Chapter 333 Mixed Feelings
After the call with Jeremy, Derrick wasted no time in pulling his girlfriend aside to tell her what had happened, “Oscar managed to find his way to the villa earlier.”
“You’re kidding.” Tiffany gasped. “How did Oscar find your place so quickly?” Wide-eyed, she quickly clasped a hand over her mouth and looked around for Amelia, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that her friend was not around. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you, Mr. Hisson?” she asked dubiously in a low voice.
Amused, Derrick stroked her hair in a tender gesture. “I wouldn’t lie to you, you know that. Anyway, don’t think too much about it. Oscar may have found his way to the villa, but there’s no proof that you two lived there. Jeremy and the other servants won’t tell him about Amelia. Although I have to say, I’m a little surprised that he found the place so quickly. His connections exceeded my expectations. It’s a good thing you girls moved before he got there.”
Tiffany mulled over his words with a pensive expression. A part of her wondered if her boyfriend’s mother, Kate, had something to do with how fast Oscar located the villa. It’s such a coincidence that shortly after Mrs. Hisson left Beshya, Oscar made his way here… It’s hard to believe she’s not involved.
“What’s the matter?” Derrick asked with a smile. “Why’re you looking at me like that?”
Tiffany was about to voice her speculations but swallowed what she had to say at the last second. “It’s nothing,” she said instead. “I’m just wondering how long we have here before Oscar finds this place too.”
Inwardly, however, she let out a sigh. Geez, why must this man pursue us so relentlessly like we’re criminals on the run? I can’t figure Oscar out. Why would he agree to let Amelia have custody over their son in the first place, only to do a complete 180 and try to get Tony’s custody now? What is he thinking?
The slightly petulant look on her face must have given Derrick an idea of her train of thought. “It’s just my two cents worth,” he said, carefully weighing over each word, “but it might not be such a bad thing for Oscar and Amelia to see each other again. It’s clear that he’s making every effort to find her. The amount of energy, money, and manpower expended must be pretty impressive. I don’t think he’s doing that just because he wants child custody, just as I don’t think Amelia is over him. She may seem okay, but there were times I overheard her mumbling to herself about Oscar. I can see that they both still have feelings for each other, so they shouldn’t give up on this relationship easily. I’m a firm believer that love can triumph all.”
Tiffany listened quietly, looking simultaneously thoughtful and moved by the man’s words.
Derrick met and held her gaze, looking deeply and lovingly into her eyes. At that moment, everything else was forgotten, and it was just the two of them, enclosed in their own little world.
As the two exchanged a smile, Derrick gently ran the back of his hand along Tiffany’s face.
Rory, who happened to step into the living room, witnessed the tender moment between the couple. Jealousy burned hot and bright in her chest as she watched someone else enjoying the undivided attention and affection from the man of her dreams.
Unaware that she had become a thorn in Rory’s side, Tiffany broke the silence and said, “Well, I did think about leaving behind a trail of breadcrumbs that’ll lead Oscar to us. But Amelia… She can be very stubborn sometimes, and she has her dignity and pride to maintain. It won’t end well for her to see Oscar now.”
Derrick held her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “It’s all right. I understand.”
Still, Tiffany could not help but dwell on the situation. Unfortunately, the more she tried to analyze it, the more confused she grew. While she no longer clung to the view that Oscar’s goal of pursuing them was to get custody over Tony, she was equally uncertain that it was because he wanted to get back together with Amelia. But I can’t afford to take any risks. What if it ends up being a ruse and he does in fact only want to keep Tony? It’ll be a devastating outcome for Amelia.
Chewing her lip in worry, she asked, “Mr. Hisson, be honest with me. Do you really think that Oscar still loves Amelia? I don’t want him to find Amelia just so he could take Tony away from her. Neither Amelia nor I am capable of doing anything if that’s the case. We aren’t as rich or powerful as the Clinton family, after all.”
Derrick said nothing for a brief moment as he recalled that day when he had a meal with Oscar. The latter’s determined look was still fresh in his memory. He could tell that Oscar was in deep. There was no way that the man was not still head over heels for Amelia.
With that, Derrick nodded firmly. “I’m very sure he’s still in love with her. Oscar is a man who has all the money and power one could only dream of, so he doesn’t have to do anything that he isn’t willing to. The fact that he invested all resources into finding Amelia means something. Frankly speaking, child custody is really not that important in the eyes of the rich and powerful like the Clintons. With money like that, the Clinton family has plenty of other options. Adoption, surrogacy… The list goes on. In my opinion, if Tony’s mother weren’t Amelia, Oscar wouldn’t even have cared this much.”
His words assured and saddened Tiffany in equal measures. She looked at her boyfriend with a hint of melancholy in her eyes. The rich and powerful, huh? Derrick’s in that circle too. Does it mean that he wouldn’t care if we were to have a child together?
“What’s wrong” the subject of her scrutiny asked.
“It’s nothing…” Tiffany lowered her gaze, deciding to keep the thought to herself. We only just started dating. It’s too soon to talk about marriage and children anyway.
As if reading her mind, Derrick’s expression turned serious. He hooked a finger under her chin and gently tilted her face up. “Tiff,” he said solemnly, “don’t you understand what I mean? I’m saying that if a man loves a woman, he’ll love the child he had with her. I love you, and I’m serious about our relationship. If we ever have children in the future, I’ll love them because you’re their mother.”
The impassioned statement had Tiffany blushing furiously. There were butterflies in her stomach. “I… I’m going to check on Amelia,” she stammered out an excuse before rushing away in an attempt to cover up the sudden shyness she felt.
Derrick chuckled and watched her go with a tender expression. However, the look melted away into displeasure when he caught Rory nearby. The girl was pretending to wipe the coffee table while surreptitiously glancing his way.
Instantly, a frown crept up on his face. He had never liked Rory and her ilk, who were essentially gold-diggers, trying to leverage on their youth and beauty to secure a rich husband.
Hence, he remained standoffish to Rory. Unfortunately, the aloofness only served to make him more desirable in the girl’s eyes, and she was already fantasizing about how to get him to notice her more.
Meanwhile, Tiffany was alone in the bedroom with Amelia after Kurt left with a sleeping Tony in his arms.
“Amelia,” she called softly and sat down on the bed next to her friend.
“Hey, what’s up? Why aren’t you spending time with your boyfriend?” Amelia smiled, teasing gently.
“He’s busy with something,” Tiffany said, coming up with a random excuse. She bit her lip in uncertainty, silently debating with herself whether to spill the beans about Oscar’s visit to the villa. “Amelia, I…”
On the one hand, ignorance is bliss… But on the other hand, Amelia has a right to know. It’ll only make things worse for everyone if Oscar does find her and catches her by surprise.
Amelia sensed the hesitance in her friend’s voice. “Tiff, what is it? You know you can tell me anything.”
“Well… Okay, I do have something to tell you. You have to promise to stay calm though.”
The serious tone had Amelia sober up. She took a deep breath before saying, “Okay. Whatever it is, I’m ready to hear it.”
Inwardly, she was mentally preparing herself in the event that Tiffany was here to deliver bad news about the blood clot in her brain. While she would have accepted it if her condition had worsened, she could not help but worry about her son.
“Tiff, if anything happens to me, please send Tony back to the Clintons,” she said quietly. “He’s Oscar’s son and the family’s firstborn. They’ll raise him well, I’m sure.”
Knowing her friend had misunderstood the situation, Tiffany hurriedly assured her, “No, Amelia, that’s not what I was going to say. It’s just that… Oscar came to Beshya today. He found Derrick’s villa and went there to look for you.”
Amelia’s eyes widened slightly as she had not expected to hear about Oscar from Tiffany.
Her chest tightened, awash by a myriad of feelings she found hard to suppress.
It took her several moments before she could find her voice again. “He’s really here? Let me guess. It’s to get me to hand over child custody, isn’t it?” A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. In her opinion, it was the most likely reason why Oscar was looking for her, especially since he had already hooked up with another woman. She was not so conceited to think Oscar was so smitten with her that he would travel all the way to Beshya just to fix their relationship.
A part of her had always been unconvinced that Oscar loved her as much as she did him. He wouldn’t have gotten together with Isabella so soon after our divorce otherwise. The notion that he had slept with Isabella left a bitter taste in her mouth. It’s so ironic… I backed out because of Cassie, but it was ultimately Isabella who got together with Oscar. What a classic tale of two dogs fighting for a bone while a third runs away with it.
She chuckled self-deprecatingly. Oh well. It’s over now. I already divorced him, after all. There’s no point being melodramatic about it.
