abcnovels
Chapter 1325
Chapter 1325
Chapter 1325
Chapter 1325
Stella gave him a sidelong glance and asked, “What are you referring to?”
“You know… When you mouthed that we’d get remarried if I learned how to swim.” Keegan whispered.
Initially, Stella said those words to motivate Keegan. However, after discovering his near-drowning incident from Marshall, she felt it was unfair to put that pressure on him.
“I would still marry you if you don’t, but I do hope you’d give it a try. My mom… I mean, Ms. Spade used to tell me that it’s always beneficial to acquire new skills. You never know when they might come in handy. Swimming is a useful skill, so it’d be good if you can learn. But if you can’t, then no pressure. I can support you in the water,” she said softly.
Keegan’s heart melted at the sound of that. He gently pulled Stella’s hand and whispered, “I’ll give it another shot.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to do it if you’re scared. I only asked because I didn’t know about your drowning incident,” said Stella.
Keegan was surprised. “Did Marshall tell you?”
Stella nodded. “Is everyone aware except me?” She asked, a little annoyed.
Keegan shook his head. “Only a few people know about the incident. My grandma forbade anyone from spreading it out.”
“So, what happened exactly?”
Keegan hesitated to tell the story. He paused for a long time before telling Stella everything.
Keegan had nearly drowned at the age of six. Back then, Aurora was not born yet. Despite being the only son, Keegan did not receive much affection from Dahlia. For as long as he could remember, his mother’s life revolved around indulging in luxury items and sipping afternoon tea with her friends. They would often discuss shallow topics in an attempt to one-up each other.
Keegan could not fathom why his intelligent father had married such a superficial woman. All that there was to Dahlia was her beauty. She was materialistic, insincere, and arrogant.
She had not been kind to Keegan, nor had she been particularly cruel. More often than not, she simply ignored his existence.
Back then, Dahlia would invite the rich wives in her social circle and their children to celebrate Keegan’s birthdays. Even though he was supposed to be the main character, Dahlia would exploit him as a means to showcase her status.
She also used him to marry into the Kane family. Despite not actively participating in his upbringing, she would brag about him to outshine the other wives.
Keegan was a fluent speaker, had a photographic memory, and a remarkable ability to learn. Hence, Dahlia believed her
child had to be the best.
When one of her friends mentioned that their son had won a school swimming competition, she felt she had been robbed of the limelight. In order to reclaim the spotlight, Dahlia falsely declared that her son was an excellent swimmer, too. Driven by vanity, she insisted that he compete against the other child.
At that time, Keegan was too young to understand why his mother did not care for him like Marshall’s or Trevor’s mothers cared for them. Unable to grasp the situation, he always blamed himself. He would
assume he was not good enough, which was why his mother did not like him.
“I told myself that I had to do better to make my mother happy. Seeing that she was excited about the competition, I decided to participate despite having just learned how to swim. Predictably, I lost my balance in the water. At that point, the other child was already way ahead of me.”
Seeing Keegan fall behind, Dahlia grew agitated and shouted for him to swim faster.
While he struggled to stay afloat, images of his mother being disappointed and angry at him for losing the competition appeared in his mind.
What happened next was a blur. All Keegan could remember was waking up and seeing his dad sitting beside him with bloodshot eyes. Dahlia, on the other hand, stood far away. When she noticed Keegan was awake, her expression was not one of joy but of relief.
“That was when Grandma decided not to let my mother take care of me anymore,” said Keegan.