Chapter 271 - The Accident On The Metro

The little boy trembled as he picked up his chopsticks. The stranger opposite him was authoritative and intimidating. He had never met anyone this scary in his life. 

In his early years, Daniel lived with his mother and she had tried her best to teach him manners and etiquette, but ever since she left him with her parents and they migrated to Singapore together, the grandparents spoiled their grandson and he had developed quite an attitude.

The little boy picked at the dishes on the table, brushing aside the vegetables and only grabbing the meat. Danson watched this and furrowed his brows. Stretching his chopsticks across the table, he grabbed a bunch of water spinach and placed it in the boy's bowl. He then grabbed a few pieces of carrot and broccoli and added it on top. "Eat it!" he demanded.

The boy screwed up his nose with disgust but did as told. He did not dare to argue with this scary man.

Meanwhile, Marissa and her parents watched in shock. Firstly, they were shocked that he claimed to be the child's father. Secondly, they were shocked that the child listened to him.

Marissa had never told her parents who the father of her son was, so the two elders were extremely confused. Father? If anything, Danson was technically Daniel's stepbrother, right? 

Marissa's mother looked at her and gently kicked her foot, "What's going on?"

Marissa took a deep breath awkwardly. She didn't know what was going on either. Why did Danson suddenly show up? And why did it seem like he knew something?

At that moment, Danson wrapped an arm around Marissa's shoulder and said, "Marissa and I dated back in high school and...she gave birth to my son. I'm here to take responsibility for both of them."

He then pointed at the little boy that was sitting across from him.

Marissa glanced at Danson in surprise. How did he find out?

Marissa's father immediately slammed his hands on the table and stood up, "That's ridiculous! What nonsense are you spouting? Lucy, take the Young Master to his room. We have something to discuss!"

Lucy was Daniel's nanny as well as the family's domestic helper. Seeing the drama that was unfolding, she immediately grabbed Daniel's hand and led him into his bedroom.

"You're her stepson! What are you talking about? What will people say?" Marissa's father growled after the child was gone.

"I don't care what people say. I am telling the truth. I met her first. It wasn't like we cheated. Besides, my father's already dead," Danson replied.

"What kind of messed up relationship have you created, Marissa?" Marissa's mother exclaimed in disgust. "Did you knowingly sleep with your son's grandfather and marry him as well? What kind of sick joke is this?"

She then stood up and threw a slap across her daughter's face, "I can't believe you did something so immoral and disgusting! I know you always hated growing up poor and I know we weren't always the best parents, but this is too much!"

Marissa held onto her cheek and glanced helplessly at Danson. Did he also think she was disgusting?

But, to he surprise, Danson hugged her tighter and gently brushed his finger across her reddened cheek, "Marissa never slept with my father. My father married her so he could legally give her inheritance to pass down to his grandchild without anyone knowing. He knew Daniel was my son and he wanted to protect me. It was my fault for not realizing earlier."

Marissa looked at Danson emotionally again. How did he know so much?

Danson noticed the confusion in Marissa's eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"Uncle Wei told me everything," he explained as he brushed his hand lovingly through her hair.

Marissa's parents looked at the couple in surprise. "Is that true?" Marissa's father asked.

A tear creeped out from the corner of Marissa's eye as she stared at Danson. She then nodded her head, "Yes...it's all true."

...

While Marissa's family was coming to terms with a decade of misunderstandings, someone else was dealing with a misunderstanding in Hong Kong.

Inside the hotel next to the AsiaWorld Expo, a young woman was sitting inside a hotel room as her manager paced back and forth with her phone in her hands.

"How did this happen, Avaleigh?" the manager asked as she showed a photo to the woman.

It was a photo taken on the train of Avaleigh kissing a man! From the angle of the camera, the man's face couldn't be seen, but Avaleigh's milk-tea-colored hair and her unique airport fashion easily made her identifiable. The person that posted the photo even attached a photo of her leaving Korea in the exact same clothes for comparison. 

Avaleigh sat casually on the hotel bed and brushed back her hair, "It was an accident. I don't know that guy. He tripped on the door and fell on me."

The manager furrowed her brows. "Macaron's first concert will be in 2 days. You have a stage rehearsal tomorrow, but I want you to speak to our Hong Kong PR agency in the morning first and see what they can do. I've already booked an urgent meeting with them. You girls are supposed to be untouchable. Someone that every girl aspires to be and someone that every man wants but can't get. This photo was only released this morning and your fans are already threatening to refund their concert tickets."

Avaleigh scoffed, "I'm a human, not a robot. If that's how they're like, then they're not my real fans."

"You can't think like that, Ava. You need to think on behalf of all your members. You are the leader. If you get involved with a scandal like this, you can take the entire group down with you. That's 6 lives, apart from your own, that are in your hands, as well as all the staff and crew that work with you. You know better than anyone how hard you've all worked to get here. You can't afford to make mistakes like this," the manager nagged. "You should have just gone with the car that came to pick you up from the airport. Why did you catch the metro instead?"

"I'm from Hong Kong, Sue. This is my hometown. I knew the fans would be gathered at the gate and around the car, so I avoided them all by taking the metro. No one even noticed me sneaking past. It was meant to be a flawless plan. The metro only took less than 5 minutes. I didn't expect an accident to happen, and I especially didn't expect someone to get a photo," Avaleigh sighed.

"Did you, at least, get the name of that man? Perhaps, we can find him and get him to explain everything..." Sue said hopefully.

Avaleigh thought back on the neat and handsome man he met in the metro and shook her head, "No, he was a complete stranger..."