Chapter 54: What Does "Fuck" an?
"Ryan, honey, be a good boy and go back inside for a minute." Becca knelt down, resting her hands on Ryan’s shoulders. Forcing a smile that looked worse than crying, she ran a hand through her son’s blond hair. "Mom needs to have a quick word with your... dad, and your grandfather out here. Just adult things."
Ryan didn’t pick up on the underlying tension in his mother’s voice. Right now, a light was flashing like never before inside the little guy’s clear blue eyes. His single biggest question growing up had always been: everyone else has a dad, so why doesn’t he? Where did his dad go? But now, he didn’t have to wonder anymore. The two most powerful Supes on television were actually his father and grandfather!
"Okay! I’ll wait for you guys inside!" Ryan nodded excitedly and bolted back into the house, his very back radiating pure joy.
Thud.
As the wooden front door clicked shut, the warmth instantly faded from Becca’s face. She spread her arms, blocking the doorway, staring dead at the two n before her.
"No! You can’t be here! Leave right now!" Becca’s voice was sharp, her chest heaving. "You are not welco here! I have a strict confidentiality agreent with Vought International! You can’t violate the protocol, you can’t ruin my life!"
Holander’s brow furrowed slightly, a flash of impatience flickering in his eyes. Because Becca had been kept under wraps inside this gated community for eight long years, though she could piece together information from the news, her intelligence was bound to be outdated. She had absolutely no clue that the "Vought" she spoke of had long since changed owners. In fact, in her eyes, even if she saw the headlines and knew Vought had a new CEO, she’d assu that new executive was still the one managing the Supes, rather than the Supes calling the shots themselves.
"Do you want my son to grow up without a father, just like I did?" Holander took a step forward, his voice freezing cold.
"My child doesn’t need a terrible father like you!" Becca gritted her teeth, refusing to back down an inch.
"Alright, stop goddamn screaming out here." Benjamin interrupted the tedious bickering with clear impatience. "Becca, right? Drop that ridiculous ’Vought agreent’ bullshit. Stan Edgar, Madelyn, and Vogelbaum are out of the picture. Right now, Vought International belongs to and Holander."
Hearing this, Becca’s eyes widened in sheer terror. She recognized those three nas perfectly! Back then, it was those three top-tier Vought executives who had personally guaranteed her absolute safety and secrecy. Had Vought really been overthrown? Completely usurped by the pair of monsters standing right in front of her?!
"So wipe that victim complex off your face." Benjamin pointed at Becca, his voice low but carrying an unyielding, dominant weight. "And look, we didn’t co here just because of you. I want to tell you a very simple truth. When a father wants to see his own biological son, you can’t fucking stop him."
Becca’s face turned deathly pale as she bit her lip hard. She knew Benjamin was telling the truth.
"Only... you can only see him here!" Becca finally relented. Although she desperately wanted to prevent Ryan and Holander from forming any kind of bond, she had no choice but to compromise right now.
"No," Holander said in a completely serious tone. "Listen, Ryan is my son, and he possesses the most perfect genetics in the world! He isn’t going to be kept like a prisoner inside an artificial birdcage like this! He’s going to beco a great superhero in the future, just like ! I have to take him out, let him see the real world!"
"If you dare try that..." Summoning a surge of desperate courage, Becca pulled a pair of self-defense scissors from her pocket, pressing them hard against her own throat, screaming, "If you insist on taking him away, I will drive these scissors into my neck right in front of Ryan! I’ll die right in front of his eyes, and before I take my last breath, I’ll tell him that you—his father and his grandfather—drove his mother to suicide!"
Hearing this, Holander’s eyes flared with brilliant, crimson Heat Vision almost instantly. He glared dead at Becca, consud by fury. But ultimately, the red glow in his eyes slowly dimd down. He was scared. Not of Becca dying, but terrified that Ryan would genuinely hate him for the rest of his life because of it. He craved the love of a family far too much. Holander couldn’t afford the cost of being despised by his own biological son.
Standing at the back, Benjamin took in the whole scene. To him, a woman who threatened people with her own life was absolutely brainless. If it were him, he wouldn’t just watch Becca die—he’d happily lend a hand to shove those scissors a little deeper. But looking at the furious yet forced-to-compromise Holander beside him, Benjamin could only accept it with silent exasperation.
Whatever, Benjamin sneered in his head. Sooner or later, Holander would scoop Ryan up into the sky, show him the world outside, and rip the mask off this fake community. But that would have to wait until Holander and Ryan built a deep emotional bond. Making a minor compromise right now didn’t hurt. The bottom line was that Benjamin didn’t care about Ryan; he cared about Holander.
Holander nodded and said, "Fine. I won’t take him away. But right now, I’m going inside to spend ti with my son."
Soon, having hamred out this brief understanding, Benjamin and Holander stepped into the cozy little house. The vibe in the living room quickly shifted into sothing heartwarming, though it was undeniably a bit bizarre. Holander, the most powerful Supe on the planet, was currently twisting his massive fra to sit on a cramped children’s play mat. He had never raised a child, let alone been raised like a normal child himself. He had absolutely zero clue how to interact with a seven-year-old boy. So, he could only wing it.
Right now, Holander was carefully and gently holding Ryan’s small hand while gripping an action figure of himself. "Look... Holander is flying in! Bam! Saved the day from the bad guys!" Holander said softly.
"Giggle, giggle!" Ryan cracked up, doubling over with crisp laughter. The little guy was completely imrsed in the joy. The look in his eyes as he stared at Holander was pure adoration. This heartwarming scene was a far cry from the ungrateful brat Ryan of the original tiline, who blasted his own father with Heat Vision.
anwhile, Becca stood behind the kitchen counter holding two cups of coffee, her eyes intensely conflicted as she watched the father and son on the floor mat. Taking in Ryan’s radiant, genuine smile, Becca’s mind was an absolute ss, a bitter taste in her mouth. But... would it actually be better for Ryan to have a father around? Becca didn’t know. At the thought, she closed her eyes in ntal agony. No way! How can I even think that! This man is the literal monster who raped !
Becca completely forgot that at the party back then, her husband had talked mad shit about Holander, mocking his manhood and his skin-tight suit. Furthermore, she was the one who had a ton to drink that night, giving in half-reactingly... But no matter what, Becca viewed herself as the absolute victim! In her mind, it was written in stone that Holander had raped her.
Right as Becca was trapped in this struggle of self-hypnosis, Holander’s excited voice suddenly echoed from the living room.
"Dad! Co look! Get over here!" Holander turned his head, looking back at Benjamin, who was resting against the sofa with a completely exasperated face. "Dad, do you want to feel Ryan’s hand?" Holander lifted Ryan’s small, pale hand and said, "His hand is so tiny... so soft, seriously, co feel it."
Looking at his ecstatic son, and then at his grandson staring up at him with total innocence, Benjamin let out a sigh. "Oh, fuck." He turned his head away in deep disgust. "I can’t take this goddamn sappy shit from you two."
Hearing this unfamiliar word, Ryan blinked his large eyes on the play mat. Looking up curiously at Holander, he asked, "What does ’fuck’ an?"
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A/N: Want to know what happens next? You can read up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:
/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).
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