Ch. 2091..2100
Chapter 2091 "Holden...! miss you so much. I miss you very much. Don't leave me. Never ever leave me again, alright? I have been so pitiful being alone, Holden..."
At that moment, Isadora, who was already in her thirties, was crying like a little girl. In fact, she had never had any romantic relationships. The only person she had fallen for was Holden. Therefore, she had sealed everything great in those few days she had with Holden. That was a man who had died miserably, who had only wanted a home with a sense of warmth, a garden, a farm, and loved ones in his life. Isadora understood him. she understood him very well.
"Holden, I have a home now. It's a house that Mister and Missus Poole had bought for me in Kidon city. I have a home and I can give you a home. You never have to be alone anymore in the future. If you don’t want to go to Kidon City, you can be in South City as well. Look, you have your two nieces in South city. They miss you very much. Although we are very poor and have no money, I can work any job. I can work five jobs a day. It's enough for me to sleep for four hours a day. We can take out a loan to buy a house. We can certainly do it.
"When the time comes, we can plant many flowers and plant the flowers that you like on the balcony. I...I want to have many children, who are as cute as Aino, with you. Is that alright, Holden? " she said eagerly.
Her face was beaming with an incomparably happy smile, and that smile was like a kind of flower in full bloom. That girl's face was filled with hope. At that moment, an infinite tenderness suddenly emerged in Vireo Payne's heart.
That was the first operation he had conducted after he regained his senses. He was able to work at the South City Hospital and also perform operations because his mentor had worked incredibly hard to help him. It was with great difficulty that he managed to return to work once again and hold a scalpel once again. Also, the surgery was very successful. What an important and special day it was for him.
However, no matter how special it was, it was not as special as the three women standing in front of him. To be precise, the youngest one was not considered a woman yet. She was just a teenager. The one in the middle also was not quite considered a woman and was just a child. However, the eldest among them, who had thrown herself into his arms, was indeed a proper woman.
The woman's warmth, heartbeat, and incomparable hopeful face were tugging at his heartstrings. A voice in his head kept telling him repeatedly with incomparable eagerness, 'Say yes to her! Say yes to her! Say yes to her! Don't let her be sad. Say yes to her! Say yes to her! Don't let her be sad!' That voice was suddenly very distant at one moment, but suddenly very close at the next moment. It was suddenly very real but also suddenly very ethereal. That voice made Vireo feel that he had lost his senses again for a moment in time. He shook his head with his best efforts and looked at the other two girls very gently.
Aino looked at him with a calm and gentle expression. "Uncle Holden, I had stopped blaming you a long time ago. You are my uncle. My dear uncle. You are my dad's closest family."
The other girl, on the other hand, had a tear-stained and pleading expression. "Uncle Holden, I am very outstanding now. I'm not playful anymore. I will be an excellent doctor in the future. I didn't rely on anybody. I have been working and studying very diligently.
Uncle Holden, I will support you for the rest of your life. I will never abandon you and let you be alone again. Uncle Holden, Isadora is the woman who loves you the most in this world. Uncle Holden..."
"Holden...," Isadora called out in the man's arms without caring about anything else, she did not let go of him. she was never going to let go of him because she was afraid he would turn into air and vanish once she let go of her hands.
"Holden, don't leave me again, alright?" Isadora raised her teary eyes and looked at vireo.
"Alright," vireo said gently.
Chapter 2092 He did not have any rhyme or reason, and he did not even know her, but he said, "Alright."
It was because that voice in his head had repeatedly told him to agree with her. It was because, from the bottom of his heart, he truly felt sorry for this woman before his eyes who had jumped into his arms. It was also because of that ugly and small little girl who was crying her heart out, and also that even smaller child, vireo felt incomparably sorry for them for some reason.
When she heard that, Isadora immediately lifted her head. Tears were still gushing down her cheeks, but she smiled like a sunflower in bloom. "Holden, Holden, is what you said true? You'll never leave me again? Are you truly Holden?"
"I am Holden," said the man.
"Uncle Holden..." Hearing that man say that, Minerva immediately rushed over, squeezed Isadora aside with all her might, and then put herself into vireo's arms.
"Uncle Holden..." There was still another even smaller child on the outside looking at him with eagerness.
Holden was speechless. After a moment, he gently called out to Aino, "Hurry up and get over here."
"But there's no space for me anymore," Aino said.
"The middle," said vireo.
Unlike the other two women, Aino happily squeezed in from the middle and called out, "Uncle Holden."
The assistants and nurses not far away from them were speechless.
"Not only is Doctor Payne highly skilled as a doctor, but he has a gentle personality and also is very well-liked by others," said a nurse softly.
"Haha, have you fallen for Doctor Payne?"
"What's the matter? Is that not allowed? When I saw him wielding the scalpel on the operating table just now, that was simply a piece of art. I liked it very much, alright?"
"Doctor Payne looks like he is about thirty-six years old. A man like him certainly has been married, right? What's the point of you liking him?"
"Well...that's true. Those two girls who addressed him as uncle are already all grown up, so I think he should have been married."
"Forget it then. Let's just wish Doctor Payne all the happiness in the world."
However, one of the assistants said, "I'd better go and ask him to take a rest. He had just finished with an operation. If he does not take a rest and an emergency case happens to come up later on, what should we do?"
While the assistant was saying that, he had already come to the front of Vireo. "Doctor Payne, you...should take a rest now."
It was after hearing someone calling for Doctor Payne from behind them that Isadora, Minerva, and Aino got out of Vireo's arms.
However, both of Isadora's hands were still coiling around Vireo's arms as she was unwilling to let go.
Vireo looked helplessly at the assistant. "It's fine. I happen to be hungry as well. I'll go out and grab a bite, and also take that as resting."
"Alright, Doctor Payne," said the assistant.
vireo turned his head around to look at Isadora and said gently, " Г11 get changed and I'll take all of you out to get some food. All of you...haven't eaten, right?"
Isadora shook her head. "We have been very hungry since we've landed, but we have been waiting outside of the operating room for you and did not dare to move about, so we're still very hungry."
"Alright! I'll get changed and take all of you out for food immediately," Vireo said.
"Mm-hmm," Isadora answered in a very obedient way.
At that moment, the woman in her thirties seemed just like a young lady in her early twenties.
The man raised his hand and stroked Isadora’s hair. "Take good care of these two and wait for me."
"Mm-hmm." Isadora trusted Vireo immensely.
vireo walked towards his office while dragging his feet as he was tired. At that very moment, he was still wearing the sterile gown, but the way he walked, even when looking at him from his back, was incomparably similar to Holden. Both of them had that kind of slender and tall figure that would look good in any clothing.
When Holden had just taken a few steps away, Isadora called out from behind him, "Holden..."
The first time she called out, Vireo did not answer. He was still very unfamiliar with the name, Holden Payne.
Chapter 2092 He did not have any rhyme or reason, and he did not even know her, but he said, "Alright."
It was because that voice in his head had repeatedly told him to agree with her. It was because, from the bottom of his heart, he truly felt sorry for this woman before his eyes who had jumped into his arms. It was also because of that ugly and small little girl who was crying her heart out, and also that even smaller child, vireo felt incomparably sorry for them for some reason.
When she heard that, Isadora immediately lifted her head. Tears were still gushing down her cheeks, but she smiled like a sunflower in bloom. "Holden, Holden, is what you said true? You'll never leave me again? Are you truly Holden?"
"I am Holden," said the man.
"Uncle Holden..." Hearing that man say that, Minerva immediately rushed over, squeezed Isadora aside with all her might, and then put herself into vireo's arms.
"Uncle Holden..." There was still another even smaller child on the outside looking at him with eagerness.
Holden was speechless. After a moment, he gently called out to Aino, "Hurry up and get over here."
"But there's no space for me anymore," Aino said.
"The middle," said vireo.
Unlike the other two women, Aino happily squeezed in from the middle and called out, "Uncle Holden."
The assistants and nurses not far away from them were speechless.
"Not only is Doctor Payne highly skilled as a doctor, but he has a gentle personality and also is very well-liked by others," said a nurse softly.
"Haha, have you fallen for Doctor Payne?"
"What's the matter? Is that not allowed? When I saw him wielding the scalpel on the operating table just now, that was simply a piece of art. I liked it very much, alright?"
"Doctor Payne looks like he is about thirty-six years old. A man like him certainly has been married, right? What's the point of you liking him?"
"Well...that's true. Those two girls who addressed him as uncle are already all grown up, so I think he should have been married."
"Forget it then. Let's just wish Doctor Payne all the happiness in the world."
However, one of the assistants said, "I'd better go and ask him to take a rest. He had just finished with an operation. If he does not take a rest and an emergency case happens to come up later on, what should we do?"
While the assistant was saying that, he had already come to the front of Vireo. "Doctor Payne, you...should take a rest now."
It was after hearing someone calling for Doctor Payne from behind them that Isadora, Minerva, and Aino got out of Vireo's arms.
However, both of Isadora's hands were still coiling around Vireo's arms as she was unwilling to let go.
Vireo looked helplessly at the assistant. "It's fine. I happen to be hungry as well. I'll go out and grab a bite, and also take that as resting."
"Alright, Doctor Payne," said the assistant.
vireo turned his head around to look at Isadora and said gently, " Г11 get changed and I'll take all of you out to get some food. All of you...haven't eaten, right?"
Isadora shook her head. "We have been very hungry since we've landed, but we have been waiting outside of the operating room for you and did not dare to move about, so we're still very hungry."
"Alright! I'll get changed and take all of you out for food immediately," Vireo said.
"Mm-hmm," Isadora answered in a very obedient way.
At that moment, the woman in her thirties seemed just like a young lady in her early twenties.
The man raised his hand and stroked Isadora’s hair. "Take good care of these two and wait for me."
"Mm-hmm." Isadora trusted Vireo immensely.
vireo walked towards his office while dragging his feet as he was tired. At that very moment, he was still wearing the sterile gown, but the way he walked, even when looking at him from his back, was incomparably similar to Holden. Both of them had that kind of slender and tall figure that would look good in any clothing.
When Holden had just taken a few steps away, Isadora called out from behind him, "Holden..."
The first time she called out, Vireo did not answer. He was still very unfamiliar with the name, Holden Payne.
Chapter 2094 When they heard that voice, the first person to get up was Aino. She got up from her seat and rushed over immediately. "Dad!"
At that moment, Isadora and Minerva, as well as Vireo, saw Sebastian and Sabrina standing not far away from them. It was Aino who had secretly sent a text to her mother to her parents about the situation on her end.
She was very excited, she was as excited as Minerva. However, unlike Minerva, Aino had never lived together with her Uncle Holden. The kinship Minerva had for her Uncle Holden was deep- rotted. It had been that stable since her childhood. On the other hand, although Aino liked her Uncle Holden very much and he was indeed her uncle, her kinship with him was not as strong as Minerva.
Besides, Holden had set her and her mother up so miserably back then, so Aino actually still held a grudge against him. Later on, it was after her Uncle Holden had died that she forgave him in her heart. Therefore, when she saw her uncle again, she knew that this man looked very similar to her uncle and in a daze, she also felt like he truly was her uncle. However, Aino did not lose her mind, she was very calm. She knew that when encountering such an incident, it was not something that a child like her could resolve. Even more so, she could not put her hopes on Isadora and Minerva. All she could do was send her location to her father and let her parents come over by tailing them. However, what Aino did not expect was that her father would call out her uncle's name as soon as he saw this man.
At that moment, Sebastian was stunned. He did not even notice that his daughter was already running towards him. He just looked at Vireo with both his eyes affixed to him. Sabrina, who was next to Sebastian, had the same expression as him.
Aino was also stunned, she shrugged her shoulders and looked at her parents. After that, she very tactfully retreated to the side and let her parents reunite with the man as Isadora and Minerva had done.
"Holden, is that you?" asked Sebastian.
vireo was speechless. He knew the person who came. He had never met him, but he had seen him on the television, news, and finance papers. There were some differences between the person in real life and the person on television, but he was still able to recognize him.
"Mister Ford?" The man said in a gentle and neither humble nor arrogant manner.
"You are Holden! Are you Holden?" Sabrina beat Sebastian to the punch and got to the front of Vireo in a hurry. Her eyes were already welled up with tears.
Holden had died in her arms. Before he died, he told her that his wish was actually extremely simple. He wanted a home. He wanted a home with the affection from family, with a sense of warmth, and flowers and plants. He died because he took the bullet for Sabrina. It was because he had died that she and Louie, who was in her belly then, had survived. Holden's death was as severe a blow to Sebastian as to Sabrina. Therefore, at that moment, Sabrina and Sebastian were just as excited as each other.
Just like what Isadora and Minerva had seen, not only did the man before their eyes look exactly like Holden, but even his expressions were so alike. It was impossible for two people to look so alike in this world. 1 Vireo did not know how he should reply.
"Mister and Missus Ford, I...I truly had never expected that you could personally come over. I also never expected these three girls to have such a special relationship with you-" Before he was able to finish his words, Isadora, who was behind him, had cut him off.
Isadora looked at Sabrina with excitement and a face full of happiness. "Sabrina, I truly had never expected that I can still wait until the day I meet Holden again. Is this a blessing from the heavens? Sabrina, look, Holden is standing right next to me. He even treated me to a meal, and he also said that he will take me, only me, to have a candlelight dinner. He had already promised me just now at that hospital that he would be together with me for life. II
Chapter 2095 "Sabrina, I had already figured it all out. I will be living in South City in the future. I will do my best to find a job and work a few jobs. I want to buy a house with Holden. It's alright if it would be a little tough on us. We will build our own home. What do you think, Sabrina?"
Isadora looked urgently at Sabrina, she treated Sabrina as her best friend and her life savior. Among the living in this world, other than Holden, Sabrin was the most important person to Isadora.
Seeing that Isadora was so eager as if she had been possessed, what more could Sabrina have said? she could only pat Isadora on her back and said while feeling sorry for her. "Alright, I support you. You don't have to work a few jobs. You can just work one stable job. If you want to buy a house, I can loan a portion of the money to you. You can then pay me back when you have the money."
"Thank you, Sabrina." Isadora was extremely happy.
Sabrina shook her head and then looked at Vireo. "Have you... already promised to live together with Isadora?"
As soon as Sabrina said those words and before she got a reply from Vireo, Sebastian asked, "Do you know who Isadora is? You had already promised Isadora?" 1 He was not interrogating him. Sebastian's tone did not sound like he was questioning him at all. He just wanted to get further confirmation from this man's words that he was Holden, and that he was his younger twin brother. Sebastian continuously asked, " Do you know who I am? Tell me, who am I?"
Vireo was speechless. He, of course, knew who the couple in front of him was. Who in South City would not know? Not only did he know who Sebastian and Sabrina were, he even knew that the youngest child among the three girds, who was more than ten years old, was this couple's child. When he heard Sebastian asking him those questions in one go, Vireo only smiled.
After that, he said to Sebastian in an firm, decent, and gentle manner, "of course, I know who you are. You are Mister Ford, the richest man in South City. I also know what I'm doing." 1 After taking a pause, he looked at Isadora with an incomparably firm gaze. "I know who she is. She is the woman who loves Holden Payne the most. I want to marry her and live together with her. I want to have children with her and spend the rest of our lives together."
When she heard those words, Isadora felt so touched that tears were unable to stop streaming down her face. She cried to the point that her voice was shaking. "Hol-Holden..."
She jumped into his arms and cried uncontrollably. "Holden, you're ...finally here, right?"
Vireo's gentle voice sounded like water from the spring that was able to cure all sickness. "Yes, I will never let you suffer anymore in the future. I will never let you cry anymore."
"Mm-hmm." Hearing Vireo saying that, Isadora cried even harder.
"You as well, little brat." Vireo turned his head around to look at Minerva. "I will pay for your studies in the future and I will pass on all my knowledge in medicine to you. I will cook for you after you've taken a rest."
Minerva was speechless. Minerva originally was stuffed with a mouthful of beef. At that moment once she cried, she was unable to swallow the mouthful of beef, but also was unable to spit them out. However, she smiled while being in that state.
At this end, Sebastian and Sabrina looked at each other. Both of them were people who were extremely calm. It was particularly so for Sebastian, what kind of situations had he not encountered before? However, at that moment, he suddenly was lost. He did not even know where he should begin to ask. He just kept repeating the words he said earlier on, "Who are you? Are you truly Holden?"
How could that be? Sebastian was the one who had witnessed Holden being shot and killed by Malvolio. He was that one who had personally taken Holden's body for cremation. He was also the one who had personally buried Holden next to their mother's grave. There was no mistake in that. Sebastian had never believed in supernatural things.
Vireo, on the other hand, took a long breath, and his voice also became low and deep following that as if he was telling a distant tale. "Who exactly am I? Am I Holden Payne?"
Chapter 2096 A miserable expression flashed across vireo's face, who was he? He was very lost, and yet, he also seemed to be very clear. At that moment when he saw Sebastian, he also felt a sense of familiarity. He felt a kind of strong kinship as if he had met him before.
Therefore, when Sebastian asked him who he was, he felt very lost in his heart. Was he Holden Payne?
Ever since he had regained his senses, vireo had been asking himself this question in his heart. Prior to that moment when he met Minerva, Isadora, and Aino, he vaguely felt that he had been dreaming or it may have been a side effect his condition had left him. However, after he had met the three girls, he suddenly felt emotional that nothing was too strange in this great big world.
There were endless wonders in this universe and it was something that nobody could figure out. Any kind of mystery could happen in this universe. For example, him, Vireo Payne.
vireo's hometown was in an incomparably underdeveloped county in the central region of the country. Although he had lived in a very undeveloped place, Vireo's family was quite wealthy. They were considered one of the most well-doing families around the Merchant Lane area in Chever County. When Vireo was still very young, the Payne family had no less than twenty storefronts in the whole Merchant Lane. At that time, the Payne family truly was living the luxurious lifestyle and all of the business owners at the Merchant Lane were jealous of the Payne family.
Logically speaking, being a boy born in such a family, the boy’s status in the family should be like a little king. However, it was not like that for vireo. It was not until he turned eight that he learned that he was adopted. He was not the biological son of his father, Lucius Payne. He already had three sisters before him, and when his mother gave birth to his third sister, Abigail Payne, she was no longer able to carry a child anymore. 1 Back in that era, divorce was not common. Also, the mindset of the small country was mainly very conservative. If there were no sons in any of the families, even if it was a big family with huge businesses, it was also very difficult for the family to be supported. Without any choice, the master of the house, Lucius, entrusted someone to help him adopt an illegitimate child from another place.
The adopted child was truly an illegitimate child. It was said that the child's father was a very prestigious businessman.
The child's mother was just a small secretary by the side of the child's father. When she was involved with the child's father, his company was still growing on an upward trajectory, and he and his wife were building their business together, so the man was very afraid that his wife would find out about this matter. He then gave the secretary a sum of money and asked her, who had just gotten pregnant, to disappear without a trace.
The secretary could not bear to get rid of the child, so she wanted to wait until the child was born, and then bring the child to his father and ask for some compensation. However, she learned that that was impossible. The secretary was also just a hair's breadth away from death in that kind of situation at that moment. It was already a great blessing to be able to escape with her life and with the child.
The secretary needed to marry someone, but the child was her burden. Later on, through an introduction of a middleman, she gave this illegitimate child of hers to the Payne family. To put it nicely, the child was given to the Payne family, but if it were put bluntly, the child was sold for money. Therefore, Vireo was the son that the Payne family had paid and bought.
From then onwards, the Payne family had an heir. However, Vireo was not treated very well in the Payne family.
Although Lucius was very rich and conservative, he did not favor boys over girls at all in private. The reason he bought a son back from another place was entirely just to stop the outsiders from talking. However, in private, he and his wife loved their three daughters greatly. Their eldest daughter was Chloe Payne and their second daughter was Ashnah Payne.
Chapter 2097 Their third daughter was Abigail Payne. All three of the daughters were the apples in Lucius and his wife's eyes. Their only son, Vireo, was the only one who had been treated differently. Lucius and his wife had ignored him since the day they had adopted him.
However, Vireo did not understand it when he was still a child.
Why was it that the other boys in other families had three sisters before him, the boy was treated like a little king in the family, but things were different in his family?
The child, who was only a few years old, had to wear his sister's hand-me-down shoes. Usually, when they were having a meal together, their parents would give the delicious food to his three sisters as much as they could. He was only able to have some if there were any leftovers. Most of the time, vireo was standing at the side watching his three sisters wearing beautiful and stylish dresses, having chocolates and all kinds of snacks, while he, on the other hand, was only able to watch.
He was just like an outsider. His three sisters did not love him much as well. From time to time, they would even roll their eyes at him. "Why must we give our family's property to you?"
When vireo was still a child, he did not understand all that. He was very sensible. He just thought that maybe his parents were training him so that he could be a great man who could stand tall in the future, so they never spoiled him like how they spoiled his sisters. After he had figured that out, he felt happy instead. He felt that he already had three sisters in the family, but he was the only boy.
Therefore, he must not fail to meet his parents' and his sister's expectations. He certainly would become a great man who could stand tall. 1 In fact, on a subconscious level, Vireo also wanted to evoke the care and love for him in his parents. He wanted them to care and love him like how they did to his sisters. Therefore, he studied with all his might and he did all the chores in the house with all his might. When he saw his third sister, who was three years older than him, was bullied by others, vireo, who was only almost eight years old, would even risk his own safety to protect his sister and fight with those bigger children who were taller than him. Even though he was bleeding from his head after being beaten up, he still bravely looked at Abigail. "Abigail, don't be afraid. I will protect you. I will never let you be bullied. Hurry up and go home. Don't stay here. This way, they will never be able to beat you up."
His sister, Abigail, immediately nodded, "vireo, I'll go ahead and run."
Abigail then ran off without even looking back, she left vireo behind to be beaten up so badly that his teeth were loose, one of his legs almost became crippled, and he grimaced in pain.
However, he was very happy in his heart. He had protected his sisters. His sister did not even get a single punch and she was not bullied. Vireo was full of joy while thinking that when he returned home that time, his sister would feel sorry for him. Putting aside his oldest and second sister, at least his third sister would certainly feel sorry and help him wipe off the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth.
However, when he got home, everything was different from what Vireo had thought. As soon as he walked through the door while limping, he was hit by a bench that his father, Lucius, had thrown at him. "You misbehaving piece of trash! Never mind if you can't bring glory to the Payne family, but you cause trouble for the Payne family! You didn't study properly, but you fought with others at such a young age! They said that a child's behavior could predict how they act when they grow up! what are you doing? Do you want to squander all of our Payne family's fortunes?"
After being hit by that bench, Vireo's spring almost broke. Vireo looked at his father with tears welled up in his eyes and explained miserably, "Dad, this is the first time I got in a fight with others. It was because Abigail was being bullied, so I did it to protect her. Is it wrong of me to protect my sister? Was I supposed to watch those boys tease her, pull on her pigtails, and even hit her?"
"How dare you talk back!" Lucius raised his hand and aggressively slapped Vireo on his face. Half of Vireo's face instantly became so swollen that he looked like a chipmunk.
"Kneel here over the night. You're to only get up when you learn what you have done wrong!" After Lucius slapped vireo, he went to bed.
Vireo's third sister, Abigail, was left behind and she came to Vireo. "Vireo, do you know why I hate you so much and why Dad beat you up like that?"
"Why?" vireo asked in confusion.
Abigail sneered. "Because you're not a biological child to our family!"
Chapter 2098 Vireo was stunned. "Abigail, what did you say?" "I said you are an illegitimate child! A poor ghost! You've had your eyes on our family's properties as soon as you're born! You are deliberately here to snatch away our family's properties!" Abigail roared at vireo with incomparable viciousness.
"What...family properties?" vireo asked.
In fact, Abigail also had not much clue, she had often heard her grandparents muttering about it, so she committed it to memory.
"Family properties? Family properties are all the delicious food and drinks in my house! vireo, listen to me carefully. In the future, all the delicious food and drinks in the house are mine! I am the truly youngest one in the family. Grandpa and Grandma, and also Dad and Mom, had always taught the four of US that the older ones have to let the younger ones have their way. All the good food and drinks and also the fun things had to be given to the youngest child.
"However, you're not the youngest child. You're adopted so you're not counted. I am the youngest in the Payne family and I should be the most pampered one! From now on, you're not allowed to fight me for anything! If you dare to fight with me, I will let you suffer more than you had today.
"How was it, Vireo? It was very fun to be beaten up today, right? I'll tell you something. I had deliberately let myself be bullied by those small boys today. I deliberately wanted to lure you over to fight with them, and then let Dad beat you up again when you get home. Haha."
After Abigail had said that, she went into her room and went to bed. vireo was left behind by himself to kneel in the living room for the whole night. The child, who had yet turned ten, had thought about many things that night. He felt very scared and also miserable.
The next morning, his face was still swollen from being beaten by his father. However, his eyes were also puffy from crying, when his parents got up in the morning and saw that Vireo was still kneeling in the living room, and his eyes were also puffy from crying, they more or less felt a little sorry for him. After all, they had adopted him as soon as he was born and the Payne family had raised him since birth, other than the fact that he was not their biological child, he was no different from their biological children.
vireo's mother felt particularly sorry, when she saw her son being in that state, she instantly hugged her son and cried, feeling heartbroken. "Lucius Payne, you d*mned man! How can you be so heartless and beat your son up like that? If anything were to happen to him after you've beaten him up, would you still have a son? If you didn't have a son anymore, in this street, how many scornful looks from others do we have to endure and how many people would eye on you like a tiger eyeing its prey!"
What his wife had said was indeed what concerned Lucius. When he saw his son, who had half of his face swollen like a chipmunk, he also felt slightly heartbroken. His tone then became much more gentle, "It's no big deal for little boys to suffer a little. Boys had to be beaten. He had to suffer enough and gain responsibility, only then could he shoulder our family's business. I know very well what I've made him into with my beatings."
After saying that, Lucius said to vireo in a coaxing yet deterring tone. "Vireo, I know I have hit you a little hard, but you are a boy.
You're different from your sisters. You'll have to inherit the Payne family's properties in the future. Do you understand? Boys are not allowed to cry like a woman! No more crying! You have been punished this time, so your mom and I will take you to buy some cool clothes and give you a new bag, alright? Hurry up and stop crying!"
The method that his father had used was a combination of both showing grace and power. He was also using that as a disguise for apologizing to vireo.
Lucius initially thought Vireo would immediately stop crying, and he also would still very sensibly tell his parents, 'Dad and Mom, don't worry. I am fine. I know you're just doing it for my own good. I will not get into trouble again in the future. I will study well.
Chapter 2099 He thought that his son would say that. If his son had said that, then he would be thinking what he and his wife were thinking.
However, Vireo cried even more. He looked straight at his father. " Dad, I am adopted by the Payne family and I am not your biological child, right?"
Lucius was stunned. His wife also said in a panic, "vireo, what nonsense are you talking about? How could you say that? Who told you that?"
Holden's voice was still very miserable. It was both miserable and helpless. He was having a sense of fear and his tone was very dejected. "I had often heard you say that I am here to snatch away the family's properties. I don't know what the family's properties are and I had never thought of snatching it away. It's our family's things, so what is the need for me to snatch it?"
Both Lucius and his wife were speechless.
"But, Dad, Mom, I understand what it means to be adopted. Being adopted meant that I am different from my sisters. I am not your biological child. My sisters are your biological children. Am I right? It What he asked made Lucius and his wife awkward.
"Even if you don't answer me, I knew it as well. You guys have always been saying that I am here to take away your family's properties. You have always been loving my sisters, but you have never loved me. I had witnessed Grandma boiling the eggs of our own free range chickens and only giving them to my sisters but not me. I wanted to have it very much, but Grandma said that I had already snatched away the family's properties from my sisters, so I should eat less. Dad, Mom, am I truly adopted? If I am adopted and you're afraid that I am here to snatch away your family's properties, could you..." vireo continued.
At that moment when Vireo was saying that, his tears streamed down his cheeks. However, he had always been a very composed boy who had his own ideas. Even if he was feeling in pain, he still had to say it out loud, "Could you please send me back to my biological parents? I also want to be loved by my parents like my sisters."
When his mother heard him saying that, she instantly felt heartbroken and she said, hugging him. "I'm sorry, my good son. I'm sorry. I will love you from now on. I will love you like how I love your sisters. My son..."
From then on, vireo's life in the Payne family got a little better. His grandparents never mentioned that he was an adopted child in front of him anymore. Vireo's sisters did not dare to openly bully him again as well. Also, his father also did not beat him up for nothing anymore. However, after that incident, vireo also could clearly sense that the Payne family still treated him like an outsider. For example, when the whole family, who was originally talking to each other, saw that vireo had returned, they never continued their conversation anymore. Although his sisters were polite to him, they were just being polite. He never felt that they were treating him like their own brother, vireo, who was still very young, felt as if he had been isolated by the people in that house. 1 Fortunately, he was a boy who was born with a pure and kind nature, and his grades have always been the top in his class and his entire grade. With all that supporting him, his life was not that bad. He thought to himself that he certainly would make a name of himself one day. He would let his parents know that he was not there to snatch away the Payne family's properties. He would bring even more fame and glory to the Payne family. He would let his sisters have even more things.
vireo, who was a teenager in high school, had always been carrying such a dream in his heart. Throughout his high school years, he worked even hard, especially in his senior year. He did plenty of practice tests and was extremely confident that he was able to get into one of the top colleges in the country.
However, on the day before his college entrance test, his father came into his stuffy room and said something to him. 1 "Vireo, don't take the college entrance test," said his father very casually.
Chapter 2099
Chapter 2100 Vireo was stunned when he heard that. "Dad, what are you...talking about?"
"Don't go to college. Money is very tight for the family this year, we won’t be able to support you," Lucius said.
"Dad!" vireo immediately got so emotional that tears were streaming down his face.
Logically speaking, he was an eighteen-year-old young man and was at the age where he never cried easily anymore. However, he was unable to hold it back. He truly could not take it. He had endured the fact that his parents' love for him made him feel isolated growing up. He had endured the fact that his grandparents did not love him. He had also endured all the mocking and sarcasm from his sisters.
All he had in his mind was being able to get into college one day, and then he would no longer need to rely on his family anymore. He would not inherit the family's properties as well. If he was able to make a name of himself working out there, he would still come home and treat his parents well. Therefore, he put in his best efforts and studied with all his might and main.
That was his only way out. However, his father actually did not allow him to study anymore when that was his only way out? 1 Lucius sighed. "Take a look yourself and see which family in this small county like ours has a child as old as you and still let the family pay for their college? All three of your sisters have gone to work at the cotton mill. Could it be that you want them to take out all of their savings for their weddings to let you go to college?"
"Dad!" Vireo was already unable to suppress the fury in his voice. " There are more than a few hundred thousand dollars in Grandpa and Grandma's secret cash stash. That few hundred thousand dollars is already enough to buy a few houses in our county. Don't ask me how I knew about it. I didn't eavesdrop. It was Grandma who boasted about it when chatting with the neighbors the last time. She said that when each of her granddaughters gets married, she will give them a house each as a gift.
Never mind about that as that is grandma's secret cash stash.
"However, our family has storefronts. We have so many storefronts with a monthly income of more than a thousand dollars each.
Five of the stores would already bring US five thousand dollars a month. There's also the quarry of yours where you sell sand.
How much money do you earn from one truckload of sand? Could you find any other families that are as wealthy as ours in the entire Merchant Land of Chever County? Dad? You're telling me that I still need my sisters to pay for me to go to college?" 1 It was the nineties back then. The general economy of the country was not so developed yet. Even if there were occasionally some developed cities, it was also big cities such as South city. If a family was able to have a few storefronts and a monthly income of tens of thousands of dollars in the small county in that era meant that they were truly an extremely wealthy household within their area. However, such a wealthy household was unwilling to support a college student to go to college?
vireo was not a fool. An school student already has an incomparable mature mind. He knew about everything. His thoughts were even more forward than his father and he has even more ideas. Seeing his son like that, Lucius stammered for a long time.
"Dad! Tell me why you're not willing to support me?" Vireo stared intently at Lucius.
Lucius did not answer. How should he answer? That was what the four elders of the family had discussed together. They only had a son in the family. Also, this boy had learned that he was not their biological son way too early on in his life. If after this boy had gone to college, he became successful and decided to stay out there and never to return again, who would be taking care of these old people?
Back in those days, in most of the areas in chever County, all the elderly were taken care of by their sons after they were old. On the other hand, as long as the daughters had married, they were considered as the members of the family they had married into.
When they returned to their biological families, they were considered as relatives instead. There was a saying in that area that the purpose of raising a son was so one could be supported in old age. The son of the family was supposed to care for his parents until they passed away. If their son was gone, then who would be sending them off to the afterlife when they die? Then, would he not have raised this son for nothing? How could he let him run away after raising him for eighteen years?
"If you-you go to college and never return again! Then, what should we, your mother and I, do?" Lucius stammered and said what was truly on his mind.