The President's Hidden Legacy

(10) Pulse of Silence

After the most restful sleep she'd had in years, Lucy Gray rose quietly, careful not to disturb her sleeping daughter. As she tiptoed into the kitchen, the soft glow of morning greeted her. Opening the refrigerator for a drink, she was startled by a gasp from a blonde girl who seemed to be around her age.

"Who is she!" exclaimed the blonde girl, pointing at Lucy Gray.

Coriolanus, in his disheveled state with messy white bed hair and a red robe, appeared at the doorway. He casually placed his hand around the girl's hip, a subtle attempt at easing the tension.

"Honey, she's our guest. I was just about to tell you about her,"

Coriolanus said, his gaze fixed on Lucy Gray. The unspoken tension hung in the air; was he trying to make her jealous? It wasn't working... well, maybe a little.

When suddenly Lumi left the room with bed hair resembling her father's, Livia looked at the girl and then back at Coriolanus.

The situation escalated as Livia demanded answers, her voice echoing with disbelief and anger. "What is going on? Who is the girl in the kitchen, and why is there a girl that looks just like you?"

"Well... she's my daughter."

Livia's expression twisted in a mixture of shock and fury. She pushed Coriolanus back, demanding, "She's your what!"

"Livia, it's not what you think," Coriolanus stammered, attempting to diffuse the escalating tension.

But Livia, fueled by suspicion and jealousy, wasn't easily convinced. "A daughter? After all these years? How am I supposed to believe that you've been faithful when you've been keeping secrets like this?"

"Livia, she's 13; she's older than our marriage."

"Wait... does that mean that girl she's... your victor! You had a child with that district girl!" Livia pointed accusingly at Lucy Gray.

Coriolanus, clad in his red robe, maintained a determined stance, "Yes, I did, and does that even matter?"

"It means that you have a bastard child in our home; you need to hide her!" Livia retorted.

"This is what I needed to talk to you about..Im planing on making her my heir" Coriolanus said calmly

"Wait are we adopting her?" Livia asked her expression shifted from shock to anger. "You want to make that District girl's child our heir? Are you out of your mind, Coriolanus?"

The tension in the room escalated as Livia frantically clung to Coriolanus.

"But I have to marry Lucy Gray," he declared.

"What! What are you saying? Are you gonna divorce me, Coriolanus?" Livia's voice wavered with a mix of shock and fear.

Coriolanus maintained an indifferent expression, displaying a lack of concern for his relationship with Livia. Her initial shock morphed into anger.

"You can't be serious! After all these years, you're leaving me for that District girl and her child?"

Coriolanus maintained his resolve. "It's a decision for the future, and I won't let anything stand in the way of securing my family's legacy."

The air in the room grew heavy with the weight of impending changes and the echoes of decisions that would shape their destinies.

In the background, Lumi was just as shocked as Livia. This was the first time she heard about her parents getting married, and honestly, she was kind of happy.

"No! You can't divorce me because—because I'm pregnant!" Livia exclaimed, gripping Coriolanus' hands tightly over her stomach.

Lucy Gray's expression revealed her shock; she hadn't anticipated this development, and the revelation of Livia's pregnancy threatened to unravel the entire plan.