Chapter 43

43 43. Family Problem

William went to his parents’ house half-heartedly. His black Rolls Royce stopped in the neatly arranged yard of the spacious house. Some of the maple leaves in the courtyard turned yellow, making the night seem less dark, supporting the light from the landscape lighting.

Lisa had prepared a lot of food for tonight. William didn’t have the heart to ignore his mother despite him starting to feel uncomfortable with his family’s behavior.

His mother was looking forward to seeing him. At this time, Lisa, who had been very beautifully dressed up, stood near the entrance, waiting for his arrival.

“William, my son!” Lisa welcomed her son and hugged him tightly. It was a long hug, as if not wanting to let go.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” William asked in surprise. He stared at the middle-aged woman in a white dress questioningly. “It’s rare for you to greet me like this.”

William separated himself from his mother and found her mother’s glistening eyes. Her face was a little puffy, making him worried.

“Are you crying, mom? Why?” William wanted to know what her problem was.

Lisa shook her head. “I thought you didn’t make it. Come on, let’s eat! The others are waiting.”

Inside, Lea, who was already beautifully dressed, helped the waiter prepare the food. Wearing a skimpy red dress above the knee, Lea looked so classy and hot at the same time-a future ideal wife.

.....

“Will, I’m glad you’re finally here,” Lea said cheerfully. “Your mother and I prepared all your favorite foods.”

William nodded. “Thanks, Lea!”

Alex, who had just come out of the study, was pleased with William’s arrival. “Ah, you are such an obedient child!”

William, who took his mother’s hand, could only grin at his father’s comment. His father seemed to have forgotten who had come to the office to threaten him.

Before long, all were sitting around the dining table and starting their dinner while conversing.

“I think Lea should immediately prepare clothes for the party,” Lisa said. “Alex said you would come with Lea, right?” he asked William.

William snorted expressionlessly. However, his irritability did not last long because again his old problems recurred when he tasted garlic in the gravy. Nausea struck again and he went straight to the bathroom to empty his bowels.

“William, are you okay?” Lea asked worriedly.

“What did you put in the food?” Lisa scolded Lea. “Did you spoil the food I made!”

“I didn’t put anything in!” Leah defended herself. “I did everything according to your instructions.”

Lea’s pregnancy didn’t experience any morning sickness problems-perhaps not yet. Therefore, she cooked anything without problems. However, Lisa was surprised because it was William who had the morning sickness.

“Ah, this must be a sympathetic pregnancy!” Lisa cheered happily. “Since Lea is fine, you’re the one who has the pregnancy problems, Will,” she added, patting her son’s back.

William just grimaced. Supposedly, if anyone was throwing up because of Lea’s baby, it would have to be Dave, not him.

“I heard from Danica, the divorce papers from Paula’s lawyer have arrived. You already signed them, right?” Lisa asked.

William almost choked on his spit. “I-I’ve taken care of it.” Right. He had already sent a message that he would not sign the document. At least, it would prolong the divorce process. He would try his best to persuade Paula to keep their marriage and help Lea to deal with her problems.

“Thank God. I hope you can officially divorce that woman and marry Lea soon,” Lisa said calmly. “I wanted to wait until Vanessa came home from the student exchange. However, Lea’s stomach is going to get bigger. I think, the sooner the better.”

“I agree with you. Vanessa is not our real daughter. So, her presence is not too important,” Alex added, feeling annoyed for some reason.

“Alex, why are you bringing that up now? Didn’t you promise me you’d never mention that again?” Lisa protested.

“So what? Vanessa isn’t here,” Alex said, defending himself.

Unexpectedly, the girl who was mentioned was standing behind them at that time. Vanessa was carrying her luggage, looking at everyone in the room in disbelief.

“Va-Vanessa?” Lisa said, stuttering. “Shouldn’t you still be in France?”

Vanessa stared blankly. She approached her mother, holding a small dark blue box wrapped with a silver ribbon. “I ... asked permission to go home for a while because I wanted to give this gift to you, mom. But, it looks like you don’t need my presence here,” Vanessa said as she gave her gift to Lisa. “Happy birthday, mom ... err ... Mrs. Montgomery!”

Vanessa looked at everyone in the room with a dazed look. She bowed lightly and then quickly stepped out of the house.

“Vanessa! Wait, Vanessa!” William chased after his adopted sister. “Vanessa!”

William managed to get his sister and prevented her from leaving. “Where are you going?”

“I’m not a member of the family. I shouldn’t have stayed here, Will!” Vanessa sobbed. She did not expect that her family was not her real family.

“Why did you say that?” William rebuked. “Mom and dad have adopted you. By law, you are the Montgomery family.”

“But I’m not blood-related to all of you!”

“Look!” William grabbed Vanessa’s arm and comforted her. “I don’t even remember that today is mom’s birthday. You’re the only one who gave her a present.”

Vanessa gulped. She didn’t know what to say. “Family isn’t just about blood, Vanessa! I know that you are the one who cares about mom the most.”

Vanessa sobbed again. William then hugged her tighter. “Remember Vanessa, I am your brother ... mom and dad are your parents as well. Okay?”

Vanessa didn’t answer. She could only hug William, looking for comfort.

Just then, William’s cell phone rang. It was a call from Danica.

“William! I found that the note-”

“Danica, I’m in trouble. We’ll talk about this later!” William cut Danica’s words. He didn’t want to think about other problems but Vanessa’s. He immediately hung up and turned his attention to his baby sister again.

“Come on, let’s go in!” William ordered. “Don’t be a crybaby! We’ll finish everything later.”