After regaining their composure, the story began to flow like a leaky faucet; Amy told him everything. It turned out she had run away from home because her parents, pressured by her grandfather, were forcing her to marry a 40-year-old man from a branch family of the mafia to secure the bloodline, as she'd mentioned earlier. Amy's real name was Amanda D'Andrea, the only child and sole grandchild of the D'Andrea family. She changed her name to Amy when she ran away.
"The reason I ran away to this city was to find you, and I was so happy we met at school. I went to the bookstore every day because I wanted to talk to you... but I didn't dare because when I lived with my parents, I was absolutely forbidden to speak to men," Amy said, looking down.
"I understand. You don't have to be afraid anymore," Dylan said, holding Amy's hand. "Whoa, this is bad... but what can I do, she's pregnant with my kid. Why the hell did I get involved in something like this? I hope her grandfather doesn't have me shot," Dylan thought.
"My parents and grandfather don't know I'm here... but I heard a rumor that my grandfather died a month ago. I don't know if it's true," Amy said.
"Hmm? A month ago?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah, I heard it from a contact who sometimes gives me info," Amy replied.
"Hmm... is that a coincidence?" Dylan thought. Then Dylan turned to look at Ellie next to him. "What's your story, Ellie?" Dylan asked.
"Ugh... um... my mom and dad are business owners," Ellie replied, looking away.
"Just tell him, Ellie... no need to hide it anymore. It's okay," Amy said, holding Ellie's shoulder and looking at her.
Ellie was silent, then she glanced at Amy and then at Dylan. Then she took a deep breath and let it out.
"Alright, I'll tell you," Ellie said.
Ellie immediately launched into her story. Her mother and father were big-time entrepreneurs involved in many sectors, such as finance, cybersecurity, real estate, and snack foods. Then she explained that her parents divorced when she was 15, and she was forced to go with her father. It turned out Ellie's father knew Dylan's parents because they had co-founded the cybersecurity company that was now huge. When Dylan's parents died, Ellie's father immediately annexed Dylan's father's share, causing Dylan and his three younger siblings to suffer.
In addition, her father canceled Ellie's arranged marriage to Dylan because there was no longer any business connection, and all of that made Ellie so angry that she refused to acknowledge her father anymore.
"So that's the connection between our parents," Dylan said.
"I'm sorry. This is why I didn't want to tell you. I apologize. You and your siblings suffered because of my family, but now I'm willing to live this hard life with you and I won't ever leave your side... because I love you... I'm not doing this just to make up for my parents' mistakes," Ellie replied, now crying and rubbing her stomach.
Amy immediately put her arm around Ellie next to her. Dylan couldn't say anything, even though his heart felt absolutely nothing—no resentment, no anger—just an emptiness, as if something had been taken from inside him. He looked at Ellie and saw the truth in her heart. In his eyes, Ellie was just like him, suffering but in a different situation. Finally, his hand went up and held Ellie's hand that was on her stomach.
"Okay, I understand. We'll raise our child with love," Dylan said, smiling.
"Th... thank you, Dylan," Ellie said.
"I also will always be with you, babe," Amy added.
"Yes, I know. I'll always be with you too," Dylan replied.
"But your grandfather was friends with mine and used to bring you to my house to play with the others... but my parents turned out to be so ruthless," Ellie said.
"W... what? What did you just say?" Dylan asked, shocked.
"It's true. My grandfather was friends with yours too, babe," Amy added.
"Huh... seriously?" Dylan asked.
Suddenly, a thought flashed in Dylan's mind: his grandfather often used to take him to visit his "friends'" house without Aaron, because Aaron was still small and his twin sisters weren't born yet. Dylan was around 8 years old at the time. He remembered being taken to a large, luxurious white villa that had a big garden in the back with a pavilion large enough for them to play in.
There were always four grandfathers there besides his own, and they always brought their granddaughters, and the five of them would always play together while the grandfathers chatted and laughed happily.
"Oh... I remember now... so they were the four girls from back then?" Dylan asked in his head.
[Precisely, sir.]
Dylan immediately turned to look at Amy and then at Ellie. Unconsciously, he gripped their hands tightly until both of them looked at him.
"Ellie, can you tell me what your grandfather did for work?" Dylan asked.
"Um... I don't know exactly, but Dad once said... he said Grandpa was a marine and then became a detective, if I remember right," Ellie replied.
"Oh, that's right. My grandfather also told me that none of his friends were straight arrows. One was a former detective, one was a former hitman, one was a former street gang boss, and one was a former thief, but he always laughed when he told those stories," Amy said.
"And your grandfather is a mob boss... okay... the set is complete. None of our grandfathers were decent, and now I have to protect their granddaughters because they definitely have a lot of enemies, even enemies from their own families. Your last joke was great, Grandpa... so cute... truly adorable... still cracking jokes even after death... unbelievable," Dylan thought, feeling exasperated.
[About that, it's not your grandfather's fault, but you who made a promise to them.]
"Grr... I don't remember what my promise was, and it doesn't matter... because there's no way I'm going to let them get hurt... they're carrying my children," Dylan said in his head.
[That's true, sir. Don't worry, as long as I'm around, we're all safe. But you are right about one thing, your grandfather and his friends have enemies.]
"See... so that was just his idea of a joke, right? I can just picture Grandpa rolling over laughing at me from up there," Dylan said in his head, annoyed.
[Calm down, sir. I'm sure you can handle it. That's why I entered you and why your grandfather also instructed me to accompany you.]
"Grr... whatever... I'm a mess right now... just stop talking for a bit," Dylan said in his head.
[Understood, sir.]
"Honey... what's wrong?" Ellie asked, worried.
"Yeah, why did you suddenly go quiet, babe?" Amy asked.
Dylan looked up at Ellie and Amy's faces, which were very close to him. Without saying anything, he leaned forward and put his arms around both of their waists from below, then he buried his face on both of their stomachs alternately. Ellie and Amy looked at each other, but then both of them hugged Dylan and smiled.
"I won't let anything happen or let anyone harm us... never," Dylan thought.