Chapter 171: She Was Suddenly Very Grateful
The sad truth about her and Jordan Riggs was that she knew that he wasn’t in love with her but comforted herself with everything else.
But she was lucky, compared to the mermaid.
She did not turn into a bubble. But she returned to the sea and met Keith.
She couldn’t change the ending of the fairy tale; however, in her own tale, she had a different choice, and it turned into a happy ending.
She was suddenly very grateful.
Looking back, Keith’s gaze hadn’t turned away, the tenderness in his eyes was like water, she instantly melted and could never step out again.
He was trying to understand what she was feeling. Her eyes were filled with emotions that he found strange. He took that as thank you for being here.
With a chuckle, he raised his hand and gently caressed Cathryn’s dark, long hair.
They walked along the riverbank, had a nice afternoon tea at a dock, and finally drove to Opernhaus Düsseldorf, where their aunt Greta was performing tonight.
Cathryn didn’t remember much about Greta, other than that she was singing the evening she arrived in the Clarkson’s mansion, with her long red dress and a solemn face. Cathryn figured that since she’s an artist, Greta would be very cold and serious like her son Luis.
But as a matter of fact, Greta was completely different from Luis, she was passionate about shopping and suggested Cathryn go to a few fancy malls and smaller markets this morning and had her and Keith arrange two seats in the opera house.
At the time when Cathryn had conflicting impressions of her, Greta’s stage performance gave her a shock yet again.
Greta had a magnificent voice, not just in singing, but she’s a superb stage actress as well.
Cathryn felt closer to her now that they were peers.
****
After the show, Cathryn is fully in love with Greta. She couldn’t believe that this great woman was now related to her.
They went backstage and found her husband Edward there. Greta was still in a meeting with the crew, and Edward just waited patiently as he had always done. The couple had known each other for many years and got married for a decade, but they still stuck with each other like a young couple. It seemed that all Clarkson men love their wives like this. Cathryn felt she could see the future of herself and Briston.
Amused by this feeling, she told Keith about it, and he nodded seriously.
“It’s a reasonable guess. That’s how I grew up.”
Cathryn laughed. She laughed so hard at Keith’s seriousness, while the latter just watched her full of smiles and put a hand behind her head in case she bumped into the back seat.
They came home and went straight to the baby’s room. Helen was there with the nanny, holding her grandson, who was kicking joyfully in his grandma’s indulgence.
The way Briston expresses his happiness is endless kicking and drooling.
Seeing them coming back, Helen exhaled excitedly and announced that she finally managed to change the diaper for Briston today.
Keith laughed and pinched Briston’s little hand. Briston clenched his palms to a soft pink fist.
“Then he’s luckier than his Dad because Grandma never changed the diaper for his Dad.”
“Hey, no need to be jealous of your son.” Helen cried.
Keith stayed with them for a while until the butler Jim came to Keith that his uncle Theodore was looking for him. After Keith was determined to take over the Clarkson’s Group, he was getting more and more involved in the business now.
He left, and Cathryn and Helen were alone in the baby’s room. Cathryn offered to take Briston over, worrying that Helen may be tired after the whole day.
“It’s fine,” Helen looked at the baby adoringly. She continued after another long while, “Our Briston has something that doesn’t look like you or like Keith.”
Cathryn’s heart suddenly hung, and Jordan Riggs’s words echoed in her ear.
As her face sank and her eyes looked down, Helen bowed to peck on Briston’s nose, smiling.
“… but like me.”
Cathryn frowned, hesitating if she should smile or not.
When Keith returned, Cathryn had already taken her shower and was ready to sleep. Lying on the bed on her side, her body curve was exquisite under the dim yellow light.
She could hear his light pace on the carpet, and smell, a mix of tea and tobacco from Theodore’s cigar. It was fresh and tangy, and she turned back and was kissed by Keith’s soft lips.
It was a tender, long kiss, gentle like a soft, boneless little flame, licking tentatively again and again, like a warm kitten.
When the lips left her, Cathryn blinked as if she had just woken up from a sweet wet dream.
“I’ll be back after the shower.” He whispered.
“Keith?” She stopped him.
“Yes?” He reached to touch her face and muttered softly.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
“I… even if you don’t care if Briston is yours, but how about Helen and everyone?” She hesitated and opened up about her worries.
Briston had been growing less like him recently, she wasn’t so sure now, and Helen’s words tonight were especially disturbing to her. She started to worry if it could actually be true that the boy was not his.
Flipping her front hair to the side, Keith did not seem to be troubled by this concern. His eyes were fixed on her, and his mouth opened.
“Do you believe in me?”
Cathryn nodded.
“Briston is my child, there is no doubt about it. I can be 100% sure.”
Cathryn’s eyes widened, for a long while, she couldn’t say anything. When her lips could finally move, and she was about to ask more, he denied it first.
“I didn’t do a paternity test, but he is really my child.”
In his gaze, it was an unquestionable determination and tender assurance. Her eyes met his, and she had a sudden realization that her whole speculation tonight was pointless. Her face relaxed, and she held Keith’s neck and answered awkwardly.
“Well, Briston IS mostly like you, like… he’s also a boy.”
With a chuckle, the man kissed her forehead and got up to the bathroom.