Tough Choice
Brandon requested to take the child with him.
At that, Ichika panicked.
“No way. You can’t take her with you. She’s still so small, and besides, I’m her mother now. You can’t
take her with you. She’s my child.”
After spending two months with the little one, Ichika had long gone past the phase of struggling and
was now very used to having her companionship. The two looked like a real pair of mother and
daughter duo.
Nevertheless, Brandon was unwilling to listen to Ichika and was adamant about leaving with the baby.
Ichika was on the brink of bursting into tears when Solomon came in and stood before Brandon.
“Brandon, what do you want?”
“I want to take her with me!” Brandon cast his bloodshot eyes at the child in his arms as he uttered with
a hoarse voice.
Solomon, on the other hand, remained solemn. “And then? Do you want to bring her back and let the
Emmanuels bully her like how they did to Willow? Brandon, it’s exactly because Willow couldn’t bring
herself to stay any longer that she chose to leave.”
Those words were like a sharp blade stabbing right through Brandon’s chest. At that instance, the
scene of him meeting Willow for the last time popped up in his mind.
That was the day when she finally returned to the Emmanuel residence. But it was also the day she
infuriated Matilda till the latter landed herself in the hospital.
Despite what happened, Brandon came home to find an unusually calm Willow—she did not even
throw tantrums like she always would.
All that she had said was “Brandon, I’m sorry.”
After a pause, she continued, “Brandon, that child isn’t yours. It’s a test tube baby that I made.”
Those words made him flew into a fit of rage.
He had made up his mind and brought her back home just so that both her and the baby could get a
proper title and status. Yet, she decided to tell him that the baby was only a test tube baby she had
made and not his child.
At this point, her actions back then were probably an indication of how she had a premonition of how
things would take a turn.
After all, a woman would never joke about such things unless she was cornered into hopelessness.
She had probably made up her mind then. But Brandon did not notice at all. It was even to the extent
that he remained clueless when she became sick.
“Brandon, Willow has mentioned in her last words that she doesn’t blame you. She takes full
responsibility for everything that had happened between you two. She wanted you to lead your own life,
and that was why she didn’t want us to tell you about the existence of this child. What are you going to
do if you bring this child home now? Do you want to give up on your dream and career?”
Solomon was rather calm.
In truth, he had to stay that way, not only because he kept Willow’s last words close to his heart but
also for the sake of the child.
But just as he finished speaking, Brandon immediately raised his head.
“Get back on track and lead a normal life? How? Tell me, how am I supposed to do that with how things
have turn out to be? Is the child a mere animal that doesn’t matter even if she dies?”
Solomon did not say anything.
“This child has my blood. Do you want me to dump her aside and pretend that nothing happened? Sure
I can. Ask Sasha to come and remove all of my memories; that way, I’ll be able to move on and pretend
that nothing has happened.”
He pointed at his head as he bitterly spat out those words. The tears falling off his eyes were indicative
of how much pain he was suffering.
Solomon was instantly shocked at that.
Just then, the baby was jolted awake by the intense movements Brandon was making and began
crying loudly.
“Waa…”
“Nat, don’t cry. Mommy is here.”
Seeing the baby crying, Ichika could not hide her heartache and immediately wanted to carry her back.
Brandon was slightly flustered.
Seeing how badly the child was wailing while holding her tightly against his chest, he panicked and
attempted to comfort her.
Needless to say, it did not end up in a good way since the man had never taken care of a baby before,
let alone pacifying one. Nat only cried even louder as he patted his clumsy hand on her.
“Waa…”
Brandon sank into despair.
“That’s enough, Brandon. Let Ichika carry the child. Think about it. Taking the child with you means you
have to shoulder the responsibility of taking good care of her. But please think of how your family has
treated Willow back then? Are you sure you’re okay with leaving Nat in their hands?”
Solomon grabbed hold of the chance and tried to persuade Brandon again.
As Brandon was already in a mentally unstable state due to the baby’s continuous wails, those words
seemed to work wonders. He was in a visibly terrible state where the rims of his eyes were flushing red
as he passed the child over to Ichika.
Several minutes later, the baby finally stopped crying as she lay in Ichika’s arms, gulping down
mouthfuls of milk from the bottle.
Standing at a side, Brandon tightened his fists as he watched the scene.
Similarly, Solomon was watching him silently from behind.
Somehow, he was in contemplation. He knew there was nothing he could do if the man before him
popped the request of bringing Nat with him. He was, after all, the biological father of the child.
What made him surprised was how the man ended up leaving quietly after taking a few more glances.
At that sight, Ichika walked over with the child in her arms.
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