Chapter 913 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“Evelyn! You can’t possibly take the child away from her mother,” Desmond cut in.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be a fight for custody or anything. We will all talk about it reasonably. The child would be Benne’s child too, and she has spent three years with her mother already. The child needs to know her father and his family,” Evelyn said reasonably.

“And if she doesn’t agree to being separated from her kid?” Desmond asked with a raised brow.

“Why wouldn’t she? I don’t think she would mind Benne being involved in the child’s life. I believe she tried to find Benne because she didn’t want to raise the child alone. It’s not like she expects him to relocate to her country because of the child or that she expects him to marry her for the child’s sake. If she wants Benne to be involved in raising the child then she would have to let the child live with Benne. At least for some time,” Evelyn said, and Benne sighed.

“Maybe we are thinking too far ahead,” Benne said as he massaged his temple.

“It doesn’t hurt to think far ahead. That way you won’t be clueless when it’s time to take a stand and make a decision. When the result comes, you can discuss all of this with Celsie. I believe she would want to be part of the decision making since she is also a part of your life,” Evelyn said, and Benne sighed once again.

“You haven’t told Celsie about it yet, have you?” Evelyn asked with a concerned frown.

“I have,” Benne said, surprising both his parents.

“You did? When? How did she take the news?” Evelyn asked, and Benne shrugged.

“She has been supportive. She even followed me to the lab to drop the samples,” Benne said, not seeing any need to tell them Celsie had fled from his office the moment he told her about the kid.

“That’s good then. Don’t worry, son. It’s not the end of the world. This might turn out to be a blessing in disguise,” Desmond said as he reached out to tap Benne’s shoulder.

“Your father is right. Don’t let it bother you too much. I’m sure we will find a way to make it work if she turns out to be your daughter,” Evelyn promised as she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently.

“I’m serious about you going back as planned,” Benne reminded his mother and she nodded.

“Alright. But you have to let us know whatever you decide. And we have to be here when you invite them over,” Evelyn said, and Benne gave her a nods

“Sure. I will. You can’t tell Janet or Andrew…”

“Of course not. It’s not our place to do so,” Evelyn cut in.

“You don’t even have to ask,” Desmond said at the same time.

Benne gave them a nod, “Thanks for hearing me out. And once again I’m sorry I disturbed your sleep,” Benne said as he rose to leave.

“You’re our son. It’s your right to disturb our sleep,” Evelyn assured him.

“I don’t know about that,” Desmond said, and Benne chuckled while Evelyn slapped his arm playfully.

“I will leave you both to get some rest while I try to do the same,” Benne said as he headed for the door.

Once he shut the door the door behind him, Evelyn and Desmond sighed, “He looks very worried. I doubt he’s going back to bed,” Evelyn said with a frown.

“Anyone in his position would be worried. You could have handled it better,” Desmond said, and Evelyn shook her head.

“It’s your job to handle things better, remember? It’s my job to react normally and balance things,” Evelyn said as she snuggled closer to Desmond and rested her head on his shoulder.

“What are we going to do?” Evelyn asked with a sigh.

“Nothing. It’s not for us to do anything. Benne has to handle this alone. With Celsie by his side hopefully,” Desmond said, wondering if Celsie would be okay with raising the kid if Evelyn’s suggestion worked and the child came to live with Benne.

Evelyn drew back to look at him with a frown, “But we can’t just not do anything. We are his parents…”

“Benne is thirty. He’s not a kid. He can handle this himself. I’m certain all he needs is the result and then he will figure out what he wants. Let’s go back to bed,” Desmond suggested.

“I can’t understand how you are always so calm…”

“I know we did a good job raising the kids, Eve. So, I trust them. They won’t fold over such little inconveniences. Benne won’t be the first young man to find out he is a father out of the blue,” Desmond said confidently.

“But the situation with Celsie…”

“That is also for them both to resolve not for us to lose sleep over. We have a flight to catch in a couple of hours. I’m going back to sleep. You can stay up and worry all you want or you can join me,” Desmond said as he reached for the switch and turned off the light.

The Delgado family gathered together for breakfast later than usual that morning before Evelyn and Desmond would prepare to leave for the airport, since they had all had a late night.

It didn’t take long for Jade and Bryan to observe that something was wrong since both Benne and their parents were unusually quiet as they ate.

“Did we miss something? It seems like something happened when we weren’t looking,” Jade said to Bryan and Sonia.

“Is everything alright?” Bryan asked his parents and Desmond smiled.

“Sure. We are going to miss you kids,” Desmond said, and Evelyn nodded in agreement.

“And you, Benny? Are you alright?” Jade asked, looking at Benne with interest.

“I miss Celsie,” Benne said, and Jade rolled her eyes, while Sonia smiled.

“I trust she will be back now that you’re back from your trip. I guess she will come back after her parents leave,” Bryan said, and Benne shrugged without saying anything.

“I seem to be the only person whose partner isn’t living under this roof. Perhaps I should ask Harry to move in too?” Jade l asked, and this time even her parents and Benne laughed.

---