Free Web NovelChapter 47: Conflict (2)
"What is this incident you speak of? Does it have something to do with knowing that Ian was back?" Hank asked, his hold on Layla’s arm tightening as she refused to answer him. "Do not push me to force it out of you woman. Tell me the truth."
"I knew that he was back then but what should I have said about it? Why did you need to know about a son you threw away?" Layla asked, glaring at Hank for holding her as if she was a common woman. "Victor is the only one you need to know about. Not the bastard you brought into our home."
Hank scoffed. "That I brought? Wasn’t it you who wanted me to be with the maid throwing herself at me so we could have a son? Remember you would pay her to forget that she had a child for us."
"That..." Layla paused, having nothing to argue against it. "I knew that it was wrong and told you to stop."
"Well, it was too late then," Hank said, releasing his hold on Layla.
By the time Layla no longer wanted him to be involved with Ian’s mother, Hank had come to like it too much. If not for Layla’s jealousy Hank would still have his lover in the cottage on his land to frequent when he grew tired of his wife.
"Victor is your legitimate son. My son," Layla argued, needing Hank to let go of the past.
Ian’s birth was merely a mistake as Layla failed to conceive but then years later, she had Victor. Ian was of no use to their family.
"If you didn’t want me to consider Ian, you should have birthed more sons for me," said Hank.
Layla grabbed a handful of her dress instead of grabbing her husband. "We don’t need anymore when we have Victor. He is meant to be your heir. It’s his place. Do not give it away to a bastard."
"The boy is sick-"
"Before Ian’s return you did not think about Victor’s health," Layla interjected, furious that Victor’s health was coming up now. Victor was doing well and needed to be applauded for it. "The doctor says this is the best he has ever been. We should be finding him a wife right now. Scarlet is more suited for Victor."
Hank was no longer easily swayed by Layla to count out Ian and depend solely on Victor. Victor’s health was too unpredictable. There was a healthy son waiting to be used and seeing that Scarlet had some interest in Ian, it made more sense to keep her with Ian.
"You," Layla grabbed Hank’s shirt. "Don’t do this to my son."
Hank peeled Layla’s hands from his shirt before she could wrinkle it. "He is my son too and I am doing my best for Victor. It is time that Ian comes back home."
Layla backed away from Hank. "And then what? You’ll bring that woman back to us? Isn’t it enough that you sent her off with money? You’ve wanted her back all along, haven’t you."
Hank looked around to make sure there was no one spying on them, Layla was nothing less than a headache these days. She had nothing to fear as Victor had much to inherit in the future.
Hank sighed, covering his face with his right hand. "Victor will be taken care of. Right now, he needs to rest. I won’t pass on his duties to Ian for long. I just need another son around to end all the questions about what I will do about an heir. Trust me," he said, placing his hands on Layla’s shoulders.
"Tell me, who comes first? Victor or Ian?" Layla questioned.
"It will always be Victor first. Ian is simply a spare to make use of to give Victor some time to rest. I will continue to gather the best doctors for Victor and let Ian play the part of taking over until Victor is ready. Haven’t I taken care of him well?" Hank asked, hoping his words would convince her. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Layla could not deny that Victor was treated the best out of the two sons. Victor had grown up with fine things at his side while Ian was raised like a servant’s son. He was a servant’s son after all.
"I will never forgive you if you let another woman’s son get what belongs to the right heir. I won’t let you rest if you do this," Layla warned.
Layla would die before she allowed Ian to take what was meant for her son. Seeing that Hank was considering using Ian even if it was for a moment to give Victor time to heal, Layla regretted not getting rid of Ian when he was younger. The boy managed to run off before she could finish what she started.
"I- Oh! Victor," Layla called, her voice sweet as she called to him. "How long have you been standing there? You should have said something when you came here. Is the weather too warm for you?"
Victor forced a smile as he neared his parents. It was never a good feeling to hear that they were going to make use of Ian for him. It came as no surprise as to why Ian hated him. With their plans, Ian would never want to be his brother.
"I just got here," Victor answered, standing still as his mother fixed his hair and straightened out his clothes. "Ian has gone off to be somewhere private with Scarlet. Now that he is back, we should have a family dinner. Try to fix the past."
"Enough," Layla said, roughly tugging on Victor’s shirt. "You should be focused on speaking to your peers. You must be focused on what is ahead of you. Hank, go on without us. I need to tidy up Victor before we go back."
"Very well," Hank replied and then left the two to speak. He had kept his peers waiting long enough to speak to him and while Layla was looking after Victor, Hank would take this chance to speak of Ian to his friends and note his relationship with Scarlet.
Hank didn’t care about Scarlet’s divorce as the woman was still wealthy. It was a great way to introduce Ian back to the town.
Layla saw Hank off first and then turned to Victor. "How many times must I tell you that you do not have a brother? Will you always smile like a fool when he comes around? He was a servant you played with. Don’t think of him as your equal. Do you understand?"
Victor stayed silent as he couldn’t agree to his mother’s demands. He had always seen Ian as his older brother even when his mother tried to convince him that Ian was a servant boy.
Layla stepped closer to Victor and raised his head to look at her. "Victor, repeat after me that he is not your brother. Do you want to see me go mad?"
"Why would it be so bad-"
Victor’s eyes widened as his head turned slightly left because of his mother’s hand. He couldn’t believe his mother had slapped him. She had never laid a hand on him before so why now?
Layla gasped, covering her mouth as she couldn’t believe her action. ’Oh my! I didn’t mean to do that. Please forgive me. You know that I would never harm you. You forgive me, right?"
Victor lowered his head. She was the most protective over him but still she slapped him just for wanting his brother around. "I do," Victor answered so she wouldn’t cry.
