Forced Marriage: My Wife, My Redemption-Chapter 127: Contemplation...

While the Allen Group and family were struggling with one problem after another, Jessica’s mansion was filled with warmth and laughter as everyone enjoyed a peaceful dinner, better to say banquet looking at the table filled with exquisite and meticulously prepared meals with everyone’s preference in consideration.

They were seated around a large mahogany dining table. At the head of the table sat Elliot Raven. This was the seat Jessica usually occupied before she got married to Davis.

After their return to the mansion, she quietly gave up the seat to Davis without telling anyone. It was a simple, quiet change, but it meant a lot and today with the older man around, he occupied the seat.

Jessica sat beside Elliot, and next to her was Davis. On the other side was Bella, who had rushed home from work the moment she heard about Elliot Raven’s visit.

Bella had spent many years living, learning, and sharing meals with Jessica. Over time, Elliot had treated her like his own granddaughter. He had always shown her care, support, and love that sometimes he felt a familial love for her.

Beside her was Richard, though they have always lived together as families and buddies but their arrangements and hierarchy were subtly controlled. To Richard, the two ladies are the princesses they have and he wouldn’t mind walking his butt off to keep them happy.

The dinner was warm and full of light-hearted talk. There were no strict rules or formal behavior. Everyone laughed, shared stories, and enjoyed each other’s company. Davis, sitting here, felt a strange warmth fill his heart. It was so different from what he was used to.

Back in the Allen family home, dinner time often felt like walking into a battlefield. People were always planning, scheming, and throwing hidden insults and jabs at each other.

A simple meal could turn into a war of words or fists. When Davis was in charge of the Allen Group, he always found ways to skip family dinners, often using business meetings and social gathering as an excuse.

The last time he attended a dinner with Jessica after they got married, they had almost lost their lives and finally ended up here. He wouldn’t dare to imagine the result of what the attack might have been for him of not for his wife.

But here in Jessica’s mansion, things were different. Everyone seemed happy, calm, and supportive. They weren’t only thinking about themselves—they were looking out for each other too.

As Davis looked at Elliot’s gentle smiles toward the two girls he loved like granddaughters, he felt envious and jealous of their place.

Aside the old man Allen, he couldn’t remember having a grandfather from his maternal home—The Ravensdale. A thought crossed his mind, one he could no longer ignore.

"Are you from the Ravensdale family? Since your name is Raven?" Davis asked.

He had been trying to push away the strange feeling of familiarity he had around Elliot. But it kept growing stronger. Ignoring it felt like turning away from something very important—something that could change everything he knew about his past, his identity, and his future. So he finally chose to speak up and find out the truth.

When Davis asked his question, Elliot’s hand stopped for a moment before continuing its movement. He took a deep breath, clearly caught off guard by the question.

In truth, he had also been wondering about Davis. There was something familiar in the young man’s facial features that is akin to the Ravensdale family. And if that were true, there was only one possible reason: genetics.

"Yes, I’m a Ravensdale," Elliot finally said, his voice calm but thoughtful. "The Ravensdale family is a big one, unlike any other. We have roots that go far back, and we are spread across different parts of the world."

As he spoke, Elliot shared a brief description of the Ravensdale family—its history, values, and how large the bloodline had become. Though he talked like he was simply giving general information, Davis noticed a flicker of pain in his eyes, especially when Elliot mentioned a daughter he had lost long ago.

Davis stayed silent, watching the emotions pass across the older man’s face. He felt his heart tightened lightly. Jessica looked at them both. She couldn’t help but wonder about the familiarity of the facial features of Bella, Davis and Elliot.

Though it more pronounced on Davis facial features but a close look at Bella leaves one imagining. Recalling the picture of the little girl and women in Davis bedroom, she felt her instincts was right.

Elliot’s thoughts drifted. He remembered his daughter—Siri Ravensdale. She had disappeared many years ago, and no trace of her was ever found. It was a wound that never healed.

Even now, after so much time had passed, he was afraid of facing the truth. Part of him still hoped she was alive, out there somewhere, living a quiet life like she always wanted.

He couldn’t bring himself to believe that Davis might be connected to her. The thought alone was too painful.

What if he let himself hope, only to be disappointed again? He wouldn’t want his hope dashed should the outcome fall short of expectations. Hence, the reason to treat it as coincidence—

But something kept pulling at his heart. Davis didn’t just look like the Ravensdales. He also had the same air, facial features and the same silent strength that Siri once had. It felt too close to be a coincidence.

Still, Elliot hesitated. It was easier to pretend there was no connection than to open that door and risk more heartbreak.

Yet, there was a name that linked them. Davis’s mother—her name had been Monica Ravensdale. And that name stirred curiousity within Elliot.

~At the Allen family~

The sitting room was full of tense silence. Almost every family member was present, and none of them looked happy. Vera sat at one end, beside Aaron and Desmond. Each of them wore a serious, almost bitter expression. The day was not in any way favourable for them—slandered on the Internet, chased around by Paparazzi, molested and insulted by people around.

The old man, the head of the family, had just returned from a meeting with the board and the shareholders. He had managed to calm them down and made some important decisions. Now, he was ready to fix the issues inside the family too.

He looked calmly at Vera, his face expressionless. "You’re a wife of the Allen family," he said in a cold, quiet voice. "Giving you 5% of the family’s shares just so you can handle a press conference to protect the family isn’t right. And as for the position of Vice President—it’s not going to happen without proper discussion with the company executives. That title is now taken back." he declared.

Vera’s face turned red with anger. Her eyes blazed with fury and her fingers clenched tightly that it dug into the palm of her hand. She wanted to protest, to scream—but the old man stayed calm, not even blinking.

Then he turned to Aaron and Desmond, who had been quiet all along following the effect of the media on him. His words were firm.

"Aaron, you’re being removed from your position in the group. We need to stop the damage. This is the best way to minimize the losses." Old man Allen declared leaving him in his own whirlpool of emotion. Looking at his stunned face, he shrugged in finality.

Desmond’s face darkened at the decision made, but neither of them dared to argue.The mood in the room grew heavier.

Desmond settled his gaze on him, because having talked to Vera and Aaron he is definitely the next with such conviction he braced himself up followed by the Old man’s voice.

"Desmond, following your error which had resulted into a stain on the name, you are to search for investors that will help us to buffer the situation as well work on correcting the errors."