Scars Of A Broken Bond

"What happened?" Lance probed.

A few days back, Lance was in Mathias and wasn't constantly watching Keilani. He figured she was just enjoying herself when she went out every day. Bettie wasn't the type to fabricate tales. She likely knew something.

Bettie revealed, "It's quite the story. Initially, Kira adopted a girl from another country. The girl's five now. Last year, after Sabrina lost her baby, Kira happened to have something to handle, so she sent the girl back and asked Tyrone to look after her for a while. To cheer Sabrina up, Tyrone had the girl stay by Sabrina's side. The girl was officially added to Tyrone's family records, but..."

Lance, sensing where this was going, voiced his speculation, 'But just a few days back, news broke that the girl is Tyrone and Keilani's daughter?

"Yes. I'm not clear on the specifics. It seems to tie back to Kira. She knew who the girl was from the start and wasn't fond of Sabrina. Now with Sabrina staying with me, Sabrina and Tyrone are in for a tough time."

Lance inquired, "How did they confirm that Tyrone and Keilani are the parents? Was there a DNA test?"

"Yes, there was. Tyrone had someone take the girl to a hospital affiliated with the Blakely Group for the test. The results seem legitimate. I was shocked when I heard, and Sabrina even more so."

Lance's brow furrowed, a serious look in his eyes. In that case, the test result was probably accurate. Carrying a girl for ten months wasn't something one could easily keep unnoticed.

Six years ago, Keilani was a university student, spending her days on campus. Hiding a pregnancy? She could have managed that.

Back then, Lance had just come back to the Wilson family. He barely knew Keilani and didn't pay much attention to her, let alone notice anything unusual about her.

Lance remained silent, knowing he had to talk to Keilani about this when he returned.

Bettie let out a sigh. "Do you mean neither Keilani's parents nor her uncle's family were aware Keilani had a child? Did Keilani manage to deceive them all? That's quite something. Yet, it does seem like something Keilani could pull off. That little girl once lived in my house. She's really bright and adorable. It came as a surprise to me that Keilani is her biological mother. I just hope the girl doesn't end up like Keilani someday."

Bettie made no effort to conceal her disdain for Keilani when talking to Lance.

"Her family is completely unaware of this. Keilani hasn't mentioned a word to them even now..." For a moment, Lance was speechless about Keilani's recklessness. "She's pampered. You should steer clear of her in the future. Just don't let yourself endure any losses."

Bettie quirked an eyebrow. "Aren't you curious why I mentioned that? Or has Keilani shared something with you?"

Lance replied honestly, "She filled me in about the incident on the plane and how you and Sabrina recently wrecked her car."

*Really? Sounds like you two are pretty close. Do you think I was in the right?" Bettie gave him a playful look.

Lance, grinning, said, "Had I not intervened, she would've kept on causing you trouble."Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Bettie chuckled. "Do I owe you thanks then?'

"I'm always happy to help. You don't have to thank me. But if you feel like thanking me, well..."

Bettie cut him off, "In that case, I'll keep my thanks to myself. Ive done nothing wrong."

Lance found himself at a loss for words. He quickly shifted the conversation. "The food stalls are just up ahead." The food stalls were bustling with people.

After driving through the nearby streets, Lance managed to find a spot to park the car. Then, Lance and Bettie stepped out and made their way toward the food stalls.

Centenia was a bustling city, famous for its wide variety of snacks, including delicacies renowned nationwide.

Bettie had visited Centenia previously on a work trip. Back then, she was rushed and only saw a few places, making this her first visit to these food stalls. She brought two sausages, handing one to Lance.

Bettie had eaten half of the sausage when she stopped in front of a stall selling glutinous cakes. She paused to swallow before asking, "Where can I throw this away?

"Do you not want to finish it?"

"Yeah, I'm done with it."

"Didn't you like it?"

"No, it's really tasty. It's just that there's so much other good food around. I don't want to fill up too soon."

Lance was at a loss for words. "Hand it to me." He gladly took the remaining sausage from Bettie and ate it without hesitation.

Bettie was already eyeing a piece of glutinous cake. She made it a point to buy something from each stall but never finished anything. Instead, she sampled them and passed the leftovers to Lance to eat.

Lance simply followed Bettie and realized this was exactly what they used to be seven years back. In those days, they would sneak out for dates on the weekends.

Back then, Lance's family was struggling financially. His father's medical bills had drained all their savings. His teachers noticed his potential and helped him secure a scholarship. He managed to scrape by with money earned from part- time jobs and tutoring kids from wealthy families, barely covering his own expenses.

Bettie mostly covered the expenses for their dates. Lance was aware of her wealthy background and her indifference toward spending money, yet he felt it wasn't right to let her pay all the time. So, he'd save up now and then, taking her to food stalls within his budget.

Bettie enjoyed buying various snacks from food stalls, though she'd only taste a few and pass the rest to him. During those times, despite his financial struggles, Lance felt genuinely happy, cherishing those moments dearly.

"Hey, Lance, what's on your mind? You haven't responded," Bettie called out.

Coming back to his senses and meeting Bettie's gaze, Lance smiled warmly. "I was just reminiscing about our senior year in high school and how we'd hit the food stalls that weekend right after our midterm exams..."

Bettie's gaze momentarily grew somber. That was the time Lance was given fake money as change. Back then, digital payments weren't the norm, and cash dealings dominated those food stalls.

Realizing the money was fake, Lance and Bettie confronted the vendor. Initially, the vendor denied everything. That was when Bettie, leveraging her family's influence, threatened to take actions that could shut the vendor's business down. Faced with the prospect of confronting someone from a powerful family, the vendor quickly refunded their money. Bettie waved dismissively. "Why bring that up? It's been ages."

Ignoring her, Lance got lost in his memories. "I remember right after I finished tutoring you, we decided to head to the food stalls..."

Bettie's expression darkened, and she clenched her jaw tightly. "Lance!"

Bettie was known for her kindness. Once she and Lance became a couple at that time, she was determined to help improve his life.

However, Lance was too proud to take her money directly. So, Bettie came up with a plan for him to tutor her, paying him the going rate for his time. Despite her efforts, the tutoring didn't seem to make much of a difference.

The lessons took place at Bettie's house over the weekends. Her parents were often out, leaving only the nanny at home.

Bettie, however, was hardly interested in her studies from the start. She wasn't a fan of doing homework. For her, the tutoring sessions were a great arrangement. They let her help out her boyfriend financially while also giving them some quality time together. It was a win-win situation in her eyes.

Whenever it was time to study, Bettie would get a headache and couldn't bear it. All she wanted was to spend time flirting with Lance. She touched him sometimes.

The mood turned a bit awkward. They were deeply in love, youthful and passionate.

Eventually, they went to bed, where they both discovered the intimacies of sex together.