the child that his father died long ago, it was clear that she hated him more than he thought. He continued, "What if I told you that your father isn’t dead?"
Even though Michael knew that Jake was smart, he did not have any reason to suspect that the boy already knew who his real father was. After all, it was unlikely that Wendy would have told him.
Jake’s face was still extremely sullen as he said, "That’s impossible. Mummy told me that my father drowned in the sea a long time ago."
"She told you that he drowned in the sea?"
Michael exhaled sharply when he heard those words. It was clear that the kidnapping incident from five years ago had traumatized Wendy far too much. In her heart, Michael had died in the sea.
He thought, I don’t blame her for that. After all, she is under the impression that I chose to save Yvonne’s life over hers. Anyone in her shoes would feel the same way.
The door creaked open. It was Wendy, who had just gotten home from work.
"Mummy." Jake immediately ran over to the door as quickly as his short legs would carry him. He said, "Mummy, there is a really strange man in our apartment. He keeps asking me weird, random questions."
Wendy was not surprised to see Michael in her apartment. Michael had asked her about her about Jake in the afternoon, but she had believed him when he apologized for his brazen behavior. She now realized that she had been too naive.
Holding Jake’s hand, she stared at Michael with a frown and asked unhappily, "What are you doing at my place?"
She saw how red Michael’s scalded hands were and found it to be quite an amusing sight.
However, that was the least of her concerns.
"Wendy, our child is standing right here. Are you still going to deny everything?" Michael stepped forward. He said anxiously, "We are a family. Please come back home with me."
"A family?" Wendy could not help but laugh out loud when she heard that. She found it absurd that he was telling her that they were a family now after five long years. If he had really treated her as family, why did he try to force her to get an abortion, and why did he not choose to save her during the kidnapping back then?
Michael knew that Wendy had gravely misunderstood him. He tried to explain himself, "Wendy, I can explain what happened five years ago."
Wendy only found his response amusing. She said, "Mr. Lucas, you don’t need to explain anything to me. Jake is my son, and he has nothing to do with you. I hope that you will mind your own business in the future."
"Since you chose to come back here, you should also know that your real identity will be exposed sooner or later. I can respect that you hate me, and I can continue letting you do what you want," Michael said solemnly. "But Jake is my child, and I won’t allow him to wander around outside."
Wendy felt that Michael’s words were only getting increasingly ridiculous. Five years ago, he was the one who wanted her to get rid of the child. Now, he claimed that they were family, and that the child was his. It would have been so nice if he had even one-tenth of the same determination back then. If his attitude had been different, Wendy would not have had to stay in Rheinsville City for five years and suffer so much.
Now that she had overcome so much on her own, it was absurd that Michael believed he could claim Jake as his son just like that. She knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
"Mummy, what is this strange man talking about?" Jake blinked innocently as he looked up at Wendy.
"He’s mentally unsound, my dear, you shouldn’t take what he says to heart," said Wendy as she bent down to meet her son’s gaze. "Go back to your room and play by yourself first. I need to have a chat with him."
Jake had known that Michael was his biological father for a while now, so he was not too curious about what would happen next. He nodded obediently and went to his room as instructed.
The moment Jake left the living room, Wendy stood up and stared straight at Michael. She said, "Mr. Lucas, you came to my house for no rhyme or reason and claimed to be my son’s father. Don’t you find your actions pathetic?"
Wendy’s adamant refusal to tell the truth drove Michael to the edge. He took a deep breath, and with a terrible look on his face, said, "Wendy, do you know how I feel when my son is standing right in front of me, but he doesn’t even know that I’m his father?"
"I don’t know," said wendy in an exceptionally cold tone. She stared straight ahead as though she felt nothing. "The only thing I know is that I have the right to call the police if you trespass into my private property, Mr. Lucas."
Michael felt exceptionally powerless. He approached Wendy and grabbed her shoulders, saying, "What exactly must I do before you will admit that you are Wendy Stewart? Please tell me what you want me to do, I’ll agree to anything!"
It had been five years, but Michael was still the same. Even though this situation was of his own doing, he still always made it seem like he was the helpless and powerless one between them.
His behavior suggested that Wendy was the one being unreasonable about this. Sneering, Wendy reached out and pushed Michael away. She said, "Mr. Lucas, please show yourself out." She pointed at the door, making it obvious that she wanted him gone.
Of course, Michael would not give up and leave just like that. His son and wife were standing right before him, but they refused to acknowledge him. This made him feel like the lowest of the low. After a long moment of silence, he thought of a plan. He said, "Since you won’t tell the truth, let’s have Jake undergo a DNA test. The results of that test will prove everything."
"Ha ha ha." Wendy laughed mockingly.
She thought, he wants Jake to undergo a DNA test? Five years ago, I kneeled before him and begged him for one to protect my child, but he adamantly refused. Now that he wants this child, he thinks he has the right to ask for a DNA test?
She felt that Michael was making a fool out of her. Taking a deep breath, Wendy tried her best to suppress her emotions. With a superficial smile on her face, she said slowly, "Mr. Lucas, you don’t have the right to ask for that."
"I know that I don’t have the right to do that," said Michael. He knew that he had failed to protect his wife and his child, and that they had suffered over the past five years. He was at fault, and he was not disputing that. However, he had to get Wendy to tell the truth so that he could start making it up to them. He continued, "Wendy, Jake has not experienced what it’s like to have a father’s love in the last five years. Do you really plan on keeping us apart for the rest of his life?"
"It’s true that Jake has not experienced a father’s love, but that’s none of your business," said Wendy, who was still adamant on denying everything.
"Then, can you tell me whose business is it? Christian Lucas’s?" Michael’s tone grew sterner as he said, "Five years ago, I was stupid enough to fall for Christian’s lies. I was too blinded by rage back then and I failed to properly investigate the truth. Everything that happened was so suspicious, but I was too set in my decision, and I refused to listen to your explanations or to find out the truth for myself. I admit that it was my fault. I let both you and our child down. But today, I want to make it up to the both of you."
"Let me repeat myself, Jake is not related to you. His father died a long time ago..."
Before Wendy could finish talking, Michael, agitated, interrupted her, "His father drowned in the sea, right?
"Yes!" Wendy’s eyes were slightly reddened. However, she tried her best to control her emotions as she looked right into Michael’s eyes. She said, "He drowned in the sea."
"How can you still claim that you’re not Wendy Stewart?" Even though Michael felt sad to hear Wendy say that about him, he was more fixated on forcing her to come clean about who she really was. He said, "If you really are Corrine, why would you say that I drowned in the sea?"
Wendy knew that Michael had ascertained her identity a long time ago. Her refusal to tell the truth made no significant difference. Since that was the case, she decided to try something else.
Bowing her head, she stared at the floor and said in a small voice, "The truth is, I don’t know who I am either."
"You don’t know who you are?" asked Michael with a perplexed frown on his face. "What do you mean?"
"It means exactly what you heard," said Wendy, deliberately trying to arouse his curiosity. Since it was difficult for her to continue denying who she was, perhaps she could resort to another tactic.
