Chapter 202 - Lily's Attempt To Convince Dean

Jakarta 05:00 p.m

Dean just arrived in front of his house escorted by a taxi. He immediately got down while carrying Sofia who had fallen asleep, then walked through the gate into the courtyard of the house.

with an even and cold stare, he met the gazes of the bodyguards who frowned upon seeing his arrival. In fact, from the terrace, there was already his mother standing waiting for him with an expression that was difficult to interpret.

"Why go home without your wife?" Lily asked when Dean was on the terrace.

"Because I can't stay with her," Dean replied then continued walking until he arrived at the living room while his mother continued to follow.

"You'd better get ready quickly because in an hour we will move to our old house. I'll sell the house and we'll move to another city to get some peace," Dean said as he continued walking towards the stairs.

"Why go? Are you going to leave your wife, leave your family here?" Lily asked as she continued to follow Dean.

Dean stopped and turned to look at his mother. "Yeah, it's unethical for me to continue to be here. Since this house was a gift from Stevan, Bryana the daughter of Stevan and Stevan was the one who caused Clarissa's death by ordering a ruffian to shoot her. I can't deny this heartache. I can't stay here any longer!"

"Mr. Stevan never wanted Clarissa dead. You misunderstood, Dean. Bryana has already told me everything," Lily exclaimed, remembering that a few hours ago her daughter-in-law had contacted her and explained all the problems.

"What did she say? Did she know all this time and pretended not to know, fooling me like her father?" asked Dean impatiently.

Lily sighed, looking at Dean who had returned to being as cold as the moment after Clarissa's death. "Dean... Bryana didn't know about the matter at all. She was even surprised by this fact. She said her father ordered the man to kill Mr. Gustave, but instead failed and accidentally killed Clarissa and her mother," she explained slowly.

dean was silent and went back to the memory where he came to Gustave's house which had been brutally attacked, then Clarissa just got shot so many times. He smiled sarcastically and shook his head. "There's no accident but multiple shots. That horrible thing wouldn't have happened if Stevan hadn't told that bastard to attack the Gustave's. He's still guilty!" he cried with all the grudge and hatred that filled his heart.

"But Bryana doesn't know anything about all this, Dean. Please don't go and let go of what happened," Lily said patiently.

"It's not as easy as you say!" Dean said annoyed then continued walking towards Sofia's room.

Lily sighed, looking sadly at Dean who was turning stubborn again. 'He's almost like when Mr. Gustave wanted to take Sofia away from him after Clarisa's funeral,' he thought angrily.

___

Arriving at the room, Dean laid Sofia's body on the king-size bed on the blue bedsheet patterned with the Frozen animation character. He rubbed his daughter's forehead and remembered how he raised her without a mother. the man remembered how his daughter often cried and was difficult to soothe, had never tasted her mother's breastmilk, and had no chance to see her mother's face.

'If Stevan didn't tell the man to attack, maybe my daughter still has a biological mother,' Dean thought in the shadows of his past, so he didn't feel the tears falling just like that.

Celek. 

Lily entered the room and walked over to Dean who was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at Sofia.

"Dean...."

"Mom, you should get ready quickly because we don't belong here!" exclaimed Dean straightforwardly without turning to look at Lily.

"Why should you go? remember that Bryana is pregnant with your child, remember that she and Calvin need you to always keep them safe. It's your responsibility as the leader of the family here." Lily kept trying to wake Dean up.

"For what, why am I guarding them when Stevan is so easy to get that bastard man to attack Gustave and kill Clarissa and her mother? I won't do that and I'll be leaving soon. I'm sick of all this, I want to live peacefully with you and Sofia!" Dean asserted, looking at his mother who he thought didn't understand what he was feeling all this time.

"Didn't you think about how Bryana would feel?" asked Lily.

"I think about it, I love her as much as Clarissa and even more, but being with her makes me so hurt, and always remember how Clarissa died and it was because of her father's people. I'm afraid I'll hate her and be rude to her!" dean explained in annoyance at the war in his heart. His eyes even reddened and tears of frustration and disappointment began to overwhelm him.

Lily sighed in exasperation, then touched Dean's shoulder. "You love her, you will never hurt or hate her. stay here and forget the dark past," she cried patiently.

Dean was silent and again remembered how Stevan acted like a hero by providing all facilities for him, raising his level, without telling the facts. He was furious because he felt fooled.

"No, Mom. I can't stay here because this house is a gift from Stevan! I can't stay here. I'm taking Sofia away!"

"No, you can't take her away! She will stay here with me, waiting for her younger sibling to be born!" Lily exclaimed with emotions starting to burn at Dean's stubbornness.

"She's my daughter, so I have the right to take her!" said Dean furiously.

"She's your daughter, she's also my granddaughter. I have the right to her because I take care of her when you're not around when you're busy with your work. here is a comfortable place for her because here her new mother is! You can't take her!" Lily insisted with an angry look at Dean. She immediately climbed onto the bed and held Sofia's hand, worried that Dean would dare to take her granddaughter.

"Arghhh!" dean ruffled his hair in annoyance.

"It's all because of Stevan... Damn it!!"

Lily shook her head at Dean who looked frustrated after a long time starting to seem comfortable with Bryana. "This is all because you can't contain your anger. You should be wise in facing this reality. It's all over and your future is Bryana!"

"It's not as easy as you say, you don't know what I feel!" cried Dean, then got out of bed and walked out of the room, even slamming the door shut.

BRAKKK!!

Lily sighed, holding her chest which seemed to be pounding at the sight of Dean's fiery emotions. She turned to look at Sofia who was the main victim of everything that happened. "Even though Bryana is the daughter of the person who was involved in the attack on your grandfather's house, which caused your mother to die, you love her very much, she even loves you very much like a mother to her biological daughter," Lily muttered sadly.

'I have to keep Sofia here to make Dean stay here because he can never be without Sofia,' she thought full of ambition, ambition for the future of Dean's family, for the sake of Bryana who she loved as a daughter-in-law