Chapter 131 Peace

Chapter 131 Peace
 Verena 
 The fork Jana gripped fell hard against the plate, the harsh sound slicing through the air as the color drained from her face. “What—” she whispered slowly, rising to her feet. 
 My mouth parted in shock, my eyes flitting from Kian who remained frozen on the seat, horror slowly slipping through his face to Mikael whose face scrunched in confusion, and back to Neil whose jaw tightened like they were clenching down on a thousand buried secrets. 
 Daxton leaned back in the chair, dark amusement in his eyes as he chewed slowly like he was savoring the meat in his mouth and the destruction happening right in front of him. 
 A dry bitter laugh tore from Jana’s throat. “Neil wouldn't cheat on me. He would never do something like that to me…”
 Mikael blinked, uneasiness in his eyes as he leaned forward. “Yes, Mr.Neil isn't my dad and—”
 Jana snapped her head to Mikael, raising her voice. “Keep quiet. I’m talking to my husband, not you,” 
 This had to be the first time she had ever raised her voice at Mikael. Kian was the one who always bore the sharp edges of her temper.
 She whipped her head back to Neil who refused to look up. “Please tell me it is a lie. Tell me that Daxton is doing this to get between us,”
 Neil didn’t say a word. But when he slowly lifted his head, the look on his face betrayed him so completely that my breath caught. My hands flew to my mouth, pressing hard against my lips to smother the gasp that almost escaped. 
 Tears sprang up in her eyes, her breath coming in small ragged gasps as crystals dropped down her cheeks. “Why are you silent? Why are you not saying anything,” she screamed, sending a shudder through me. 
 Neil choked out a whisper. “I’m sorry,”
 Jana let out a sharp cry, clenching her heart as she dropped slowly to the floor. 
 This was beyond fucked up. 
 So Neil brought in the child from his affair with the butler and made Jana raise him? Even though Jana was a horrible person, she loved Mikael and treated him like her own son. I could still remember their family pictures that were hung on the wall, of Jana dressing both Mikael and Kian in the same clothes. Same baseball hats. 
 Mikael would always put on a bright smile while Kian would ruin almost every shot with a deep frown. 
 This was wickedness. All the men in the Cooper Family had lost their goddamn minds. Sick and mentally depraved men. 
 Daxton touched my hand, a smile plastered on his face despite the chaos that swamped us. “Are you okay?”
 No, I wasn't. 
 I let out a sharp breath, and reached for his wine glass, chugging it down as it burned a sharp line down my throat. Daxton chuckled, squeezing my hands softly. 
 All of a sudden, Mikael kicked his chair back, ripping his hand through his hair amidst Jana’s tiny sobs. “Mr. Daxton—” his gaze flared with anger. “I don't know what personal vendetta you have against Mr. Neil and Mrs. Jana but I don't appreciate you using me to drive a wedge between them. I love and respect you, yes—but I love them too. They treated like a son and I’m forever grateful for that,”
 Kian stood up too and for the first time, he stood beside Mikael. I would have never believed that a day like this would ever come. 
 “Yes! You are just doing this to stir up problems between us. My dad is loyal to my mum and will forever be,”
 Daxton shook his head slowly, clicking his tongue against his teeth while the look on Neil’s face made my heart lurch forward. Black spots clouded his vision and he looked like he was contemplating hurling the knife across the table and watching it go through Daxton. 
 “I can't believe that I’m doing this…” A frustrated groan left Daxton’s mouth. “Touch the back of your neck”
 Skepticism lingered on their faces while they lifted their hands hesitantly, unsure. 
 “What is that?”
 “A mole…” they both said at the same time, shock flashing through Kian’s eyes while fear took over Mikael’s face. 
 “Yes. The same mole as Neil’s,” 
 Mikael jerked his head back, eyes widening as he glimpsed the back of Neil’s neck and shook his head, shrugging it off. “It could be a coincidence. You can't base your accusations on something like this,”
 “Correct,” Kian said. 
 Daxton nodded, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Yes, coincidence on the same spot…” He glanced at Jana who was rising to her feet and smirked. “I am just going to get this over with…”
 “Your mother and Neil met during a work trip. Jana had her suspicions about him seeing someone and confronted him about it but Neil denied it. He told her it was all in her head and for a while, it looked like he’d cut the woman off until that Sunday Morning—”
 Daxton paused, eyes trained on Jana whose entire body tensed.
 “—heavy snows, warm tea, and that angry knock on the door. A woman showed up at the door. Loud. Desperate and angry. She said she was pregnant,”
 My hands flew over my neck, eyes flitting over to Jana who looked miserable. It was weird but I pitied her. 
 “I was told to go inside but before I did, I overheard her cursing Neil for abandoning her while carrying his child, and that she wasn't leaving. She said if he tried to make her return, she’d make sure the truth came out and ruin his marriage,”
 “And the next time I saw her…she was employed in his house, working as the butler,”
 Daxton had barely finished when Jana laughed—a wicked one. In the blink of an eye, she grabbed her luxurious bag and swung it until it slammed hard into Neil’s face. 
 Neil shot up to his feet, trying to calm her down. “I can explain. Please let me explain,”
 Kian barked out a scoff of disbelief. “What the fuck! Dad! You mean this jerk is my brother and on top of that, you remove my name from the will and put his in? This has to be a joke!”
 Mikael looked devastated, his lips wobbling like he had a million words to say as he shook his head, cast one last glance at the chaos, and walked away. 
 Jana shrugged Neil’s hands off, sticking a finger at his face. “If you dare touch me one more time, I will kill you myself. You can keep the explanation…” She twisted the wedding ring off her fingers and hurled it straight to his chest. “We are getting a divorce and I would take everything away from you, you evil man,”
 Kian snagged his car keys off the table. “You took my name out of the will…be sure that the Cooper group is going down. I would see to it! Mum, let’s go,”
 Jana yanked Kian’s hands away, shouting at him. “Take your hands off me. Like father, like son. Both cheats!”
 The irony. 
 It almost made me laugh. 
 “Be sure to hear from my Lawyer soon,” she clutched her bag and stormed out. 
 Kian’s brows furrowed. “Like father. Like son? Mum, are you forgetting that you also ruined my marriage ?…” She didn't answer while he hurried after her, not without shooting death stares at his dad. 
 I found myself opening my mouth again. “What the fuck!”
 Neil turned back to Daxton, drained and helpless. “I hope ruining my family on your birthday is worth it,”
 Daxton chuckled. “Of course it is worth it. I got entertained,”
 “To hell with you Daxton. I hope you never find peace…” he spat.
 Daxton laughed, taking my hand and dipping his head until his lips brushed through my knuckles. “Peace? Why do I need to find peace when she is sitting next to me?”
 My stomach fluttered, breath hitching from the way his eyes held mine. 
 “I’ve found peace. Verena is my peace.”