Knowing the results now, I took another look at Michael.
His skin was dark, and he was muscular, indeed bearing the traits of a Black man in Singapore.
Perhaps due to living in Singapore for so long, adopting the local lifestyle and diet, he had grown even more robust than .
After all, he was the product of Laura and , so it made sense he didn't look exactly like .
They say a son inherits his father's genes, but Michael's muscular build, his height, and his impressive genitalia... they didn't resemble at all.
Maybe it was the different environnts we grew up in.
My father passed away early, and I had to fend for myself, often skipping als, which ant I never developed physically as he did.
If it weren't for that DNA report, I would never believe Michael was my son.
Before I opened that DNA report, I was skeptical.
If the results had shown Michael wasn't my son, I would've suspected Luna of tampering with the results.
I would have taken Michael to another hospital for a retest.
Deep down, Luna didn't want to know the truth.
But now, Luna hadn't falsified anything, and the results were exactly what she didn't want.
Yet, she didn't hide them from , which lessened my resentnt towards her significantly.
"Every ti he hit , my mother would desperately protect , letting the blows fall on her instead," Michael recounted, his voice thick with emotion.
"Eventually, my mother managed to send back ho to be cared for by my grandparents. But from then on, I fully understood the coldness of society.
My grandparents saw as a burden. Without the financial support from my mother, I don't know if I would've ended up on the streets.
I told my grandparents about my mother's plight repeatedly, but they didn't care about her safety. All they cared about was how much money she sent them each month..."
Michael chuckled bitterly, tears in his eyes.
His words were confird by Laura's parents, who were indeed rcenary and materialistic.
They had forced Laura to leave and marry in Singapore, all for money.
Now that they had what they wanted, they didn't care about Laura's wellbeing.
To them, a married daughter was like water thrown out—useless.
They had an elder son to take care of them in old age, so perhaps Laura's only value to them was the money she brought.
"Mother was my only support, the only one who made feel warmth.
But she's gone forever," Michael continued, his voice breaking.
"When I heard she had passed away, I appeared calm, but I cried secretly many nights, whether in a secluded corner at school or under the covers at ho.
I swore that when I grew up, I would avenge the abuse we suffered.
Unfortunately, the abuser died in a war, which was too easy an end for him.
Every ti I rembered how he treated my mother, I wanted to rip him apart and drink his blood..."
Michael's last words were through clenched teeth, his eyes shining with an intense hatred.
"You hate too, don't you?"
Seeing Michael like this, my heart was filled with helplessness and worry, yet my resentnt towards him lessened slightly.
From a young age, Michael endured so much, undoubtedly casting deep psychological shadows, twisting his personality into sothing pessimistic and extre, always shrouded in darkness.
It's fair to say he suffered from severe ntal health issues.
But was all of this solely the fault of Laura's husband?
When I think about it, it seems all roads lead back to , even though I was oblivious to these events at the ti.
"Yes, I hate... When I first saw your na, when that monster was beating , when he was abusing my mother, when others called a bastard... I knew your na, and I knew you were the culprit...
You dood my mother to this abusive fate, you're the reason for all the suffering I endured as a child.
You could father , so why didn't you take responsibility?
The mont I t you, I decided, if I couldn't get back at that monster, then I'd get back at you.
I wanted you to pay, to suffer as my mother and I did..."
Michael rushed up to after hearing my words, his eyes filled with hatred and determination.
At that mont, I couldn't et Michael's gaze; I closed my eyes, perhaps feeling truly guilty.
I didn't know how to look at Michael.
I could explain to Michael that I was unaware of all this, but would that easily erase the hatred in his heart?
Should he hate ?
Perhaps, as I can imagine all the pain Laura and he endured.
I deeply regretted not paying attention to Laura's life after her marriage.
I was avoiding the truth, unaware of Laura's situation, as it all belonged to the past.
If I had been curious enough to sneakily inquire about Laura in Singapore, I might have heard the rumors and could have rescued her from her dire situation.
"You bla , and I don't fault you for it.
I indeed owe you and Laura, but what about Betty?
She's innocent and has been hurt too.
You should know, she treated you like her own son, and I believe her love for you is no less than Laura's..."
I opened my eyes and looked at Michael, wanting to cry but finding no reason to.
"Yes, but it's like a war, where not only soldiers from both sides die but many innocent civilians too..."
Hearing my words, a flicker of tenderness and guilt passed through Michael's eyes.
His feelings for Betty were complex.
"At first, when I saw... her, I really disliked her.
I felt she had stolen the father that should have belonged to my mother and .
Back then, I saw her as a howrecker, and from that mont, I thought about breaking up your relationship, making you both pay the price..."
When Michael spoke of Betty again, he paused, unsure of how to address her.
His expression showed pain; it was clear he still wanted to call Betty 'mom,' but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"But in the end, I realized I saw my mother's reflection in her.She gave warmth and love, letting feel family and even romantic love again."
"Maybe my heart is twisted, but I truly care about her. And from that mont, I despised you even more.You, an irresponsible man, why should two such gentle and virtuous won be infatuated with you? You don't deserve that..."
Michael looked at , his eyes wary, his heart twisted with complex feelings for Betty, reminiscent of stories and reports I had read before.
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