Unexpected Marriage: She is the Sugar Mommy!-Chapter 342: Once Upon a Time

And wouldn’t let that kind of scumbag push herself into despair.

Desmond Fairchild chuckled, "You mean to say he’s a scumbag, don’t you?"

Seraphina Sinclair was stunned, "How did you know?"

"Your expression already betrayed you." Desmond found it amusing.

"Sorry, I know that’s your father, but..."

"Well, wrong is wrong. He is indeed a scumbag, which is an undeniable fact."

Desmond cut off Seraphina’s words, not getting angry because what she said was true. If it weren’t for his infidelity, the current situation wouldn’t have happened. Calling him a scumbag is actually an understatement.

Seraphina couldn’t help but hold his hand, softly comforting, "It’s all in the past now. No matter what, you have me and your son by your side; you are never alone."

"Are you willing to start over with me?" Desmond’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Realizing the ambiguity in her words, Seraphina coughed awkwardly, "I didn’t say that. Although I don’t intend to reconcile, as a friend, I will stay by your side. Besides, our son is your flesh and blood. This bond is unbreakable, and I didn’t mean anything else. Don’t overthink it."

Her anxious explanation made Desmond’s mood even better, and he continued, smiling, "I understand what you mean, and I’m not overthinking."

"That’s good." Seraphina nodded heavily and then asked, "What happened later?"

Desmond recalled, his voice deep with a hint of melancholy, "Later, I gradually grew up, and the conflicts between my parents intensified. My father used to come back every few days, but eventually, he wouldn’t return for months or even half a year. I remember the longest time was probably over a year."

"So, you grew up mostly with your mother, and your father was practically absent from your life?" Seraphina was almost moved to tears, not realizing Desmond had such a childhood.

While others had both parents with them, he had no father, and his mother suffered from depression. His childhood must have been really challenging.

Seraphina’s thoughts weren’t wrong; Desmond’s childhood was more painful than most people’s. Though his mother loved him dearly, the absence of fatherly love made him quiet from a young age, turning him into a little ice block.

He also frequently witnessed his parents arguing at home, which led him to mostly live at his grandmother’s house.

This is why Old Mrs. Fairchild and Desmond have such a strong bond. Ultimately, it was Old Mrs. Fairchild who essentially raised Desmond.

"Whether he’s there or not doesn’t matter to me, but my mother desperately needed him." Desmond sighed, "Her depression worsened, her memory started to fail, and she often forgot who I was. She was mentally unstable."

"How could that happen? Can depression lead to mental instability?" Seraphina gasped, suddenly realizing she also had depression. Could she end up like Desmond’s mother? Would her memory begin to falter?

Desmond knew what Seraphina was thinking and gently pressed her little head, soothingly, "Your situation is different. Depression won’t cause major problems if it’s not frequently triggered. Besides, you and my mother have entirely different personalities. She lived her life completely relying on others, adhering to the idea of ’following the father at home and the husband after marriage,’ which ultimately harmed her."

Seraphina couldn’t help but sigh, "Indeed, women from that era often saw their husbands as their world. Without their husband’s affection, they couldn’t survive. Your mother was educated that way from a young age, so her heart must have been delicate and fragile, unable to withstand any stimulus."

"True." Desmond ruffled Seraphina’s hair again and said seriously, "You’re not her, and I won’t do anything to make you break down."

"Haven’t you done enough?" Seraphina glared at him with displeasure.

Desmond rubbed his nose, unable to refute.

Seeing him like this, Seraphina didn’t pursue it further, allowing him to continue.

She could mostly guess what happened next, and after hearing Desmond’s account, she could only keep sighing.

Later, Desmond’s mother’s condition worsened terribly. Whenever she saw his father, she acted crazily, and when Eric Holt’s mother, pregnant at the time, flaunted it before her, it aggravated her condition.

In other words, Desmond’s mother’s death was inevitably related to Eric Holt’s mother and him. If it wasn’t for Eric’s mother’s deliberate provocation, his mother wouldn’t have died so young.

Of course, the ultimate culprit was Desmond’s father. If he hadn’t succumbed to temptation during his wife’s pregnancy, none of this tragedy would have happened.

A few years after Eric was born, Desmond’s mother passed away.

Eric’s mother had long awaited this day, immediately moving into the Fairchild Family to become the new lady of the house once his mother died.

But the good times didn’t last long. Within just a few short years, Desmond’s father also died from heart failure due to excessive exhaustion, leaving Eric and his mother struggling to maintain their footing in Cloudsea Group.

Eric had always wanted to be the Fairchild Family’s young master, but even when Old President Fairchild was dying, he couldn’t give them official recognition. Despite living in the Fairchild Family for many years, he wasn’t worthy of the Fairchild surname.

Upon hearing this, Seraphina understood and acknowledged, "No wonder many people don’t know about Eric Holt’s existence. It seems like, though your dad loved Eric’s mother and son, he never truly intended for Eric to become the young master of the Fairchild Family."

She understood this point because aristocratic families like theirs always have such rules. Moreover, Cloudsea Group is such a large business empire; handing it over to someone with a different surname is inconceivable. Even though Desmond’s father loved Eric’s mother, she and her son remained out of place. Even if Eric was given the title of Fairchild Family young master, it would be challenging to inherit the whole business.

Additionally, Eric’s mother, to put it nicely, was a hostess; to put it bluntly, just a sleazy bar girl. It was fortunate she could enter the Fairchild Family, but dreaming of becoming Mrs. Fairchild or the president’s wife of Cloudsea Group was simply wishful thinking.

This also explains why Eric, despite being so grown-up, couldn’t be found in media records earlier, nor was there any trace of his mother.

"Although Eric’s mother’s actions were indeed disgraceful, your father is the one who caused those romantic debts. Why do you and Eric oppose each other? You both were young at the time, so why did it evolve into the current situation?"

This was what Seraphina was most curious about. Even though disputes over inheritance are common in families, someone with Eric’s identity shouldn’t qualify to compete with Desmond. He wouldn’t have the capabilities to fight over it, would he?

And now, whenever Desmond talked about Eric, his tone was always somewhat solemn, indicating Eric has grown into a presence Desmond fears.