Chapter 542 - 540: Because He’s Your Real Father

Chapter 542: Chapter 540: Because He’s Your Real Father

The bamboo forest was pitch-black at night. In the darkness, one could only make out silhouettes, not faces.

The boy in Celeste Grant’s arms was on high alert. ’Is this some new way to kill me?’ he couldn’t help but wonder. He contemplated whether he should play along for a while and then find a chance to escape.

In just a few moments, a thousand thoughts had already raced through the boy’s mind.

Celeste Grant knelt slightly to hug her son tightly, gently stroking his head. "I’m so sorry. We should have found you sooner. You’ve suffered so much."

Just then, a large hand gently rested on his head, and a man’s voice followed. "I’m your father, and this is your mother... We’re your real parents."

"My... my real parents."

The words hit him like a thunderclap, and for a moment, his mind went blank. ’This... this is impossible. How could they be my real parents? Weren’t they sent by those people to kill me?’

Celeste Grant rested her head gently on her son’s shoulder, her cheek brushing against his. "My son... my sweet Annie, Mother is so late." The thought of her little boy suffering such scorn, being constantly beaten and cursed, made her heart ache, and tears began to fall.

Her voice seemed to hold a power that could soothe the soul. The boy’s tense body slowly began to relax. Still, he didn’t believe these two were really his parents.

As he puzzled over it, a woman’s voice reached his ears.

"I’m so sorry, my baby."

Her voice was so gentle.

’This woman’s embrace... it feels so safe.’

’Is this what a mother feels like?’

The boy stood motionless, letting her hold him, his mind a whirlwind of confusion. When he heard her call him "baby," a blush crept up his cheeks.

"Who’s a baby...? I’m already grown up."

Celeste Grant smiled and patted his back. "Even when you’re all grown up, you’ll still be Mom’s baby."

Javier Sinclair spoke up. "My dear, let’s get out of here first."

"Mm."

Celeste Grant nodded.

"Come on, let Daddy hold you." As he spoke, Javier Sinclair bent down and scooped his son up with one arm. He instinctively used his other hand to take Celeste Grant’s, a gesture so ingrained it was second nature to him.

Javier Sinclair’s gaze fell on his son’s face. He could clearly see the shifting expressions on the boy’s face. The look in his eyes said it all: he didn’t believe a word they were saying.

The main issue was the deep darkness of the bamboo forest, which prevented his son from seeing their faces clearly. That’s why Javier Sinclair wasn’t worried. Once the boy could see his face, all doubt would vanish. The resemblance between father and son was uncanny; they were like a larger and smaller version of the same person. Any outsider would know they were father and son at a single glance.

Carrying his son, the family of three walked out of the bamboo forest.

The boy in Javier Sinclair’s arms remained silent, but he kept stealing glances at the man holding him and the woman walking beside them.

’Who are they, really? This feels wrong... Are they truly not here to kill me? They’re completely different from the others who were sent before. They don’t seem to have any ill will toward me at all.’

「In the bamboo forest.」

The boy hesitated several times, but finally couldn’t stop himself from asking what was on his mind. "Who are you people? Where are you taking me?"

She turned her head slightly to look at her son in Javier Sinclair’s arms.

Celeste Grant smiled. "Sweetheart, I already told you, I’m your mother and he’s your father. Why won’t you believe us? But being cautious is a good thing; it means you won’t be easily fooled. Don’t worry, you’re our son. We would never hurt you."

The boy lowered his head slightly.

He still didn’t believe them.

But he asked anyway, "If I’m your son, what proof do you have?"

Hearing this, Celeste Grant said, "You want proof? That’s easy enough." As she spoke, she held out her hand. When she opened her palm, a white pearl radiating a soft, shimmering light appeared within it. In an instant, the bamboo forest was illuminated.

The pearl in her hand wasn’t large, just a bit bigger than a pigeon’s egg, but it was perfect for illumination, casting a bright glow. It looked much like a so-called Luminous Pearl, but it was, in fact, a Mermaid Pearl.

The bamboo forest lit up.

The figures of Celeste Grant and Javier Sinclair became clearly visible to the boy. When he saw their faces clearly, he froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The boy’s eyes widened. He looked from Celeste Grant to the man holding him, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

"You... You’re..."

He stammered as soon as he spoke.

Seeing the boy’s shocked expression,

Celeste Grant couldn’t help but smile. She pointed to Javier Sinclair’s face and said softly, "You’re wondering why he looks so much like you, aren’t you?"

The boy nodded instinctively.

Celeste Grant explained, "Because he’s your real father. It’s not that he looks like you, but that you look just like him. So, looking at the two of you, do you still need any proof? When you two are together, you’re just a big and small version of the same person. No one would ever mistake you for anything but father and son."

The boy fell silent.

’Proof?’

’He was right. None was needed.’

The man before him looked so much like him—no, it was that *he* looked so much like the man. And it wasn’t just the man holding him. His own eyes and brows bore a slight resemblance to the woman standing beside him, too.

Javier Sinclair glanced at him.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?"

The boy sighed softly.

His feelings were a complicated mess.

The boy glanced at the man and woman before him and couldn’t help but admit, "I... I don’t know what to say."

He was truly at a loss for words.

In that moment, the boy finally believed in his heart that the man and woman before him truly were his parents. But if they were his parents, where had they been all this time? Why had they abandoned him for so many years, and why were they coming for him now?

Reaching out to gently stroke her son’s head, Celeste Grant said softly, "My son, do you believe that we’re really your mother and father now?"

The boy lifted his gaze to Celeste Grant. The way this woman looked at him was so intimate and gentle—it was the look a mother gives her own child.

And then there was the man holding him.

’Is this what a father is like? He’s so tall, and his arms are so strong. Being held by him... it feels like I’m not afraid of anything anymore. No, no, how can I think like that?’

He lowered his head nervously.

"So what if... you’re my real parents? You’re the ones who abandoned me, aren’t you? Why are you coming to find me now?"

Despite the brave front he put on, his heart was in turmoil. He was already starting to make excuses for them, even guessing that something must have happened, or that they had enemies, forcing the family to separate. ’They didn’t really abandon me.’