Chapter 165 Suspicions
Chapter 165 Suspicions
At noon the next day, Steven brought a large bag of gifts over to Jordan's villa. Irene heard the doorbell
and opened the door. When she discovered that it was Steven at the door, her expression immediately
darkened. "Why are you here?" she asked.
"I'm here to see my grandson!" Steven yelled. He had no concern over Irene's indifferent attitude and
went straight into the villa. Eden was occupied with solving a puzzle in the living room when he heard
Steven's voice and looked up.
This was the first time Steven had seen Eden. He instantly took a liking to him. Eden bore a
resemblance to Irene. He placed the gift he bought in front of Eden and affectionately touched Eden's
head, saying, "You're Eden, right? I'm your grandfather."
"Grandfather? What's that?" Eden asked curiously with his eyes wide open. Irene had never mentioned
the word 'grandfather' in front of him; hence, he didn't know what it meant.
Steven's face turned a little red. "It means I'm your mother's father, do you understand?"
"Yeah," Eden replied. In fact, he didn't actually understand Steven at all, but he was just pretending. He
turned to look at Irene and said to her, "Mom, do you have a father?"
Irene forced a smile. She didn't want him to feel embarrassed. Thus, she simply nodded.
"So you are my mom's father. Why haven't you been taking care of her? Why do you let bad men bully
her?" Eden turned to look at Steven again, questioning him.
"I was wrong of me. From now on, I will take good care of both you and your mom. I won't let anyone
bully the two of you," Steven said, feeling very guilty about it.
"Really?" Eden lightened up. Margaret had given him a bad scare. If he had a father, Eden was certain
that he would not be harmed by Margaret again. Now that he had discovered that Irene had a
father, Steven would definitely protect him and Irene. Eden added, "There is one bad lady who bullies
me and Mom a lot. You must help us punish her. She is an evil witch!"
"Well, the next time she comes to you, just let me know and I promise to protect the two of you,"
Steven assured Eden. Then he looked back at Irene. "Irene, since you're back, why don't you bring him
home?"
Although she knew that Steven was here without any ill intentions, Irene still was not on friendly terms
with him. "There is no need for that. We are doing just fine here."
"No matter how good it gets here, it is still someone else's home. I'll get Maisy to help set up a room for
Eden. You must take him home, alright?" repeated Steven.
"For me, I am more at home here than I am in your house," Irene insisted in such a carefree manner.
Truth be told, she did not want to see Steven, but at the same time, she could not drive Steven away
while Eden was here. Suddenly, Thomas appeared.
Ever since Irene and Eden moved to Jordan's villa, Thomas would come over to help take care of
them. When he caught sight of Steven, he was obviously surprised and his expression dropped at
once. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
Eden was elated to see Thomas; he immediately left Steven and ran to Thomas. "Uncle Thomas, I just
ate some snacks so I'm not hungry yet. Can you cook later? Come play with me first."
"Okay, I'll play with you now and cook later," Thomas said as he prepared himself to go to the kitchen to
set down the groceries he had just bought. Irene reached out and got hold of the groceries from him.
"Uncle Thomas, why do you go and play with Eden? I'll cook today."
"That's alright. Eden prefers my cooking. I'll do it instead." Thomas shook his head.
Right then, Eden chimed in, "Uncle Thomas' cooking is better than Mom's, I want Uncle Thomas to
cook."
"Eden, can't Uncle Thomas catch a break once in a while?" Irene glared at him.
Eden hid in Thomas' arms. "Uncle Thomas, Mom is being fierce to me!"
"Don't be afraid. I am right here." Thomas tittered.
Seeing how close Eden and Irene were with Thomas, Steven was consumed with a wave of mixed
feelings. Irene was his daughter, and Eden was his grandson. How could they be so amicable with an
outsider, but not to their own blood relative? He wondered, feeling perplexed.
Eden made a face at Irene in Thomas' arms. When he saw Steven just standing aside, he poked his
head out and pointed at Steven. Then he said, "Uncle Thomas, Mom has a father now. From now on,
the bad guys won't dare to bully me and my mom anymore!"
"Him?" Thomas scoffed. If it weren't for the fact that Eden was here, Thomas would have already
lashed at Steven. Thomas' sneer provoked Steven. If Thomas did not take Irene away from him, Irene
would have grown up with him and be close to him instead. She wouldn't have suffered so much.
Steven felt an inexplicable feeling of hatred towards Thomas.
"Me what?" He stared at Thomas coldly. "From now on, I, Steven, will take care of my daughter and my
grandson. I don't need your help."
"Don't you think it's too late to say that now?" Thomas jeered. "Irene and Eden don't need your fake
kindness."
"You're not even related to them. You have no say in this." Steven smirked. He had always been patient
with Thomas and never argued with him. Only he knew the reason why. But at this moment, he wasn't
going to put on a kind facade in front of Thomas anymore. "The next time you see me, you'd better act
nicer to me, lest I reveal all your ugly truths," Steven warned.
"Steven, how dare you say that?" Thomas became livid and his face was filled with rage. He was being
threatened by Steven openly. Steven was implying that he was going to let Irene know about the fact
that Thomas was actually Dave. Thomas didn't want Irene to know about this.
Looking at them, Irene felt an unpleasant feeling growing in her chest. Although Steven had hurt Irene
and Myra because of his affair, it was undeniable that Steven had been very kind to her when she was
a child. It was precisely because Steven had been kind to her that she couldn't accept that Steven
would have committed such a sin.
Despite Thomas only being her uncle, he had been taking care of her since she was ten years old. He
had played the role of being an uncle and a father in her life. She didn't want to see their tit-for-tat fight.
Therefore, to diffuse the situation, she simply said to Steven, "Why don't you just head back first for
today?"
Irene requested him to leave. She was clearly siding with Thomas and was driving him away. Steven
became even angrier. He shot a glance at Eden and chose to suppress his anger. "Eden, I will return
tomorrow to see you. Be good and listen to your mother!"
"Okay, Grandpa. Goodbye!"
Steven did not leave immediately, but looked at Thomas coldly. "Thank you for taking care of Irene all
these years. I'll treat you to a drink some day."
"The mighty politician asking me out for tea? I wouldn't dare!" Thomas did not want to have anything to
do with Steven.
Steven forced a smile on his face and said, "I insist. I will personally come to meet you." Then, he
strode to the door.
After Steven left, Thomas' face turned a little pale. Irene comforted him, "Uncle Thomas, don't pay him
any mind. Eden and I won't have anything to do with him."
Thomas gave a wry smile. If he were the real Thomas, Irene would certainly not turn to Steven.
However, if Steven revealed to her his true identity, would Irene still treat him the same way?
After lunch, Edric dropped by. His face was hollow and he looked skinnier. Seeing Edric decline to his
current situation, Irene's heart couldn't help but ache. "Edric, please leave us be, okay? I promise I'll let
you see Eden after he's recovered."
Edric smiled bitterly. "Irene, I'm not here to see the child. I found a doctor for Eden. He is a famous
doctor in Haverland. He's experienced in treating leukemia. Please let him have a look at Eden."
"A doctor from Haverland?" Irene asked, a little hesitant.
"Mr. Myers heard that Donald Brown, an old professor, has a lot of experience in treating leukemia, so
he expressly took the effort to invite him over. Please let him take a look at Eden," John interrupted.
"Since he's invited him already, we might as well let him," Thomas persuaded.
Observing that Thomas did not object, Irene opened the door to allow Edric and the other two men to
enter the room. Dr. Brown examined Eden and read Eden's health report. He noted that he had treated
a patient in a similar predicament as Eden before. After receiving treatment from him, the patient never
had a relapse until this day. Hence, he suggested that Eden should commence treatment immediately.
Naturally, Irene was cautious when it came to Eden. She eventually accepted Donald's suggestion.
Donald prescribed Eden some medication. He told Eden to try these first and see how it went.
Thomas made sure to ask if there were any dietary restrictions needed for Eden and Donald informed
him that it would be best for Eden to avoid eating sour, cold, and spicy foods. Irene thanked Donald
and took the prescription slip. She was about to leave in order to collect the medicine but Edric
immediately offered to help. He could not pass up on the opportunity to spend more time with Irene.
Irene did not reject and got into his car.
This was the first time that they had been alone since returning to Haverland. Edric looked carefully at
Irene. "Irene, I'm sorry. I was wrong this time. I apologize for having caused you so much trouble."
"Is 'sorry' all you know how to say?" Irene snorted. "You're always making mistakes and apologizing.
What's the point then?"
"I won't do it again next time," he said with caution.
"Will there even be a next time?"
Edric was so stung by her words that he did not know how to respond. After a while, he begged, "Irene,
I wish to be able to visit Eden as much as possible. Would that be alright with you?"
"Can I just say no to that?" She was in a foul mood.
Edric was relieved that she didn't outright refuse his request. With a smile on his face, he said, "Irene,
thank you."
"Thank me for what? Edric, I warn you, do not cross the line. I'm just letting you see Eden. Don't get
any wrong ideas."
"I just want to see Eden, I will never hit on you," Edric promised.
They arrived at the pharmacy and picked up the medicine. When they started the car, Edric glanced at
the figure in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but make a sound of surprise. "Isn't that Loraine?
What is she doing here?"
Irene followed his gaze and looked over. She saw Loraine standing by the door of the pharmacy. Edric
looked at Irene and said, "Let me go ask her what she's doing here."
Irene knew what he meant. He must be worried about Margaret. She remained mute, as Edric's
matters had nothing to do with her. Seeing that Irene didn't agree to his request, Edric immediately
explained himself.
"I've been running around looking for a doctor for Eden and I asked Loraine to take care of my mother,
so..."
It was normal for him to worry about Margaret. Seeing how cautious he looked, Irene couldn't help but
say, "Edric, when I was still seeing you, I have never stopped you from doing anything. We aren't
related to each other anymore. You are pleased to do whatever you want, there is no need to explain to
me." Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
"I..." Edric looked at Irene with a complicated expression. While he was hesitating, a man walked over
to Loraine. They greeted each other as if they had known each other for ages before entering the
pharmacy together.
"Isn't that Tommy? How does he know Loraine?" Now it was Irene's turn to be surprised. The man who
entered the pharmacy with Loraine was none other than Steven's driver, Tommy Lewis.
"Yeah, how do they know each other?" Edric was also confused.
"Edric, don't you want to know about your mother's condition? Why don't you ask her now?" Irene
urged.