Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

Upon hearing this, Franklin Whitman said, "You should come over and visit again sometime."

Adrian Grant smiled faintly. "Alright. I’ll be sure to visit next time."

With that, he ducked into the driver’s seat. Caroline Whitman also got in the car. The car slowly drove off, and only after it had vanished from sight did Franklin Whitman look away, satisfied.

"Not bad, not bad at all. All those articles I sent weren’t for nothing. They’ve made a lot of progress—they’re even picking up the kid together now. If things keep going like this, I’ll be holding a real grandchild in just a few years."

The more Franklin Whitman thought about it, the more delighted he became, and he hummed a little tune as he walked into the house.

Yolanda Young was just coming downstairs when she saw Franklin Whitman walk in by himself, and she paused, taken aback.

"How come you’re the only one back? Where’s the child?"

"Caroline picked him up to take him back to his parents."

"They left in such a hurry. They didn’t even stay for a bit. It’s almost time for dinner; they should have at least stayed to eat before going."

"Stay for what? That Adrian Grant fellow came along, too. If we get too involved, we’ll just get in their way."

Yolanda Young shot him a sideways glance. "Are you really that quick to approve of this son-in-law? Nothing’s even close to being settled yet."

"I may not know Adrian Grant’s character, but I know our daughter’s, don’t I? A godfather and a godmother... You tell me, is that something normal friends of the opposite sex would do?

Do you think she has so much free time that she’d just become a godmother for fun?

And them coming to pick up the kid together today? That’s what’s completely unnecessary.

You say nothing’s settled? I’d say it’s practically a done deal."

Yolanda Young: "..."

"But that little fellow’s features really resemble Adrian Grant’s. I suspect the child must be related to the Grant Family somehow. But when I took the boy over to Jonathan Grant’s place today, those two didn’t show any reaction at all."

Franklin Whitman shared his opinion.

Yolanda Young said, surprised, "He looks like Adrian Grant?"

Come to think of it, she didn’t have a strong impression of Adrian Grant. She had only seen him once, at that birthday banquet, and never again after that.

"Yes. You said the child looks a little like our daughter, but I actually think he looks more like Adrian Grant. If that doesn’t scream ’fate,’ what does? Heh, and they both ended up as the child’s godfather and godmother."

Franklin Whitman marveled at the world’s mysterious ways and the power of fate.

Yolanda Young commented darkly, "Just how similar are they? Show me a picture of Adrian Grant. It’s not his illegitimate child, is it?"

Franklin Whitman: "..."

—

「In the car.」

"Grandpa didn’t take you out and show you off to people, did he?" Caroline Whitman asked with concern as soon as they were in the car.

She knew full well that when her father was supposed to be at the company, he usually clocked out early to go fishing or play chess.

Ryan Grant shook his head. "Grandpa didn’t take me to meet anyone he shouldn’t have."

He was telling the truth.

’Going to see Grandpa and Grandma doesn’t count as meeting people I shouldn’t have.’

However, on the way back earlier, Franklin Whitman, likely afraid of getting an earful from his daughter, had told Ryan Grant not to mention their visit to Jonathan Grant’s home.

After all, he had made that decision on his own.

Hearing this, Caroline Whitman thought for a moment. Since she hadn’t heard any new rumors in the past few days, she felt a lot more relieved.

"Mommy, can I come to Grandpa and Grandma’s house again?"

The little guy’s eyes were full of longing; he seemed to be eagerly anticipating his next visit.

"Yes, you can."

’Anyway, the situation with the child hasn’t blown up at her parents’ place. Franklin Whitman and Yolanda Young are both pretty laid-back, and since they’ve known her her whole life, no normal person would ever connect the child to her.’

"Then what about Grandpa and Grandma’s house?"

"...You’ll have to ask your dad about that."

"Daddy," Ryan Grant asked curiously, "when will you take me to Grandma’s house?"

’Today, his paternal grandparents hadn’t recognized him, just like his maternal grandparents. I was afraid of upsetting them and making them sick, so I had to listen to Mommy and just be a good boy.’

"We can. I’ll take you back when I have some free time," Adrian Grant said calmly, his hands on the steering wheel.

Caroline Whitman raised an eyebrow, surprised.

’Why do I get the feeling he wasn’t just humoring the child? It sounded like he really plans to take him back to his family home to be formally introduced.’

’Sure enough, once you start getting emotionally invested, your standards just keep dropping.’

「Back at Golden Crest Manor.」

The child was clamoring for his daddy to pick him up and lift him high in the air.

Adrian Grant granted his wish, lifting the little guy with one arm as they got into the elevator.

Caroline Whitman unlocked the door with her fingerprint. As they stepped into the entryway, Adrian Grant’s phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID.

Jonathan Grant.

He answered the call, putting the child down to change his shoes.

"Hello."

"Back from your business trip?" Jonathan Grant asked.

"Mommy, what are we eating tonight?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat Daddy’s cooking."

"Huh? Where’s Daddy?"

Caroline Whitman watched Adrian Grant walk into the study with his phone and understood immediately. "Wait for your dad to finish his call, then you can tell him."

Jonathan Grant heard the familiar sound of a small child’s voice on the other end of the line. His expression didn’t change as he continued, "If you’re not free today, then just forget it."

Adrian Grant: "I’m actually not free today."

Jonathan Grant: "Alright, alright. You’re really grown up now, so hard to get you to come home for even a visit. Fine, I’ll expect you tomorrow, then."

After he hung up, Grace Lawson immediately asked, "I think I heard Ryan’s voice."

Jonathan Grant had just had his phone on speaker, so the background noise from the other end was perfectly clear.

"You didn’t mishear. I heard it too."

"What a coincidence, don’t you think? The boy was just picked up, and suddenly there’s a child’s voice coming from Adrian’s end."

If he hadn’t heard that child’s voice, he never would have let Adrian delay his return by a day.

"We need to get that paternity test done, and fast."

—

When Adrian Grant hung up and came out of the study, the little guy immediately scampered over to him.

"Daddy, I want you to make steamed fish today!"

"Alright."

Adrian Grant took out his phone and ordered two fresh sea fish and some side vegetables.

Before long, the groceries were delivered.

Caroline Whitman watched the busy figure in the kitchen for a moment, then walked over. "Do you need any help?"

"You know how to cook?"

"I don’t." The words slipped out of Caroline Whitman’s mouth before she could think.

The moment the words were out, she froze. She suddenly remembered Ryan telling her before that she couldn’t cook.

’My response right now is weirdly and perfectly consistent with the version of me from the parallel world who can’t cook.’

Caroline Whitman was suddenly struck by a thought. ’Could it be that in this world, I’ll also end up building a family with Adrian Grant and having a little baby who’s the spitting image of Ryan...?’

’Ugh... Don’t tell me I’m actually the one who chased after Adrian?’

The terrifying question flashed through Caroline Whitman’s mind.

As her thoughts raced in turmoil, Adrian Grant glanced down at her slender, fair hands and said calmly, "No, it’s fine. Just go wait with the child."

Since the man himself had said so, Caroline Whitman couldn’t very well stand there blocking his way.

While she was drawing and practicing writing with Ryan in the playroom, Caroline Whitman’s mind kept drifting away.

"Mommy, look! I finished my drawing. What do you think?" Ryan’s voice broke her out of her daze.

On the white sheet of paper, he had drawn a family of three standing in front of a gate with the word "ZOO" written on it.

"This is Daddy, this is Mommy, and this is me, when we all went to the zoo together."

Ryan pointed to the three figures on the paper, introducing each one to Caroline Whitman.

’The zoo?’

Caroline Whitman looked at the drawing and thought back. In all the time she and Adrian Grant had spent with the child, they had never taken him to a zoo.

’So this must be from when his parents in the parallel world took him to the zoo.’

Caroline Whitman asked, curious, "Where else did we take you?"

"I’m still little, so I haven’t been to that many places. We mostly just stayed around Kingsport. This year was my first time going to Marinus with Mommy and Daddy."

"..."