Chapter 16 Cut Ties Liam was dumbfounded . 1/7 He hadn't expected his usually mild - mannered and agreeable son to bring up old grievances suddenly . After his initial shock wore off , embarrassment turned to anger . " You little punk , are you trying to rebel against me ?! " Alistair let out a scornful laugh . Rebel ? " Life Choice Triggered ! Host , please make your selection ! " Option one : Filial piety above all else . There are no bad parents in this world . Once you calm down , you decide to apologize to your father and follow his instructions to seek Rebecca's forgiveness . " Option two : Not all parents love their children unconditionally ! Blood relations don't guarantee pure family affection . You are thoroughly disappointed in your selfish father , who disregards your feelings , and you firmly decide to cut ties with him ! " Alistair stared at two clouds drifting lazily across the brilliant blue sky outside the window and smiled - only a complete idiot would choose the first option ! Chapter 16 Cut Ties Though he had always craved family affection and once 2/7 desperately sought Liam's attention , he now understood that some things couldn't be forced . After seeing the reality of their relationship , this so - called family bond meant nothing to him . anymore ! " I don't care about cutting tics ! " he exploded . " From this . moment on , we're done ! And whoever takes back these words . is a real son of a bitch ! You have the nerve to call me worthless ? If you're so capable , why don't you pay back the two million . dollars I gave you years ago ! " Liam was fuming at Alistair's disrespectful way of referring to himself . " You ungrateful , disobedient brat ! From now on , you're not my son ! " Liam didn't say a single word about the two million dollars . Alistair leaned against the telephone pole to catch his breath . The falling out with Liam hadn't hit him as hard as he expected ; instead , it gave him a sense of inevitable closure . So what if they'd cut ties ? It honestly didn't bother him that much . To put it bluntly , even though Liam was his father , what difference had his presence made throughout Alistair's life ? Their rare meetings always featured Liam showering praise on his stepson from his second marriage , treating the boy like the golden child . Chapter 16 Cut Ties Alistair had always believed he wasn't good enough . He'd 3/7 studied relentlessly , desperately hoping Liam would notice his achievements and offer some praise … Alistair let out a sneer . He'd been so naive , so foolish . At least he'd finally woken up to reality , even if it had taken this long . Meanwhile , after ending her call with Liam , Rebecca waited anxiously at home . Sure enough , before long , someone rang the doorbell . Rebecca sprang from the couch , then deliberately sat back down . She waited until she imagined the person outside was nearly at their breaking point before leisurely getting up to answer . Opening the door , she taunted , " I thought you were capable . Why come crawling back now ? " When she saw who was standing there , she froze . It wasn't Alistair . " Why did it take so long to answer ? Were you sleeping ? Oh my god , what happened in here ? Everything's a complete mess . Where's Alistair ? Why hasn't he cleaned anything up ? Alistair ? Alistair ! " It was Cordelia . Chapter 16 Cut Ties 4/7 Seeing Cordelia , Rebecca couldn't hide the disappointment on her face . Cordelia , however , was too busy being shocked by the chaotic state of the house and looking for Alistair to notice Rebecca's unusual reaction . Rebecca made up an excuse about Alistair's absence and brushed it off . Cordelia found everything about the place irritating and called in the housekeeper to clean up . Cordelia couldn't help but criticize Alistair again , despite Rebecca's " defense " of him . Cordelia was furious when she spotted the luxury menswear carelessly tossed on the sofa . " No wonder Alistair's been getting too big for his britches lately ! You've been spoiling him rotten ! Why would you buy such expensive clothes for someone who just cooks and picks up the kids ? " She continued , " You're dressing him up like he's somebody important . What if he gets ideas and starts chasing other women ? These young girls nowadays are trouble - always looking for shortcuts . Alistair is young and decent - looking . If he starts fooling around , you'll be the one crying later . You need to be more careful ! " Rebecca felt a pang of guilt . Chapter 16 Cut Ties 5/7 The clothes weren't Alistair's . Alistair barely owned anything . The day after she kicked him out , Rebecca had hired people to clean up . After living here for six years , all of Alistair's belongings fit into a single suitcase , which she had ordered to be packed up and thrown away . The luxury item actually belonged to Richard - she had bought it for him . She had hidden the truth from her parents for six years . Now that Richard was back , Rebecca hadn't figured out how to come clean to them . Just because Nathaniel and Cordelia looked down on Alistair didn't mean they would accept Richard , even though Richard's family background was heavenly compared to Alistair's earthly one . If Nathaniel and Cordelia discovered Richard was Daniel's biological father , would they subject Richard to the same belt punishment they had inflicted on Alistair ? The thought of it broke her heart ! Six years ago , Alistair had been beaten so severely by Nathaniel's belt that he'd spent two weeks in the hospital with open wounds . But that was different in her mind . Alistair was tough - skinned- what did a beating matter to him ? He just needed some rest to recover . Richard was far too precious . Rebecca couldn't bear the thought Chapter 16 Cut Ties of her parents saying even a harsh word to him . 6/7 Seeing Cordelia's anger , Rebecca quickly made up an excuse that managed to smooth things over for now . But this was hardly a long - term solution . She wanted to proudly bring Richard home and announce to the world that he was her husband ! Rebecca held her water glass and carefully played along with Cordelia's comments , deliberately using a half - sincere tone as she said , " Mom , you're absolutely right . How could I have been so blind to fall for him ? Besides his decent looks , he's completely worthless . What if I find a new husband ? Someone a thousand times - no , ten thousand times better than him . How does that sound ? " She had been spoiled since childhood . Even though she went through a rebellious phase that nearly gave Cordelia and Nathaniel heart attacks , causing them to distance themselves from her for four years , Rebecca remained the apple of their eye . After reconciling with her parents , Rebecca resumed her childhood habits of acting sweet and cute around them . Cordelia lovingly touched her face and said , " You've gotten thinner . Yes , you must replace him ! Alistair was never good enough for you . Your father and I disliked him from the beginning ! There are so many excellent young men out there , but you were foolish enough to be dazzled by his sweet talk and insisted on marrying him ! " Chapter 16 Cut Ties Rebecca's heart leaped with joy . " Then I'll divorce him right away and find a better husband! " Cordelia smiled . " Good ! Your father and I will be waiting ! " 7/7 Rebecca felt elated , planning to share the good news with Richard as soon as Cordelia left . She intended to introduce Richard to her parents that evening . Still , Cordelia suddenly sighed and changed the subject . " Aside from Alistair's family background and education , he doesn't really have many flaws to speak of . " Rebecca bit her tongue . " Your father and I truly didn't approve of him at first , especially your father . If your grandfather and I hadn't held him back , I'm afraid your father might have beaten him to death . " But over these years , he's been genuinely devoted to both you and Danny . He's also fulfilled his responsibilities toward your father and me as a younger family member should . " Rebecca couldn't maintain her composure any longer . Her carefully laid plans had suddenly fallen apart !