Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Mom Tessa was just about to leave the house when she heard a sharp rap on the door. With a puzzled look, she stepped closer, checking through the peephole to see a familiar face that she recognized as Andrea's ex-boss.

Her forehead wrinkled, opening the door wide open. ” You? Aren't you Andrea's ex-boss? What are you doing here?” She demanded, staring at him.

Sean gave her a small smile. "Good morning, Aunt. I came to speak to you. If you don't mind sparing a few minutes of your time, let me in,” he said in a casual tone.

Tessa paused for a moment to consider why he had called her aunt, but she promptly dismissed her thoughts and let him into the house.

”First of all, I would like to introduce myself properly to you. I'm Sean Wilson, the CEO of Shimmers Company. I was Andrea's boss and now her husband, and the reason why..."

At this moment, her expression was one of confusion. "Wait, did you just say you are Andrea's husband?” She arched her brows questionably.

Hearing this, his lips turned up into a faint smile. "Mhm. It's a long story. Andrea will explain it to you later on.”

"Andrea met Christina days ago when we went on a trip to Paris.” Sean paused to see her reaction, and as he had anticipated, she shifted on the couch.

"Sorry, which Christina are you talking about?” She feigned ignorance.

Sean chuckled softly at this. "I mean Christina, your younger sister. My mother-in-law. My wife's mother,” he said sarcastically, which Tessa didn't grab.

"Oh" was the only sound that could come out of her throat.

"The day after, I went to pay her visit and question her while she had pretended not to recognize Andrea, and then we exchanged a few words, which eventually led me to learn the truth."

"Oh really? Truth like what?” she asked her eyes, avoiding meeting his. She was obviously trying her best to sound natural, but her body language was betraying her.

Sean couldn't help but let out a chuckle again, seeing her expression: You don't have to pretend to be completely clueless about what I'm talking about."

"What do you mean? I really don't understand what you are talking about.” She feigned being clueless and tried her best to stay casual with him.

"You mean to tell me that you aren't aware of Andrea not being a part of this family?” he questioned, staring intently at her.

Tessa's eyes widened in surprise, and her hands on her thighs quivered. "Do you even know what you are saying? Christina is Andrea's biological mother,” she remarked harshly, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.

Sean's lips pressed tightly together as he glanced at his wristwatch, clearly impatient to leave. "I see you are not ready to have a serious conversation with me. We both know the truth."

"Please just leave. I don't want to be rude and disrespectful to you because you used to be Andrea's boss and now say you are her husband."

"Aunt, just tell me; the main reason I'm here is to find out if you know who Andrea's biological parents are or how to locate them." He said,crossing his leg over the other.

Mom Tessa stood up and glared at Sean. "Andrea is Christina's daughter! Do you want me to lie just to please you?” She snapped furiously.

"Look, just tell me already. Andrea won't be happy to know that you hid something so important from her for many years. If she finds out herself, I can't guarantee she will ever forgive you," Sean warned sternly, piercing her with his gaze.

Tessa begins to feel intimidated by his aura, and the air seems to have seized all of a sudden, making her struggle to catch her breath.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing the dumbfounded Andrea who stood there staring at her aunt, like someone who got hit by a bullet.

Andrea's appearance made Tessa's heart sink deeply; her palms turned moist as a bid of sweat began to form on her forehead. She gulped hard, her mouth suddenly feeling too heavy for any words to come out.

With slow and steady steps, Andrea moved closer to her until she was an inch away from her front. "Mom Tessa, what is going on?” she demanded with a trembling voice.

Tessa exhaled loudly. "May, don't listen to him. Christina is really your biological mother. Don't you trust me?" She coaxed gently and tried to place her hand on Andrea's shoulder.

Andrea threw her hand in the air, bringing her movement to a halt. "Tell me now. I want the truth." Her eyes flashed with a dangerous look.

Tessa's breathing began to hitch. "Dear, Have I ever lied to you? Would you believe his words over mine?" She tried to play the pity card on her, but evidently it wasn't working.

Andrea's anger made her whole body heat up. "Tessa, for the fucking last time. Is he telling the damn truth or not?" She roared out angrily, startling everyone.

Mom Tessa felt even more tense under Andrea's fierce interrogation. She bit her lip hard, a muffling sound escaping her throat. "Yes, he's speaking the truth,” her voice wavering as she clarified.

A loud gasp left Andrea's lips; she felt her limbs turn weak in the instant, and she could barely hang on her feet. She slowly retraced her steps until her back was against the wall. "You mean mom isn't my biological mother?" she mumbled, her lower lip quivering in the process.

She slumped on the ground and buried her face in her thighs, crying to her satisfaction.

The room fell silent as Sean approached her softly, squatting down in front of her before she pushed him away. "Just go away!’’ she cried out in a weak voice.

Sean whispered softly, "Andrea, please don't be like this," but she pushed him away for the second time.

Sean let out a heavy sigh. He didn't want her to find out in this manner, but what could he do now that the cat had been let out of the bag? He cast a glance at Tessa, who was also sobbing on the couch with her face buried in her palm.

"You must know who Andrea's biological parents are." He felt this was the right moment to bring up the topic after all the deeds had already been done.

Upon hearing this, Andrea wiped her face with the back of her hand and rose to her feet. Without bothering to look back, she ran out of the house, and Sean tried to go after her, but thinking about his unfinished business, he stopped and instead gave Drew a call, who was downstairs waiting for him.

"Yes, boss"

"Andrea will be down any moment from now. Once you see her, make sure you drop her off at home; if you need to use force, then do it,” he ordered before hanging up.

Tessa sniffled. "I didn't want Andrea to ever find out."

"She deserves to know who her biological parents are. Why would you do such a thing to her?

"Andrea lived with me from when she was a baby until she got into college. I have cared for and loved her as my own daughter; I never differentiated; she is very dear to me, and I couldn't afford to tell her because I knew it would break her heart."

"When Christina brought her to me and told me everything, I was so mad, and I even once thought about sending her to her biological parents, but how could I do that to Christina? She would have been jailed, considering she was my only family member. I couldn't bring myself to do it.”

"I know I acted selfish and irrational, and I blame myself for everything. Christina was also greedy; she separated a newborn from her parents and abandoned her when she didn't succeed with her plans."

Sean touched the bridge of his nose. "Do you know who her biological parents are?” He arched his eyebrows in surprise.

Tessa took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Yes," she whispered hoarsely.