Chapter 1174: Declan’s Lie
It’s a pity that the distance between the two countries is too far, and communication was not as advanced in the 1970s as it is today.
When the Cunningham family received Gregory’s letter, Lady Natalia had already packed her bags and left the country.
Being rejected for marriage twice made her doubt herself and filled her with confusion about love in this world.
Her fiancé had a deeply loving woman, and for the sake of his beloved, they could choose to hurt her without hesitation.
Yet she didn’t even have the chance to blame.
Firstly, they had never met, let alone had any emotional foundation.
Secondly, her rationality told her that it wasn’t the other party’s fault to begin with.
After all, that girl knew him before her.
Coincidentally, at that time her mentor invited her to join a jewelry design company abroad, and Lady Natalia gladly went.
This time going abroad, she planned to work and live there permanently.
To take care of her, the Cunningham family bought a 500-square-meter villa in the most prosperous and romantic Kita River area of Phuobus.
As a driver, Declan also went abroad with Lady Natalia, and this photo was taken on their first day in Phuobus.
Meanwhile, there was a major change in the Lucas family.
The eldest son of their family went missing, and Master Omari inherited the company.
To avoid more trouble, Gregory proposed to marry within a month.
It was too late for the Cunningham family to call Lady Natalia back, let alone allow their precious daughter to suffer such humiliation.
This matter was also the fault of the Lucas family from the beginning; they could have refused the marriage alliance.
After much consideration, they decided to find a suitable woman from among their people to marry into the Lucas family.
This woman later became Gregory’s wife-also known as Sam’s nominal mother.
“Your Aunt Dalia is your mother’s cousin. They grew up together like siblings.”
“Your mother didn’t want to return to the country, and at that time, Dalia was already in love with a journalist.”
“The Cunningham family had already agreed to this marriage, but to prevent it, your grandfather sent someone to poison that man, forcing her to marry into Chulae.”
“Because of this, she hated your mother to death, and the two sisters stopped contacting each other.”
As for the child in Dalia’s belly, he only found out about him by chance after returning to the country. That child had been raised by the Cunningham family all along.
It wasn’t until later, when the Cunningham family fell from power, that Dalia took her own biological daughter to raise her as her “niece.”
That woman had died early in his memory, leaving only Stella for him to take care of.
Now Declan suddenly told her that Stella was actually his half-sister…
This shocked him deeply and was difficult to accept.
“Mr. Gilliam, are what you’re saying true? Did Dalia really have a child with another man before marriage?”
Declan turned back at the words, looking at Sam with sympathy in his eyes.
“Uncle wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. I know this is cruel for you, but it’s the truth.”
“Yes, actually, your father knew that Dalia had feelings for someone else before marrying her, but he didn’t care.”
Because they were united by interests, even if there was no love between them, they could still come together. It’s just unfortunate for Gracie.
She was clearly the most important woman in Gregory’s heart, but she had to give up that position, even her own biological son had to give way.
Sam used to wonder why Gracie was so good to him, thinking she was just like those women who admired his father. No, she was even more foolish.
By the time he understood the truth, it was already too late.
The person he felt most guilty towards in his life was not his beloved Stella, but his mother Gracie, who had always cared for him silently.
Returning to the story itself, during the years Declan and the lady of the Cunningham family spent abroad, they developed feelings for each other day by day.
Initially, the Cunningham family disagreed, but unable to resist Lady Natalia’s determination, the head of the Cunningham family decided to give him a chance-
to marry into the family!
He thought that as long as he could be with the person he loved, he could endure anything.
He had been through tough and exhausting days before, but now, even though he lived in luxury, he was not happy at all.
Because the Cunningham family never saw him as a person.
In their eyes, he was even worse than a guard dog, especially Natalia’s mother, who regarded him as a beggar who defiled her daughter.
After Natalia became pregnant, the Cunningham family felt he was useless, so they decided to send him away and keep the child.
His beloved wife naturally disagreed, but Pablo sent someone to forcibly send her to the island to give birth, while sending someone to drive him away.
“They had people guarding outside 24 hours a day to prevent me from visiting Natalia. Every time I approached, I was beaten to a pulp.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
“Because of this, Natalia suffered from postpartum depression… She bled heavily on the day of delivery and couldn’t be saved. I didn’t even get to see her for the last time.”
“They wouldn’t let me see her, let alone take you away.”
During that time, Declan didn’t know how he endured it. He had thought he finally had a happy family.
Not only did he have a wife, but also a child on the way. But fate was cruel to him, and all of this turned out to be nothing but a fleeting dream.
Looking back, he was still utterly heartbroken.
Pearl listened with a heavy heart, tears welling up in her eyes, on the verge of falling.
“How could grandparents treat you like this? If… if you hadn’t come back and had stayed abroad all along, it would have been so much better.”
Then their family of three wouldn’t have to be separated.
Declan sighed, “I’ve thought about it too… If we could have stayed in Phuobus all along.”
Choosing to return was because he wanted to get her parents’ approval and marry her legitimately to give her happiness.
If they had chosen the former, they would have been branded as “eloping” for a lifetime, and Declan didn’t want the woman he loved to suffer even a bit of injustice.
The story is almost coming to an end. Five years after Natalia’s death, the Cunningham family’s influence gradually declined as other capitals replaced them.
Natalia’s father couldn’t turn the tide even if he wanted to. At this point, he finally realized that his actions back then were wrong.
“So I went back again. You were still young at the time… I made enemies in the business world, and I was afraid they would come after you, so I had to reluctantly send you abroad.”
“Pearl, you won’t blame me for being heartless, will you?”
After listening to this story, Pearl couldn’t have any complaints in her heart.
Her mother risked her life to give birth to her; and her father had gone through countless hardships to achieve his success.
When she complained about not living well abroad, she never thought about her father’s days of wandering and hunger twenty years ago.
“Dad, I’m sorry… I’ve been too stubborn before, not understanding your good intentions.”