Chapter 278
“Uncle Cormac, you’re finally back! Where have you been all this time? I missed you!” Harry exclaimed, looking up at Cormac with wide, innocent eyes.
‘Missed me?’ Cormac thought, a knot forming in his stomach. The last time he had spoken to Harry, it had been in anger, leaving the boy at his doorstep. It surprised him that Harry still recognized him as his uncle, and worse, that he missed him.
‘Is this what children are like? They don’t hold grudges. They don’t understand the complexities of adult conflicts,’ Cormac mused inwardly, trying to process the situation.
“Caspian,” Harry chirped, pointing at the other boy beside him, and Cormac, unsure of how to respond, mumbled the name.
“Uncle Cormac, I’m not Caspian, I’m Harry!” the boy quickly corrected him, his enthusiasm undeterred.
“Harry?” Cormac blinked, still not quite grasping the situation. He glanced at Caspian, who stood behind Harry, looking very much like him. The two children looked almost identical, and yet Cormac had never met Harry before. How did he know him? He couldn’t help but wonder.
“Uncle Cormac, I have a secret to tell you!” Harry lowered his voice and pulled Cormac down to whisper. “You know, Caspian and I swapped identities!”
Cormac stood frozen, his mind reeling. “Swapped identities?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But… how?” he stammered.
Harry, sensing Cormac’s disbelief, continued with glee. “Uncle Cormac, you’ve watched Caspian grow up. He’s always been aloof, never called you uncle, and never really talked to you. But the one who went out for midnight snacks with you? That was me!” Harry boasted, puffing out his chest proudly.
At that moment, Caspian shot Harry a cold glare, before turning to Cormac with a much more formal expression. “Hello, Uncle Cormac.”
Cormac blinked in astonishment. Not only was he taken aback by Harry’s revelation, but now Caspian, the boy who had always refused to acknowledge him, was calling him “uncle.” This was a first. Harry and Elisa, both surprised, exchanged confused glances.
“Is Caspian doing this on purpose to spite me?” Harry wondered aloud, his voice tinged with frustration.
“Uncle Cormac, I was rude before. I’m sorry,” Caspian apologized, his tone sincere, though Cormac could still detect a hint of discomfort.
Cormac’s eyes widened. Was this really happening? Caspian had always been distant, and now, here he was apologizing, acknowledging him as family. Cormac wasn’t sure what to think.
“Caspian,” Harry grumbled, folding his arms. “You’ve always been aloof. Now you want to acknowledge Uncle Cormac? You can’t just pretend to be all close now!”
“I can acknowledge whoever I want,” Caspian shot back, anger rising in his voice. “It’s none of your business. You’ve only known him for a short time. I’ve known Uncle Cormac since I was little!”
“What does it matter how long you’ve known someone?” Harry argued. “Feelings aren’t determined by time. Just because you’ve known him longer doesn’t mean you care more.”
Caspian smirked. “That’s true. You’ve known Elisa since you were little, but she likes me more,” he retorted.
Harry’s eyes widened. “What?!” He turned to Elisa, his voice full of disbelief. “Elisa, you have to give me an answer today. Between Caspian and me, who do you like more?”
Without hesitation, Elisa spoke up. “Caspian!” she said, grinning. “Mainly because you’re too stingy, and I’m the same way. We don’t get along. Caspian is generous and spoils me. Naturally, I like him more.”
Harry groaned, rolling his eyes at her response. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered under his breath.
Elisa, having been quiet until now, walked up to Cormac with a shy smile. “Hello, Uncle Cormac. I’m Elisa,” she introduced herself.
This was Cormac’s first time meeting Elisa, and the little girl’s charm was impossible to ignore. She was so sweet and endearing that his heart softened, and a genuine smile crossed his face. “Hello, Elisa,” he replied warmly.
“So, you’re my uncle now too?” Elisa asked, her eyes lighting up. “I have another relative! I’m so happy!”
Though Cormac felt a coldness in his heart, he couldn’t bring himself to crush their innocent excitement. He had intended to shut them all out, to reject the idea of being their “uncle,” but looking at these three children—so full of hope and love—he couldn’t do it.
Before he could say anything more, Stellan walked in, calling out, “Cormac.”
Seeing her, Cormac instinctively lowered his gaze and murmured, “I should call you Mrs. Knight now.”
Stellan smiled softly, a touch of warmth in her voice. “Cormac, you can call me whatever you like.”
But Cormac only fell silent, unsure of how to respond. The weight of his own internal conflict pressed down on him, leaving him at a loss for words.
Just then, Alaric stepped in, casually draping his arm around Stellan’s shoulders as he spoke. “Cormac, why don’t you call Aurora and join us for dinner?” His tone was light, almost playful.
“No need,” Cormac replied quickly. “Aurora has a lot of homework, and she doesn’t like eating out.” He added, trying to avoid the awkwardness he was feeling.
“Alright,” Alaric said, a knowing look in his eyes. “Since you have Aurora at home, you should head back early. We’ll be going now.”
Cormac nodded, though his thoughts were already drifting elsewhere. “Okay.”
As the family prepared to leave, Harry was the first to wave. “Goodbye, Uncle Cormac!”
“Uncle Cormac,” Elisa said, turning back. “I heard from Mom that there’s a little girl at your home. Bring her next time so we can play with her!”
“Okay,” Cormac responded quietly, the words feeling hollow as he smiled at the children.
The Knight family left, and Cormac watched them go, feeling a deep ache in his chest. Their warmth, their closeness, was something he longed for, but it felt so far out of his reach. He couldn’t help but envy them, especially the way they functioned as a unit—so whole, so unaffected by the complexity of the world.
His mind turned back to the task at hand. If Aurora were home, he would have gone back to be with her immediately, but since she wasn’t, what was the point? What was he really doing here?
Sitting back at his desk, Cormac stared blankly at the paperwork in front of him. His thoughts shifted to the USB drive Ambrose wanted him to steal from Alaric’s office. Was he really going to do this? Stealing trade secrets would be illegal, and Ambrose had left no evidence of his involvement—no trace to use against him. Cormac couldn’t bring himself to follow through on the request, but his sense of obligation to Aurora pushed him further into conflict.
Before he could decide, the sound of a door opening interrupted his thoughts. He looked up, and his eyes narrowed as Marigold entered the room.
Though Marigold wasn’t officially part of the company, she always seemed to know what was going on. Hearing from Joe that Cormac had joined Nexus Innovations, she couldn’t stay calm.
“What is Alaric thinking?” Marigold muttered under her breath. “Having Stellan around isn’t enough. He had to bring Cormac in too? Cormac is just a doctor. What does he know about managing a company? This is driving me crazy. Alaric must be out of his mind!”
Without thinking, Marigold marched straight to his office. Upon seeing her, Cormac rose to his feet and greeted her politely. “Hello, Mrs. Knight.”
“Cormac,” Marigold said with a forced smile. “I heard you joined Nexus Innovations and thought I must have heard wrong, so I came to see for myself.”
“You didn’t hear wrong,” Cormac responded calmly, already anticipating the conversation.
Marigold raised an eyebrow. “I know life’s been hard for you since your family went bankrupt. I told you before, if you have any difficulties, come to me, not Alaric.”
“Mrs. Knight, you probably think I’m a jinx, right?” Cormac said, almost resigned. He knew how superstitious Marigold was.
“I didn’t say that,” Marigold replied sharply, though her eyes betrayed her doubt. “I just think you’re an outsider. How can you handle a high-level position in the company? Alaric is being foolish, but you shouldn’t be.”
“If you think he’s being foolish, why don’t you go talk to him?” Cormac retorted, his voice firm. “Alaric invited me to Nexus Innovations. If you can convince him to fire me, I’ll leave immediately!”
Marigold stared at him for a moment, stunned by his directness. “I didn