Chapter 280 - Press Conference (14)

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On the way home, Lyle and Jack did not say a word as they sat quietly in the back seat. They were slightly afraid of their father. He had not said a word to them since they left their grandmother's house.

After 15 minutes of silence, Jack nudged Lyle and mouthed, "You first..."

Lyle frowned. Of course, it was only in such a moment that Jack relied on him. However, since Jack was willing to talk, Lyle decided not to fight him on this. With a sigh, he called out softly, "Dad…"

"Yes?" asked DX as he took a quick glance at the rearview mirror.

"What happened back at home?" asked the older twin as he looked at his father's face through the rearview mirror.

"Nothing for you to worry about…" said DX. After all, she was their grandmother. As much as he was angry at her, he did not want the boys to ever harbor any resentment to their grandmother.

Furthermore, Lyle's connection to Kai Xin was stronger than his connection to his grandmother. If he knew that his grandmother played a role in landing Kai Xin in hospital today, he would definitely throw a tantrum.

Since his father did not appear to be interested in a conversation, Lyle sighed and gave his brother a wry grin as he shrugged and mouthed, "I did my best."

When they arrived at the mansion, DX pulled Jack aside. When Lyle looked at them with a worried expression on his face, DX reassured him,

"Don't be silly. I won't hurt him. I need to have a talk with your brother…It's dinner time, so Kai Xin might be in the dining room. Go and wait for me there."

Lyle nodded. He guessed that his father wanted to talk things out with Jack first and he hoped that his brother would try to listen to their father instead of being stubborn about it..

As he ran into the house, he kept glancing back until they were completely out of his sight. Then with a sigh, he headed towards the dining room.

"What?" asked Jack curtly as looked at his father suspiciously.

"Kai Xin's family would be staying with us for a while," said DX.

Jack looked away from his father as he murmured, "Why don't you bring the entire village in next time..."

Since he knew that his son was saying it to spite him, DX did not scold him. Instead, he felt sorry for the boy.

He discussed with Dr. Phillip about Jack's behavior earlier and according to his friend, Jack was probably afraid of being replaced.

"He barely gets to spend time with you before...and now, you are having a baby without discussing anything with him...He's probably afraid that you might replace him with the baby...Try to spend more time with him. He's still a young boy. Just because Lyle is matured for his age doesn't mean that Jack is the same, " advised Dr. Phillip when he walked Kai Xin and DX to their car earlier.

When it came to his sons' wellbeing, DX always took Dr. Phillip's advice seriously.

As he looked at Jack's stubborn face, he noticed the mole at his right temple. He had never noticed that before.

"Have I ever looked at him properly before?" thought DX as he regretted the lost time. He was so preoccupied with Lyle back then that he might have neglected Jack.

In order to look at his son properly, DX lifted his son and sat him down on the boot of the Porsche.

While his son kept staring at him, DX removed his blazer and placed it over Jack to keep him warm.

As he leaned against the car, he asked, "Jack, we don't really get that many chances to bond right? I don't recall ever sitting down with you like this..."

Jack looked away from him. It took him a while before he answered his father, "That's cause to you, everything and everyone else is more important to me..."

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"Wait...Did you just apologize to me?" asked Jack as he looked at his father in disbelief. As far as he could recall, his father had never apologized before.

Then again, his father had never done anything wrong to him that would require an apology.

"Yes, I did," said DX as he placed a hand on his son's head much to the latter's annoyance. He then turned his son's head so that the boy would look at him.

With a smile, he said, "I'm sorry that I didn't pay much attention to you before. I'm also sorry for shouting at you yesterday. I shouldn't have done that."

Jack frowned and he immediately placed the back of his hand against his father's forehead before he asked in a worried tone, "That's weird. You are not sick or anything, are you?"

DX smiled and took both of Jack's hands as he said, "If you promise me not to agitate Kai Xin, I'll tell you everything that you have been asking me for the past few years."

"Really?" asked Jack as he looked at his father excitedly.

"Everything. I didn't want to tell you previously because you are still young. However, you are about to be a big brother soon, so I think you can handle it. So, can you promise me?"

Jack gave it a thought seriously before nodding, "Fine. As long as she stays out of my life…"

"Jack...If you give her a chance, you'll like her too…" said DX as he patted his son's head.

Jack slapped his hand away and turned his face away from his father before saying,

"Whatever. If you tell me what I want to know, then I would not agitate her on purpose. However, I didn't promise you that I would like her."

DX nodded. At least, he was willing to give Kai Xin a chance.

As they were walking towards the dining room, Jack suddenly tugged his father's shirt when they were near the entrance.

"What's wrong?" asked DX as he looked down at his son.

"Dad..."

Jack glanced down at his feet as he hesitated. He was afraid of what the answer might be.

"Jack, you can always tell me the things that are bothering you," said DX as he placed his hands on his son's shoulder.

After hesitating for a little while longer and with his head down, Jack asked softly, "You won't abandon me once you have a new baby right?"

When he finally heard the real reason for Jack's attitude, DX smiled. At least now, he could do something to help alleviate his fear.

With a smile, he knocked his son lightly on his forehead using his knuckles.

When his son looked up at him with a frown while he rubbed his forehead, DX said gently, "You are my son. As long as you remain a morally upright person, I'd never abandon you."

"Dad..." Jack's eyes welled with tears as he listened to his father.

"Listen to me, Jack. I won't lie to you. After the baby is born, I might be too busy with her to hang out with you for a period of time. However, that doesn't mean that I don't love you, alright?"

DX wiped the tears that were falling down his son's cheeks as he said softly, "No one can ever replace you. You are my Jack, my artistic son who have never bowed down to defeat. No one could ever replace you..."

Jack gulped while the tears kept coming out despite him wiping them off furiously with his sleeves. Afraid that someone would see him crying, Jack hugged his father to hide his face.

Meanwhile, at the dining room, Kai Xin was eating dinner with her family, Callum, Layla, and Quinn when Lyle joined them. As tomorrow was a working day, the guests went home early after they promised to come for another visit soon.

She kept glancing at the clock and after 20 minutes, she was starting to get worried that the two might be fighting again. Hence, she went out to look for them.

That was when she saw the father and son hugging outside the dining room. The sight warmed her heart. When she saw Jack's body trembling as he buried his face against his father's chest, she knew that he was crying.

When DX noticed her, he placed a finger against his lips to motion her to be quiet and she nodded.

Worried that she might have walked into something private, she mouthed to DX, "Is he alright?"

"He's fine..." mouthed DX back.

She knew that at his age, Jack would be easily embarrassed if he knew that someone saw him crying. So, she went back into the dining room quietly.

"Do you want to eat dinner in your room tonight?" asked DX softly as he rubbed his son's back to comfort him.

"En...." Jack nodded against his father's chest. He did not want to face anyone else at the moment. More than anything else, he did not know how to face Kai Xin after what he said to her the other day.

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