Chapter 539

538
“ What’s your plan ? ” Jennifer asked Sanford .
Sanford said , “ Just tell them I forced you to alter the test report .”
Jennifer was slightly confused by his suggestion .
83 %
+38
Sanford explained , “ Just tell them you’ve always known Jonathan and I are half – brothers , and that I’ve known all along Mike is his son . I made you fake
the test results to get back at him , to make him suffer .
“ Say I threatened you , and you had no choice but to go along with it . As for your sister … ” He paused for a moment . “ Just tell them that Teresa wanted to tell Jonathan about Mike , but I stopped her . Just put all the blame on me . ”
Jennifer fell silent for a few seconds before saying , “ Knowing Teresa , I don’t think she’d agree to this approach .”
Sanford said , “ So what if she doesn’t agree ? As long as you do , that’s all that matters . Just trust me on this . Anyway , Jonathan won’t let me off the hook
this time .
“ With all the old and new grudges piling up , he’ll make sure I serve a year or two . Two years , three years , however long , it’s all the same to me . I couldn’t
care less . ”
Despite all of Sanford’s heartfelt pleading , Jennifer remained unmoved . “ No , ” she insisted firmly .
Sanford grew agitated . He said , “ Are you going to keep this hidden for the rest of your life ? Just look at what’s become of me . I don’t want an innocent child to end up like I did . ”
“ No , Mike isn’t like you , ” Jennifer said firmly .
Sanford pressed , “ Where’s the difference ? If you don’t tell Mike who his father is now , once he’s old enough to remember things , he’ll go looking for Jonathan himself . Unless you plan to tell him Jonathan is dead . But come on , could you do that ? ”
Jennifer fell silent .
Sanford continued , “ Just do as I say . If Jonathan comes to confront me , I’ll tell him it was all my doing , out of revenge . I wanted his kid to know what it’s like to be fatherless . That’s why I did it . ”
He thought , ‘ That way , Jennifer would be off the hook . And Mike would finally know who his real father is . ‘
Jennifer’s lips thinned as she shook her head firmly . She insisted , “ No , this solution is still unacceptable . ”
Sanford pressed , “ What’s wrong with it ? This is the safest solution I could come up with . ”
Jennifer said , “ Actually , there’s another way . You could marry Teresa and become Mike’s father . ”
Hearing this , Sanford fixed her with a complex , almost unreadable gaze . He said , “ Teresa doesn’t have feelings for me , and you know that . ”
Jennifer said encouragingly , “ Love grows over time . She’ll fall for you sooner or later . ”
Sanford said , “ Impossible . Teresa’s heart belongs to Jonathan . If she could have loved me , she would have by now .
“ I even foolishly thought about marrying Teresa and making her mine , just to make Jonathan jealous and get back at him . But the moment I found out Mike was his son , I just couldn’t go through with it anymore . ”
Because Sanford realized that nothing could replace that paternal bond . That was a unique bond , one that only those bound by blood could ever truly
have .
Jennifer shook her head , unconvinced . She said , “ You said it yourself , Mike is still so young . If you and Teresa were together , wouldn’t it be perfect for you
1/2
08:03 Sat , 19 Jul M
538
to be his father ? Mike has such a cheerful personality , he’d get along wonderfully with you . ”
Sanford pressed a hand to his forehead as a frustrated laugh escaped him . He thought , ‘ I have laid it all out , yet Jennifer remained stubbornly lost in her
world .
‘ I already told her to shift all the blame onto me . That way , everyone else would be spared , everyone except me . ‘
“ What’s so funny ? ” Jennifer asked .