Lady billionaire's husband

Although not certain, John could already guess why his mother called him, after all, he saw something in her eyes he'd never seen in over a decade - guilt. He walked behind her to the office and the moment he entered the space, all the memories from that day, the last day he was in that office came rushing back. The look of disgust from his mother as she kicked him out of the house. His face soon landed on an old familiar photo, 'It hasn't changed a bit', he reminisced as he studied the photo of him and his two sisters as kids playing by the pool.

Seeing where his eyes were focused, Lilly waltzed to the picture, "This was such a nice day. Sometimes I look back at this and wonder where it all went wrong - where did I start making the wrong decisions -", she put it back at the table, "which is why I called you in here."

She dropped her head in shame, "I am sorry John. It seems I have been wrong this whole time. I am so ashamed, I believed such an awful thing about you without even giving you the benefit of the doubt-"

John's heart dropped and he stumbled to sit on the brown couch in front of him, and without meaning to, a tear rolled down his cheek, "Why am I crying? I am a grown man...so what is with this tear-". This has always been his wish - his mother's apology and hearing her saying she believed him. 

Lilly strolled close to her son who was helplessly tearing up, she wiped his cheeks, "I am so sorry, son. I am not asking you to forgive me now, but I need you to know how ashamed I am of my actions. When Linda told me, I -"

"So if it weren't for Linda vouching for me, you wouldn't have forgiven me. You would have carried on believing all these things about me?", John asked with a sudden serious tone, 

Lilly's face shamelessly dropped to the floor, her silence piercing through John's heart. He was supposed to be happy, but why was he angry, "Isn't it ironic....the very same person I despise with every fibre of my body is the reason I am getting this very moment..."

She exhaled heavily, "I think you may have misdirected your hatred. I am the one who chose to give Linda the company and believe it or not, it was not to spite you or punish you. She was just gifted from a young age. You remember how she used to help us with certain documents and her creativity -"

John chuckled hysterically, "I can't believe you are praising that little girl in front of me. You gave her my birthright mother?? Don't you understand?? I have nothing-"

"That's one of the reasons I called you here-", she handed him a bunch of papers, "Although I cannot reinstate you at the company, I will give you back your share of the inheritance-"

John growled, "Not enough Mother, I deserv-"

"No John, remember, you were out of management way before Linda was born or way before even her father was in the picture. You seem to forget that you once had the opportunity to be CEO but what did you do? We lost a lot of invest-"

John dropped his head to his hands and sighed, "I was a child mother, I promise you I am now well versed in the business - I can-"

Lilly said sternly, "No John! Believe me, I am sorry for and about everything ...but that I will not do"

Disappointed that his plea was not being heard, John stood up suddenly, "Very well mother. I do not forgive you.", with that, he waltzed out of the office, and left the house as suddenly as he appeared, shocking everyone.

Not long after, Lilly appeared with a long, disappointed face. Joseph rushed to her, "Are you okay, honey".

She threw herself into his arms, "I apologized...and he said he doesn't forgive me...I understand. At least I had the chance to apologize in person right?"

He nodded lovingly at her, a part of him was relieved that all of this was out in the open now. Although it didn't seem like it now, but he knew his wife would be glad too, "We will be fine Lilly. The family will be together again...believe me."

He led her back to the table and Linda's heart broke seeing her wear such a gloomy face, but she couldn't let her heart waver. Jeremy caught a glimpse of her sad eyes and squeezed her hand, then mouthed, "It will be okay.", and she smiled at him.

"I know it might not be a good time, but Lilly you didn't tell John why we are all gathered here right?", Casey suddenly asked nervously, 

Lilly chuckled, "No I did not. You don't have to apologize - it is a fair question."

He exhaled in relief, "Good. Because as much as we know he didn't do it...there is still that possibility that someone close to him, may have been involved."

Linda and Jeremy instantly shared a look, 'Tony', they both thought.