Chapter 0844
Celeste and Alden exchanged looks. They were the two closest people to Peter, yet neither of them knew how to handle this situation. A Peter who only remembered being in his twenties was something they hadn’t expected.
“Alden, go in. He’s your father, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to see a copy of himself. I’ll wait… Maybe I can stay with him overnight and we can talk a little,” Celeste said, feeling a hollow ache in her chest.
“Celeste, you should go in first. You’ve done everything to be here for him,” Alden replied firmly.
“No! Go on, I’ll stay with him after you come out. Don’t worry! Just go!” Celeste insisted, trying to appear calm.
Alden saw the sincerity in her eyes and relented. He stood up from the couch and entered the room. His father had never been the warmest or most affectionate man, but in the nearly six years he had known him, he hadn’t been a bad father either.
“So, you’re Alden?” Peter asked, looking him up and down
“Yes, Dad,” Alden replied with steady confidence.
“Well, Marcus wasn’t wrong. You do look just like me… and like your mother. By the way, how’s my Katherine? What’s been going on with her? Tell me everything!” Peter said, excitement clear in his voice.
The way Peter spoke–his interest in his mother–immediately made Alden uneasy.
As far as Alden knew, Peter had always kept his distance from Katherine. He had made sure she never lacked anything, setting up a lifelong fund for her the moment she arrived in Europe, but that was the only relationship Peter of the past had been willing to have with her.
Hearing him sound so eager, almost nostalgic, sent a wave of discomfort through Alden.
“Dad, how are you feeling? Do you notice anything… different?” Alden asked, watching him carefully.
“Besides not remembering 23 damn years of my life?” Peter said, irritation creeping into his voice.
“I know it sounds bad, but I promise we’ll all be here for you. We’ll help you put the pieces together, and soon, you’ll feel at home again.”
“Do you really believe that?” Peter asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.
“Yes!” Alden said without hesitation. “I know this whole thing is a nightmare for you, and I know you hate surprises. But having you alive and here with us is better than losing you. If something had happened to you, I honestly don’t know how we would’ve handled it.”
“Dad, you are a great man. You might be serious and not always say much, but I know life made you that way. Even so, you’re a part of us, and you’ve left a mark on every single one of us in ways I can’t even explain.”
“You’re my father. And
these past six years, you’ve been the best role model I could have asked for.”
“Six years? What do
over his face.
you six years? Aren’t you older than that? What-?” Peter’s confusion was written all
“Dad… I think we have a lot to talk about,” Alden said with a small smile.
He pulled up a chair beside Peter’s bed and began telling him everything–his entire life story, what had happened in Argentina, and how Peter had arrived at the exact moment Alden had needed him most.
By the end of it, Peter was overwhelmed. He could hardly believe that he had it in him to be a good father.
After a couple of hours, exhaustion hit him. It had been an incredibly long day. He drifted off to sleep, and Alden
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Chapter 0844
stepped out of the room, leaving Celeste alone with Diana.
“He fell asleep. It was too much information for one day,” Alden said with a sigh of resignation.
