Once Rejected, Now Desired! [Revenge of the Son-in-Law]

Chapter 3: Illegitimate Daughter

After what felt like an eternity, I gradually opened my eyes and was taken aback as I found myself lying on the bed in a huge and freezing but unfamiliar room.

Startled, I lifted half of my body when I finally came to my senses that a man in a suit, probably, in his sixties, had been secretly peeking at me from the corner.

He then dropped the newspapers he was holding and slid toward the bed. Before he could do so, I lifted the pristine white-scented blanket and covered it around my face, too scared that he might do something bad.

"Good afternoon, Young Master. Don't be scared. I have no intention of hurting you, in fact, I brought you here because that was what you requested before you collapsed last night..."

As he kept on talking, I tried to recall what had happened before I collapsed. I remember running away from the mansion and feeling a wave of dizziness engulfing me, everything going hazy.

Until someone's car bumped into me. But everything has been made clear to me now. He was right at some point. I stop him from not reaching out to anyone from the mansion.

"... Also, not that I was meddling with your life story, Young Master, it turned out that I found out the reason you were running outside in the middle of the night as if a hungry dog or someone had been chasing you." he continued, "You were kicked out of the Lincoln mansion because you and your wife had signed a divorce agreement."

The balls of my eyes widened with several long curved lines written on my forehead as I fixed them on the man. "Wait..." I cut him off with suspicion. "Why do you keep addressing me that? Who are you? Do you know who I am?"

I replied with the blanket remained covering my face. My eyes were even closed, scared that he might hurt me or take advantage of me when I was in his room. I'm just an ordinary man, fragile and useless.

Nothing to be proud of.

"I know you're not who you think about you, Young Master. Your mother ordered me to keep an eye on you for the past three years," he confessed. "but I want you to know that I know the feeling of being kicked out of the house you once called home. That's why I want to offer you something you must consider..."

I slowly removed the blanket from my face when he gently dropped his butt on the edge of the bed below my feet. His sharp eyes weren't fixed on me but on that old photo frame hanging on the wall.

"... We were on the same boat, Young Master," he added. "You can do everything, even impossible ones. All you have to do is accept who you really are."

"You mean you want me to be part of that family again? Never. I will never see his face no matter what." I uttered, still cautious that he might have his hidden agenda.

He nodded without hesitation. "But that's who you are, Young Master. Your father's blood runs through your veins whether you like it or not. You have the means to end your suffering. Just say yes, and I will inform them right away."

The balls of my eyes remained wide open as I could not believe to hear such things coming from someone, a desperate one. However, it was not his tempting proposal that piqued my interest but what he claimed about my mother.

Celestine and I have been friends for eight years and three years of being a married couple. That was a long eleven years in total, yet I haven't told anyone about my identity.

"Fine," I uttered after a few seconds of taking things into consideration. "I'll grant their request. However, only on one condition. I want to go home, to my parents, but I don't have a car or money. Can you send me there?"

Without asking further questions, the old man agreed and brought me to my parent's place. We didn't get the chance to talk about his proposal furthermore as he left after sending me home.

One week later.

Jennie Pineda, my secretary, and I gradually walked down the red carpet heading to the VVIP table in the middle of the room intended for the major shareholder of Lincoln Group and Companies, owned by my ex-wife, Celestine Lincoln.

Tonight, I, along with some of the business tycoons in the city of New York will be attending this private Business Grandball hosted by the Lincoln Group and Companies to express their sincere appreciation for those people who invested in their company.

But before reaching the VVIP table, we halted at the table where Celestine, Sebastian, and her parents were patiently waiting for the major shareholder's arrival. Of course, no one knows it was I who invested billions of dollars to save her dying corporation.

With undying perseverance and patience, I managed to keep my identity hidden from everyone, especially my wife and his evil family for the past eleven years.

"Zachary Llamas? What are you doing at our company's Grandball? As far as I can remember, we haven't invited you here." Divina breathed out my name with several long curved lines engraved on her forehead.

Celestine and Sebastian glanced at me from head to toe, partly confused and worried upon seeing me, standing still in front of them in a glimmering limited-edition tuxedo contrary to what I always wore back in the day.

The heavy sensation feels like yesterday. Nothing changed; as good-looking as the first time I laid eyes on her. No wonder Sebastian betrayed me when he, himself, couldn't resist her charm either.

"Get out of here before I call the security, Zachary! You are not supposed to be here," Sebastian growled, but his voice barely above a whisper to avoid causing a commotion.

"Sebastian's right! You heard our son-in-law loud and clear, you, ungrateful son of a bitch!" Divina seconded. "Let me remind you, you already signed the divorce paper. Do you still think we will give you a single penny? Dream on!"

I could not help but scoff when she reached out to Sebastian's arms, expressing her full support for her daughter's liberated boyfriend. What else could I say? She also got herself a new husband despite her age.

As this old aphorism says, "A family with the same feathers flocks together!" She prefers a liberated man compared to a conservative one. Sebastian even childlessly displayed his pitiful face to get Divina's good side.

"What are you still looking at, Zachary? Should I drag you out of this place myself?" Divina continued, this time, in a threatening tone.

Jennie was about to defend me from getting humiliated but I stepped in, grabbed the glass of wine from their table, and took a sip. "It's good to see you too, Celestine, Sebastian, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln," I replied with conviction, then I crawled my sharp eyes and ear-to-ear smile at my ex-best friend, Sebastian.

"Don't give me that kind of face, Sebastian. Are you still uncomfortable seeing me? That's not who you are. Smile. Your stares are giving me goosebumps," I added before I set the empty glass back on the table, "Dont worry, I'm not here to cause trouble just like what I did a year ago. The same night you two happily betrayed me, remember?"

"We better get going, Mr. Fisher. The program is about to start in ten minutes." Jennie interrupted the tension, leaving me with no other choice when I had to finish the Grandball as early as possible.

"Looking forward to working with you sooner, Ms. Lincoln! Please, take your seats. Apology for the interruption," I said before I followed Jennie toward the VVIP table and grabbed our seats with my chin lifted upward.

Everyone, including Zachary and Yllana, was caught by surprise as we dared to grab the VVIP table. Whispers and murmurs dominated the entire room like a blazing wildfire, talking about me, shamelessly sitting at the major shareholder's table.

"All right, I heard from a reliable source that our most awaited person just arrived!" announced the female emcee which also put everyone into silence. "Let's all welcome, the major shareholder of Lincoln Group and Companies... Mr. Zachary Fisher!"

As soon as they all heard my name, I rose from my seat and bowed in front of everyone until I stopped at the table where Celestine and her parents were sitting with the balls of their eyes wide open, filled with awe and suspicion at the same time.

The emcee walked toward our table and offered me the microphone for me to say my encouraging piece of advice for those who joined the Grandball. And who am I to decline? Storytelling and hearing about my huge success was a perfect opportunity to get on Celestine and Sebastian's nerves as part of tonight's agenda.

Most of them expressed their envy of me by breathing out my name; they're praising me. Some were stunned and dumbfounded completely, especially those who recognized me as clearly as day as a poor houseboy.

But that's all in the past now. A lot of things happened within a week without Celestine or anyone in her evil family in my life, I now have the confidence to play with them.

After the short introduction and sharing my story, Jennie and I evacuated the building and walked toward the parking lot assisted by my security guards.

Just when I was about to hop into the car, everyone was caught by surprise when Celestine grabbed the back part of my tuxedo and pulled me away from the door. Hard enough my tuxedo was torn, exposing my broad chest.

All my security guards came to the rescue and pulled her away from me by force. One of them offered me his blazer and covered it on my ripped-off gown.

"So sorry, it's not my intention to do it." Celestine defensively said as she moaned out of pain from my security guards' grip. "Just want to talk to him for a minute. Please?"

"There's nothing to talk about anymore, little sister. You already divorced her for good." Jennie's sharp voice echoed in my ears.

At first, I thought he was one of my security guards, but it turned out it was Jennie, my secretary, which intrigued and confused me at the same time.

No. What intrigued me the most was how she addressed Celestine. Despite the exhausting night, I heard her loud and clear, claiming Celestine being her little sister. Then she pulled me closer with her arm knotted around my arm.

"Zachary and I are in an intimate relationship after you throw him like a used rag." she continued. "And it was me who helped him secure the major investment in your dying company. Would that be enough to answer your question?"

"What?" Celestine and I blurted in unison. We could not help but frown. This was probably because she couldn't believe I made up with her sister.

Mine? I don't know where she got that idea when after a week with my biological parents, I never heard of her until today's event when Dad introduced her to me over a phone call.

Needless to say, since then, my schedule has been too hectic to ask for further information about her. She never said anything about her relationship with my ex-wife.

And it was my money that I invested in the Lincoln's company without asking for a cent from the old man or Jennie. That's one for a fact.

My intention in investing my ten billion dollars in her parents' dying company was to get revenge. To make her and her evil family bow before me. To make them realize that my worth alone was more than their corporations combined.

Her interruption is ruining my plan. And I cannot afford for my plan to get ruined because she saved me from getting humiliated by Celestine or anyone from her evil family.

"You heard me loud and clear, little sister." Jennie continued. "So it's either you accept our little investment or let your corporation suffer until it gets buried six feet under the ground."