“Mom, I'm fine,” Jared replied as he plastered a smile.
Dinner was a silent and awkward affair. Throughout the entire meal, no one dared to break the silence.
Afraid that his parents would sense that something was amiss, Jared quickly scarfed down his food and excused himself from the table.
Once Jared left, Hannah and Gary exchanged a knowing glance. Unable to help themselves, the duo heaved out a heavy sigh.
“Sooner or later, we'll have to tell him the truth,” Gary said in a low voice.
“All these years, I have always seen Jared as my own son. In fact, I already forgot about the fact that we adopted him. Why did Benedict have to say such nonsense...” Hannah's eyes reddened with sorrow. “Judging from Jared's bad mood, he must have found out the truth. We can't hide it from him anymore.”
“Jared is not a child anymore. He has the right to know about it as well. We can't be too selfish.” Gary took a seat next to Hannah and pulled her into his embrace.
“But I'm afraid that Jared might abandon us when he realizes the truth. What if he plans to search for his birth parents? I can't live without him...”
After so many years of being Jared's mother, she could not bear the thought of losing him.
“The decision to look for his birth parents is a choice for Jared to make. Even if Jared leaves, I will spend the rest of my life with you.” In order to comfort Hannah, Gary blurted out a string of heartfelt words.
In the midst of her sobs, Hannah leaned her head against Gary's shoulder as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.
After some time, Hannah brushed her tears away and rose to her feet. “Could you ask Jared to come out of his room?” she asked.
Gary nodded his head in response. He quickly made his way to Jared's bedroom and rapped his knuckles against the door.
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