The General Who Hates Me Chapter 302 - A Bomb Was Dropped

Sheila went to sit beside her son and held his hand as she narrated what had happened many years ago….

Sheila was studying at college when she had to quit her studies and help her parents. Her father had just gotten laid off from work, and her mother was sick and had to be hospitalized. Her uncle had managed to get her a position at the Liu's ancestral mansion as an a.s.sistant cook.

Everything began the moment she stepped foot there…

Charles, the eldest son of the Liu's, fell in love with her at first sight. He was kind and gentle, and he was not the kind who put importance on one's background. He didn't care about the big gap in their social cla.s.s. Sheila reciprocated his feelings, and they became lovers.

Meanwhile, Thom, the younger brother, had also fallen in love with Sheila. But when he realized his brother and Sheila's relations.h.i.+p, he chose to hide his own feelings and wish them both the best. 

Charles and Sheila decided to keep their relations.h.i.+p hidden from others because Charles knew that his mother wouldn't approve of it. But somehow, Old Madam Liu found out about it, and tried to separate them by offering Sheila all kinds of bribery in exchange with her leaving Charles.

Sheila refused to accept all of her offers. In return, Old Madam Liu did all kinds of things to make sure Sheila's family would suffer the consequences of her refusal.

Upon finding out what his mother had been doing, Charles made a choice to leave his family for Sheila. They eloped and remained hidden for years, away from Old Madam Liu's constant chasing…

The two had a happy life for quite some time until Old Madam Liu tracked their location. They had to run away once more, and by this time, Sheila was already pregnant with Zach.

They were involved in a car chase with Old Madam Liu's men. Their car was trailed closely. Charles tried to evade the cars that were pursuing them until he saw a construction work in front of him. But it was too late. He was not able to swerve their vehicle, which resulted in a frontal collision that had cost him his life.

It was true that the two of them had been p.r.o.nounced dead on arrival, but a miracle happened, and Sheila came back to life. She grabbed the arm of the nurse beside her, who was already in the middle of preparing to transfer her body to the morgue. 

Upon knowing that Charles hadn't survived the accident, Sheila wailed uncontrollably and begged the nurse to help her hide the fact that she was still alive.

"Jonathan, your father, was that nurse. He took pity on me, and he helped transfer me to another hospital, while arranging an unclaimed body to replace mine. I knew Old Madam Liu would have not bothered to check on my remains. And true enough, she didn't. She just instructed her people to have me cremated, and because of that, everything went smoothly," Sheila explained and started to sob again.

"I lived with your father, and I eventually contacted my parents to inform them that I was okay, only after everything cooled down. I was pregnant with you, and I knew Old Madam Liu would have taken you away from me. So I did all I could to keep you with me by hiding your existence from her," Sheila continued explaining.

Jonathan Lim was a great father to Zach, and she was grateful that Zach got to experience the love of a father from him, even though he was not his biological father.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from you all this time. I'm sorry you had to grow up in those poor circ.u.mstances when you could have easily led a comfortable life as their grandson. I admit I'm selfish... But you were the only one I had left... from Charles. And I just couldn't give you up," Sheila cried again.

"Your real father was a good man, too," Sheila added. "He was gentle and kind, and he fought really hard for me."

"It's all that old hag's fault then! How dare she show up in here like that…" Rizie condemned and immediately got reprimanded by Lyra for interrupting her elder.

"Charles was her only son, so she loved him very much… I understand she only wanted the best for him. But we loved each other..." Sheila replied in a weak voice.

Those words rang in Keira's ears, and she asked with curiosity, "Senior Liu is adopted?"

Sheila shook her head and replied, "No, he is not. He's a Liu, but he is not Old Madam Liu's biological grandson. He's Old Senior Liu's son with his mistress…"

Keira sighed and muttered an "I see..." as realization dawned upon her. Now everything made sense. No wonder Old Madam Liu was very tough to Senior Liu and Jeru…

Whereas just a while ago, she looked so mild, her face was filled with a genuine longing expression for Zach. She called him 'Grandson' over and over again with a voice that could make one's heart lurch…

"Charles told me about it. Old Madam Liu was hurt by her husband's affair, but she had no choice but to accept Thom in their family and treat him like her own son, to prevent a family scandal. No one knew Thom was the son of a mistress, except for Thom himself, his real mother, his father, Old Madam Liu, and Charles. And then me. It was the Liu's family secret," Sheila explained, still constantly sniffing her nose. She made sure there was no one else in the room to hear it.

Zach still had a blank look on his face. He hadn't reacted to all of this at all. Keira got a little worried, so she asked, "Are you alright?"

Zach looked at her, and Keira could sense that her husband was still beside himself. He must have been really shocked. Everything happened so fast, and a bomb was dropped, just like that, on their wedding day. 

Then finally, Zach squeezed Keira's hand that was still holding one of his hands and brought it to his lips and kissed it. 

He then turned to his mother, squeezed her grip that was holding his other hand, and smiled, "Don't worry, mom... I'm just a little bit shocked. I'm a grown-up now, and I understand everything. There's nothing to be sorry for. Please don't blame yourself. And from what I saw today, Old Madam Liu didn't seem like she meant any harm. She only wanted to see me."

Sheila wiped the last tears from her face and said, "You may be right. You look so much like your father, whom she cherished and loved so much. It's just that…"

Sheila stopped and chose not to say anything more upon realizing that it was also Old Madam Liu's right to know about and see her grandson. Zach was right. This time he was no longer a child that could only follow her decision as his parent. He was now a grown-up, a capable one, who could decide for himself.

Sheila released Zach's hand and hugged him tightly. Zach caressed his mother's back as he comforted her, "It's really okay, mom… I understand everything. Please free yourself from any worries…"