?Chapter 1762:


    “Kylee,” Elwood said gently, his voice barely more than a whisper, “I know this is a lot to take in. You don’t have to ept it right now. I’ll give you time toe to terms with the fact that I’m your real father.”


    Kylee bit her lower lip. After a long breath, she said, “This is just… too much. I’ve always seen Baker as my dad. He raised me and treated me well. And now, suddenly, you’re telling me you’re my father?”


    “I get it,” Elwood said, his tone understanding. “It’s not something you can ept overnight. Truly, it’s alright. Take all the time you need.”


    Kylee hesitated, then said carefully, “Could we keep this between us? Just for now? Don’t even tell my mother…”


    Elwood gave a solemn nod. “I understand where you’reing from. You have my word; I won’t tell anyone about this.”


    “Thank you,” Kylee said, her voice soft.


    Elwood looked at her, his gaze filled with emotion. After a moment that felt longer than it actually was, he asked quietly, “Kylee… all these years, have you and your mother managed well?”


    “For the most part, yes. I grew up surrounded by care—my parents, my grandparents, even my uncles were kind to me. But…”


    Kylee’s voice faltered, and she stopped speaking, as though she’d stumbled upon a memory too heavy to lift. Her eyes turned red, glossed with emotion.


    “What is it?” Elwood asked gently.


    “It’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “My mother… she’s rarely been happy. Often, she just sits quietly, staring into space, lost in thought, like she’s thinking of someone or something she can’t let go of.”


    She paused for a moment. “And ever since my father brought that other woman and her daughter into our home, my mother’s spirit… it’s been dimmer than ever.”


    Elwood remained quiet, his thoughts tangled.


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    Before he had any inkling of Kylee’s true paternity, he’d harbored nothing but disdain for Baker, seeing him as a jerk.


    But now, with the truth out in the open, he didn’t know how to feel about Baker.


    Elwood felt a sense of appreciation for Baker. He was thankful that, even knowing Kylee wasn’t his biological child, Baker had treated her with such warmth and care. He was grateful that Baker had provided Kylee with a nurturing, joyful childhood.


    Elwood believed that Baker had likely known the truth about Kylee’s real paternity all along. It now seemed that Baker’s marriage to Car had been a calcted arrangement from the start. Car, pregnant and in need of a father for her unborn child, had turned to Baker for help. In exchange, she had yed a crucial role in helping him build hispany.<fn44b3> This text is hosted at fin?novel</fn44b3>


    This arrangement might also exin why Car remained soposed about Baker’s lingering affection for his first love and his eptance of Belinda, his daughter from outside their marriage.


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