No Strings Attached

Chapter 405

His words pierced Katherine’s heart like a needle. If Brodie really was Teo’s son, then they must have betrayed Leonora in a way that should have never happened. She immediately withdrew her hand, shaking her head with vigor. “No way. He can’t be your son!”

Teo immediately tried to calm her with a gentle voice. “Don’t get worked up. I was just thinking out loud. I’m looking into this. I promise I’ll give you and Brodie an explanation.”

Overwhelmed, Katherine struggled to keep her composure. Teo quickly called a doctor, who administered a sedative to help her relax.

As she slept, a tear clung to the corner of her eye, and something twisted sharply in Teo’s chest. How much pain had she endured to become the person she was now?

He reached out his hand and tenderly wiped away the tear. Just then, his phone rang. He stepped out of the room, and a man’s voice came through on the other end. “Teo, the results for the sample you sent in are back.”

At these words, Teo felt a hitch in his heart. His breath was momentarily caught. He urgently asked, “What’s the result?”

“The two DNA samples confirm a parent-child relationship.”

His back hit the wall with a thud as he heard this. Just as he suspected, Brodie was his and Katherine’s child. It was he who had brought such immense pain to Katherine.

Teo couldn’t quite describe how he felt at that moment. There was surprise, guilt, and above all, a profound sense of heartache, for all that Katherine and Brodie had been through over the years.

When had he and Katherine ever been together, and how could he have no memory of it?

After hanging up, he stood alone in the corridor. His fingers were trembling. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. His hands were shaking as he lit it. He took a deep drag, and the nicotine stung his throat, triggering a fit of coughing.

Katherine and Brodie.

He finally understood why he felt such animosity from Brodie at first sight. He was the deadbeat dad Brodie had spoken of, the one who abandoned his mother.

Brodie had known all along that he was his father. He simply refused to acknowledge him.

At this thought, Teo felt a sharp pain in his chest. He tried to numb the pain with the smoke, but after several cigarettes, his heart still ached unbearably.

Then he heard a clear, deep voice cutting through the air. “You know smoking isn’t allowed in the hospital, right?”

Brodie stood not too far away, holding a food box. Their gazes locked in the air. Content © NôvelDrama.Org.

Teo immediately stubbed out the cigarette. His facial muscles were tense. His voice was hoarse. “I forgot.”

Then, turning to Brodie, he said, “Your mom woke up a little while ago. She got a bit agitated, so I had the doctor give her a sedative.”

Brodie’s brow furrowed deeply as he glared at him. “What did you say to her?”

Teo pressed his lips together, then spoke in a hoarse whisper, “I just mentioned that I had doubts about your parentage.”

At that, Brodie charged over and grabbed Teo’s collar in a fierce grip. His cold eyes bore into Teo like daggers. “Even you think my mother was a homewrecker? She could never do such a thing. If anything, you tricked her, got her pregnant with your child, and then left her high and dry. Teo, you’ll never understand what my mom went through all these years, and the pain in her heart. Expecting me to acknowledge you as a father? Never going to happen in this lifetime!”