HATRED

CHAPTER 25

I stood firm when we reached his car, refusing to get in. "My car is parked on the other side," I reminded him. Instead of letting me go, he demanded my car keys and instructed his chauffeur to drive my car.

"Is it so wrong that I hate my life?" I blurted out, biting my lower lip. Sylvester immediately embraced me, but the weight of everything was too much, and I needed to let it out. I broke free from his embrace and continued, "My father never loved me. He always wanted a son to follow in his footsteps and take over his company. That's why I acted out, just to spite him. But look where it got me—I became Raphael's experiment. And you..."

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. Life felt unbearably cruel. "You know nothing about love. You're blinded by arrogance and take everything by force. And as if that's not enough, you're expecting a child with Patricia."

Sylvester's face remained stone cold, but I couldn't pretend Raphael was lying about him. I walked past him and got into his car.

The drive was quiet, the air thick with the weight of my words and the tension between us. Sylvester's face remained impassive, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. I stared out the window, trying to calm my racing heart and make sense of my jumbled emotions.

When we arrived at his place, Sylvester parked the car and turned to me, his eyes softened with concern and determination. "Regina, I know I've made mistakes. I know I'm not perfect. But I care about you, more than you realize. And I want to make things right."

I looked away, feeling the tears threatening to fall again. "It's not that simple, Sylvester. There's so much pain, so much...baggage."

He reached out, gently taking my hand. "I know. And I'm willing to work through it with you, if you'll let me. I can't change the past, but I can be better. For you. For us."

His sincerity touched me, but the wounds were still too fresh, the doubts too strong. "I don't know if I can trust you," I whispered, my voice breaking.

Sylvester sighed, his grip tightening on my hand. "Trust takes time. And I'm willing to wait, to prove myself to you. Just...don't shut me out, Regina. Please."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "Alright. But I need space to figure things out. To heal."

He nodded, his expression resolute. "I understand. Take all the time you need. I'll be here, waiting."

With that, we got out of the car and walked into his house. The silence between us was heavy, so I decided to bring up the inauguration coming up this weekend, just two days away.

"We still need your approval on the remaining budget items," I said. "I've already spoken with the event planners, and there won't be any additional expenses."

He nodded, though I knew he still disagreed with using the event planners introduced to the company. He wanted my mother to handle the event, but she had too much on her plate, and I wasn't ready to discuss my parents' divorce.

"You know that if these event planners weren't as good as people say, I wouldn't recommend them," I reassured him. Instead of responding, he kissed my forehead and went to his room. I knew my earlier words had affected him deeply. As I headed to the kitchen to help his maid prepare dinner, my phone buzzed. I checked it and saw a message from my father.

From Dad:

If you really want to know everything about my affair with Esther, come home now.

I read the message again and again. I knew it was foolish to trust my father's words, but my curiosity got the better of me. I needed to be sure that Raphael wasn't my half-brother. Quickly, I apologized to the maid, saying I wouldn't be able to have dinner, then rushed to Sylvester's room. I found him wrapped in a white towel, water still dripping from him. The sight took my breath away. He raised his brows and tilted his head, and I immediately shook off the wild thoughts that filled my mind. "I, um, need to go back home. My father needs to speak to me. It's urgent."

He took only four strides to reach me, searching my eyes for any hint about my sudden need to leave. "What are you not telling me?" he asked, but my mind was clouded with the intoxicating scent of his body wash. I bit my lower lip, but his index finger touched it gently, rescuing my lip from my assault. His touch was soft, driving me nuts, but his next words brought me back to reality. "What is so urgent that your father needs to see you?"

I shrugged and turned, but he pulled me back, leaving only an inch between us, making my heartbeat unstable. "Sylvester, call me, and I'll explain everything because I can't have a proper conversation with this closeness and the effect you have on me," I whispered.

He smiled and let me go. In a hurry, I grabbed my car keys from the shelf where Sylvester kept all his—an impressive collection of expensive cars, though I always wondered why anyone needed so many when you can only drive one at a time.

When I got home, I found my father eating alone. It was a sad sight, but he had brought this upon himself. I dropped my bag on the couch and went to join him.

"Father, no matter how painful it is, I need the truth. Please," I begged.

He nodded and ordered the maid to serve me. After she did, he dismissed her and told me to eat. This was the first time I had ever seen my father look so sad. I obliged, and soon after, he began to speak.

"Esther and I had a romance in our final year of university, but it ended because I was poor," he snickered, reminiscing about the past. I remained silent, and he continued. "I worked as a bartender for many years. That was my only option to raise money for my education, and it wasn't enough to get the woman I wanted. Her parents were very wealthy and powerful; they wanted me far away from Esther, and it worked. One fateful night, Esther caught another woman in my apartment. I had nothing going on with her—she was my coursemate and needed assistance with her project. But Esther didn't believe me because the lady was half-naked, having spilled juice on her shirt and taken it off. Esther misinterpreted the situation and ran out, only to get into an accident."

He drank some water, cleared his throat, and continued. "I was summoned to the hospital the following day and told about the accident. Her parents were furious with me, and at that moment, I knew it was over. She was different. I wasn't surprised when she broke up with me. A week later, I was shocked to hear rumors about her accident. She was raped by some thugs that night, but it was too late—her parents had already sent her out of the country."

My eyes widened. Raphael's mother was raped because of my father, and that was likely the reason Raphael humiliated me—he sought vengeance.

"Raphael isn't your son? He humiliated me because you were the reason his mother was raped years ago."

He shook his head and said, "It's more complicated than that. Raphael blames me for his mother's illness. She has cancer, and yes, Raphael sought you out for vengeance because I am the reason he is the product of that rape."

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