My Possessive CEO: Trembling in His Arms-Chapter 178: Did You Want to Talk About the Engagement?
Renee Winslow always speaks before thinking, and regrets after she asks.
She constantly reminds herself not to ask too much about The Yates Family.
But sometimes, even if she doesn’t ask, she’ll more or less find out some things.
Like now, Caleb Yates, acting like he’s drunk and lost, took the initiative to talk to her.
Actually, Jack Yates has never mentioned anything about The Yates Family in front of her. Jack Yates is someone with deep tact and a tight-lipped mouth.
However, what she didn’t know was that Caleb Yates was quite pleased she asked, otherwise, he’d seem unnecessarily sentimental.
Upon hearing her ask about his great-grandmother’s age, Caleb Yates chuckled and responded, "My great-grandfather is now eighty-eight, will be eighty-nine after New Year’s, and I think my great-grandmother is two or three years younger. Twenty-one years ago, she was just over sixty."
Renee Winslow remained silent, thinking, your great-grandmother’s methods and abilities could rival Empress Valeria’s.
Caleb Yates seemed to read her thoughts and laughed, saying, "My great-grandmother was a proper government lady. Her father served as the mayor of Southedge City. Now the Riverwatch Gardens, a 5A level scenic spot, used to be the backyard of my great-grandmother’s home. Her grandfather was a Governor of Two Rivers."
Renee Winslow felt a tremble in her heart at this lineage, no wonder she didn’t want Jack Yates’ dad to marry a little housekeeper, who would?
"My dad wasn’t as spirited as my grandfather. Plus, at that time, he hadn’t even graduated from university, he didn’t dare to resist at all, he couldn’t even say ’no’, and let my great-grandmother send my mom away."
"Just like my second uncle, I was taken back to The Yates Family right after birth."
As he said this, Caleb Yates turned to look at Renee Winslow.
"Actually, you could say I was raised by my third uncle."
Renee Winslow was surprised, it was hard to imagine someone as cold and ruthless as Jack Yates raising a child, especially when he himself was only a few years old at the time.
Caleb Yates: "I was born at the end of May, May 28th, and when I was brought back to The Yates Family, my third uncle happened to be on summer vacation. That year, he was eight years old. You could say I grew up with my third uncle. To say he raised me would not be exaggerating. Moreover, my third uncle was precocious, at the age of eight, he already had the mind of a teenager, more like a father to me than my real dad."
"My dad had no sense of fatherhood responsibility, as for my mom, I hadn’t seen her before I was eleven."
"At that time my grandfather was on the rise, very busy, rarely home. Although my great-grandfather was retired, he didn’t care about me, though he loved me. Only the third uncle, with the authority of an elder, managed my studies and life."
"During my childhood, the only male adult’s care and protection I felt was from my third uncle."
"I attended nursery and primary schools in military district schools, many classmates were children of high-ranking officials, no one worse than the other. To compare, because my mom had me out of wedlock, my identity happened to be the worst in the class."
"In the second grade, there were some boys from similar high-ranking families who said right to my face that I was illegitimate, that my mom was an unspeakable lover. I was so angry I fought with them, but I lost; they beat me brutally, my face was bruised and my nose was bleeding."
"I dared not tell the truth when I got home, lied saying I tripped."
"That day was just Friday, my third uncle came back from school, after dinner, he took me to the study, forced me to tell the truth."
"The next day, my third uncle took me to school, called the principal and my class teacher into the office, and also called the students who hit me along with their parents to school, making them apologize to me in front of the principal and teacher."
"Initially, those students didn’t want to apologize, saying I started the fight."
"My third uncle said, not apologizing was fine, then let’s proceed with legal channels. I remember clearly, at that time, my third uncle handed those parents a document each, telling them to decide whether to apologize or not after reading it."
"They just took a glance, and immediately had their children apologize to me, and even gave them a beating."
Renee Winslow asked, "How old was Jack Yates at that time?"
Caleb Yates: "Fifteen. I was seven, he was eight years older than me."
Renee Winslow nodded, "A fifteen-year-old Jack Yates indeed had such presence."
Caleb Yates smiled, "Honestly, only in front of you does he feel like an ancient beast with his divine power sealed. Before meeting you, he’s never been constrained like this."
Renee Winslow felt a pang in her heart and took a heavy breath.
Having sat on the ground for too long, her legs started to feel numb. She gripped the fence with her hands and stood up with its support.
"Alright, you should go back, I should head back inside too." She stood up and patted the dirt off her clothes.
Caleb Yates: "Renee, after the New Year, my third uncle is going to get engaged. I came to find you tonight just to tell you this. I’m afraid my third uncle is hiding it from you, and letting you become..."
The words "the other woman" were too offensive, Caleb Yates didn’t say them aloud.
Renee Winslow calmly smiled: "Okay, I understand."
Caleb Yates: "Though my third uncle’s mother may not be as manipulative as my great-grandmother, she’s no ordinary person either. As long as she’s alive, she will never allow you and my third uncle to be together."
Saying this, he laughed at himself.
"As for me, I have no parents, my grandmother isn’t my real grandmother, my grandfather himself isn’t clean, he can’t interfere with my marriage."
"As for my great-grandfather, I’m a great-grandson, my great-grandfather wouldn’t bother about me, and besides, he’s almost ninety, unlikely to outlast me."
Renee Winslow laughed bitterly, "What’s the use of saying these things now? Jack and I are like this, is there any way back? Time doesn’t flow backward, there’s no turning back for me."
-
After Jack Yates angrily left the dinner table, he went to the hallway to smoke.
Frederick Yates hurried after him, standing beside him, accompanying him with a cigarette.
In the cold night, the smoke they exhaled was growing denser and whiter.
Frederick Yates shook the cigarette ash off to the side, glancing at Jack Yates with a teasing tone, "Really going to get engaged to that Thorne Family girl?"
Jack Yates: "Hmm."
Frederick Yates wasn’t surprised, directly asking, "What about Renee Winslow?"
Jack Yates didn’t speak, just smoked even more furiously, with lips clamping the cigarette, eyes lowered, cheeks hollowed as he inhaled with the intensity of an addict.
He swallowed one full puff into his lungs, exhaling it all through the nose.
Frederick Yates joked, "You should be grateful our grandparents passed early, and our aunt is soft-hearted. Otherwise, you and that girl would never have made it today, separated long ago."
Jack Yates still said nothing, only flicked the cigarette onto the ground and crushed it with his shoe when it was nearly finished smoking.
Frederick Yates continued, "Even if Aunt is soft-hearted, not forcing you apart, but think about Hector’s mother and Uncle’s outcome."
Throwing the half-smoked cigarette, Frederick Yates raised his hand to pat Jack Yates’ shoulder.
"Third brother, in a family like ours, we have no say in whom to marry and whom not to marry. Sugarcane doesn’t have two sweet ends, we are born into such a family, enjoying the ’power’ and ’benefits’ that others couldn’t in their lifetime, so don’t dream for marriage freedom."
"In ancient times, emperors ruled the world, but even they couldn’t marry whoever they wanted."
-
Renee Winslow chatted with Caleb Yates for more than half an hour outside, shivering from the cold, returned inside to take a bath, and crawled into bed wearing soft pajamas.
However, she had just lain down when Jack Yates returned.
Renee Winslow sat up, surprised, "Why are you back?"
Seeing the time, it just passed midnight.
Jack Yates hadn’t even taken off his coat, wrapped in a blanket of wind and snow.
"Why aren’t you asleep yet?" He walked to the bedside, gently touched her face with the back of his hand.
Renee Winslow smiled, "It’s New Year’s Eve, staying up late is a tradition."
Jack Yates pulled the blanket to wrap around her, pushed her with it into his embrace, resting his jaw on her neck, their faces together.
"Happy New Year, Sweetie." He took a red envelope from his coat pocket, placing it beside her, "Wishing my darling peace every year, everything goes smoothly."
Renee Winslow extended her arm from under the covers, wrapping it around his neck, leaned over to kiss his cold face, softly said, "Happy New Year, wish Third Brother health and peace too, may everything go as wished."
"Renee." Jack Yates called her once.
"Hmm?" Renee Winslow responded, "What’s up?"
Jack Yates ultimately didn’t reveal the truth, caressed her head, "Nothing, I’ll go freshen up, wait for me."
He turned towards the bathroom.
Renee Winslow watched his tall, sharp back like a cold mountain, her heart slowly sinking.
Was he going to tell her about the engagement?
