?<strong>Chapter 261:</strong>


    Joelle’s heart sank when she heard this. Raising someone else’s children. Clearly, Belle saw her as an outsider. Rafael immediately defended her, saying, “Joelle’s children are my children as well. There’s no use talking to you about this. If you’re going to side with my sister and that bastard child, then our ties are over from now on.”


    “Bastard.”


    Liza, standing behind Belle, cried quietly.


    “What nonsense are you talking about? You want to cut ties with us just for Joelle? I wasted my effort raising you!”


    “You were the one who disregarded our family affection first.” Rafael, holding Joelle close, gestured towards the door and said, “Please take your daughter and leave my house.”


    “You are such an ungrateful son!” Belle, enraged, turned and shattered a vase nearby.


    “Rafael, if you don’te home with me, I’ll make sure everyone knows that we do not recognize Joelle as our daughter-inw! The children will have to face all the criticism and judgment! Joelle, if you’re reasonable, we can part ways on good terms right now!”


    Joelle and Rafael stood together, united yet visibly troubled. Joelle wasn’t concerned about the gossip for herself, but their children were still young. Should they have to suffer through such scrutiny and judgment too? Just as Rafael was about to respond, Shawn entered the room.


    “It’s so lively.” His arrival bolstered Joelle, who had been at a disadvantage. Shawn stood confidently, hands in his pockets, wearing a shrewd smile typical of a businessman.


    “Belle, I suggest you reconsider spreading rumors. Whether you ept my sister or not doesn’t matter. If it gets out that you tried to force your son and daughter together, who do you think will look worse?”


    Belle scoffed, “Are you threatening me?”


    “Didn’t you start by threatening my sister?”


    Belle pointed at him sharply and said, “Enough with the nonsense. I just want to ask you something. Now that Liza is carrying Rafael’s child, what do you think should be done?”


    Shawn nced at Liza, who instinctively cradled her belly, confirming Belle’s statement. He took a quick, deep breath and eyed the distressed couple upstairs. Then, with a smile, he said, “They should just divorce.”


    Joelle and Rafael looked even more shaken than Belle, but Shawn continued, “But do you really think that even if they divorce, Rafael would marry Liza?” His question struck at the core of the issue.


    Belle fell silent for a few seconds, looking visibly ufortable. That morning, when she noticed Liza sneaking out, she stopped her to ask what was going on. That was when she learned Liza was heading to the hospital for an abortion.


    She was so angry that she brought Liza here to seek justice but forgot to think about this question carefully. Knowing her son as she did, Belle realized that if pushed too far, Rafael might indeed cut ties with his family for good. Shawn gestured towards the door, signaling for them to leave.


    Belle grabbed Liza’s hand and left angrily after saying something meaningless. “Wait and see!”


    Once they were gone, the smile faded from Shawn’s face. The couple from upstairs descended, and Rafael spoke first. “I’m sorry. I made such a serious mistake because of my carelessness.”


    Shawn ignored him and turned to Joelle, asking, “What do you think?”


    Joelle instinctively tightened her grip on Rafael’s hand. “Shawn, Rafael didn’t intend for this to happen. Once the abortion is done, we can live peacefully again.”


    Shawn asked, “Are you sure? Can you trulye to terms with his infidelity?”


    At that, Joelle paused, unsure of how to respond. She couldn’te to terms with it quickly. The mere thought of Rafael being intimate with another woman made her feel physically ill. However, she suppressed her feelings in front of Shawn. “I need to learn to ept it.”


    Shawn remained silent. He often thought Joelle was naively misguided about romantic rtionships.


    “Shawn, how did you find out?”


    Shawn responded indifferently, “Katherine called me.” When Katherine had called, he found it odd that she reached out first. What could be so important? Could she possibly know that he was Frankie? But after the call, he was unsettled for quite some time. Rafael and Liza… He would rather that Katherine knew he was the man she fell in love with on the Inte.


    “Rafael, I’m not concerned with your family affairs. But if you genuinely want to make amends with Joelle, you need to treat her well from now on and not let your carelessness hurt her again.”


    “I promise.”


    Rafael made that promise to him that morning. Yet, by afternoon, his family was embroiled in crisis again. Belle called him, her voice anxious and tearful. “Rafael,e to the hospital. Your father is dying!”


    Rafael was frustrated. “Don’t use such tactics to manipte me.”


    “I’m not lying!” Belle cried. “It’s true! Your father was swindled in a business deal! He just suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital!”


    .


    .


    .