Chapter 83

83 Father and Son

Luke.

I followed my father’s scent. I thought he had gone to his office, but his scent led me to his bedroom. I

had never been there before. Stacy never allowed me to go there; it just became a habit.

The door was left ajar, and I walked in. I had never entered. This was my first time there. It was bigger

than mine but had a sitting room and a bedroom just like mine.

My father wasn’t in the sitting area, so I moved to the bedroom. My father was busy taking things out of

the closet. I looked around the room, and my mother’s picture hung on the wall. I could not believe Stacy

was sleeping in this very room. This was definitely torture.

“Get the fuck out!” my father said to me, and I knew I had to apologise.

“I am sorry, father. I am sorry I insinuated you had a hand in her death.” I said, and he looked up at me.

His eyes were red and swollen. He was trying to see if I was genuinely sorry. His eyes softened a bit, and

he sighed.

“I am not over it, Luke. It is still like yesterday for me. Sometimes I wish we ate that meal together,” He

said and wiped away his tears.

“She was so full of life, and I loved her. We eloped, and it had nothing to do with money. I was not as rich

as she was, but I was still running my family business then, and it would have picked up. When we got

together, we merged the companies, with her having the larger shares. We decided the company would

carry her name because I wanted to prove to her family that I wasn’t with her for money. I loved my wife,

and I still do. I wasn’t going to give Caleb anything other than making his alpha of Woodclaw. He is my

son too, and I felt it would be wrong to leave him with nothing. I had already done the transfer before

Amirah wrote me that silly letter. Go and check the transfer dates on the documents. I put your names

there when you were ten, Luke. Chloe left a will giving you her part of the company, and Eastwood, I

gave you everything. Both mine and hers. If you don’t believe me, investigate. I only said she owned

everything, so Stacy won’t make demands. Chloe was the reason the Moon business survived. We built

Diamond corp together, I could not let another woman have a hand in it.” he said and sat on his bed. He

wiped his tears and patted the space beside him for me to sit; I went to sit beside him.

“I loved your mother. We met in Neev and fell in love. She was an amazing woman. Tia reminds me of

her. Strong, opinionated, tender loving, caring and very wise. That was why I arranged for you to marry

Tia Everything I told her parents the day we went to the house was true. I did not force the marriage

because of Stacy. I did what I did because I wanted the best for you, and she was it. I don’t regret it,

Luke. I have never seen you this happy. I

had discussed it with the Lockwoods when she was seventeen, and James said no. I had always wanted

her for you. I cringed every time she came around with Caleb. I thought she would end up like those

girls, but I am glad she kept herself. I am happy that you are happy. Yes, I disagree with Tia on certain

things, and she can be a bit disrespectful, but I am glad you are happy with her. I love you that much,

son,” he said, and I had to ask him.

‘Why did you cheat?” I asked, and he sighed.

“I never cheated on your mother. Ummul has always been a paranoid bitch, and she severely got into

Chloe’s head. It wasn’t easy being married to the last of the Renshaws. Everyone speculated I wanted

her money and that I was no good for her, especially Ummul. We were finding it hard to conceive. I was

willing to wait, but your mother wanted a surrogate. I did not like the idea, and we fought about it often.

Soon I gave in, and she opted to find one in Neev. She felt the loose Dome women would gladly do it for

a fee,” he said, and I interrupted him.

“Aunty Ummul said you pressured my mother for a child, and she gave in finally,” I said, and he shook his

head.

“That woman was a bitch! I never pressured Chloe for anything. She would always remember things the

way she wanted. Chloe was the one that suggested we get a surrogate; she was the one that wanted a

child by all means. Ummul was the one that promised to get a volunteer for her in Neev. I was reluctant

to go there, but I agreed eventually, and we went. They mistreated me there. They claimed I was

deceptive and talked about how she was better off without me. You have been to Neev, and you know

how the women are. I was very generous because most of them came from poor homes. Some of which

I granted scholarships to the school for a better life. I wasn’t happy with the way they were prostituting

themselves. They were young. All I did was help some of them, and Ummul tried to insinuate I was

sleeping with all the young women I helped. I met Stacy there, and she was in a bind working in the

hotel. She made a lot of advances toward me, but I loved Chloe, and I didn’t see her that way. She was

young and persistent, so I discovered her issues. She never told me about Regan but confessed about

her financial state. Her mother was ill, and they were in need. I helped her with some money, and she

stopped working in the hotel. Soon she left, and I never saw her again. Throughout that time, Chloe was

getting messages from different women I did not know. A guy was threatening her too, and we tried to

find the bastard. They all wanted her to leave me. They wanted her out of the way, and she fell for it. I

went as far as taking her everywhere I went with me just to prove to her that I wasn’t cheating. But it was

me against her insecurities and Ummul’s bad mouth. I could not win; I did not know what they discussed.

I did not want to hurt anyone physically, so I started spending time away from them. There was no point

denying the allegations. There was nothing I could say or do to make her believe me. So I asked that we

return to Woodclaw. She requested a divorce even though she knew it would be impossible because we

were bonded. To please her, I agreed to separate, and we were separated for three months. It was all

Ummul’s fault for filling her head up with

nonsense about me. I swear I never cheated on your mother, but Ummul will never believe me,” He said,

and I had to ask him why.

“The woman is paranoid. That is why Amirah is single. I offered they come and live in the mansion so

they can help keep an eye on you because I realised Stacy became a bitch after Imarried and claimed

her. Stacy pretended until the very last minute. I regret everything. Stacy cared for and loved you for the

first three years, which made me stop asking Ummul and Amirah to come and live with us,” he said,

stared at the distance, and then continued to speak

“Back to what I was telling you about your mother, I spent three months begging Chloe to come back to

me. I told her she could keep everything, but I wanted her home. She refused until she found she was

pregnant with you. We were able to fix things between us, and soon Chloe realised I never cheated.

Everything was great, and then she gave birth to you. Little did I know she was suffering from postnatal

depression. Ummul was too protective of her, and that made it worse. I tried everything I could. When it

became unbearable, Ummul suggested we go to Neev that the environment will help her cope better.” he

said and began to weep.

“I didn’t want her to go there. I would rather we suffered it together, but Ummul threatened that I wanted

to hurt her niece, and I had no choice but to agree. I bought Ummul that cottage from my pocket. I did

not want the woman living with us. As far as I was concerned, she had done enough. My only crime was

eloping with your mother, they never forgave me for it. They believed Chloe did not need me. Ummul

does not think a man and a woman should be together. That is why her life is like that, and she has

ruined her daughter’s life too. Her marriage did not do well, and she projected that on the young women

in her family. I knew she loved Chloe, but her love was poison. A month after we settled in Neev, my wife

was poisoned. The entire staff were butchered, and I suspected the Alpha of Neev was in on it. I did not

marry Stacy that year, but I ran into her on my way back, and she offered to care for you. I knew you

would need help. Ummul was fighting for her life, and I was trying to figure out who killed my wife. Stacy

was familiar, and she seemed like a nice girl then, so I asked her to care for you. You took to her

immediately, and she was kind to you. I did not want you to be deprived of a mother’s love, so I married

her three years later. That was after I had agreed to stop fighting Neev. I couldn’t touch her for a while

because I believed touching her would be unfair to your mother. I was drunk when we conceived Caleb,”

He said, and I sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me initially?” I asked him

“The hurt wasn’t your cross to bear.” He said and then growled.

“I can never help, Ummul. She caused everything. From the cheating allegations to the fights, divorce

threats, depression, and eventual took us to Neev,” he said and looked at me

“You know me, Luke. Have I ever been with other women? Have you ever heard of me

playing around? If you think I am lying, you can go and investigate all I told you. I never cheated on your

mother, but in Ummul’s head, I did, and that will always be her truth, and I hate her for it,” he said, and I

bowed my head in shame.

“I am sorry, father. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. I take it all back,” I said, and he was

silent

“The Moon mansion is your home. I can never take it from you,” I said, and he was silent.

“I am thinking of sending Stacy back to Dome. A permanent separation will be best for all of us. She has

troubled us enough. Do you think Caleb will be okay with it?” He asked me, and I realised he had

tolerated Stacy for Caleb’s sake.

“He is a grown man now. After his wedding to Kimberly, you can send her back if that will give you peace,

but I will advise you to move her out of the mansion for now. I will not be staying at my house in the

meantime. You can move her there with a staff member,” I said, and my father frowned at me.

“Why do you want to be nice?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“Her folks are hiding something. I do not think she is being honest with us. I intend to watch her from a

distance and see what she would do when she feels abandoned, and no one is watching. She is bound

to lead us to Regan Adhit, or he is bound to come for her. Either way, we will get the answers we need,

but if you are doing this, you must walk away and not look back,” I said to him, and he bowed his head.

“I have been trying to walk away for seven years now,” he confessed, and we sat together in silence.

A

Words did not need to be spoken between us. My aunt believed he was cheating; she told me her truth,

and my father had also told me his truth. Looking at him, I know a broken man when I see one. I know he

did not cheat on his wife; he was just a man who always tried to prove himself. That could be mentally

draining for anyone. One thing was sure, my aunt and my father needed to settle their differences. They

both blamed each other for my mother’s death, and neither was able to heal.