Adam Ross lazily lifted his eyes slightly, lightly repeating with a certain wicked pleasure, "You heard correctly, Annie Anne had a child, the child is already four-years-old, and its biological father is Oliver Hudson, is...you."
After making certain he had not misheard, as Adam Ross predicted, a tremendous storm swept across the man’s eyes.
The tall figure of a man swayed, stumbling a few steps almost unable to stay upright.
Adam Ross kindly reached out to steady him, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Oliver Hudson, perhaps, you really did mess up. Annie Anne can’t remember some past events because she’s ill, but you took this as an opportunity, a bargaining chip, seizing the chance to reunite with her."
"Have you ever thought about- if one day Annie Anne remembers everything, she will be unable to extricate herself from the ensuing pain?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire.net
As his words ended, Oliver Hudsonmanaged to steady himself, yet all color drained violently from his face; he leaned back in a daze, his heart spreading with a suffocating pain.
He clasped his chest, his face turning pale.
His mind couldn’t think of anything else. All he could think of was the guilt, regret, and remorse that came too late.
What he didn’t know was that Annie Anne had actually experienced all of these things.
He squatted on the ground, collapsing with his head buried in his knees, his hands entangled in his short hair like a trapped beast yearning for freedom.
This was the first time Adam Ross had seen Oliver Hudson .
The Oliver Hudson of the past thought that even an extra word or a trace of facial expression was a waste of time, always maintaining an indifferent, unconcerned demeanor.
But the man now, collapsed like an abandoned child, his body slightly trembling.
Despite his manly stature, he started to sob.
Adam Ross, unable to bear it, thought for a few seconds. He still leaned over and patted the man’s back lightly, speaking gently, "The child is here. Do you want to meet her?"
The man’s back suddenly stiffened.
Oliver Hudson slowly lifted his head, staring blankly at Adam Ross as though he was somehow afraid, but after a while, he nodded tremblingly, his voice hoarse.
"Do I...do I have any right to see her?"
Confronting a biological child he had never met, confronting a child he had unknowingly abandoned for five years, confronting the sins he had committed.
Does he have any right?
Adam Ross chuckled lightly, his voice deep, "Oliver Hudson, don’t tell me you’re scared to see the child?"
After a pause, he added: "Oliver Hudson, it’s time for you to atone for your sins."
As soon as these words fell, the man’s initially distracted gaze slowly focused on Adam Ross, as if looking at his last lifeline, he opened his mouth in astonishment: "My chance for atonement?"
"I...still have a chance?"
"Opportunities are created by people," Adam Ross scoffed lightly. "Are you chickening out now? Big brother, you currently do not resemble your past self at all."
Oliver Hudson slowly raised his head, his eyes falling on a nearby hospital room,
A nurse had just pushed the unconscious Annie Anne past him, then entered this room,
The woman’s face was as white as paper, absolutely no color on her face, her usually incredibly clear eyes were tightly shut, as if she was having a nightmare, her brows deeply furrowed.
Oliver Hudson closed his eyes in anguish.
Perhaps, Charlotte Thompson was right, all of this was due to him,
The root cause of all evil.