Chapter 95 The Truth That Changed Everything
"Mom! Dad?" You didn't tell me you were coming" Rowan said, sensing the escalating tension.
"Yes darling. We felt we can stay here with you for now instead of stalking you with calls. And your dad is not perfectly well yet." Madam Xi responded.
"And you didn't inform me?" Rowan exclaimed. Without waiting for a response, he continued. "That's okay, I can work with that but what is going on here?"
Madam Xi pointed accusatory fingers. "Look at what you've brought into your home, Rowan! Strangers! Your ex-girlfriend, her mother, and their children!"
"Mom," Rowan said softly but Madam Xi didn't listen. "Amanda and her family have invaded your home! I won't allow this. They need to leave immediately!"
"Invaded?" Mrs. Roberts snapped. "We are just here temporarily not to stay."
Mr. Xi, angered, retorted, "Temporary or not, I won't have strangers, especially those associated with this unfortunate situation, invading my son's home. This is unacceptable."
"Stop saying we have invaded" Mrs. Roberts exclaimed loudly. "Wait? Is this how all these rich people behave? No wonder their children are always prison worthy. This is not even your home. If you aren't cool with us staying, please go back home. It would be my pleasure"
"How dare you talk back to my husband." Madam Xi yelled. "No matter what you say, this is my son's home and I decide who stays and who leaves."
"Oh yeah, you are the house commander?" Mrs. Roberts mocked.
"Call me whatever but.." She was interrupted by Rowan's shout.
"Mothers! Please stop." Rowan interjected. His expression tightened and he turned to his parents. "I invited them here. They needed a place to stay and this is the safest place I can keep them. Especially because of what is going on now."
Mr. Xi, stern-faced, retorted, "Rowan, we won't have strangers associated with this mess staying in our home. It's unacceptable."
"They are not strangers dad" Rowan exclaimed.
"They are your past" Madam Xi chimed in. "They are liars, home destroyers, manipulators."
"Mom!" Rowan snapped.
"I want them out of this house at this instance. Get your things and leave as I speak." Madam Xi commanded.
"That is not happening!" Rowan exclaimed.
Shocked by his response, Madam Xi walked closer to Rowan. She crossed her arms. "This is outrageous. I won't tolerate it. Either they leave or we leave."
"Nobody leaves," He answered firmly.
Madam Xi stared at Rowan, incredulous at his defiance. The room was charged with tension as everyone awaited the next move.
"We will leave," Amanda said, breaking the silence. Before she could make any move, Rowan exclaimed, "you are going nowhere"
Mr. Xi, frustrated, shook his head. "Rowan, you're testing the limits of our patience. We can't have them here, even temporarily."
"I can't have them out either" Rowan mumbled.
"Really? Rowan!" Madam Xi yelled. "You are choosing them," she pointed to Amanda "over us."
"I am not, mom." Rowan yelled too. "You are asking me to send my children away."
"They are not yours! They are not your family. We are!" Madam Xi yelled even more.
"You are wrong" Rowan yelled too. "They are mine."
"Okay. That is it" Amanda interjected. "We will leave." She turned to Rowan. "Thank you for providing a place to stay but I won't have you tell another lie to your parents because of me."
"I am not doing that and I won't do that." Rowan said softly. "They are mine."
Amanda scoffed. "Stop doing that."
"No..no..listen to me" Rowan started. He sighed and walked closer to Amanda. "Remember that night at the hotel. You were drunk and were pulled in. By morning, the man was gone? It was me."
Amanda busted into laughter. "Come on Rowan, that can't be you. You know what the man did to me. He had his way with me and…"
"And disappeared," Rowan finished her statement. "It was me. I had a flight to catch that morning so I left in a hurry. Some unplanned things came up and I had to stay back for three years."
"No..no..that is not possible" Amanda stuttered. "You wouldn't do something like that. You would not abandon me like that."
"I didn't, I swear. Or maybe I thought I didn't. I left you my watch and I sent my men. They had the wrong person and I didn't know it was Mabel until I got back."
Rowan ran his hand through his hair, panic rushed over him seeing Amanda's expression. "You remember the watch you saw. I got it back from Mabel. I mentioned I took it back from someone I thought was special."
Amanda's eyes widened in shock. The room fell silent, the weight of Rowan's revelation hanging in the air.
"You... you were there?" Amanda stammered, searching Rowan's eyes for confirmation. "You are that man. Mabel knew that was why she said…no! Tell me you are not"
Rowan nodded solemnly. "You came to the hotel that night. You were drunk and vulnerable, and I was drunk and sad too. I didn't intend for things to go that far, but... it did. I'm sorry."
Mrs. Roberts, taken aback by this revelation, turned to Amanda with a mix of surprise and concern. "If this is true Amanda, does that mean he is the father of your kids?
Amanda, still processing everything she just heard, whispered, "Yes, mother. If he was the man from that night then he would be the father of my kids."
Madam Xi, Mr. Xi, and even Anna, who had been observing the unfolding drama, were stunned by this unexpected turn of events.
"Does that make them" pointing to Madam Xi and Mr. Xi, "our grandparents?" Ryan asked.
Mrs. Roberts nodded. "No!" Adora yelled. "This mean people can't be my grandparents." She ran away from the scene.
Madam Xi, grappling with this discovery, finally spoke, "Son, why didn't you tell us before? Why are you just saying this now?"
"I didn't know mom! I just discovered that too at the playhouse. I had to make my findings to be sure. And when I knew, I didn't know how to tell Amanda." He turned back to Amanda. "Please, I am sorry."
"I hear you son, and I believe you. But before I can believe these children are yours, I need to get a DNA test done. Only then can I accept them as my grandchildren." Mr. Xi retorted.
"There is no need for that," Amanda exclaimed. "They don't need your acceptance." Her conflicted emotions evident on her face, finally said to Rowan, "I appreciate your honesty, but this changes nothing. We can't stay here. It's not fair to anyone involved."
Rowan, desperately trying to salvage the situation, pleaded, "Amanda, please. I want to be there for you and the kids. Don't let my mistake cost us the chance to be a family."
"Family?" Amanda scoffed.
"Please Amanda," Anna pleaded. "I came back because of you. I do not have a family any more but everytime, you make me feel like I have lost nothing. Every other employee has agreed to come back because of you. Please, don't leave again"
Amanda wiped her teary face. "I'm sorry," she said. She turned to her mother, "Pack your stuff, I will go get us a cab." She then walked out of the house