After Divorce, Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant-Chapter 175 Father’s Love Child, What Is Her Name?

Leonica woke up the next day to the sound of her phone rumbling hard on her bedside stool. She groaned and turned on her side, blindly searching for the vibrating device until she found it.

Without looking, she wiped on the answer icon, or at least hoped she did and pressed it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Leonica,” Her eyes finally opened at the sound of her father’s voice and she pulled the phone away from her ear for a few seconds to glance at the caller ID.

It was Indeed her father. Why was he suddenly calling her?

“Father, why are you calling so early in the morning?” She asked, rubbing her eyes to rid the sleepiness, while she glanced at the time.

It was just ten minutes past seven, quite early for her to be awake on a Sunday morning.

“Come home Leonica, there’s something important we need to discuss.” Benjamin answered, his voice sounding stern.

“Something important?” She repeated, her brows knitting together. It was only after a few seconds that something clicked in her head and she recalled the article that stranger had shown her yesterday, that along with the many more she had read.

“Oh,” She mused, already getting out of bed. Of course it had reached the eyes of her father. What about her mother? Had she seen them? How was she feeling? “Certainly. Just give me a little time, I’ll be there right away.”

The line went dead after that. Leonica couldn’t even bring herself to frown. She knew how her father behaved in serious situations, never being his usual sweet self.

But that begged the question; what was so serious about a false tabloid?

Or was it perhaps something else?

Or maybe the tabloid wasn’t fake?

Leonica felt a bitter taste glide down the back of her throat at the thought. But it wasn’t because she didn’t want to embrace the idea of having an additional sibling, sure, that was hard, but not as hard as imagining what her mother would feel.

She knew the feeling of betrayal from your spouse all too well. And just as well, she remembered how she had felt when Angelina informed her of her pregnancy back at the amusement park.

Would her mother feel the same way? Leonica’s heart clenched at the thought, prompting her to increase the speed in which she applied in getting herself to look presentable.

By the time she arrived at the family house, it was quarter past nine. She was greeted by Alan who led her to where the rest of the family had been gathered; the main living room.

“Leonica,” Melvin was the first to greet her. He stood up from where he sat beside their mother, meeting her half way.

“Is everything alright?” She asked, glancing from Leonardo, to her father, then finally, her mother.

Melvin took her hand, leading her towards the spot where he had been seating. “You’ve seen the articles, haven’t you?” He whispered.

“Yeah,” She whispered back even though she wondered why they were whispering. “Is that what this is all about? They’re fake, aren’t they?”

This time around, Melvin remained silent, guiding her to seat beside their mother.

“Please leave us, Alan.” Benjamin finally spoke up, dismissing the butler. Once they were alone, he began. “I’m sure you all are aware of the rumors spreading online,” He paused, giving a few seconds gap, arranging his words carefully before he continued. “There are many versions of this, but they all point to one thing; that I have an illegitimate child.”

“Father, we know that isn’t true.” Leonardo, the first one to speak up, assured him.

Benjamin however, answered with an amazed yet light chuckle. He really loved how his children loved and respected him, each in their own ways.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to fully cherish their reactions.

“Well, unfortunately,” He began, the smile on his lips long gone. “This isn’t entirely a lie.”

Leonica couldn’t bring herself to look surprised. However she was worried, about her mother who had remained silent since she walked in and her father who looked like he was struggling to get the rest of the words out of his mouth.

She glanced at Melvin and Leonardo. Unlike her, they both looked surprised.

“But I have an explanation for it,”

“An explanation,” Cassandra spoke for the first time, mumbling under her breath before chuckling lifelessly. “Sure, explain how you forgot you had a child out of Wedlock.”

Benjamin didn’t react to his wife’s statement. He had to let her pour out her anger someway.

“Years ago, before I met your mother, I was seeing a woman. She was someone I met through a friend, an old classmate, and we quickly fell for one another. However, my father didn’t approve of our relationship because she was from a lower background. A commoner, he called her. He insisted that I marry someone of equal status, a heiress like my self and at that time, his ideal daughter in law happened to be your mother.”

He paused, allowing the little information that had been revealed to sink in.

Leonica seemed the most interested with her father’s story. She listened intently, waiting for the moment where she could use as a defense point to her mother.

“However, I insisted. I loved the woman with all my heart and was willing to do anything to be with her, including defying my father’s wishes even more so when she revealed that she was carrying my child. And so, planned to elope with her. But unsurprisingly, my father had the entire country packed with security. We were stopped at the boarders and brought in. But,”

There was another pause in his speech and Benjamin’s face contorted as he remembered something unpleasant. “The moment Alice was in the presence of my parents, she acted differently. She revealed her true nature, saying that she was going to expose all the secrets I had told her if we didn’t we give a large sum of money. She even threatened to sue me in court for child negligence.

My father was merciful enough to bend to her wishes. He made her sign an NDA and paid her off, making her promise never to speak a word about the family again, then sent her back.”

“And the baby?” Leonica asked before she could stop herself.

"She was meant to deliver it to us after birthing the child. But she disappeared after her labor, along with the child."

Silence ensued.

Leonica was the first to speak. "So, what do you want to do?"

Benjamin offered his daughter a smile filled with gratitude before answering. "The right thing. Now that that child has grown, it’s only right to bring her home and-"

"I will not allow that." Cassandra objected. "That daughter of that witch would not step a foot in my house."

"Cassandra," Benjamin tried to sooth his wife but went quiet when he received a harsh glare from her.

"She will not step foot in my house." Cassandra repeated.

"Mother, calm down." Leonica said. "Don’t get worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?!" Cassandra repeated, turning to her daughter. "How could you say this is nothing?!"

Leonica flinched at her words, soon realizing that she had been insensitive. "Mother..."

"I’m not angry," Cassandra cut her off, turning to Benjamin. "But I will be if that child steps foot in my house. Do I make myself clear?" With that, she stood up, excusing herself as she walked out of the main living room.

"If I knew this would happen, I would have searched harder for her." Benjamin shook his head, dejected with how the situation had turned out. "I should have taken that child away from her." He mumbled.

Leonica felt sorry for her father. Honestly, she saw no problem in what he had done. Just like her, he was young and had fallen in love. The only mistake he had made was keeping the existence of that child secret.

Damn, now she had another sibling? Leonica had to suppress the sigh that was threatening to slip pass her lips as she patted her father on the shoulder, before proceeding to find her father, determined to calm her down.

Soon enough, she found the blonde standing in front of the small pond in their garden, feeding the fishes.

She quietly settled beside her, folding her hand at her back as she pondered her words.

"I’m not angry at your father, Leonica." Her mother spoke, her words more surprising than the fact that she had spoken first.

"You’re not?"

Cassandra shook her head. "I’m not. Rather, I’m insecure....vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" Leonica repeated. "But why?"

Her mother hesitated for a bit before speaking. "As you know, your father and I’s marriage is an arranged marriage, it was never love at first sight and it took a while until we both developed genuine feelings for one another, so when I found out he had a child, with the woman he loved, I feared...."

She couldn’t complete the sentence, but Leonica knew what she wanted to say.

"There’s nothing to fear, mom." She reassured as she placed her hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. "I’m sure father still loves you and that he would never want anyone else."

Her mother offered a light smile and turned to face the fishes again.

Silence settled between them, a comfortable one, but it was broken by Leonica’s curious words.

"Father’s ex mistress, who was she?"

Cassandra Shrugged. "I didn’t know Alice Rosewood all that well, but-"

"Rosewood?" Leonica’s ears perked up at the oddly familiar name. Cassandra nodded at the question and a feeling suddenly settled in Leonica’s stomach.

"Father’s love child, what is her name?"

Cassandra thought for a while. "If I remember correctly, he said Alice picked the name Irene. Irene Rosewood."