Santiago was a man who everyone usually looked up to, so it was rare for someone to treat him poorly. When Pearl spoke to him in such a way, he couldn't help but feel less than proud.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtDespite this, he had worked hard to find his daughter and didn't want to say anything harsh to her.
"Pearl, I..." Pearl remained distant. "Okay, Mister Santiago. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now." She then turned around and left without a second glance, and the butler followed her nervously.
Once she was gone, Santiago let out a deep sigh. "Claude, have I ever been unfair to you? I've given you the best education, plenty of money, and even let you run the family business." Santiago knew he had given his son everything except a father's love, which seemed to be exactly what Claude was missing. That was something he couldn't give.
Every the saw Claude, he couldn't help but remember how, over twenty years ago, Claude's mother had desperately tried to be with him, which Santiago found repulsive. And he felt the sdisdain for her son.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmClaude's mother had died giving birth to him, solving one of Santiago's problems. He found it ironic that she had wanted to secure her place in the Savary family through her son, yet she didn't live to enjoy it.
Noticing his father deep in thought, Claude frowned. "I don't want any of that." Raised by the Savarys, Claude knew he should be grateful, but he always felt like something wasn't right, possibly because he yearned for something more. Something he couldn't have. "What do you mean you don't want any of that?" Santiago challenged him. "You'd be nothing without our family, and yet here you are, saying this to me. Isn't that ironic?" Claude turned pale, realizing that without the Savary family, he might have been left in an orphanage, suffering from bullying. To avoid angering his father further, Claude slowly lowered his head. "I'm sorry." But Santiago wasn't ready to move past this after what Claude had told Pearl. "Do you think a simple 'sorry' fixes everything?" He was visibly furious. "Why would you tell her all that?" Claude had acted on impulse but believed Pearl deserved to know the truth, thinking it would be worse if she discovered it on her own later.
"I mentioned Pearl is really good with computers, so don't you think she'd look into your past? If you kept this from her, it might be worse if she found out by herself." Claude was trying to defend his actions and share his thoughts. "That makes sense," Santiago admitted, his anger cooling. "But what do you think we should do now?" Although Santiago didn't think highly of Claude, he acknowledged his son's usefulness.