Give Up, Mr. Lawyer! This is Not Your Child

Chapter 137: Have a Son

The sharp needle in the words was glaringly directed at Jean Ellison.Jean Ellison’s knuckles whitened slightly as she held the water glass.

She lifted her eyes to meet Leah Sutton’s gaze, her tone calm and unruffled.

"I just hope Miss Sutton can have her wish and give birth to a son."

Justin Holden, who had been sitting silently in the main seat, dressed in a dark suit, with a stern face.

He seemed oblivious to the sparring between the women, focusing solely on the cutlery in front of him.

However, at the moment Jean’s words fell, the glass filled with clear water beside him suddenly slipped from his fingers, with a crisp "clang," shattered on the ground, fragments and water scattered everywhere.

The waiter quickly stepped forward, apologizing repeatedly, deftly beginning to clean up.

"It’s okay." Justin Holden’s voice was deep, emotionless.

He pulled out a napkin and slowly wiped the water stains from his fingers, his gaze never meeting anyone’s.

The small episode made the atmosphere even more stagnant.

Leah Sutton seemed somewhat displeased at having her topic interrupted, and she glanced at the freshly served braised prawns on the table, coquettishly spoke to Justin Holden.

"Justin, I want to eat prawns, help me peel them, will you?"

Justin Holden paused for a moment.

He lifted his eyes, his gaze finally moved, first skimming quickly past Jean Ellison, who was lowering her head, concentrating on the dishes in front of her, as if she hadn’t heard Leah’s words.

His gaze eventually fell on Leah Sutton’s face, without much expression, only lightly responding, "Okay."

He put on disposable gloves, picked up a prawn, his movements not particularly skillful, but very carefully started peeling the shell.

Long fingers tore open the red prawn shell, revealing the white tender prawn meat inside, then steadily placed it on Leah Sutton’s plate.

Jean Ellison’s heart felt as though hit heavily by something, a dull pain.

She forced herself not to look, but caught a glimpse of Justin Holden’s focused prawn-peeling profile from the corner of her eye.o bed, clearly waiting for his son to return.

Justin Holden pushed the door open and came in, bringing the night’s chill with him.

He took off his suit jacket, draped it casually over the back of the sofa, his expression a mix of fatigue and his usual sternness.

"Dad, you’re not resting yet?"

He sat in the chair opposite his father, long legs crossed.

Mr. Holden exhaled smoke, looking at his son.

"Saw your car outside, thought I’d chat with you."

He paused, then got straight to the point.

"About Leah Sutton, what are your plans? Your mother mentioned again today that the wedding should be on the agenda."

Justin Holden’s brow immediately furrowed, his tone resolute, leaving no room for negotiation, "I won’t marry her."

The study fell silent for a moment.

Mr. Holden didn’t show much surprise, he simply asked slowly, "Because of Jean Ellison?"

Justin Holden’s jaw tightened a little, his gaze fixed on a point in the void, "Not entirely, even without Jean Ellison, I would not marry a woman scheming to conceive."

There was a barely perceptible hint of disgust in his voice.

"As for her collusion with Zoe Holden, for the sake of Mom, I won’t pursue it further, but marriage is absolutely impossible."

Mr. Holden sighed, extinguishing the cigar in a crystal ashtray.

"I’m not here to force you into marriage, you’ve had your own ideas since childhood, I can’t push you. I just want to know, what are your plans for Jean and Jesse? That child..."

He recalled the timid little girl at the dinner table, his gaze complicated.

Justin Holden was silent for a moment, then when he spoke again, his voice was a little lower.

"They’ll go to Gresten, the paperwork is already in process. The living environment there is more suitable for Jesse’s growth."

"Gresten?" Mr. Holden was a bit surprised, "And what about you? Are you going too?"

Justin Holden’s lips curved into a somewhat self-deprecating smile, devoid of warmth.

"What would I go for? Jean doesn’t want to see me."

He recalled the dinner, her downcast eyes, and the shrimp Philip Paxton placed in her bowl, a dull ache in his chest.

"If I go there, it would only upset her. Besides, Professor Thorne has urged me several times to go to the United States to take over his project."

"So you’re going to the United States?"

Mr. Holden caught the implication in his son’s words.

"There’s nothing worth lingering for here."

Justin Holden’s tone returned to its usual indifference.

"Once the important projects here are smoothly handed over, and I get them settled, I’ll probably go to the United States, not Gresten."

The last few words were spoken very lightly.

Mr. Holden looked at his son. Under the light, Justin Holden’s profile was sharp, but the insuppressible gloom in his eyes did not escape his father’s notice.

He knew his son’s arrangements, though seemingly calm and rational, were in fact a form of escape.

"That’s also fine." Mr. Holden finally nodded, "Going abroad to clear your mind would be good too. As for the child Leah is carrying..."

He ultimately asked, after all, it involved the Holden bloodline in name.

Justin Holden’s gaze suddenly grew cold, like a layer of frost.

He stood up, walked to the window, looking out into the deep night, his back to his father, and his voice was frighteningly calm.

"That child is unlikely to be born."

Mr. Holden was taken aback, "What?"

Justin Holden cut him off, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"There are things I know that the doctors haven’t told her. You needn’t ask further, just know the outcome."

He turned and looked at his father.

"Please comfort Mom a lot; she’s longed for a grandchild for so long, only to be disappointed, she’ll surely feel hurt."

Mr. Holden looked at his son and suddenly understood many things.

The child Leah carries can’t be kept, likely due to some genetic issue, whether she knows or not is uncertain.

"Sigh..." Mr. Holden sighed deeply, waving his hand in resignation, "I understand. Handle it appropriately. Going to the United States is your decision. It’s late, go get some rest."

Justin Holden nodded, said no more, grabbed his jacket, and left the study straight away.

That night, he neither stayed at the old Holden residence nor returned to the apartment, but went to Samual Pryce’s place.

He got drunk again.