Chapter 124 I Will Not Acknowledge You
Grace stared blankly ahead. "I didn't lie to you about that. One of the babies... really did die."
She looked down at Max, gently stroking his hair. "Max was the younger twin. It was his older brother who died."
"Why did he die?" Alexander asked.
Grace's lips trembled as she pressed them together, her voice shaking. "The nurse said it was due to nutritional imbalance. The baby wasn't developing properly."
Alexander suddenly fell silent.
His hands clenched into fists as he walked over to Grace, gripping her shoulders tightly. "If you had just told me the truth back then, that child wouldn't have died!"
Grace lifted her head, her eyes filled with bitter mockery. "How could I dare? Have you forgotten how ruthless you were? You threatened me—said if I dared deceive you, you'd make my life a living hell. If I had told you I was pregnant, even if you had allowed me to carry the babies to term, you still would have divorced me. I still would have been separated from my children."
She turned her face away, speaking each word deliberately. "Yes, I failed to protect that baby. But back then, I truly had nowhere else to turn."
Alexander's expression froze. For a moment, he couldn't find words.
Max squeezed Grace's hand protectively, looking up to glare at Alexander. "Threatening my mother like that—you're no gentleman. Actually, I've known for a long time that you're my biological father. But my refusal to acknowledge you has nothing to do with my mother. I simply don't want to recognize you as my father."
Alexander was stunned.
He stared at Max for a long moment, then slowly knelt down in front of him, meeting his eyes at the same level.
They were father and son—blood of his blood, cut from the same cloth.
Alexander gazed quietly at Max's face, his large hand gently touching the boy's cheek. Max didn't resist the contact, but he didn't respond with any particular warmth either.
He studied Alexander carefully.
Alexander likewise studied the stubborn little boy before him.
Max didn't notice the slight tremor in the man's fingertips.
He hadn't observed him this closely before. Now, looking carefully, while the little one certainly had Grace's remarkably beautiful features—delicate skin, handsome and adorable, especially those dark eyes that sparkled like they held moonbeams—his brow and bone structure were unmistakably similar to Alexander's own.
The same strong eyebrows, the same prominent nose bridge, though still childish and not yet fully developed.
Grace had said she was carrying twins. If the other child hadn't died, he would probably have been just as adorable as Max, perhaps even a bit taller.
"Why don't you want to acknowledge me?" Alexander asked gently.
"Because I don't accept you," Max replied.
He crossed his arms. "I told you—whoever my mother accepts, I'll accept. Blood ties and genetics don't matter much to me. Tell me, why should I acknowledge you? Just because you're my biological father? But in all my years of growing up, have you ever cared about me? Have you ever fulfilled even one day of responsibility toward me?"
Max took a step back. "I won't acknowledge you." He moved closer to Grace, his allegiance clear.
Alexander looked at Max's cold expression and fell silent.
He suddenly realized he had no grounds to blame Grace.
Because seven years ago, if he had known Grace was pregnant, he probably wouldn't have acknowledged the children in her womb anyway.
Back then, he hadn't been psychologically prepared to be a father.
It wasn't until three years ago, when Jeremy brought Liam to him and told him this child was his son, his own flesh and blood, that his paternal love had taken root.
Looking at Liam's innocent face, the father's love in his heart had finally begun to sprout.
He had expressed that love clumsily, carefully protecting Liam, wanting to give him all the most beautiful things in the world.
But he had ultimately discovered that nothing beautiful could compare to Liam himself—Liam was the most precious and beautiful thing in his heart.
Compared to Liam, he had been absent from Max's life for seven years.
In those missing seven years, he hadn't fulfilled a single day of fatherly responsibility, hadn't given Max an ounce of affection or care.
It was only natural that Max wouldn't want to acknowledge him.
Alexander looked at Grace. "You don't need to worry about me fighting you for custody of Max."
Grace was stunned.
In her mind, Alexander had always been a domineering, forceful man. She had imagined that if he learned Max's true identity, he would definitely steal Max away from her.
She had even prepared herself for a custody battle.
But she hadn't expected...
He would actually say this?
Grace raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Do you really mean that?"
"I never go back on my word," Alexander replied.
He paused, then asked, "The baby who died—what happened to him in the end?"
Grace's throat felt dry. She didn't want to remember, but forced herself to recall. "At the time, the nurse had him cremated... He was so small, the urn was tiny. I... I buried him."
"Where?" Alexander asked.
"Westview Cemetery," Grace replied.
Alexander immediately said, "Take me there. I want to see."
Grace couldn't help but be moved.
She hadn't expected that a man as cold-blooded as Alexander would care about a child who had died, thinking he wouldn't care at all.
"Alright. I'll take you there."
"Mommy, I want to go too," Max said. He wanted to see his older brother.
Liam also stood up, clutching Grace's sleeve tightly like a little shadow.
Alexander looked Grace over. "Are you able to walk right now?"
"I'm... okay..." Before she could finish, Alexander suddenly stepped in front of her and swept her up in his arms.
Grace's heart skipped a beat.
Listening to the man's racing heartbeat against his chest, her own pulse began to accelerate. "Alexander, put me down."
"It'll be dark soon if we wait any longer." Without argument, Alexander carried her out of the hospital room.
Max and Liam followed close behind.
Liam looked at Max, unsure where they were going.
"We're going to see my older brother," Max explained.
Liam's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, wow!" He was very curious to meet Max's brother.
He must be just as adorable as Max.
But why had he never seen Max's brother before?
Liam's innocent mind wandered with questions.
An hour later, the car stopped at West Hollow Cemetery.
Dusk was approaching.
Grace sat in the car, gazing out the window.
Alexander got out and surveyed their surroundings.
West Hollow Cemetery stretched out in desolate emptiness.
Because it was a public cemetery, the management fees were very low—a burial plot cost only $1,000, with annual maintenance fees of $580. As a result, it was located in a very remote area, rarely maintained, and particularly sparse.
Grace had always wanted to earn enough money to buy a better burial site. After all, she truly felt heartbroken for this baby who had died just after birth. If she hadn't been so financially strapped and desperate back then, she wouldn't have had to bear burying him in such a desolate cemetery.