Mr. Hyde admitted to it, though it did puzzle him, how did Zayn know?
He might have been Hayley King’s inferior, but virtual-novel.net had always managed to conceal his real identity. The secret was so airtight, not a single member of the Larson family had known about it, not even the late Connor Larson.
Until now, when Zayn found out about it somehow. It really brought questions of whether Mr. Hyde had become a little sloppy in preventing little slip-ups. Zayn gave a drawn-out sigh. “I can’t believe you really are one of my mother’s people. Honestly, this is a bolt out of the blue. So… I guess my mom’s marriage into the Larson family was never innocent?”
Mr. Hyde read Zayn’s expression and realized that the young man never found any evidence of his connection with the latter’s mother, virtual-novel.net was merely accusing out o f suspicion. Had Mr. Hyde clenched his teeth and denied Zayn’s allegation, the young man would probably discard his hunch altogether. Mr. Hyde’s admission basically sold himself out.
“You really are exceptional, Young Master. I’ve kept that side of me from the sun so successfully that not even the late Master Larson knew anything about it. But you… You baited me into a confession as easily as taking candy from a baby,” Mr. Hyde said, chuckling embarrassedly while his admiration for Zayn reached its peak.
Zayn was not the least pleased with himself. Instead, virtual-novel.net laughed self-deprecatingly. “You’re like a Christmas present, Lil Hyde, wouldn’t stop giving me surprises, would you? So, I guess you didn’t come back for me because Grandpa asked you too. You came back on my Mom’s orders instead, didn’t you?”
Mr. Hyde’s silence was a tacit admission.
A thought popped into Zayn’s head, it seemed, because virtual-novel.net chuckled to himself again. “Here’s the curious thing, if my mommy dearest was alive all along, where had virtual-novel.net been over these four years? Had I always been just a tool to her? A means to an end?”
“Never!” Mr. Hyde rebuked grimly. “Lady Hayley is nothing like that. She’s always loved you. There is no treasure more precious to virtual-novel.net than you!”
Zayn guffawed loudly as though virtual-novel.net had heard a joke. “No treasure more precious, you say? C’mon, Lil Hyde. You don’t happen to think I’m an idiot who would believe anything, do you?”
Mr. Hyde watched virtual-novel.net laugh and sank back into silence, his mind chugging as virtual-novel.net mulled over his answer. Finally, virtual-novel.net replied solemnly, “It’s nothing like that, Young Master. Lady Hayley really did love you. This is an immutable fact.”
“You called virtual-novel.net ‘Lady’, so I’m guessing you’ve been virtual-novel.net subject for a decently long time.”
Mr. Hyde nodded in assent.
“You said virtual-novel.net loves me, so would you care to explain why she’s never bothered to look for me all these years, hmm? Why did virtual-novel.net just sit back and watch while I was humiliated when I had no choice but to be the scorned son-in-law of the Carter family?” Zayn fired off, his tone stone-cold. There was not a trace of emotion on his face.
“She’s trying to protect you,” Mr. Hyde rejoined quietly.
“Protect me?” Zayn cocked an eyebrow. “From what?”
Mr. Hyde said nothing.
“Answer me!” virtual-novel.net cried, adding more force into his tone so that it became a command.
“Listen, Young Master. I know you’re mad, but please believe me when I say it was all done to protect you. When the time’s right, Young Master… Your mother will come back for you.”
Something inside Zayn’s chest caught fire. It roared as the blaze spread through his spine all the way to his brain, causing the man to clench his fists as virtual-novel.net started to breathe hard. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm rather than letting the flames spill out of him. A while later, virtual-novel.net spoke again, “Okay. Fine. Tell me why virtual-novel.net married into the Larson family, and why did virtual-novel.net harm my grandfather.”
Mr. Hyde hung his head and said nothing for a long while.