Chapter 779

Cale walked toward Lydia, who still had not moved from where she stood. Guilt lingered heavily inside him because of all this, but still…

“Come here.” He held out his hand, expecting Lydia to take it the way she usually would.

Unfortunately, Lydia’s anger made her ignore the gesture entirely. Instead, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and shot him a sharp look, making it very clear she did not want Cale touching her right now.

“You’re really angry?”

“What do you think?” Lydia replied sarcastically.

This time, Cale spoke more seriously as he held her gaze. “Alright. I’ll explain everything without hiding anything anymore. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, it’s just-”

“At a time like this, you’re still trying to come up with excuses?” Lydia’s emotions began rising again. “Do you want me to think you were actually planning to marry this girl?” She pointed toward Naomi, who still could not stop crying.

“No,

Mrs. Lydia! Really! I could never want something like that!” Naomi sobbed harder.

But Lydia did not immediately turn her attention toward her.

“Of course not, Darling.” Cale gave a faint smile. “We might as well settle everything now.”

He walked toward the sofa in the middle of the room. “You too, Naomi. There’s something I need to explain about what happened in the past.”

Lydia kept watching him carefully, still wary of whatever he was about to say.

“Sit down.” Cale patted the space beside him on the sofa. “You want to listen to my explanation while standing there?”

Lydia’s eyes still carried hesitation, but eventually, she slowly calmed a little. She knew her husband too well. If Cale had decided to speak now, then there really was something significant he had never told her before.

“And you too, Naomi. Are you going to keep crying?” Cale asked while rubbing his temple slowly. “Calm yourself first.”

Naomi turned to stare at him in disbelief. How could Cale stay this calm after everything that had just happened?

But in the end, she did as he said.

The three of them finally sat together on the sofa near the window. Naomi still looked restless while Lydia remained silent, waiting. Only Cale appeared calmer than the others, though he repeatedly clenched his hands together before finally standing up again.

For a few moments, he stared at the light rain outside the window. Then he spoke quietly. “There was one final wish left behind by the head of the Devereux family.”

The room instantly fell silent again.

Naomi frowned in confusion, curiosity flickering through her despite the lingering discomfort tightening inside her chest. Meanwhile, Lydia slowly began to understand why Cale had gone quiet earlier after Naomi’s joke.

Cale’s gaze gradually shifted toward Naomi. “Back then,” he said in a low voice, “the Devereux family really did

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plan for Naomi to marry me someday.”

Naomi felt as though her world stopped spinning for several seconds. “What?”

She even let out a small laugh out of sheer disbelief. “Seriously? That makes no sense.”

“It does sound ridiculous.”

“Then why?” Naomi stared at Cale, utterly confused. “Why would the Devereux family go that far? We had a huge age gap back then. I was still just a child, and don’t tell me my random little comment that I can’t even remember became the reason my parents decided something like that?”

“Maybe,” Cale answered shortly. “But Chairman Devereux truly intended for one of his daughters to marry me”

“But I don’t want that!”

“You think I agreed to it?” Cale clicked his tongue in irritation. “Can you let me finish talking first?”

Naomi looked away irritably.

“What Chairman Devereux wanted was a bond far deeper than simply being your parents’ protégé. He wanted me to become part of their family. Their son-in-law.” Cale paused briefly before continuing, “And the choice fell on you because you were the closest to me.”

No one spoke after that.