Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 414

"Such a golden opportunity, slipped right through our fingers."

Mr. Porter trailed off, his voice thick with frustration and resentment.

The person on the other end of the phone fell into a brief silence, clearly understanding the weight of the disappointment.

Keith had always been a hard target, surrounded by the best in the business when it came to personal security. With such protection, Keith had managed to dodge the grim reaper more times than anyone could count. They had accepted their past failures as part of the game. But this time, Keith had been alone, unprotected, ripe for the taking. Their plan should have been foolproof, or at least, Keith should have been left licking serious wounds. Yet, nothing.

Was it because the attempt took place in Pinehurst?

"It's late," the voice on the other end finally said, cutting the conversation short, uninterested in Mr. Porter's complaints.

Who would want to lose anyway? Since they had gotten involved, they had yearned for Keith's downfall. As long as Keith remained alive and took over the entirety of the Blue family, targeting him would become an increasingly daunting task. And now, even touching Keith seemed like an impossible feat. The last two assassination attempts had been abysmal failures.

How had that kid stumbled upon such damn good luck, turning misfortune into a stroke of serendipity time and time again?

After the call ended, Mr. Porter lingered in his study for a moment longer before finally rising to return to his bedroom.

Mrs. Porter was still deep in slumber, and in his sour mood, Mr. Porter felt a pang of envy at his wife's blissful ignorance. Without a second thought, he nudged her awake.

"Honey, what's the matter? Why aren't you asleep at this hour?" Mrs. Porter sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning, clearly disoriented from being woken up from her peaceful sleep.

"Can't sleep, I'm too worked up. And look at you, sleeping like a log, without a care in the world. I've provided you with such a comfortable life, and you can't even manage to raise our daughter right. Look at the state Madeleine's in now. Doesn't it break your heart?"

"It's all your fault, you know. If you hadn't bought that damn love potion, Madeleine wouldn't have fallen prey to that scoundrel, Hayden Blue."

Mr. Porter's greatest fury was reserved for the fact that his precious daughter had been defiled by Hayden.

She was supposed to be his ace in the hole, his ticket inside the Blue family's inner circle. And despite his willingness to use her as a pawn, it didn't stop him from loving her fiercely.

"Madeleine's started eating again, and she's coming out of her room. Darling, I'm at fault, I know. I love her more than anything; she's my own flesh and blood. But what's done is done. And it's not like it's only Madeleine's fault, who could have predicted this?"

Mrs. Porter sighed deeply. The situation pained her as much as it did her husband.

The most vexing part for Mr. Porter was that it was Madeleine's own scheme that backfired, not trapping Nathan as intended, but instead playing right into Hayden's hands. Even with his rage boiling over, he couldn't lay all the blame on Hayden.

The Porters had no choice but to swallow their misfortune.

The couple fell into silence.

After a moment, Mrs. Porter ventured, "Hayden has been coming by every day to see Madeleine, but she refuses to meet him. He mentioned that if we would allow it, he's willing to take responsibility, to make things right. What do you think?" This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

"What does Madeleine say?"

Mr. Porter asked back sharply.

"Of course, she doesn't agree. You know our daughter's heart; it's set on Nathan. She's determined to marry him. She doesn't care that Nathan's fifty years old; in her eyes, he's the best man in the world, and she won't settle for anyone else," Mrs. Porter lamented, her tone laced with exasperation.

Nathan was her peer, and yet her daughter was eager to marry a man of such an age. Even if Nathan looked far younger than his years, the fact that he was fifty couldn't be erased.

Initially, she had opposed Madeleine's liaison with Nathan, but with her husband's support, she had little say in the matter. Aside from advising her daughter, there wasn't much she could do. Madeleine was spellbound by Nathan, beyond any persuasion.

"Hayden might be a viper, but he lacks the necessary backbone and ambition. He's already at an age where he's tightly under Nathan's thumb, and his son Pete can't escape Keith's clutches either. Pete made some mistakes and Keith has been relentlessly punishing him, driving him out of Blue Corporation's headquarters."

As a business associate, Mr. Porter knew Hayden all too well.

"If Hayden were the patriarch of the Blue family, then the Blue Group would be within our grasp. But he doesn't have the chops to sit on the throne. We only work with him out of convenience, to use

him. Does he really think he's my equal? Madeleine doesn't want him, and frankly, neither do I."

Mr. Porter's tone then shifted as he said to his wife, "Tomorrow, if Hayden comes by again and talks about taking responsibility, tell him that a daughter of the Porter family won't settle for being anyone's mistress."

Mrs. Porter widened her eyes, asking, "Are you suggesting that Hayden should divorce?"

"Even if he wanted to, his wife wouldn't agree. And with three children, the two grown sons certainly wouldn't approve of their father divorcing to welcome Madeleine into the family."

"Pushing for a divorce doesn't mean we're agreeing to let Madeleine marry him."

Mr. Porter snorted with a chilling disdain, "He thinks he can mess with my daughter and get away with just a beating? In his dreams! I'll make sure his life is turned upside down—his marriage on the rocks, his family ties in shambles."

Mrs. Porter's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.

She stared at her husband for a long time, unable to hold back her words, "You and Madeleine are really two peas in a pod. She said the same thing—she wants to make Hayden pay a steep price for what he did."

"Like father, like daughter," Mr. Porter sighed. "It's just a shame she isn't a boy. Life would be so much simpler."

"What about Nathan?" she queried.

"Madeleine's started eating again, she's stepping out of her shell. She'll handle it. We just need to make sure she isn't pushed around. With Janice and her daughter still out of the picture, maybe Madeleine can charm Nathan into marrying her, regardless of everything."

Mrs. Porter was silent.

She thought her husband was living in a fantasy.

What man would calmly marry a woman after discovering she'd been with his own brother?

Besides, Nathan and Janice weren't even divorced yet.

What did a couple of decades of estrangement matter?

They had reunited with their daughter, a picture-perfect family of four, with the potential of rekindling the old flame. Even if they didn't fall back in love, the shared bond of their children might prevent a divorce.

Nathan hadn't left Janice even when she was out of her mind.

Now that she had come back to her senses, would he leave her?

If their daughter was still the untouched beauty she once was, perhaps there might have been a chance. But after Hayden's disgrace, the odds were nonexistent.

"It's late, let's get some sleep. When Hayden shows up tomorrow, remember to stick to the script," Mr. Porter said casually, fully aware that his words had the power to wreak havoc in Hayden's family, to turn their world upside down.