Chapter 299: Chapter 299

Each with their own thoughts as the couple re-lived what had been left unsaid for years past. That time brought pain to Alex. The pain of seeing his beloved in the arms of another.

The pang of knowing that she still pined for this person after all these years had passed but Alex knew what he had been signing up for when he had made that proposition. Inside, he was glad that he had taken that leap of faith, and most importantly, he was happy that Roman had not returned to force Geneva to make a choice.

There was one thing that Alex had never been able to bring himself to say to Geneva: ’As a man, he knew that Roman had been true in his love, and he was still surprised that he had never come back for Geneva unless something happened to him.’

Alex knew that Geneva had to respect and love him in her own way, but that passionate love he had seen her share with Roman was never extended to him. Alex knew and understood that he was second in her heart, but he still cherished that position.

Geneva made a good effort to open up her heart to him, and he was happy that he had made that decision years ago. It had taken her years to do that and Alex had been patient. Most importantly, Alex had no regrets.

Ian was a gem, and Alex knew that he would have lost his chance at happiness had he not made that decision.

For Geneva, she loved deeply and was hurt equally. That promise that Roman had made was one she had believed wholeheartedly that he would keep, but alas, she had just been a naïve and foolish girl to believe the words of a man who had who had not even bothered to give her his last name.

Despite this, Geneva knew that Roman still occupied a small space in a corner of her heart. Their son was living proof that their love existed at a point in time.

After finishing the tale, she looked expectantly at her older son but Ian had no expression. None that would give away how he felt and that made Geneva uneasy.

However, the scenario of Katie eavesdropping was just ridiculous. No matter Geneva’s sentiments and insinuations about Katie, this was even beyond the renowned maid and house manager.

A little earlier and before the narrative....

Katie set the last try down and then went behind Geneva, clasping her hands in a respectful stance as she usually did. There were seemingly no secrets between Katie and her mistress from when she had started to work for Geneva.

Katie was Geneva’s second in command and Geneva trusted her with most things. However, with Katie’s keen gut, she knew that Geneva never fully trusted her with everything, and Katie knew why.

Katie oversaw all the workers in the Thornston Household and had served the household from childhood, as did her parents before her. Her family basically lived and served the estate but Katie had unfortunately never married and never had children of her own. Katie was only fifty years as and Geneva was a whole seventeen years older than her,

But Katie’s prim and tight updo, which was always in a bun at the back of her head, and the fact that she never smiled made her appear older than Geneva.

Katie was barely ten years when she had been assigned to Geneva as her personal maid after marriage. She had been in training for the position of head maid then. This was the reason that some of these stuffs remained unknown to her.

Geneva had learnt to rely on this girl whom she had initially taken as her daughter. The problem was a bit glaring from when Katie had started serving Geneva.

She would report Geneva’s every action to Alex’s sisters and her masters. It took a long while before Geneva was able to curb that attitude and mold Katie into what the person she wanted.... Or so Geneva had thought.

Geneva said. She had a hunch that this conversation was best kept between their family of four. Katie narrowed her eyes subtly, bowed and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

She stood at the door for just a few seconds and then walked away. However, at the corridor’s initial bend, she stopped short and then looked back.

’Why is Geneva asking me to leave the room?’

Katie could not understand. In the past, she only did that when it was personal time between Alex and Geneva but never when the children or visitors were around.

As if to remind her, Katie’s phone buzzed and she looked at the contents of the message received.

Over the years, Katie had been trained not to give much away regarding facial expressions so only a handful of people could really read her.

Katie turned and walked softly back, then pressed her ears against the door. She clenched the phone tight and, for a moment, could not mask the surprise on her face from the conversation.

Katie placed one hand on her chest as if she was trying to stop her heart from thundering. This was a scandal!

’Is this what the mistress wanted me to find out?’

Alex had two sisters who had always been suspicious of Ian’s birth, as he was born ’prematurely.’ All indications showed that the baby was, as Ian was born, underweight and sickly.

However, the two did not buy it as they had heard unconfirmed rumours about Geneva’s supposed affair. No one ever saw the man, but they knew that there was no smoke without fire.

This was the very reason Katie had landed that job and position: They felt that people trusted children and were more laid-back around them.

This had proven to be true, but they never thought that it would take Katie decades to hear this from the horse’s own mouth.

For a moment, Katie was torn between completing the task assigned her and her ’loyalty’ to her current mistress.

With shaky hands, Katie returned to the message screen. She was so focused on the task at hand that she had not realized the people inside had stopped talking.

The door swung open and she stumbled, righting herself just on time to see four pairs of eyes on her.

Katie’s heart somersaulted, and her hand that had been on the phone paused.

Her eyes landed on Geneva’s disappointed ones and Katie lowered her head.

Ian ’ushered’ her in and closed the door behind them.

Geneva could not believe her eyes, as she wondered why Katie would eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What is going on, and why were you listening in on a conversation that I had clearly dismissed you on?"

Ian took the phone from her hands before Katie could react and then handed it to his mother.

"See it for yourself."

Ian already knew what she had done through her thoughts. Not sparing her another glance, he returned to the same seat he had been occupying.

Geneva opened the phone and then looked at the last correspondence as the message screen was still active.

"Do you still not have any news!" The text read and Katie’s reply had been:

"This is shocking! You were right! He is not the Master Alex’s son! He-"

Geneva stared unseeingly at the text as it went in and out of focus. It appeared that Katie had been stopped mid-text, the message had been abruptly left unfinished, lingering in the air like a stifled scream, demanding to be heard but had been sent anyway. The cat was out of the bag!

Geneva’s heart had clung to a flicker of hope, but it rapidly dimmed beneath the weight of her overwhelming disappointment upon seeing the text. The person she had poured her trust into... even if it was not all, Katie had been the one she had desperately hoped would stand by her side.

It was indeed true that the least you expect would always be the one to go that extra mile to do that. Even though Geneva had had her suspicions, seeing it confirmed hurt. The realization crashed into her like a powerful wave, submerging her in a mix of shock and sorrow. The betrayal cut deep, twisting the knife of treachery and leaving Geneva in disbelief as her world shattered.

The singular word that felt like a whole sentence hung in the air, "WHY?"

Obviously, Katie had not expected to be found out so soon, and she was petrified beyond reason.

Alex turned to face Katie, whom he had seen grow up. His cold gaze was similar to what Ian usually wore. At that moment, no one would have doubted that they were related, except that they did not.

"How do you want to deal with this?" Ian asked,

"I can’t keep a betrayer by my side."

Geneva was hurt but she knew as did all such influential families that secrecy was key in everything so a worker who could not keep her master’s secrets was as good as nothing.

"I-" Katie opened her mouth and then finally composed her features, hiding the hurt in her eyes.

Alex stared at Ian for a moment and then nodded as did Geneva.

It took Currey mere minutes to arrive, and without another word, he led Katie away peacefully, letting her keep the last shred of dignity that she had amassed. She had a single task, and she had failed. Katie also felt that she was of no use to her original employers.

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