Chapter 99
Sylvia opened the door to find Byron standing there, with Zack trailing behind him.
Zack beamed at Sylvia and called out, “Mommy.”
Sylvia smiled fondly and nodded. “Did you eat yet?” she asked gently.
“Not yet, Mommy,” Zack said cheerfully. “Looks like I’m staying for dinner tonight.”
Ruby, who’d been playing with her toys on the sofa, scampered over and grabbed Zack’s hand. “Yay. Zack is staying for dinner.”
Looking up at Byron, she piped up politely in her sweet, little voice, “Hello, Byron.”
Byron gently picked up Ruby and gave her nose an affectionate tweak. “Ruby, actually, there’s a better name you could use instead of Byron.”
Ruby blinked her eyes curiously and asked, “What is it?”
“You can call me Dad,” Byron said it slow and steady, every word firm.
“But Byron, that’s not right. You’re not my daddy,” Ruby exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.
yron glared coldly at Sylvia. “Sylvia, haven’t you told Ruby the truth yet?”
Sylvia snapped, “What? I’m busy cooking right now, okay?” With that, she headed straight for the kitchen.
Byron could tell she was dodging the issue, his voice turning icy. “Sylvia, this is on you. Are you really going to keep lying to Ruby forever?”
Sylvia’s expression darkened. She could feel Byron pushing his luck further, yet she had to grudgingly face reality. “Fine. You’re Ruby’s dad–happy now?”
She stormed into the kitchen, fuming. Sylvia didn’t get custody of Zack, and almost lost Ruby too. This custody battle turned out to be a total loss.
Ruby’s eyes darted around, still trying to process what she’d just heard.
“Dad, let me explain to Ruby,” Zack said urgently, waving his hands.
Byron set Ruby down on the ground, and Zack immediately took her by the hand, pulling her aside. He leaned in close and began whispering something
in her ear.
Ruby’s eyes widened in surprise. She stole a glance at Byron and whispered, “Are you really my daddy?”
“་མི་ཤ་ཧ་ཚེ་ཤ་ཆེད་རྗེ་ཚེ་ཧ་ཇོ་ཤ རྒྱུ་ན་ཚེ་ཧ་
Byron smiled and nodded, gently stroking Ruby’s hair. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m your daddy.”
Still feeling a bit skeptical, Ruby scurried into the kitchen. “Mommy, Byron says he’s my daddy. Is that true?”
With no other choice, Sylvia reluctantly nodded in confirmation. Ruby’s mouth dropped open in total shock.
“Sylvia, I’m taking the kids out to dinner,” Byron said, standing in the living room for a while without seeing any sign Sylvia wanted to keep him there.
“I finally got to reconnect with my daughter. That’s worth celebrating.” He reached out and took Ruby and Zack by the hand.
Sylvia stormed out of the kitchen, fuming. “Byron, I’m already doing you a huge favor by letting you in. Don’t push your luck.”
Byron scoffed. “It’s my right as a father to take my children out to dinner. Or are you looking for another custody battle?”
Silenced by his words, Sylvia swallowed her anger. Watching Byron lead the children out, she quickly grabbed Ruby’s hat. “Ruby, sweetie, put on your hat. It’s chilly tonight–don’t catch a cold, okay?”
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Chapter 99
With that, she turned to Zack and said gently, “Keep an eye on Ruby for me, okay? Don’t let her fall.”
Ruby and Zack both flashed Sylvia big, happy smiles and said together, “Got it, Mommy.”
Byron got into his car with the two kids. He glanced back at Sylvia, and after a brief silence, asked softly, “Sylvia, with two children between us, do we really have to stay apart?”
Sylvia scoffed coldly without answering and stormed back into the living room. ‘What, he thinks I’d get back with a guy like him? Not in this lifetime,‘ she thought.
With a dark expression, Byron got into the car and instructed the driver to head to an upscale hotel.
。སྨྲ 1 པ
The street in front of Sylvia’s villa had gone quiet. The only light came from the streetlight nearby–until two people slowly walked past on the sidewalk.
“Mr. Sheppard, did you get a good look? The woman who just went in–isn’t that Sylvia, the one who used to chase after you?” The streetlight revealed the speaker–Joanna, recently back from the hospital.
5
Just days ago, Joanna had offended Byron because of Sylvia, ending up standing in the rain outside the Blair house until she caught a bad cold. Now she was blaming Sylvia for everything.
Just as Joanna was seething with rage, she learned that Sylvia had a childhood sweetheart back in her hometown village. Without hesitation, she sent
omeone to track this man, Dillan Sheppard, down.
“That’s right. It’s her,” Dillan said, his eyes lighting up with a mix of surprise and greed as he sized up the villa in front of him. He couldn’t believe Sylvia had gotten so rich.
“Sylvia was chasing after me back in the day, but I turned her down. Honestly, she’s still into me after all these years, and we still keep in touch every now
and then.”
Dillan used to live in the same town as Sylvia, but now he’d moved to the city and was building his own career. He had his own company, too, and was already considered one of the top dogs. These days, he was always dressed sharp in tailored suits.
Actually, he hadn’t told Joanna the whole truth. Back then, he was the one who had pursued Sylvia, but her grandfather had outright refused and had even arranged a marriage for her.
After Sylvia’s grandfather passed away, a fleet of luxury cars arrived and escorted her away.
Over the years, he had run into Sylvia several times when she visited her grandfather’s grave. It was during those encounters that he realized she was no longer the country girl she once was–and he’d heard she’d built an impressive career overseas.
The only reason he managed to leave the countryside and even start his own business was all thanks to Sylvia’s support.
Joanna’s smile deepened as she listened to Dillan’s story. “Dillan, if Sylvia still has feelings for you, and you’re still single, have you ever thought about giving it another shot with her?”
That was exactly why Joanna had sought out Dillan. If he and Sylvia actually got together, then Byron would finally give up on Sylvia,
Dillan raised an eyebrow with a smug smirk. “If Sylvia wants to be with me, let’s see how she handles herself first.”
He thought smugly, ‘Come on, the only reason Sylvia helped me establish myself in the business world was because she had feelings for me. Even the strongest woman needs someone to lean on, and I’m more than willing to be that man for Sylvia.‘
Joanna smiled. “Mr. Sheppard, you do know who Sylvia’s ex–husband is, right? He’s showing signs of wanting to get back together with her. You’d better watch your step.”
Dillan scoffed dismissively. “I’ve known all along who he is–just Byron. If Sylvia’s grandfather hadn’t arranged her marriage to him, she would’ve been my wife long ago.”
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Chapter 99
At that moment, Byron was having dinner with Zack and Ruby, spending the whole evening playing with them. It wasn’t until 9 p.m. that he finally drove them back to Sylvia’s house.
With the weekend just around the corner and Zack stubbornly refusing to leave Sylvia’s place, Byron had no choice but to leave him there and drive
home alone.
Just as Byron was pulling out of the gate, a black car suddenly cut him off, blocking his way. Out stepped none other than Dillan himself.
