Chapter 570 The Illegitimate Child
Leanne did not take offense at my hostile tone; instead, she knocked on one of the bedroom doors and said gently, “Melvin, there is a guest here. Do come out for a while.”
I looked at Leanne in confusion, wondering what she was up to. I just could not figure her out, today but, deep inside, I had a bad premonition.
Instantly, my eyes were glued to the bedroom door and in a short while, a little boy of about five or six years of age emerged. My heart skipped a beat. His face showed a strong resemblance to Leanne’s.
It did not take a rocket scientist to know that the two were related. After taking a deep breath, I tried my best to calm down. Then, I turned my gaze to Leanne and asked in a plain tone, “Is this your child?”
“Um.” Leanne held the little boy named Melvin in her arms, her face a picture of tenderness.
“I didn’t expect you to have a child this age. Since you are already the mother of a child, why would you want to come back for Michael?”
When I said this, I turned my attention to her child. Actually, I was a little afraid that Leanne would suddenly tell me that this child was fathered by Michael.
In fact, I thought that was highly probable. If this child was her child with someone else, then she had absolutely no reason to let me know.
“This child is mine and Michael’s. For so many years, I have been raising him alone but he needs a father’s love. As a mother, I want him to have all the love he needs.
Sure enough, her words confirmed my suspicion.
Although I had mentally prepared myself, when I heard what she said, my heart could not help but tremble fiercely, as if it had been slashed by a knife.
It turned out that they had a child between them. This was something I found difficult in coming to terms with.
Nonetheless, I had always been strong, especially in front of my rivals. I stared at Leanne icily and after a deep breath, I was able to calm myself.
“Since this child is Michael’s, I shall inform him that you have a son fathered by him when I go back tonight. I shall respect his decision. If he wishes to support the child, I have no objections. In fact, I shall take care of him well for you.”
I said this nonchalantly, pretending not to mind, but, in reality, I was feeling very bad.
Leanne was looking at me with a triumphant gaze, but when she heard what I said, her face turned pale.
“Anna, what do you mean by this?”
Leanne looked at me angrily.
“Have I not expressed myself clearly enough? Didn’t you say that a child needs a father’s love? I shall be kind enough to fulfill that need. During this period, I shall discuss with Michael and take Melvin home for a few days to adapt to us.
Knowing what was on her mind, I felt indescribable pleasure in seeing Leanne turn ashen-faced. Even though I could not accept Michael having an illegitimate child, I would not let her carry out her plans.
“Little boy, is your name Melvin? I’m Anna. Perhaps, I’ll be your other Mommy very soon.”
I put on a friendly face and looked at Melvin, smiling broadly.
I could not tell for sure if the child was Michael’s. Even if he was, I would feel no fondness for him. After all, he was Leanne’s son. Nonetheless, children are innocent, no matter what the parents have done. Therefore, I have no reason to hold any grudges against him.
Perhaps, he was scared by what I said all of a sudden. A little fearfully, he hid behind Leanne, peeping at me from behind her.
I am not sure if I was mistaken, but from the first time I set my eyes on this child, I had a feeling that he was not an intelligent boy as if he was born this way.
“Anna Garcia, don’t go overboard!”
After Leanne heard my words, her whole body trembled with anger. I had made it very clear that if Leanne insisted on giving the child back to Michael, then I would be the child’s stepmother. I would never let her replace me.
“I think it’s very reasonable of me to tolerate my hubby having an illegitimate child outside. Anyone else will think that I’m being very generous, won’t they?”
With a sneer, I turned my gaze upon Leanne. Do not imagine that I am ignorant of what’s going on in your mind. You are trying to force your way back to Michael using your son.
If this child were really Michael’s, I did not know what he would do, but I could be certain that he would never let this woman take my place. At most, he would bear the responsibility to support the child.
Even though I was very upset, I could understand that they had been together and done what lovers do, naturally. However, the fact that he did not know about his child was quite puzzling to me.
“Anna! How dare you!”
Leanne glared at me angrily as if wanting to say something but I was struggling to control myself and had no wish to hear any more nonsense from her.
“I’ll discuss this with Michael tonight. I have already met the child you wanted me to see. If that is all, please excuse me. I have to leave now.”
Having said that in the coldest voice I could manage, I turned around to leave, ignoring her.
After I had walked some distance away, I could no longer control myself, and my whole body started to tremble. All of a sudden, I had discovered that my husband had an illegitimate child. In front of Leanne, I concealed it very well, but the heartache I felt deep inside was known only to me.
After returning to the office, I was not in the mood to work at all, and my mind was full of Michael’s illegitimate child. Now I understood what Nicholas meant when he told me that Leanne had come prepared, this time.
To me, this was really a nasty shock. I could never have imagined something so outrageous actually happening. Today, Leanne had brought me to meet the child which meant that Michael did not know of his existence.
After work, when I went home, Michael was not back yet. Absentmindedly, I greeted the Shaw family and returned to my room.
I was not quite good at hiding my emotions and I was worried that they would see through me. They were very smart and were able to read me very well.
