Chapter 90: You Were Never Just a Contract

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: You Were Never Just a Contract

~Frederick’s POV~

A faint smile tugged at my lips as I remembered it. "She could tell something was wrong just from the sound of my voice. At first, I tried to brush it off because I honestly had no idea how any of this would turn out. But eventually, I told her, ’I think I’ve found someone. Someone interesting."

"She asked who she was, and I had to correct her. I told her, ’It’s not a she. It’s a he. Just a boy.’"

"I expected my daughter to freak out or react badly. But instead, she was completely supportive."

"’It doesn’t matter, Dad,’ she told me. ’You should give it a chance.’"

I smiled at her words. "I actually asked her, ’You want me to be with a man?’"

"’I just want you to be happy,’ Lily replied. Then she added, ’Once you get the boy, you should marry him immediately so he won’t have to leave.’"

I laughed and told her it didn’t work that way, but she wasn’t having any of it.

"Dad," she said, her voice turning serious, "not everyone is going to be like Mom. I think it’s time you truly let go of the past and allow yourself to be happy."

"Lily, he’s still young, and he’s still a student. I can’t just marry him like that."

"But he’s an adult, Dad," she insisted. "He can continue his studies while living at home. If you agree to marry him, he can still finish school. You should just marry him!"

I laughed at her determination. "I haven’t even found him yet, and we’re already discussing marriage?"

"I trust you, Dad. You’ll find him."

We talked about you for a while longer before finally ending the call.

Not long after, my men informed me that they’d found your information. Later that night, I tracked you down and brought you back to my place.

I held Reynold’s gaze as I laid the rest of the truth bare.

"I told you I was sexually attracted to you and that I genuinely wanted you to stay with me. But you? You didn’t give a damn."

"When I offered you a marriage contract, you turned it down flat. And honestly, that rejection only made me more interested in you."

"When you finally began to see me as someone you could rely on, I deliberately held back from pushing the marriage contract on you. Instead, I let you sign an ordinary agreement because I didn’t want you to feel you had no choice but to accept my proposal. I could see how desperate you were, Reynold. You needed help, and I didn’t want to take advantage of that."

"That’s also why I made the contract last five years. By then, you’d have finished your studies and had enough time to grow, figure out what you wanted, and decide whether you truly wanted to spend your life with me. I wanted you to have a real choice. I never wanted you to look back and feel that you ended up with me simply because I’d helped you out when you had nowhere else to turn."

"But I kept finding myself breaking my own rules for you. And you never really followed the strict terms of the contract, either. Even after I learned the truth about your mother and what your family had put you through, all I wanted was to tell you to forget the contract and stay with me for good."

"The only thing holding me back was the fear that you’d think I was only saying it because you had nowhere else to go. You’d always viewed everything I did for you through the lens of sex, and that made it damn difficult to tell you what I truly wanted."

"Even when I stepped in behind the scenes, I kept it from you. I sent someone to warn your family and brothers to stop bullying you, making it clear that I’d take legal action if they continued. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d feel indebted to me, as though you owed me something in return for everything I’d done. I never wanted you to feel that way, Reynold. I wasn’t expecting anything from you. I just wanted to keep you safe."

"That’s also why I made the contract last five years. By then, you would have finished your studies and had time to grow, figure out what you wanted, and decide whether you truly wanted to spend your life with me. I wanted you to have a choice. I never wanted you to look back and feel that you’d ended up with me simply because I’d helped you when you had nowhere else to turn."

"But I kept finding myself breaking my own rules for you. And you never really followed the strict terms of the contract, either. Even after I learned the truth about your mother and what your family had put you through, all I wanted was to tell you to forget the contract and stay with me for good."

"The only thing holding me back was the fear that you’d think I was only saying it because you had nowhere else to go. You’d always viewed everything I did for you through the lens of sex, and that made it damn difficult to tell you what I truly wanted."

"Even when I took matters into my own hands behind the scenes, I kept it from you. I sent someone to warn your family and brothers to stop bullying you and made it clear that if they harassed you again, I’d take legal action. I was afraid you’d feel indebted to me, as though you had to repay me for everything I’d done. I never wanted anything in return, Reynold. I just wanted you to be safe."

Reynold blinked, his eyes widening slightly. "Wait... you sent someone to my family?"

"Yes," I murmured. "After what happened between you and your brother that day, I stepped in. Why do you think they haven’t been bothering you lately? And about your stepmother’s recent call, when she said your father was unwell... he really was sick."

"Maybe this sounds selfish, but I care about you so much that I can’t bear the thought of them hurting you again. When I found out your father was sick, I kept it from you because I knew you might rush straight back into their trap. I don’t trust them, Reynold. But you don’t have to worry about him now. He’s fine."

Reynold stared at me, a mixture of emotions crossing his face. He slowly shook his head. "Frederick... I’m not worried about them. I’ve just been sitting here wondering why none of them have come after me."

"I’m not trying to control you, Reynold." I reached out and cupped his cheek. "I know you’re growing up, but no matter how independent you think you are, you’re still young enough to need someone looking out for you. Look, I’m strict. Ask Lily. When it comes to protecting the people I care about, I don’t play games."

"You’re living under my roof, and I’m responsible for your safety. Too many people have seen us together. If anything happened to you, they’d hold me responsible."

"You always ask me if I’m going to treat Lily the same way I treat you. Well, Lily wouldn’t dare ignore my safety rules because she knows exactly what would happen if she did. I’ve raised her for seventeen years. She knows me better than anyone."

"I know I’m not your father, Reynold. I’m your man. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore what I tell you. I’m not trying to keep you locked away. All I ask is that you let me know where you’re going and make sure I know you’re safe."

"I liked you from the very beginning, and I made that clear in my own way. But you never seemed to catch on. You were too busy insisting that everything had to go according to your own stubborn little script. That’s exactly why I couldn’t bring myself to lay my heart bare to you."

"And you hardly ever listened to me, yet you expected me to give you my heart without hesitation. I couldn’t do that, Reynold. Not after everything I’ve been through. I can’t just forget what I’ve survived and put my heart on the line without thinking twice."

"Do you understand now? Maybe I went about things the wrong way from the beginning, but all I’ve ever wanted was to give you a choice and protect you, not control you. That’s why I’ve always made sure you had everything you needed and never had to go without anything.

"If I were only with you because of the contract, do you think I’d bother calling you or making time to see you every weekend? Whenever you have a holiday, I want you with me. I want to spend time with you because I want you around, Reynold, not because some contract tells me to.

"I hope I’ve made myself clear enough now."

Reynold looked at me and nodded, tears gathering in his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a moment.

Then he placed his hand over mine, which was still resting against his cheek.

"I’m sorry for everything. You’ve always told me things, but I never really understood you. You’ve never been cruel to me, Frederick. I was only trying to be independent and do things on my own. You’ve been good to me from the beginning, but I was too young to understand what you were trying to give me. No one has ever treated me this kindly before, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I’m really sorry."

"Hey, it’s okay." I gently cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. "I was wrong, too, for not being straightforward with you."

Reynold looked at me, his eyes still wet.

"I’m young," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "I don’t know how to love someone the right way, Frederick, because no one has ever loved me the way I deserved to be loved."

He leaned closer until his forehead rested gently against mine.

"So, how about you teach me? Teach me how to love you the way you deserve. I truly love you, Frederick. I really do." His voice grew softer. "You don’t have to love me back right now. I just need you to believe me when I tell you that I love you."

"I believe you," I assured him. "I just want you to show me, not only tell me. You say you love me, and I want to feel it in the way you treat me. I promise I’ll do better, too."

Reynold suddenly leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"Thank you so much, Frederick," he murmured.

"You’re welcome, sweetheart." I held him close. "You can ask me anything, and I’ll explain it to you. Whatever you want, just tell me, okay? I’ll give you everything this world has to offer."

He nodded against my shoulder and whispered, "Okay, Sunshine."