His Secret Child, Her Revenge: Remarrying Up novel Chapter 9

Zack Moore pulled the car up to the lounge entrance.

As Ethan got in, Zack said, "Your father called while you were in there. He wants you home for dinner tonight."

Ethan checked his phone.

Two missed calls.

He'd put his phone on silent earlier, so he hadn't heard them.

At the Cross residence.

Ethan knocked on the study door.

William Cross didn't look up, his focus was entirely on his calligraphy.

His strokes were powerful and vibrant—the result of years of constant practice.

Only after finishing the final stroke did William speak. "Ethan, you're thirty this year, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"You're not getting any younger. Isn't it time to think about marriage?"

"Am I not already engaged?"

"You call that being engaged?" William's tone was accusatory. "You and Judy have been engaged for three years. When are you planning to actually marry her? How much longer is she supposed to wait?"

The Cross and Sterling families had always been close; in the public eye, their children were fated to be together.

Three years ago, Ethan's mother had been terminally ill. On her deathbed, she told him, "Ethan, I watched Judy grow up. She's a rare gem, and she's devoted to you. I really want to see you two together."

Maybe it was his mother's final wish that made Ethan finally agree to the engagement.

Before his mother passed, the two families held a grand engagement ceremony.

"I'm not trying to micromanage your life, but don't keep her waiting too long. The Wildes won't say anything to your face, but they have their grievances. Especially now that you're living here and she's back there. They're losing faith in this marriage."

"I know," Ethan replied simply.

"If your mother were still here, she would—"

"I'll handle our business," Ethan interrupted. "Don't worry about it."

William wasn't surprised or angry.

He knew his son too well.

He was a man of his own mind; forcing him would only backfire.

William sighed. "Maybe I'm just getting old, but I've been thinking a lot about grandchildren lately."

"You're in your prime. Why not have a child now? You're working yourself to the bone; if you ruin your health, you won't be able to have one even if you want to."

"I've already frozen my sperm," Ethan said.

William was rendered speechless.

Meanwhile, Jasmine met Sierra for a quick dinner.

By the time she got back to Kingsley Bay, it was nine-thirty.

Mrs. Gable opened the door, her eyes darting with subtle signals.

Jasmine got the hint, nodded, and whispered a few words in the housekeeper's ear.

Mrs. Gable hurried away.

Jasmine walked into the living room and found Silas sitting on the sofa, his face dark with fury.

Chloe Vance was sitting next to him, looking hostile.

Chloe had gone abroad right after Julian died.

She'd claimed she needed to heal and clear her head.

The girl who used to have baby fat had grown into a slim, beautiful young woman.

"Jasmine! You went way too far!"

How did this woman know?

She wasn't even there.

She's dead right.

Jasmine sat down gracefully and said steadily, "You know the truth better than anyone. Lying isn't a good habit for a little girl."

Chloe's eyes flared. "Little girl? I'm twenty-four!"

"You don't act like it," Jasmine said lazily. "A twenty-four-year-old adult doesn't pull these kinds of pathetic stunts."

"You!" Chloe stamped her foot in rage and turned to Silas, putting on a show of being the victim.

"Silas! Look at her! This is the woman you married! Are you just going to sit there while she bullies me in front of you?"

Silas's expression grew even more ominous.

"Where the hell were you!"

Jasmine didn't answer.

"I'm asking you where you were! I told you to pick up Chloe, and you just ignored me! If something had happened to her, how would you have answered the Vance family!"

Jasmine made a show of sighing and said in a low voice, "I told you, I had things to do today."

"What could possibly be more important than picking up Chloe? You stay in this house all day, every day. How is it that the one day I need you, you're busy!"

In Silas's mind, Jasmine had basically spent three years of marriage rotting at home.

Even Silas thought it was boring, but Jasmine never seemed to mind and never complained.

What Silas didn't know was that Jasmine stayed at home, but she never gave up on her passion.

She had started developing that pixel-art game independently before she even married him. She'd worked eight to ten hours a day for four years to finish it.

Away from prying eyes, Jasmine never stopped working.

She just had no desire to show it to people like them.

Especially not to her husband.

Seeing her silence, Silas stood up abruptly. "Are you deaf? Can't you hear me talking to you?"

Mrs. Gable hurried in, clutching a large burlap sack. "Sir, please don't yell at Ma'am. She did it all for you."