Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Was Byron playing a game?
[Rosewood Mansion]

Roger was ready to leave for work when Rita suddenly blocked his path.

After their recent disputes, he had moved into one of the spare rooms without her knowledge. But now that she had found out where he was, she wasn’t about to let him slip away.

“Get out of my way,” Roger said coldly, not sparing her a glance as he tried to walk past her.

“Roger, I’m sorry. Please, don’t do this to me,” Rita pleaded, refusing to let him go.

She knew she had made a terrible mistake, but she wasn’t about to let Roger turn his back on her. He was the reason she was still here and if he cut ties with her, everything she had planned would crumble.

Roger finally turned to look at her, his expression void of emotion. No matter how much he tried to ignore her tears, he couldn’t bring himself to forgive her.

She hadn’t just made a mistake. She had crossed a line beyond redemption. One that had hurt not only his brother but also him.

“Why are you apologizing to me, Rita?” he asked, his gaze piercing through her.

Rita’s expression shifted, her teeth clenching. Though tears continued to streak down her face, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being looked down upon.

“You should be apologizing to Kalix and Winter,” Roger continued. “They’re the ones you wronged. They’re the ones you need to seek forgiveness from, not me.”

Rita’s lips quivered in fury. She hadn’t expected him to demand that she beg for that woman’s forgiveness. But she forced herself to keep up the act.

“But Roger, you’re upset with me too. You won’t even talk to me. You’ve cut off every way for me to reach you, and now you’re sleeping in another room instead of ours. What else am I supposed to think?” she tried, hoping to shift the conversation back to herself.

But Roger wasn’t in the mood to let her manipulate her way out of this.

“I warned you,” he said sharply. “Yet you still tried to harm a child. Tell me, Rita, how could you even think of doing that? Just because you wanted to get rid of them from Kalix’s life?” His voice was filled with disgust. “No, Rita. That’s not something I can forgive. Not now, not ever.”

He stepped past her, making his way to the door.

“And if you’re truly sorry,” he added without turning back, “then go beg Winter for forgiveness. You threatened her daughter. If she forgives you, then maybe, just maybe, I will consider it too. But if she doesn’t…” He paused, his voice dropping to a final, cutting tone. “Then get ready to end this relationship.”

Rita stood frozen, watching Roger’s retreating figure, her nails digging into her palms.

Leaving the house, Roger stepped into his car, and soon they were on the road. No matter how much he tried to shake off the image of Rita standing before him, he couldn’t ignore the lingering disappointment gnawing at him.

Leaning back against the seat, he closed his eyes, hoping to clear his mind. But instead, an unexpected face surfaced in his thoughts-

‘Lily’

“Shit, I forgot to get her number.”

Roger jerked up suddenly, startling the driver.

“Everything okay, boss?” Frank asked, his voice laced with concern.

Roger quickly collected himself, shaking off his reaction. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he assured him, settling back into his seat.

But his thoughts remained elsewhere.

His unexpected encounter with Lily had stirred up memories he hadn’t revisited in years. He thought back to the day they first met, how they became friends, and how, just as suddenly, they lost contact only to stumble upon each other again by sheer coincidence.

Now that she was in the same city, he found himself hoping fate would let their paths cross once more. And this time, he wouldn’t let the chance slip away.

With that thought, Roger leaned back, a pleasant smile curling on his lips as he let himself be lost in a memory that had never truly left him.

***

“I’m sorry you couldn’t take Star to meet Mr. Greyson,” Kalix apologized as they rushed to the company for an emergency meeting.

To ensure Seren still got her wish, Kalix had assigned Stanley to take her to the hospital to see her great-grandfather before dropping her off at school.

Winter nodded. She wasn’t upset and understood how important work was for Kalix too.

As they continued driving, a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she turned to face him.

“Did you know it wasn’t my dad who planned those attacks on Grandpa?” She asked, her gaze sharp with curiosity.

Kalix held her stare for a moment before giving a small nod.

Winter’s brows furrowed. “Then why didn’t you ever tell me? I thought it was my dad all along. After he was exposed, nothing else happened to Grandpa, so I assumed the threat was gone.”

A wave of frustration hit her. She felt like a fool for believing the danger had simply vanished. But it was still there, and it wrecked her nerves to know that Byron was trying to conceal it from her.

“Who is behind it?” she asked, her expression hardening with each word.

Kalix could sense Winter’s frustration. She had been assuming the wrong person all along, and now that she knew the truth, her curiosity was relentless.

“I don’t know,” he said.

Winter’s brows furrowed before she let out a sharp chuckle of disbelief. “You don’t know?” She turned to him, her gaze now laced with something sharper. Accusation.

Her lips curled in a bitter smirk as she stared at him maliciously. “Even after Grandpa made a deal with you, he still never told you who the real culprit is? Are you two making a fool out of me? Because, clearly, you bartered me away in exchange for that deal.”

Winter’s words pierced Kalix like a knife, and regret flickered in his eyes.

Yes, he had yet to uncover the person behind the attacks, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Everything changed when Byron had his accident and slipped into a coma.

The old man had refused to disclose any details, offering only a cryptic request for protection. He had insisted that he was waiting for a signal; only then would he reveal the truth.

Like Winter, Kalix had his doubts. Was Byron playing a game? Keeping secrets for his own advantage? Yet, despite his frustration, Kalix couldn’t shake the intrigue that came with trying to understand the old man’s motives.

Kalix thought he was the only crafty one, but Byron had secrets he wasn’t ready to reveal just yet.