Chapter 248 Brandon, You Are Not Allowed to Leave!
Brandon's words scared both mother and daughter on the spot.
Yasmin even choked on her soup right then and there.
She kept coughing, and Candice quickly put down her knife and fork, wanting to pat her back.
Orla, seeing it was hard for her to reach, hurried over to help, gently patting Yasmin's back.
Candice also thought about what Brandon had just said.
So he'd been holding it in all night, deliberately waiting for this moment?
She ignored him and continued using tissues to wipe Yasmin's tears.
Yasmin coughed until her eyes were full of tears, looking as pitiful as could be!
After she recovered, she finally spoke up, "I was too nervous at the time, so I called you the wrong name."
Though Brandon usually doted on Yasmin, hearing her excuse now, he let out a cold snort. "Do you really think I'm that easy to fool? Yasmin, don't you know that children shouldn't lie?"
Hearing him say this, Yasmin pressed her lips together in distress and didn't dare speak again.
Seeing Yasmin being scared like this, Candice felt somewhat unhappy with Brandon and said coldly, "If you have a problem, take it up with me. There's no need to talk to Yasmin like that!"
"Everything she's said and done in her life, every word and action, I taught her!"
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Elijah quickly spoke up, "Dad, can't you wait until after we finish eating to talk about this?"
His tone also sounded a bit unhappy.
Brandon had made Yasmin choke, and now he was talking to Yasmin like this!
Brandon had waited all night without seeing Candice take the initiative to explain to him, and he was already full of anger.
Especially when he realized Candice had no intention of talking to him about it, that anger burned inside him, making him irritable.
Now, seeing even Elijah getting angry, Brandon felt like he'd been betrayed.
He looked at Elijah with some annoyance and asked, "Did you know about this all along too?"
Hearing this, Elijah paused slightly and shook his head. "I didn't know, but I had some guesses."
Brandon was stunned.
Candice was also very surprised.
Elijah looked at both adults' expressions, hesitated, and said, "Yasmin and I play together every day, so naturally we have a deeper connection, especially our understanding of each other and some similar traits."
"Plus, Mom treats her the same way she treats me, so I had my suspicions. But I never thought it would actually be true, that Yasmin really is my sister!"
At this point, Elijah looked to Candice for confirmation. "Mom, Yasmin is my real sister, right?"
His eyes were bright and full of hope.
But Candice closed her eyes, not daring to answer.
She'd had some hope before, but she never expected even Elijah to have noticed.
Since things were already exposed, there was no point in continuing to hide it.
However, seeing Brandon's bad reaction, she didn't know what would happen when the truth came out.
After a moment, Candice finally gathered her courage, looked at Brandon, and said through gritted teeth, "So what if Yasmin is mine? Both Yasmin and Elijah are priceless treasures to me! I didn't need to explain anything to you before!"
Brandon had been waiting for her to admit it.
But while she did admit it, the words she said made him angry.
In that instant, rage filled his chest. He wanted to explode, but he held back because the children were still there.
The vein on Brandon's forehead throbbed. He put down his knife and fork, suddenly stood up, and grabbed Candice's wrist. "Come with me!"
"What are you doing?"
Candice stumbled a few steps as she was pulled along, unable to stop Brandon, and could only be dragged into the study.
As soon as they entered, he locked the door behind them.
His tone was full of unrestrained anger. "Candice, what do you mean by 'didn't need to explain to me'? Yasmin is my daughter. I have the right to know she exists!"
"If she hadn't called me the wrong name today, were you planning to never tell me, to hide the truth forever?"
Candice bit her lip and said nothing, neither confirming nor denying it.
"So that's it then!"
Brandon was furious.
She really knew how to provoke his anger!
Candice naturally sensed his emotions too.
But at this point, she didn't plan to hold back anymore. She said to Brandon, "I did hide Yasmin's identity from the start, and given the relationship between you and me at that time, there was nothing wrong with what I did!"
"You didn't want to have children with me back then, so why should I have let you know about Yasmin's existence? Brandon, you have no right to be angry here!"
Brandon's tone was particularly harsh. "Fine, let's say you didn't tell me at first. But what about later? After you found out Elijah was also your child, didn't you think about telling me?"
"Or when you were fighting me for custody of Elijah, had you already planned to take custody and then disappear with both children?"
Candice was left speechless by his questions.
That was indeed what she'd been thinking at the time.
Right now, she really didn't know how to respond to him.
Seeing Candice not responding, Brandon's expression was extremely unpleasant.
From beginning to end, that had been her plan!
The vein on his forehead bulged as he said angrily, "What about now? Are you still planning to do that?"
Candice didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Her original inner resolve had been firm.
But at some point, it seemed to have wavered a bit.
However, that wavering wasn't strong enough to make her leave the children with Brandon.
And she hadn't figured out the reason for the wavering either.
She frowned, considering how to phrase things appropriately.
But this hesitation, in Brandon's eyes, meant she had nothing to say.
He was completely disappointed in Candice.
He'd thought that after all this time together, Candice's attitude toward him might have softened a little.
But now he realized—not at all!
This realization made him even more furious. Brandon clenched his jaw and said, "Fine, just great! If that's how it is, then we have nothing more to discuss about Elijah's custody!"
He was about to lose it.
If he stayed in this atmosphere any longer, he didn't know what would happen.
So Brandon turned to leave.
Seeing his back, Candice panicked immediately.
Was he going back on his word?
No! He couldn't!
Candice rushed over and grabbed Brandon's hand. "Brandon, what do you mean by that? Are you going back on your word? How can you do that? You promised me! That night..."
"Nothing happened that night, so naturally the agreement is void." Brandon cut her off without mercy.
Candice said with difficulty, "But we completed the agreement another way later, and you said you'd seriously consider it."
Brandon replied coldly, "I was indeed planning to seriously consider it, but that was based on you not deceiving me."
"Now that there's suddenly another daughter, I've changed my mind!"
"You can't! Brandon!"
Candice gripped his hand tightly, not letting him leave. "Brandon, you can't go back on your word!"
Brandon almost laughed in anger. He said coldly, "You can go back on your word, so why can't I?"
He forcefully shook off Candice's hand. "Let go!"
Candice wasn't as strong as him. With just a light shake, her hand slipped off.
Seeing him about to open the door, Candice became desperate. She immediately rushed over and wrapped her arms around his waist. "No, Brandon, you can't leave! And you're not allowed to leave!"