The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 86

The old man’s face turned to stone the moment he heard this. He barked out, “If he doesn’t have a child with Rebecca, then who is he supposed to have one with?”

Mrs. Austin didn’t shrink back in the slightest. Chin raised in defiance, she shot back, “Rebecca? She’s damaged goods, already had so many children—how could she possibly be good enough for my son? If Dylan really has a child with her, we’ll be the laughingstock of the whole town!”

Striding over to Dylan, Mrs. Austin grabbed his arm and pleaded, “Son, don’t worry. I’ll find you a good, decent girl, someone pure who can give you a proper heir. Marrying Rebecca is already a stretch for our family. There’s no way I’ll allow a woman like her to carry the Austin name forward.”

Dylan frowned and shook off her hand, his voice icy. “That won’t be necessary. My life is my own—stay out of it.”

Tears sprang to Mrs. Austin’s eyes, streaming down her cheeks as her voice broke with emotion. “Dylan, do you have any idea how much I want a grandchild of my own? Why can’t you just let me have this one wish?”

Standing nearby, Mr. Hugh Austin felt as if Mrs. Austin was speaking the very words on his heart.

But Dylan gave a cold, mocking laugh. “Oh, so now I’m supposed to have a child with some other woman? Don’t you realize that’s adultery? It’s immoral.”

Mrs. Austin wiped her tears, her tone bordering on hysteria. “So what if it’s adultery? So what if it’s immoral? Would you really rather have a child with Rebecca?”

For a brief moment, Dylan pictured Rebecca’s face—complicated, unreadable. The thought vanished as quickly as it came. His expression hardened. “I have no intention of having children. Not with Rebecca, not with anyone else. And I suggest you both let go of this idea.”

Mrs. Austin’s face went pale with shock. She snapped, “What, do you want the Austin family line to end with you?”

Dylan pressed his lips together, nearly blurting out that after his accident, the doctors had told him he could never have children. But as the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back. There was no sense in crushing his mother completely.

Mrs. Austin opened her mouth to protest, but Dylan cut her off. “Enough. I’ll handle this. If you keep pushing, I’ll donate every cent I own to charity right now.”

With that, Dylan turned and walked out, leaving his grandfather and mother speechless, fuming with anger and helplessness.

Mrs. Austin let out a desperate wail, her voice trembling with grief. “This is a curse! After all these years, is the Austin legacy really going to be handed over to an outsider?”

Mr. Hugh Austin drew a long, steadying breath, a glint of steely resolve flashing in his eyes.

No. He wasn’t about to watch the Austin family fortune slip away—not without a fight.