Chapter 1844 Sperm Bank
When Raeleigh got out of the car, she began staring at the Richards family’s courtyard. Although the Richards family had already buried Marissa’s body, Raeleigh was still unwilling to go back.
However, as she gazed at Carsten’s precious little face that was looking at her expectantly, she had no choice but to follow Jepherson inside.
At that moment, Santigo and the other children were in the yard. When Santiago saw Raeleigh and Jepherson, he smiled and gestured at Jepherson. “What are you doing?” Raeleigh asked when she saw Santiago.
“Nothing.”
Though Raeleigh did not believe Jepherson, she decided not to ask further.
When Carsten saw Forden and Shaney, he immediately tried to break away from Jepherson’s arms, wanting to get to them. The children were all gathered in the Richards family manor that day.
Coupled with the four other children of the Whalen family, there were ten children altogether, and they almost occupied the entire courtyard.
Raeleigh was a little frightened to see so many children.
“Carsten, don’t play with the others. Stay here with me.”
Raeleigh was worried that Carsten would be in a bad mood. However, after one look at Carsten, Jepherson decided to put him down. “It’s okay. Let him play.”
Raeleigh glanced at Jepherson’s neck. “What if…”
“He’ll be fine. Let him go.”
Carsten looked around for a while before running towards Forden, who then pulled Carsten along with him before disappearing from sight.
Raeleigh took a deep breath, feeling the urge to check on Carsten. However, Jepherson grabbed her by the wrist and said, “Don’t go. He’s fine; he’s with the others. We’re the only ones giving him pressure.”
Raeleigh stopped and looked at Carsten.
Then, Jepherson entered the house with the adults, and Raeleigh followed suit.
Hansen and the others were already seated inside by the time they came in. After Raeleigh entered, Jenna stood up to indicate that Raeleigh should come sit with her. But the latter made no show of going to her, so Jepherson led Raeleigh over and sat her down.
“Since the olden days, the Richards family has always prioritized our respect for the elders. Therefore, the head of the family’s position should be passed down to the eldest grandson of the family,” Hansen said, prompting Jenna to look at her husband. She remarked, “What are you doing? We’ve only just…”
Hansen held Jenna’s hand and continued, “Let me finish.”
Jenna obeyed and kept quiet.
Hansen continued, “Since everyone is here, let me settle our family’s affairs first. Although our family’s currently based in Capital City, we should not forget about A city either.
Thus, I’m going to keep these two places, and you two brothers may decide which of the two places you’d like to keep.
Let’s begin.”
Santiago stated without hesitation, “I choose to stay in A city.”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
Jepherson looked over and asked, “Don’t you like Capital City?”
“People change. I much prefer here over Capital City, but Shaney and Forden will stay with me.”
Jepherson looked at Raeleigh and told her, “You decide.”
“I have no objection.”
“Since no one has any objections, it’s settled. From today onwards, Santiago will take over our family business in A city, and I’ll leave Capital City to Jerry.”
Jenna let out a sigh of relief. She finally understood everything.
“Raeleigh, what about you?”
Before Raeleigh could answer, Jepherson replied, “Raeleigh and I have decided to take care of Carsten together.”
“Do you want another child?”
“No. We’re happy with just Carsten and Shaney.”
Jepherson reached out to hold Raeleigh’s hand, but she immediately pulled away.
Jenna carefully watched her surroundings, feeling relieved. She looked at Santiago again and noticed that he looked calm and unbothered.
However, she knew that it must have been hard for him. Otherwise, he would not have left for so many years.
He was still single and alone even as a grown-up; how could his parents not worry about him?
“Raeleigh, Dad and I can’t go back and take care of Carsten for you anymore. Your grandfather needs someone to care for him, and we’re worried about him. Besides, I’m worried that Santiago won’t be able to handle Shaney and Forden alone, so we plan to stay here with them.”
“I understand.”
Jenna took a sidelong glance at Raeleigh. “Raeleigh, you may arrange our meals later.”
“I need to take care of Carsten. We’d better leave this to the servants.”
Jenna was stunned, not expecting to hear such a response from Raeleigh. Raeleigh then turned around and walked away.
Jepherson explained, “Raeleigh can’t focus on anything else since Carsten is critically ill. We plan to leave as soon as possible.”
“You should leave today then. I’m also worried about Carsten. I feel like he’s always so scared of people.”
Jenna had tried talking to Carsten, but found that he had a strange and eccentric character. If she were not careful, he would lose his temper. Therefore, Jenna could only watch him helplessly, her heart aching for him. In fact, she had grown rather afraid of seeing him.
…
After dinner, Raeleigh brought Carsten with her to have a brief chat with Shaney and Forden. Later, she went to see Santiago before leaving.
She worded a reminder to Santiago. “Remember to bring them back when you’re free.”
Santiago only smiled, giving her a vague and ambiguous response.
When Raeleigh returned to the car, she stared at Santiago reluctantly as if she would never get to see him again.
Although they could still meet again, if Raeleigh did not go to A city in the future, Santiago would never visit Capital City either.
Santiago’s name was never mentioned again in Capital City. Only Jepherson and his children mattered to them.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that Raeleigh had brought Marissa back that year, Santiago would not have brought the children to visit Marissa’s grave.
At the time, Jepherson was already in his forties, and Raeleigh had aged too.
Raeleigh was kneeling by the grave when Santiago came over and sat down next to her, flashing a grin at Raeleigh.
Raeleigh was surprised to see him. As she stared at the man who had just emerged, her eyes started to redden. “How can you still smile?”
Santiago then got up and walked away without a word, leaving Raeleigh at a loss for how to react.
After that, Jepherson stayed with Raeleigh for a while before leaving.
Raeleigh had reached middle age that year. Due to Marissa’s passing, she fell critically ill and did not get better until late autumn.
But after she recovered, her body was never quite the same. She grew weak and frail.
Carsten had left with Santiago, leaving only Jepherson by her side.
When there was no one else around, Jepherson asked Raeleigh, “Who do you think resembles me more? Carsten or Forden?”
Raeleigh turned to look at him slowly and stared at him as if she was in a dream. After a long while, she asked, “What did you say?”
The fallen leaves landed on Jepherson as he sat on the bench. He gazed up at the falling leaves and replied, “I said Forden is my son.”
Raeleigh did not answer, and there was no expression on her pale face.
Her gaze froze as she recalled what happened that year.
She remembered leaving Waverly Village with Santiago that year. Not long after she did, Shaney came down with a fever. She got terribly ill, and her fever persisted for three days. The doctors had said that there was something wrong with Shaney’s immune system and that she needed to undergo a bone marrow transplant surgery.
Raeleigh had no idea what to do. The doctor suggested she start with her family members, and Santiago’s bone marrow was the first to have been tested on and found to be a match for Shaney. However, the doctor told them later on that Shaney would not be able to go through with the surgery due to how weak her body was.
This greatly limited Raeleigh’s options. When the doctor suggested once more for Raeleigh to give birth to another child for the sake of having a matching donor, Raeleigh was at a loss for what to do. She had her hesitations about reaching out to Jepherson.
In the midst of her dilemma, Santiago came forth with a solution.
Only then did Raeleigh learn that Jepherson had kept his sperm in a sperm bank.