Chapter 339 You Cannot Marry Her
Olivia sucked in a deep breath and asked, “Oscar, do you really have no news of Amelia at all?”
Oscar shook his head in reply.
Olivia was drowned in an air of despondency.
“Olivia, give us a little time. I truly believe Tony will return to us,” Owen pleaded.
Olivia merely lowered her head and continued eating in silence. Her heart was aching. The family dynamics had changed since Tony was taken away. She did not want to drag the entire family into her grief.
Olivia’s sudden silence turned the atmosphere at the dining table cold.
The Hissons returned to their home and searched for Derrick. However, they did not find him there. Kate anxiously called one of their maids and asked, “Belle, is Derrick back home yet?”
“No, Mrs. Hisson, Mr. Derrick hasn’t returned yet,” the maid replied truthfully.
Kate frowned and waved the maid away.
After thinking for a while, she pulled out her phone and dialed Derrick’s number. Finally, the line connected.
“Derrick, where are you? It’s been five days since you returned from Beshya. Why haven’t you come home to visit your parents and grandfather?” Kate admonished her son in a dissatisfied tone.
“Mom, I’m driving over now. I’ll be reaching soon,” Derrick replied.
Kate’s face lightened up. “Drive carefully then! By the way, have you eaten? I’ll get the cook to prepare something delicious for you.”
“Please don’t bother, Mom. I’ve already eaten. Granddad and you can go ahead and eat. Don’t wait for me,” Derrick said.
“Okay, then, drive carefully!”
After she got off the phone, Kate turned to Terrence and said, “Derrick will be home soon.”
A smile appeared on Terrence’s face. “It’s good to have him back.”
Half an hour later, Derrick finally drove up the driveway of the Hisson residence. As he was parking his car, a maid walked into the house and announced, “Mr. Derrick is home.”
Kate got up in a hurry and rushed to the front hall just as Derrick was walking through the door.
Kate grabbed her son’s hands and scanned him from head to toe. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that he was not injured at all.
“Derrick, why did you get yourself involved with the Clintons? You were gone for five days. I was worried to death! If it weren’t for your grandfather going over to the Clinton residence to ask for you, I don’t think Oscar would have let you go free at all!” Kate complained.
Derrick walked towards Terrence and greeted him respectfully, “Granddad.”
Terrence was clearly very fond of his grandson. He smiled at him and said, “It’s good to have you back. Don’t misbehave again in the future!”
“I understand, Granddad. It’s my fault for causing you to worry about me all the time,” Derrick replied.
Terrence stood up and with the help of his cane, limped over to Derrick and asked, “I hope the Clinton boy wasn’t too hard on you.”
Derrick shook his head and said with a smile, “Granddad, you’ve misunderstood the situation. Oscar and I have known each other for a long time. He asked me to go over just to ask me something. It wasn’t kidnapping! I wouldn’t have allowed anyone to hold me against my will. Otherwise, wouldn’t your efforts in getting me the best martial arts teachers since young go to waste?”
Terrence studied his grandson’s face carefully as if he could read the truth in his eyes.
Derrick kept a neutral expression on his face.
Satisfied, Terrence patted Derrick’s shoulders and said, “It seems that I have misunderstood that young man. I’ll have to make amends with Oscar. One can’t falsely accuse a junior on a whim just because of seniority.”
Derrick helped his grandfather onto a chair. “Don’t worry about it, Granddad. I’ll pass your apology to him. Five days ago, when I returned from Beshya, Oscar did send someone to pick me up from the airport, but I left him a short while later. However, one of my business contacts called me after that and invited me to his yacht. Since there isn’t much going on at my company, I just accepted his invitation. I only realized once I was on the yacht that my mobile phone was completely drained of battery. I didn’t think of telling you since you rarely call me anyway.”
Terrence did not bother checking the truth of his grandson’s story. He merely replied, “I know you youngsters love having fun. You must be tired from the five days on the yacht. Go take a shower and get a good night’s sleep. I’m also getting tired. I’m going up to my room to rest now.”
Derrick grabbed ahold Terrence’s arm and said, “Let me help you, Granddad.”
When Derrick came downstairs again after walking his grandfather to his room, Kate said to him, “You go and take a bath too, Derrick. I’ll bring you a glass of warm milk in a bit.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Derrick went upstairs to take a hot shower. There was a knock on his bedroom door the moment he got out of the bathroom. He pulled open the door to see Kate standing there with a glass of milk.
Kate handed the glass to Derrick who downed it quickly. As soon as he had set the empty glass down, she asked him straight to the point, “Derrick, tell me honestly, did Oscar kidnap you because of Tiffany?”
Derrick’s brows knitted for a moment before smoothing out quickly.
He gave Kate a disbelieving look and said, “Mom, you’re thinking too much.”
“Am I really thinking too much? I’ve told you not to step on Oscar’s toes because of Tiffany, and never drag our family into it! What the h*ll were you even thinking? You have compromised our entire family!” Kate wrinkled her pretty nose at her son. Even while she was reprimanding someone, her voice was still as gentle as a songbird. It was not a harsh scolding at all.
Derrick looked right into his mother’s eyes. They really do look very much alike. He merely replied, “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll handle this.”
Kate had not been angry before this because she had been so worried about Derrick, but after seeing her son trying to dismiss her and push her away, her temper flared.
“Derrick, what is with your attitude? Don’t forget that I’m your mother!”
“Mom, I have always loved and respected you from the bottom of my heart. I have never questioned you. Please stop pestering me about this, okay? The fact that Oscar managed to locate my villa in Beshya so easily… You and I both know who we have to thank for that.”
Kate’s heart sank. She looked at her son sadly. My son… I spent so many years raising him. He has always been filial to me, but now, he has forgotten his mother because of a woman. How can I not be upset?
“Derrick, are you behaving like this to me because of Tiffany?”
Derrick sucked in a deep breath. He was aware that the tone of his voice earlier had not been kind. “Look, Mom, I’m sorry. I should not have spoken to you like that earlier. It’s just that I don’t want you to be involved in this matter. I’m old enough to deal with my own problems. You should just relax and be the lady of the house. Let me take care of these issues myself. Is that okay?”
Kate raised one beautifully arched eyebrow at her son and asked stubbornly, “What if I say no?”
Derrick rubbed his temples thoughtfully and said, “Well, Mom, if you think that the fact that I’m now in Oscar Clinton’s bad books is no big deal, then you can go tell the world. If the company that I’ve worked so hard to build comes crashing down, well, I have nothing to say.”
Kate kept quiet.
Derrick looked at his mother. His heart softened and he tried to reason with her. “Mom, I really love Tiff. That’s why I want to marry her. It’s not just for fun. Please try to accept her for my sake. Both are you are the most important women in my life. I won’t be happy without either one of you.”
An indecipherable expression crossed Kate’s face. However, it did not mean that she accepted Tiffany as her daughter-in-law.
“I’ll allow you to have fun with her, but I will not accept anyone other than Crystal as my daughter-in-law. Your grandfather would agree with me. Your grandfather may seem easygoing, but he is a cunning old man whose thoughts are impossible to guess. He has worked hard to build the Hisson Group. He will not allow you to marry a woman who is of no help to the company. You should just give up on her.”
Derrick’s face clouded over. He knew that his mother was speaking the truth.
“Derrick, you are a smart young man. Do not let a mere woman mislead you. Sometimes, people like us must sacrifice certain things, such as relationships and marriage. Anyway, these are all mere illusions,” Kate said solemnly, looking straight into her son’s eyes.
Derrick clenched and unclenched his fists. His heart knotted up.
“Mom, I can lead the company to greatness with my abilities alone. I don’t need to marry someone just to help the business. Anyway, Tiff is amazing in her own right! She has become a best-selling author with her own hard work, and she has made a lot of money! She is an independent and ambitious woman. I don’t think she is inferior to any other girls.” In fact, compared to the other girls who spent their days eating, drinking and enjoying themselves, Derrick very much preferred Tiffany’s independence. Although she could be eccentric when she was at work, she had great intellect and she was very articulate. Perhaps, this was because she was an extremely imaginative person.
“Even if she is a best-selling author, she is still a common girl with no real connections! What can she help you with? Write you a few books for you to publish? Write you some short stories to read at bedtime?”
Derrick kept quiet.
He and his mother disagreed with each other on the topic of Tiffany. They each held firm to their own opinions, and it was a waste of energy to argue any further.
“Mom, I don’t want to argue with you anymore. Go on out of my room. I want to go to bed now,” Derrick said simply, kicking his mother out of his bedroom.
Kate, too, did not want to push her son any further. She merely said, “Okay, then, sweet dreams.”
When Kate reached the door, she could not help but turn back and say, “Derrick, I’ll never accept Tiffany. I can allow you to have fun with her, but the woman that you marry must be Crystal. Otherwise, don’t blame me for doing something crazy. You don’t want anything bad to happen to your mother just because of a woman, right?” After saying her piece, Kate shut Derrick’s door and walked away.
Derrick’s head was pounding with pain. It was too much to take in.
He stood rooted to the spot for a long while. Finally, he walked over to the window and called Tiffany. He spoke a few words to her and wished her good night before hanging up.
Derrick gazed silently at the bright, full moon shining outside his window. With the high standards of the Hissons, it was not going to be easy for him to marry Tiffany.
However, he definitely would not give her up. His love for her ran too deep. Otherwise, he would not have spent three years with her—three very difficult years before Tiffany agreed to be his girlfriend.
