Chapter 127 Max is My Son
That evening, Alexander brought Liam back to Hayes Manor.
As soon as they walked through the door, Mary was already waiting at the entrance. The moment she saw Liam, she couldn't help but scoop him up in her arms lovingly.
"Oh my goodness, Liam's gotten so thin!" Mary said with obvious concern. "Haven't you been eating properly these past few days?"
Liam blinked innocently. He really hadn't been eating well lately, and Alexander had even scolded him for it.
But he simply couldn't stomach the nanny's cooking.
Although the nanny was skilled in the kitchen, in Liam's mind, Max's cooking was still the most delicious.
Mary's heart ached as she quickly instructed, "Have the chef prepare something good right away. This poor child must be starving."
"He did gain some weight recently, but he hasn't been eating well lately and has indeed lost weight," Alexander said. He glanced at Mary, his lips parting slightly, but ultimately decided not to mention Max.
He had originally intended to tell Mary that Max was his son and that he'd decided to acknowledge him, but since Max was unwilling to accept him and they were at an impasse, he decided not to alarm her just yet.
Mary sat down in the dining room with Liam in her arms, gently stroking his hair.
Alexander took a seat across from her and asked, "Grandma, about Grace..."
Mary looked up with a puzzled expression. "What about her?"
"Didn't you arrange for her to have that procedure back then?" Alexander asked.
Mary nodded. "Yes, why are you suddenly asking about that? You can't blame me for taking matters into my own hands. At the time, you were unconscious, and I was worried the Hayes family wouldn't have an heir. Wouldn't that make me a sinner to the family? Who would have thought that Grace would be so useless—she couldn't give you a child, but ended up having a son with some other man."
She had originally suspected that Liam was the child Grace had abandoned, but Alexander had already done a paternity test proving that Liam and Grace shared no blood relation. Liam's parentage remained a mystery to this day.
But Mary didn't want to pursue it further.
No matter who Liam's birth mother was, he was Alexander's child—that much was certain.
More importantly...
"I should actually thank Grace," Mary continued. "You can tell she genuinely cared for Liam. He speaks now and is willing to be affectionate with people—he was never like this before. Not every woman would treat another woman's son as her own! Although there are some things about her that I find unsatisfactory..."
Alexander pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "What if I told you I wanted to remarry Grace? You wouldn't object, would you?"
Mary didn't catch it at first. "What?"
Alexander patiently repeated, "I said, I want to remarry Grace."
She was completely stunned.
Initially, when she had arranged this marriage for Alexander, he had vehemently refused it.
He had even suspected at one point that Grace was the one who had given birth to Liam and abandoned him, and he hated her for it. How was it that now he had suddenly changed his mind and wanted to remarry her?
Mary was utterly confused. "Why do you suddenly want to remarry her?"
"I have my reasons," Alexander replied.
Mary nodded with a somewhat bewildered expression. "Aside from Emily, I won't interfere with whoever you marry, as long as she's a decent woman."
Her hatred for Emily remained undiminished.
Mary's mood darkened as she continued, "I can see that woman is no good. She's using the fact that her brother saved your life to manipulate you. Alexander, you can marry anyone you want, just not her! Unless you want me dead..."
Alexander chuckled softly. "Grandma, please stop throwing around talk about death. I really don't like it."
"Unless you promise me you'll never marry her," Mary insisted.
Alexander closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them. "I promise you, I won't marry Emily."
Upon hearing this, Mary's face lit up with joy. "With your word, I can rest easy."
As she played with Liam in her arms, she reminded him, "It's good that you're asking for my opinion. In the past, you were so stubborn and never considered what I thought. Your remarrying Grace would be good for Liam too. She treats him well, and he likes her—I'd be happy to see it happen. But if she remarries you, what about her son? Will he be brought to the Hayes family as well? Has his background been thoroughly investigated? Do we know who his father is?"
Mary was quite open-minded, but the one thing that bothered her was Grace's son.
She still believed Grace had had an affair during marriage and bore this child, showing disloyalty to the Hayes family.
Faced with Mary's rapid-fire questions, Alexander hesitated for a long time. "Grandma, there's something I need to tell you. Please don't get too excited."
Mary looked puzzled. "What is it?"
Alexander decided to be completely honest, "Max is my son."
Mary didn't process it immediately and squinted. "What?"
Alexander patiently repeated, "Max is my son—mine and Grace's son."
Mary suddenly straightened up in excitement. "How do you know? Are you certain? Didn't she say the child belonged to another man... Have you known this all along? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
This news completely shocked Mary.
"Didn't I ask you not to get excited?" Alexander said.
Mary's expression was exaggerated. "How can I not be excited? This is so sudden—I had no psychological preparation whatsoever! Are you sure? Don't lie to me; I can't handle this kind of shock."
"I haven't done a paternity test yet. If you're not comfortable, I can have one done," Alexander said.
Mary nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course you should! Otherwise, how can we be sure the child is your son and not just her trying to deceive you?"
Alexander smiled wryly.
Mary was clearly unable to sit still. Seeing that Alexander hadn't brought Max with him, she asked worriedly, "Where is the child now? If you're certain he's your son, why didn't you bring him?"
"Grace is in the hospital, and the child is there keeping her company," Alexander explained.
"Oh my! You've given me no preparation for this whatsoever!" Mary muttered for a while, then urged, "Get a paternity test done immediately. If it proves the child is yours, bring him home as soon as possible. Don't wait until the child grows up and doesn't want to acknowledge you. What's Grace thinking? She must have known this child was yours—why did she hide it for so long?"
"She was afraid that if I found out, I would take away custody of the child, so she kept it hidden from the Hayes family all along," Alexander explained.
Upon hearing this, Mary nodded. "I can understand her motivation, but hiding it from you was still wrong of her. So you want to remarry her because you want to take responsibility for this child?"