Chapter 117 Secret

'So, Nicole isn't my real sister!?'

Thinking of this made Scarlett's heartbeat quicken. But then, she froze. She looked at her father in shock.

"Dad... You mean I was adopted!?" She stammered. Surprised to learn about her identity.

There was a worried glint in Jonathan's eyes, seeing Scarlett's face pale. "Nicole is not my daughter, and neither are you..." He wanted to say that. But for some reason, it seemed like someone had stopped the sentence from the tip of his tongue. He swallowed back his words.

After a while, he cleared his throat before saying, "...Nicole isn't my daughter!"

"W-H-A-T! Dad, how can Nicole not be your daughter!?" Scarlett was confused.

She still remembers that her father remarried before her sixth birthday. And he told her that Nicole was his illegitimate child with Lauren. Since then, she started to hate her father for betraying her mother.

"That's just an excuse so you can quickly accept her as your little sister..." Jonathan smiled bitterly for lying to her.

Scarlett didn't know how to react when she heard about it. She just stared at her father while trying to digest this shocking news.





"Dad, did you marry her for love?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" He smiled when he saw Scarlett but did not react. "...well, I married her because I need her to help me to take care of the household and also help me with the company."

As soon as his wife died, Jonathan was bewildered about caring for his little daughter, Scarlett. That's why he decided to marry Lauren. He needed her to take care of the house and Scarlett — He believed Lauren could do it because she also had a daughter, Nicole.



However, after a few years of marriage with Lauren, Jonathan realizes that Lauren made Scarlett suffer. And Scarlett began to distance herself from him. By then, it was too late to fix the things that had happened between them.

Scarlett took a deep breath at that. All this time, she hated her father for no reason and thought her father was cheating on her mother so he had a child out of wedlock. But it turns out she was wrong!

"Father, I admire you for being able to raise someone else's daughter even though you don't love her mother." For some reason, Scarlett felt her father's reasoning was a bit unreasonable.

If he didn't love Lauren, why bother marrying her?

Couldn't he find a single woman with no children?

"...maybe you didn't know, Lauren was my secretary before I took over your mother's company. And at that time, her husband died when she was pregnant and in financial trouble. That's also one of the reasons why I married her." And as a man, he needs someone to warm his bed. For this last reason, he did not tell her.

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Ah... Now I understand." Scarlett could only discreetly smile when she realized her father was kind and gentle toward others.

'Is he a Buddha incarnation?' She chuckled at the thought.

"...Well, even though Nicole isn't my real sister, I still like and love her. She's way better than her mother!"

"Yes, she is beautiful and kind, inside and out. That's why I decided to marry Lauren after I met little Nicole..." Jonathan's voice trembled as he remembered Nicole.

"Okay, dad! I will go now... to see my sister's funeral preparations. Later... I'll come to pick you up so you can see her for the last time..."

"Hmm... Thank you, Scarlett. You must take the trouble to do this because I can't help you at all." He felt sorry for her.

"She's my sister. So I have to do this. Dad, about Lauren... I got word from the lawyer that the woman asked to see Nicole one last time. What do you think?"

Jonathan didn't answer right away. Even though he hates Lauren right now, he also can't deny that Nicole is her biological child. She had every right to see her daughter one last time.

"If the police allow it, then it's fine for me. But I don't want to see that vile wife of mine..." Jonathan no longer wanted to see the woman. He's done with her.

Most importantly, he must get well soon and help Scarlett run the Ocean Group. And keeping Scarlett's real identity a secret. He couldn't tell her now for her own safety. He had to wait until she got married.

Jonathan suddenly remembered the man who had accompanied Scarlett yesterday. Today he didn't see the man at all. Who's that guy anyway? Is he just her regular friend?

"Alright, I will tell the lawyer to arrange it..." She said, then stood up from the chair.

"Scarlett, where is the man who came with you yesterday? When are you going to introduce him to me?" Jonathan's question successfully made Scarlett freeze.

She hasn't introduced Xander to her father yet. Well, she doesn't plan to do that because they will definitely get a divorce in the next few months. So, it would be useless if her father knew about him.

And fortunately, today, Xander couldn't accompany her. He had to return to the Capital. There is an important meeting that he must attend.

"...He has worked, so he can't be here." She answered curtly while silently praying that her father would not ask again about Xander.

However, Scarlett's luck had run out. Her father continues to be curious about Xander. He said, "What's his name?" Jonathan asked. He felt the man looked very familiar, but he had forgotten where he had seen him.

Scarlett, "..."

"Dad! Can you stop asking him!? He's the only passerby in my life! So, you don't need to know about him..." She wanted to say that but couldn't. She just smiled and said, "His name is Xander! Dad, I will introduce you next time..."

After saying that, she walked fast... half running towards the door. She doesn't want to talk about it.

"What's his last name?" shouted Jonathan. But, of course, Scarlett didn't answer him. She immediately closed the door behind her.

"I need to call him. I need to ask whether he is okay if I tell my father about him!?" She mumbled and walked toward the elevator.