Give Up, Mr. Lawyer! This is Not Your Child-Chapter 138: The Holden Family’s Adopted Son

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: The Holden Family’s Adopted Son

Late at night, all was silent.

A hurried and somewhat disordered doorbell rang out in the Rose Garden.

Samual Pryce was the first to wake up, frowning as he listened carefully.

The doorbell continued to ring, with a persistent and relentless insistence.

Beside him, Wendy Wallace, pregnant for seven to eight months with a prominently swollen belly, stirred uneasily and murmured, "Who is it, knocking at the door so late?"

Having finally fallen asleep, she nudged her husband with her elbow, urging him to get the door.

"No idea, I’ll go see, you just lie down and don’t move."

Samual Pryce threw on a coat, slipped on his slippers, and cautiously headed to the foyer, peering out through the peephole.

Outside the door, Justin Holden was leaning against the wall, his figure a bit unsteady, his tie loosely undone, and his shirt collar stained with unknown substances. His usually immaculate hair fell messily across his forehead.

His face was flushed, his eyes unfocused, and the strong smell of alcohol seemingly penetrated the door.

Samual was taken aback and hurriedly opened the door.

A pungent smell of alcohol hit him in the face.

"Why did you drink so much?"

Samual quickly reached out to support him. Justin nearly collapsed his entire weight onto him, his steps unsteady.

Wendy also braced her back, slowly coming out. Seeing Justin in this state, she frowned tightly.

"Oh my god, how much has he drunk?"

The two of them worked together to help Justin over to the living room sofa and sit him down.

Justin collapsed onto the sofa, his head tilted back, his eyes closed, and his throat muttering indistinctly.

Samual said to Wendy, "You go rest, I’ll take care of him."

Wendy looked at Justin’s painful expression, sighed, but went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water and brought it over.

Samual tried to get Justin to drink the water, but it trickled down his lips.

Justin suddenly swatted away Samual’s hand, nearly knocking over the glass.

He opened his eyes, which were bloodshot, with unfocused gazes, and mumbled repeatedly a single name.

"Jean, Jean..."

The voice was hoarse, laden with a nasal tone and unresolved anguish.

Samual watched him, his gaze complex.

He knew his friend’s heart was in pain, loving yet unable to attain.

It seemed Miss Ellison was going to Gresten, as he heard from Lawyer Warner. Lydia Warner, who was friends with Jean on WhatsApp, saw Jean’s post in her Moments, mentioning that her visa had already been processed.

He took the towel handed by Wendy and helped Justin wipe off the wet marks on his face, perhaps traces of tears.

"Justin, stop thinking about it."

Samual’s voice was deep, filled with comfort.

"It has come to this, you need to open up a bit. Jean taking Jesse to Gresten to start a new life might not be a bad thing, you ought to let go as well."

Ultimately, the mother and daughter were just passersby in his life, they weren’t meant to be.

The Holden family wouldn’t allow him to marry a divorced woman, nor would they allow Jesse to become the family’s eldest grandson.

Justin seemed not to hear, still immersed in his own world, muttering that name repeatedly as if clinging to the last straw.

Samual continued, "I know you’re in pain, but Leah is carrying your child, and that’s a fact that can’t be changed. Aunt Holden so eagerly expects the grandchild. Sooner or later, you’ll have to give them the status they deserve. Lingering over the past is good for no one."

Standing aside in silence all this while, Wendy couldn’t hold back anymore.

A pregnant woman’s emotions are easily stirred, combined with seeing Justin drowning in sorrow over the past yet seemingly bearing responsibility for the present, she felt her anger surge to the surface.

"Status?" Wendy’s voice suddenly elevated, her anger apparent, "Justin Holden, look at what you’ve become! Constantly calling Jean’s name, unwilling to let her go, yet you let Leah get pregnant, what does this mean? Is it fair to Jean, and does it become fair to Leah? Is the child in her belly not your responsibility?"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, pointing at Justin, "You’re just a bastard! You’ve wounded both women deeply. Jean’s taking her child far away, and Leah? Even if you don’t love her, the child is innocent; now you’re here, drunk, calling another woman’s name, have you ever considered Leah’s feelings, or those of your unborn child?"

Wendy’s chest heaved violently because of her agitation. The baby in her belly kicked a few times, and she instinctively held her belly.

Seeing this, Samual quickly got up to support his wife, "Don’t get upset, be careful with your health, things aren’t as simple as you think."

"Not simple?" Wendy shook off her husband’s hand, glaring at him. "Samual, are you siding with him? What’s there to defend about the mess Justin Holden has made?"

Samual helplessly glanced at Justin, who seemed oblivious to the argument unfolding around him, and lowered his voice to speak to Wendy: "Keep it down, he’s been forced into this."

"Forced? Who forced him?" Wendy didn’t believe it, her voice still laced with anger.

"Leah Sutton." Samual Pryce uttered the name, tinged with a hint of anger.

"She somehow got a hold of Justin Holden’s sperm, secretly went for IVF, and by the time it was discovered, she was already pregnant. That’s not all; she even roped in Zoe Holden. You know, despite the rift with the Holden family, Justin has always respected his sister. Leah used this against him, teaming up with Zoe to pressure him. It was due to his consideration for Zoe that he couldn’t deal with it harshly. Otherwise, with his nature, how could he tolerate such manipulation?"

Wendy Wallace was momentarily stunned, but her anger still burned: "Even so, what’s up with his current state? His heart is with Jean Ellison, yet he let Leah Sutton get pregnant. He’s getting nowhere with both sides."

Samual Pryce sighed, trying to calm his wife down.

"At this point, talking about it is useless. After all, the child is of the Holden family bloodline; he’s bound to take responsibility."

He turned to look at the inebriated Justin Holden, his tone soothing.

"Listen to me, stop thinking about Jean. She has had a marriage, even a child. Between you two, things are no longer the same; she’s not right for you."

Justin Holden, slumped on the sofa, seemed to hear this, uttering a vague mumble from his throat, like a protest, yet also deeper pain.

"Hmph!" Wendy rolled her eyes, cutting off Samual Pryce, "You men really sympathize with each other—a guy said not suitable for you. Why doesn’t he think about what he’s done?"

She, bulging with pregnancy, walked to the sofa, pointing at Justin Holden, her words as sharp as knives.

"Justin Holden’s current state is purely his own doing. Whoever he falls in love with, he hurts them. It was like this with Claire Caldwell, and now it’s the same with Jean Ellison. If he were any normal, with his looks and family background, what kind of good woman couldn’t he find? But who told him to be so peculiar, temper so poor, doing wrong things yet stubbornly refusing to repent?"

Samual Pryce tried to hold her back: "Say a little less!"

Wendy paid him no mind, getting angrier as she spoke.

"Claire Caldwell was in prison, waiting until her death for him to visit, not even once, and in the end, she died terribly due to an ectopic pregnancy. He’s a complete bastard! And now, with Jean Ellison, he let Leah get pregnant, so he can only watch Jean take the child to Gresten. What now? Planning to never look or ask for a lifetime too? Wait until Jean gets into some accident, then regret it endlessly, coming to drown his sorrows and play the sentimental fool?"

"Wendy!" Samual raised his voice, a bit anxious, fearing her words would provoke Justin, also worried about her prenatal health, "Stop talking, go back and sleep."

Justin Holden lay on the sofa, his body lightly curled.

He clenched his eyes shut, his brows deeply furrowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Wendy looked at Justin’s state, then glanced at her troubled husband, ultimately breathing heavily and stopping. She stroked her heavily undulating belly, shooting Samual Pryce a fierce glare.

"You just side with him, let’s see how much of a mess he can make of himself!"

Finishing her words, she grabbed her waist, storming off to the bedroom.

Samual Pryce watched her retreating figure, then looked at his suffering friend on the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh.

He approached Justin Holden, attempting to cover him with a blanket.

Justin suddenly reached out, gripping Samual Pryce’s wrist with surprising strength.

He opened his eyes, a mix of redness and chaos in them, his voice shattered beyond repair.

"Samual... I didn’t mean to... Claire... I didn’t know she was pregnant... I didn’t know she would die..."

His words were incoherent, clearly heavily intoxicated, mixing Jean Ellison and Claire Caldwell’s names together.

Samual Pryce only thought he was drunk beyond clarity, patting his shoulder to soothe him.

"Alright, it’s all in the past, don’t dwell on it, get some sleep, sleep and it’ll be okay."

Justin, however, like grasping at the last straw, murmured, "Jean... Jesse... can’t go to Gresten... can’t..."

Samual helplessly shook his head: "Justin, let go, you no longer have the right to disturb them, Leah and the child are your responsibility now."

Justin seemed crushed by these words, slowly releasing Samual’s hand, letting it drop weakly.

He closed his eyes again, burying his face into the couch cushion, his shoulders trembling slightly, making no more sounds, only suppressed, almost imperceptible sobs.

Samual Pryce stood there, looking at his curled-up friend’s back, feeling a mix of emotions.

He knew Wendy’s words, though harsh, were all true.

But faced with such a pained and fragile Justin, what could he say?

All the consolations seemed pale and powerless.

He could only quietly remain by his side, waiting for dawn to come, waiting for Justin’s soberness, to continue facing the harsh reality.

He knew the reason Justin never went to the prison was due to guilt, lacking the courage to even take a look at Claire Caldwell.

She was behind bars, and he was free.

If he was truly heartless, why would he suffer from insomnia night after night, growing progressively thinner?

He loved Claire Caldwell, or to be precise, he’d fallen for her since high school, yet felt unworthy of her. After all, he wasn’t the biological child of the Holden family, just an adopted one.

Rumor was he was adopted from some mountain area, fatherless, with a deranged mother who died days after his birth. He was sent to the orphanage, coincidentally met by the Holden family couple looking to adopt.

Aunt Holden, after giving birth to Zoe Holden, was left unable to conceive, still desiring a son to carry on the family name. Their traditional and somewhat obstinate mindset led them to adopt Justin Holden.

Justin Holden had known since childhood that he was adopted, not their natural child.

Beneath it all, he held a deep disdain for himself, viewing Claire Caldwell as an untouchable noble lady, unworthy of her, not daring to accept her affection.