Dunce

Abigail's lips parted as she blinked up at Ryan, stunned. Her fingers moved again as she signed quickly.

[Does that mean you're disowning me?] she asked, partially hoping he was going to cut her off.

Ryan exhaled slowly after watching her with narrowed eyes for a minute. "No. You made a mistake, Abi. But it's the first time you've ever disappointed me this way. I'm not going to punish you for it. As long as the father is not in the picture, I'll fix it."

Genevieve stared at him like he had lost his mind. "You can't be serious! What about school? What am I supposed to do while she waddles around pregnant?"

Abigail hurried to sign. [I can manage. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly.]

But Ryan shook his head. "I don't want you to go through that stress. You will defer your admission. Have the baby first. After that, I will have the child taken care of while you go back to school."

Abigail shook her head, and her hands trembled as she signed again. [I can take care of my baby myself. I want to do it myself.]

"You will not," Ryan said firmly. "You're still my daughter, and I won't have you carrying the stigma of being a single mother. If you want to keep this child, you will let me handle things my way. If not, I'll take you to the hospital right now and have it taken care of."

"I say we take her to the hospital right now and get rid of the pregnancy. She's barely eightee…" Genevieve snapped her mouth shut when she realized her slip, and her father glared at her.

Abigail looked from their father to Genevieve, wondering what they were talking about.

"I mean, she's barely eight weeks gone or less. She's already at a disadvantage because she is mute. Being mute and a single mother? No man would ever want her," Genevieve blabbered, desperate to cover up her slip.

Abigail's stomach twisted. Since when did Genevieve care so much about her?

"Are you willing to let me raise the child while you go back to school, or would you rather we get rid of it?" Ryan asked Abigail, ignoring Genevieve.

Abigail's shoulders tensed as she wondered what he was planning. But slowly, she nodded and signed her consent to him.

Satisfied, Ryan nodded and jerked his head to the door. "You must be tired. Go get something to eat and rest. You will be hidden away from the public until you have the baby. And I'll have your admission deferment taken care of."

Although she wasn't sure she could trust him, she had no choice but to accept his offer. She stood up and left without another word.

The moment the door closed, Genevieve whirled on her father. "Why are you letting her get away with this? You're always so harsh when it comes to me, but suddenly, she gets pregnant, and you're willing to make all these allowances?"

Ryan leaned forward, his expression dark. "Don't have the pregnancy result from the hospital?" He asked without answering her question.

Genevieve huffed angrily as she reached into her handbag, took it out, and handed it to him.

Ryan looked at the result and took out his phone to make the calculations as he tried to figure out when she could have had sex.

"What are you doing?" Genevieve asked with a frown.

"Confirming that if you had not been so stupid to let her travel on her own, and if you had kept your eyes on her as you were supposed to, she wouldn't be pregnant," he said angrily, concluding that she had lied about being home that night and had gone out.

"How is her decision to have sex my fault? That's on her, not me. And I don't get why you're mad at me when you should be mad at her! This feels like I'm the one being punished. How am I supposed to survive a whole year in school without her?" Genevieve asked angrily.

"Then defer your admission, too. Or find a way to cope. I'm sure you have a brain somewhere inside your head. You should be ashamed to admit out loud that you're brainless."

Genevieve's lips parted in shock. "I am your daughter! Why do you keep saying mean things to me, yet you're nice to her? If I was the one who got pregnant, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have handled it this way. Why do you hate me?"

Ryan smirked. "You're not smart, Genevieve. I wish you were," he said with a shake of his head. "You better be nice to her."

"Why should I after what she has done? Why don't you just get rid of her bastard baby or let her go? It's not like anyone is going to ask for a DNA test to be done now after all these years," Genevieve said, not understanding the need to keep her.

"Everyone knows Dawn is a genius. You, on the other hand, are a dunce. You're always going to need her…"

"DAD! Are you even my father? How can you call me that?" Genevieve asked, hurt by the choice of words.

"Because it is what you are. And unfortunately, you don't seem to know your place. Do you think I'd spare you a glance if I had another kid? That's another reason I need her around— to keep you in line so you always remember that you're not indispensable. One wrong move from you, and I'll take you out of the picture and save myself all this stress. My greatest mistake is giving you her place. You're not fit to be her," Ryan said flatly, his eyes cold as he glared at her.

Genevieve stared at him, speechless, and then spun around and left the office without another word.

Alone in his office, Ryan sighed deeply as he tapped his pen against the desk.

The mere fact that she had been bold enough to have sex when they were not looking and was refusing to say anything about it told him a lot.

Judging by her eagerness to be disowned just so she could keep the baby, he could tell she was no longer as timid as he thought her to be.

She was rebelling, and if he pushed her too hard, he could lose all control over her, and she might disappear.

He couldn't afford to let her out of his sight. The child she was carrying was going to be his leverage. As long as he had her baby, she would stay in line.

And who knows? If it turned out to be a boy as smart as Dawn was, he could make the kid his heir instead of the dumb fool he called his daughter. That would be a win win for both him and Dawn, Ryan thought with a deep sigh.