Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

At this point, Caroline had no choice but to go along with it, nodding silently.

"Ha! I knew it!" Franklin slapped his thigh, a look of exasperation on his face. "I told you, you’re so tight-lipped. I don’t know who you take after. Back when I was chasing your mother, I was so smooth.

"Quick, tell me who the guy is! Men know men best. Maybe I can even give you some advice to help you land him faster."

"..."

Caroline shot him a speechless glance. "Dad, I think you just have too much time on your hands."

She paused and glanced at the time. "Enough talk. I have to go to a meeting. From now on, don’t contact me unless it’s about work."

"Hey, this girl..."

...

「Brocade Bay.」

"Sir, this child..."

Miss King stood in the study, carefully weighing her words. She began cautiously but didn’t dare to finish her question.

Adrian had called her over early that morning, and she assumed it was just like any other day—coming over to clean and cook a meal.

But the moment she walked in the door, she saw a little boy who was a spitting image of him, and she froze in shock.

’When did he have a son this old?’

Adrian kept his eyes on his documents, not even glancing up. "Miss King, starting tomorrow, I need you to come over during the day on weekdays to help look after the child. You’ll remain at the old family residence the rest of the time."

Miss King hesitated. "Do the Master and Madam know about the child?"

"They don’t know yet. There’s no need to tell them."

"Yes, I understand." Miss King immediately nodded in agreement.

Having worked for the Grant Family for so many years, of course she understood what Adrian meant.

He had called her over for two reasons: one, he trusted her to be discreet, and two, he genuinely felt at ease leaving the child in her care.

If she lacked that basic level of discretion, she never would have lasted so long with the Grant Family.

’Still, I never expected that Adrian, who’s only been back in the country for half a year, would suddenly have a child this old.’

’She recalled the women’s shoes in the cabinet by the entrance, then thought about how he’d suddenly moved out of The Seraphic where he’d been living just fine. Putting it all together, it wasn’t hard to draw a conclusion.’

’Adrian had most likely gotten married in secret, behind the family’s back.’

’And yet, she couldn’t tell the Master and Madam.’

’The old couple had been nagging nonstop about Adrian’s marriage prospects lately, and they were quite worried.’

As Miss King left the study, Ryan, who was playing with building blocks in the living room, looked up and called out to her again in a familiar, friendly tone, "Miss King." It was a truly delightful sight.

"Yes," Miss King replied, walking over to him.

She glanced at the time; it was almost noon.

So, she dutifully asked, "What would you like for lunch, little sir?"

"I want to have the shrimp dumplings you make, Miss King."

"You got it. I’ll go make them right away."

...

When Caroline got off work that evening, Franklin, for the first time in ages, called her home for dinner.

’Something about how the three of them hadn’t eaten together in a long time.’

’It sounded like a lie from the get-go.’

’After she graduated, that couple was always off on some honeymoon or another, while she was completely absorbed in her work. Forget eating at home—the three of them only ever got together during the New Year holiday.’

"Hey, we’re not going to the old family house, we’re going to your place. Your mom’s already there cooking."

Franklin, sitting in the back seat, saw that Caroline was driving toward the old family house, not her apartment, and quickly spoke up to correct her.

Caroline glanced in the rearview mirror and silently changed lanes.

While waiting at a red light, her phone went DING.

She glanced at it. It was a text from Ryan’s number.

Just as she was about to open it, the light turned green.

The car came to a stop in the garage.

As Caroline got out of the car, she glanced at the text message.

Ryan: [Mommy, are you home yet? Miss King already made dinner and is waiting for you.]

’Miss King?’

’She remembered that was the name of the nanny Ryan had mentioned from the beginning. So, it really was the nanny Adrian had arranged?’

After a moment’s thought, she texted Ryan back: [Mommy has to work late tonight. You guys go ahead and eat. Don’t wait for me.]

The message had barely sent when Caroline’s phone started ringing.

It was Adrian.

She glanced toward Franklin. The old man was already walking toward the elevator, so she slowed her pace and answered the call.

A rich, deep voice came from the other end of the line:

"Are you off work? The child is waiting for you to come back."

Caroline froze for a second. She could hardly imagine Adrian ever saying something so ambiguous—at least to an outsider’s ears—to her.

For some reason, it gave her goosebumps.

She said in a low voice, "My parents asked me to have dinner with them today. You guys go ahead and eat."

’The subtext was clear: if the kid cries for his mommy, you can deal with it.’

’Let him get a taste of what it’s like to raise a child, too.’

While they were waiting for the elevator, Franklin must have heard her on the phone, because he shot her a look. "What’s up? Got plans tonight?"

Caroline hummed in affirmation and said with a straight face:

"A professional acquaintance asked me to dinner, but they didn’t give me any advance notice."

"Man or woman?" Franklin pressed.

"..."

The elevator arrived. Caroline stepped inside, speechless, and ignored him.

Franklin followed her in, still rambling, "Oh, don’t get annoyed with your dad for nagging. I’m just worried about you. You’re my only precious daughter. What if the person you’re having dinner with is some kind of creep? That would be a disaster."

Caroline rolled her eyes at him. "Dad, if I was having dinner with a creep, it would just mean I’m a creep, too—maybe even a bigger one. Instead of worrying about me, you should be worried about them."

"..."

"Besides, you two never used to be this concerned about my safety before."

They bickered all the way back to her apartment.

Just as Franklin had said, Yolanda Young was already there and had dinner ready.

A hot meal was waiting for them the moment they walked in.

But as Caroline entered, she saw the children’s clothes drying on the balcony and suddenly remembered that detail.

She discreetly watched her parents’ expressions. They didn’t seem surprised, which was a little strange.

But soon enough, the interrogation began.

After dinner, Yolanda Young casually asked, "Why are there children’s clothes in your apartment?"

"Oh, right! I meant to ask you that this morning, but it slipped my mind," Franklin said, slapping his forehead as if just remembering.

’So that’s it. The real reason they insisted on having dinner here was because of this little detail.’

Caroline’s expression remained neutral. "A friend asked me to look after their child. He’s just staying here for a few days."

Yolanda Young: "Ah, that explains it."

Having spent decades dealing with business folk, Franklin’s senses were sharp. "Didn’t you used to hate rowdy kids? Since when do you babysit for people?"

Caroline said, "He helped me out on a project once, so I owed him a favor. Besides, this kid seems pretty well-behaved, so I agreed."

She said it casually and naturally.

"You’re at work all day, you don’t have time to watch a child. It’s too dangerous to leave him home alone! So where is he? Why isn’t he here? I’m not busy, I can help you look after him for the next few days," Yolanda Young piped up.

Caroline said, "He was picked up yesterday. Otherwise, why do you think I wasn’t home last night?"

Hearing this, her parents had no reason to doubt her. It never crossed their minds that the child could be Caroline’s. After all, she couldn’t possibly have gone through a ten-month pregnancy without them, her own parents, knowing about it.