My Alleged Husband

Chapter 227 - 207: Ruthless_1

"Dad, when I resolutely left this home all those years ago, it led to us not seeing each other for over a decade, to the extent that not even a single phone call was exchanged. Do you really want to drive me out of the house today, to continue not having any contact with you? Does this really make you happy? How do you expect my heart to bear this?" Zhang Zhentian said to Old Master Zhang. He didn’t want to leave this home again; he had tried so hard to return, and how could he be driven out again over such a trivial matter? If that were the case, how could he reconcile it in his heart? He didn’t want to leave like this, he couldn’t bear it.

"You don’t need to say anything more. Don’t you think you should pay a price and take responsibility for the things you’ve done? I taught you from a young age that if you choose a path, you must walk it to the end, even on your knees if necessary, even if it’s covered with thorns. You must not back down. Have you forgotten all the lessons you were taught as a child?" Old Master Zhang countered Zhang Zhentian, expressing his hope that his son hadn’t completely forgotten the lessons he’d been taught from childhood. It had been his ardent wish to cultivate Zhang Zhentian into a talented individual and the heir to his company, but things hadn’t turned out as he’d hoped. After Zhang Zhentian met Xia Jing, he repeatedly defied him and ultimately chose to be with Xia Jingyi over inheriting the family business.

"How can you be like this? I am your own son. I could understand the first time you drove me out—I had made the resolute decision to leave, and that led to you shutting me out. All that I could understand. But now, I’ve realized my mistakes. Even my son has been allowed to return. Are you really going to drive me out again? Doesn’t that hurt you, and Yichen as well? Does your heart really bear to cast me out of this family once more? Dad, over these years, I have always missed you all. For your sake, I have lived diligently. Although I have been abroad and not by your side, you were always in my heart. I know you and Yichen have missed me all these years, but what can I say? It’s not that I didn’t want to return, it’s that I couldn’t. Can’t you understand my selfishness, my helplessness?"

"Miss you? I haven’t seen a single moment when you were truly missing us, in your heart, on your face, in your actions. Are you clueless about what you’ve done since you returned? Are those things easily forgivable? Have you not thought about whether your actions could even be forgiven? Do you ever consider how much hurt your actions have caused Yichen, those who care about you?" Elder Zhang could not stand watching his son refuse to admit his wrongdoings and continually make excuses for his actions, finding it unacceptable. He had never raised his son to be such a person. Had Zhentian truly forgotten all the careful guidance of over two decades?

"What do you mean I haven’t considered these things? Time and again, for the sake of your grandson, you have shut me out. Have you considered my feelings as your son? I’m human, too. I crave my father’s love. Have you ever not considered me your son in your heart?" Zhang Zhentian longed for a negative answer from his father, even if it were a lie, as it would still make him happy. But the harsh reality was that his father bluntly revealed the painful truth, wounding his heart once again.

"Indeed, when you insisted on being with her, I was utterly disappointed in you. When you repeatedly defied me for Xia Jing’s sake, I felt a despair towards you, and finally, when you resolutely gave up everything to leave here with your own son, I no longer saw you as my son. In my heart, I believe that someone like you doesn’t deserve to be called Zhang Mo’s son. Zhang Mo’s son should stand tall and accept responsibility for his actions, but that’s not who you are. Therefore, you are no longer the son in my heart, and I ask that you no longer tell others that you are Zhang Mo’s son; doing so would be an embarrassment to me..."

Old Master Zhang never wanted to be harsh with his son, but today, he had no choice but to say these severe words to Zhang Zhentian. He knew very clearly that if he didn’t take a stand now, his grandson would eventually be driven away by his own son, unable to even return home. Such an outcome wasn’t what he wanted. For the sake of his grandson, for the future of his company, and for his reputation, he had to make a sacrifice, even if it meant losing the son he had raised for over twenty years. He was prepared to pay that price.

"In your heart, have you decided to give up on me, your son? Does our father-son relationship of over twenty years hold so little weight in your eyes that it can be shattered so easily? Because of a small mistake, you’ve made it so I cannot return home, rejecting me time and again. Because of my son, because of your excessive favoritism towards him, even over your own flesh and blood, I can understand. After all, you’ve taken care of him for twenty years, and I owe you, owe my son, and owe all the love you gave. But is this really what I wanted?" Zhang Zhentian was defiant. He couldn’t accept being condemned by his father so easily. He wanted to argue, to take up arms against his own father: "Dad, you know as well as anyone that there’s no one in the world who isn’t selfish at least once, even if it costs them dearly. They still choose to be selfish. Why can’t you understand my selfishness? I never truly wanted to leave you or my son. I had no choice. If I didn’t go with Xia Jing, I would’ve lost her forever. Can’t you spare a thought for a husband’s heart for his wife? As for Xia Jing, she had nothing but me, her husband. Yet for me, not only did I have you and my son, but I also had a wife. For you, besides having a son, you have the company and your grandson. You can live with my son, but if Xia Jing lost me, she’d have nothing. How could I bear to abandon her, to let her go far away all on her own? You’ve always taught me to be conscientious. Why then can’t I follow my heart for once and chase after the footsteps of the person I love? Was what I did really wrong? Was loving her wrong? You were the same when you loved my mother. If someone stood up to tell you that loving my mother was a mistake, how would you feel? Wouldn’t you take that as an attack, as a wound? Why then must you impose on me what you yourself wouldn’t want to bear? Isn’t that cruel for me, your son? Isn’t that cruel? I’m the son you raised from a baby, how can you treat me this way? How can you bear to make me suffer like this? Do you really want me to leave this place and never come back?"

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