Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 121: Chapter 121

"Meeting adjourned," Lane said after finishing her conversation with the board of directors. She stayed seated, letting the board members leave the conference room.

When only she and her secretary were left, she finally released the breath she had been holding. She picked up a bottle of water and noticed her hands trembling, which showed how nervous she was.

Lane was used to having Ethan with her during board meetings. Since he was at the hospital watching over Tyler, she had to attend alone. Lane was grateful she managed well and answered the board’s questions.

Despite her nervousness, she managed to impress them. Lane felt proud for achieving that without Ethan by her side. However, she would have preferred facing ladles and knives over those intimidating board members.

For the second time, Lane took a deep breath. After drinking, she stood up and walked out of the conference room, her secretary following close behind.

"Ma’am Lane, it’s almost lunch break. Would you like me to order you something to eat?" her secretary asked.

She shook her head. "No need. My husband and son will pick me up later," she replied.

"Okay, Ma’am," her secretary responded.

"Hmm, make the minutes of the meeting from earlier and just send them to my email," she instructed.

When her secretary nodded, she continued walking until she reached her office. As soon as she sat down, she immediately grabbed her phone, as she had forgotten to take it earlier.

She blinked in surprise at the many missed calls and text messages from Ethan. Rather than reading his texts, she called him back.

It took a while before he answered. "Lane," Ethan said.

"Sorry, Ethan. I left my phone in the office. I had a meeting earlier," she explained.

"It’s okay," he replied. "So, how was the meeting?" he asked.

"It went well," she replied with a smile.

"That’s good, Lane," Ethan commented. "I’m very proud of you," he added, making her smile even more.

"Anyway, have you picked up Calvin?" she asked after a moment.

She heard him sigh on the other end. "That is the reason I called earlier. I was going to say that I can’t pick up Calvin," Ethan replied.

"Tyler wouldn’t let me leave. He’s throwing a tantrum."

Lane’s smile faded. "Who picked him up?"

"When I couldn’t contact you, I called Mae to pick him up," he replied. "And I’m sorry we can’t go out today. But I promise, I’ll make it up to both of you."

Lane didn’t respond. At that moment, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She felt disappointed.

She was about to speak when she heard Olivia’s voice on the other line.

"Ethan, your son is looking for you."

"Just tell him to wait," she heard Ethan reply. After a while, he said goodbye. "Lane, I need to hang up now. I’ll call you again later, okay? I love you."

Ethan ended the call before she could respond. She just stared at her phone. She stared at it for a moment before dialing Mae’s number. She wanted to ask if Mae was already with Calvin. It took three rings before Mae answered.

"Hello?"

"Mae, have you picked Calvin up?" she asked. "Ethan said he called you."

"Oh, god, Ma’am Lane." Lane’s brow furrowed when she heard Mae’s response. "I’m sorry, but I forgot."

Lane quickly checked her watch. Her eyes widened upon realizing that thirty minutes had passed since her son’s class ended.

"Ma’am, I’m really sorry."

Lane cut Mae off by ending the call. She grabbed her car keys, stood up, and rushed out of the office. She nearly ran out of the building. Once she got into the car, she sped off.

At that moment, Lane felt a mix of fear, anxiety, and worry for her son. Upon arriving at the daycare center, she hastily exited the car without parking properly.

She ran toward his classroom. There, she saw her son quietly crying. Lane sighed in relief upon seeing he was not alone. His teacher was there, trying to comfort him.

"Calvin," she called out.

He looked up. Upon seeing her, his crying intensified. Lane’s heart broke at the sight. She hurried to him and hugged her son tightly. "Shh, don’t cry, sweetheart. Mommy’s here," she said. Lane’s heart sank when she heard his sobs.

Ethan turned back toward the hospital room. After a while, he furrowed his brow again when he saw the door to his child’s private room open and the man he had encountered earlier exiting, followed by Olivia, who seemed to be arguing with him. He couldn’t hear what they were discussing.

Ethan’s brow furrowed even more as he came to a realization. From what he observed, it seemed like the two knew each other. But yesterday, when he saw them talking, Olivia had said the man had just entered the wrong private room thinking it was his child’s room.

Ethan’s brows furrowed deeper. Instead of approaching them, he walked away. After that, he took out his phone and called a private investigator he knew. He wanted to have the man investigated.

...

"Come on, give us a smile, Calvin," Lane said to her son. "How is the girl you like going to notice you if you don’t smile?" she added.

Lane couldn’t help but smile when she saw his cheeks turn red. "Oh, come on, Mommy. Faye isn’t my crush."

"So, does she have a crush on you?" she asked in a teasing voice.

"She does," he replied. "She told me she has a crush on me, but I told her politely that I don’t feel the same way, Mommy," he continued.

Lane was taken aback by what her son said. She had an idea of what his classmate might feel when he said he didn’t like her. She knew they were too young for such things, but she also knew they could feel hurt.

She let out a deep sigh. "It’s okay to be honest with your feelings, Calvin. Just remember to express them kindly, all right? Especially when you grow up. You don’t want to hurt anyone without realizing it," she told him.

Lane had experienced that, too. She had never told Ethan before that she liked and loved him, but the way he treated her and spoke to her had felt like a rejection.

"Yes, Mommy," Calvin replied.

She reached out to ruffle his hair.

Moments later, her phone rang. She saw that it was Ava and answered.

"Hello?"

"Lane," Ava said. "Brad and I are downstairs."

"Okay, Ava. Just wait for Calvin and me. We’ll be down soon," she said.

"Okay," Ava replied. She ended the call, put her phone in her bag, and stood up from the sofa.

"Calvin, your Auntie Ava is downstairs," she told her son.

He nodded. She slung her bag over her shoulder and reached for his hand. He took it immediately.

"Come on, let’s go," Lane said. Holding hands, they left the condo. After picking Calvin up from school yesterday, she had decided to head to her condo instead of Ethan’s mansion.

She looked at her son again. Ever since Ethan broke his promise to pick him up from school, she had noticed how quiet he was. He would answer when she spoke to him, but otherwise, he remained silent, and the sadness was evident on his face.

To keep Calvin occupied, she decided to take him out. It was perfect timing that Brad invited them to Havens, as it had been a while since they last visited for a stroll.

Soon enough, they were downstairs. They walked outside and she immediately saw Brad’s black car.

Lane was still holding her son’s hand as they approached. Brad seemed to have noticed them because he got out to open the back door.

"Thank you," she said to Brad. She lifted Calvin to help him inside, then followed him into the backseat.

"Hi, Calvin," Ava greeted him, turning around to look.

"Hello, Auntie," Calvin replied in a subdued voice to his godmother.

"Hey, why do you sound so down?" Ava asked, noticing the lack of energy in his voice.

Lane noticed Brad turning to look at them, too.

Lane didn’t expect Calvin’s next move. Instead of answering Ava, he hugged her tightly. It felt like a giant hand squeezed her heart when she heard Calvin’s faint sobbing.

"What happened?" Brad asked, his voice full of concern.

She looked up and said softly, "He misses his father."

"Where is Ethan?" he asked.

She was about to speak when Calvin answered first. "He’s with Tyler," he said to his godfather, and she felt his grip on her tighten.

Ethan glanced at Olivia when her phone rang. He saw her staring at the screen before picking it up. She looked at it for a moment before standing up from the sofa.

"Excuse me. I’ll just answer this call," she said.

Without waiting for him to speak, she walked out of the room. Once she was gone, he turned his attention to his son, who was busy watching something on his phone.

Ethan noticed Tyler’s hair. While Olivia was still out, he discreetly combed his son’s hair with his fingers. After gathering a few strands, he took a tissue from the bedside table and placed them inside. Just as he pocketed it, Olivia returned, and he frowned at the anxiety on her face.

Upon noticing his gaze, Olivia averted her eyes and walked past him.

After a while, Ethan called to Tyler.

"What is it, Daddy?" Tyler asked, looking up.

"Is it okay if Daddy goes home? I’ll just take a shower and come back here right away," he said.

Tyler didn’t speak for a moment but then nodded. "Okay, Daddy," he replied before returning to his phone.

Ethan sighed in relief. He looked at Olivia, who still seemed anxious. It seemed the call had something to do with her stress, but he decided not to dwell on it.

"Olivia, please take care of Tyler for now," he instructed.

She nodded absentmindedly and began to walk away. Before leaving the hospital, Ethan went to the medical director he knew to personally deliver the hair sample.

It didn’t take long for Ethan to reach the office. He knocked three times. "Come in." He turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

"Oh, Ethan," the man said.

"Morgan," Ethan replied.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"My son has been admitted here," he replied.

"Oh, how is he?"

"He’s fine, just recovering," he said. "Morgan, I want to ask a favor."

Ethan saw Morgan frown slightly. "What is it, Ethan?" he asked.

He stepped closer and pulled the tissue from his pocket that held the hair strands. He also pulled out a few strands of his own hair. "Can you arrange a DNA test for these and keep it confidential?"

Ethan saw the surprise on his face, but Morgan quickly accepted the samples. He retrieved a plastic bag from his desk drawer.

"When do you want the results?"

"I want them as soon as possible, Morgan," he replied firmly.

He had had a DNA test done before, but felt the need to repeat it. Ever since Ethan saw the man arguing with Olivia, a seed of doubt had been planted in his mind. He needed answers.

He needed to know if Tyler was truly his son.

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