Chapter 53 I am his father?
Ryan’s POV
I sighed deeply as I scribbled my signature on the paperwork in front of me, even though my mind was far away from my body.
It had been two weeks since I asked Damon to find out about Ophelia’s partner and the father of her son, but I hadn’t received any helpful leads yet from Damon.
I was gradually starting to accept my fate and that Ophelia would never be mine in this universe. I was about to take a long puff of the vape that was enclosed in between my fingers when I heard a knock on the door.Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
“Come in,” I grumbled, easing the vape back on the desk.
Damon marched in with a brown envelope. He bowed before handing me the envelope, “You have to see this, sir,”
I frowned but collected the envelope from him regardless, “What’s this?”
“The true identity of the man who impregnated Ophelia,” He revealed, motioning to the envelope.
My eyes doubled in surprise as I stared at the envelope, “Really? Are you sure of what you’re saying?”
“Yes, sir,”
“So, is she married?” I asked, tearing the envelope open.
“No, sir. Her son’s father also isn’t present in their lives. She is a single parent to Jeremy,”
I clenched my jaw to suppress my fury at the news even though at that moment, I desperately wanted to murder the bastard who had the effrontery to knock Ophelia up, and then abandon her and her adorable toddler.
He was such a fucking asshole. I seethed inwardly.
I choked on my spit when I saw my picture and my details gazing up menacingly at me after I tore the envelope open. My face contorted into a perplexed frown as I stared up at Damon.
I raised the paper, “What do you mean by this? Did you get the documents mixed up?”
He shook his head, wearing that impassive expression of his, “No, sir. I wouldn’t dare,”
“That is exactly what I got from my underlings. You may want to check through the other paperwork,” Damon replied.
I scoffed, with anxiety and befuddlement slowly eating deep into my mind as I placed the paper in my hold on the table, and went through the others.
I was appalled by what I saw that I yanked myself up from the chair.
It was Ophelia’s pregnancy test result which was dated back to three years ago, from the hospital I had instructed Damon to convey her to after the incident at my basement.
Jeremy was my son? How had I failed to think of that possibility? I inwardly chided myself as my eyes roamed across the slip once more.
Fuck, I had failed Ophelia again. I didn’t even want to imagine how hard it must have been for her, raising the product of her misery.
I felt quite saddened and angry with myself for not realizing the similarities Jeremy and I shared that day, his dark glossy hair, his grey eyes, and how emotionally drawn I was to him.
I eyed Damon as my lips wobbled, “So, I’m Jeremy’s father then?”
“Yes, sir,” Damon confirmed my worst fears, and immediately, my guilt grew further.
I squeezed the paper in my hold as I gripped tightly on the edge of the table, and flicked my eyes shut.
Now, nothing was stopping me from winning Ophelia and my son back, and at that moment, I vowed to do everything I could to get Ophelia back into my arms. I would give it my all as long as she forgave me in the end.
I knew Ophelia would likely never forgive me but I was allowed to have wistful thoughts, right?
“Okay, thanks for your effort. You may leave,” I dismissed him, to which he bowed, and trekked out of the study.
I flopped back on the swivel chair with various unhinged thoughts assaulting my mind.
I knew I had to make things right with Ophelia–with my new family–but what I didn’t know was how I was going to do so.
“Fuck, what do I do?” I muttered to no one, as I buried my face in my hands.
I had to make a quick decision, and I had to do something as soon as possible before Ophelia and my son slipped through my fingers.
I couldn’t let that happen.
+++
“I called this impromptu meeting today to discuss something very important with you all,” I started from my seat, at the head of the table in the conference room.
I swept my eyes across the room, taking in the eager eyes of the shareholders who were seated at the table with me.
“I am temporarily stepping down as the president of Torres software,” I said, clasping my hands tighter on the table to repress the anxiety brewing inside me.
As expected, a loud uproar of murmurings filled the room which made me inhale deeply before I spoke into the microphone again, “I know this must be quite hard to bear. I’m sorry for my unruly actions toward you all. I know, I should have discussed this earlier with you but even I had no idea it would come to this,”
“What do you mean you had no idea? What is going to happen to our shares in your company? Who is taking over the company?” A petite, aged woman whose name I had forgotten but who I knew to be the CEO of a financial institution yelled.
“Calm down. Let me finish speaking before you attack me,” I scoffed, and averted my gaze from her.
“As I was saying, I’m stepping down because I’m relocating to London to head the company’s branch over there,” I muttered, and watched the shareholders exchange glances with each other as the murmurings gradually quieted.
“And as for the person taking over the company, the vice president, Doris Hutchinson will be taking over,” I motioned to Doris, who was sitting next to me with a nervous smile.
“I trust Doris and I know she is capable of making trustworthy decisions in my absence. We all know I won’t make a decision that’d jeopardize the state of this company,” I reassured, and they nodded except the petite woman who scoffed.
“If any of you want to sell your shares, let me know. I have my checkbook here, and I’ll buy it from you immediately,” I patted the checkbook in front of me, with my stare fixated on the old lady.
I expected her to say something but to my utter surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she just huffed.
“So, I take it that no one objects to my decision?” I made sure, as I scanned through their faces.
“Yes, no one does. We support and trust you,” A stubby man said with a nod.
“Thanks for your neverending trust in me,” I muttered with a small smile.
Now, everything was set. I couldn’t wait to have Ophelia and Jeremy back into my lives, where they belonged.