章節 58: THE STORY OF BOBBY ASTOR (II)
The lady first took Bobby to a high-end boutique, selecting an array of expensive wears, predominantly suits and formal wears. Subsequently, he was swiftly instructed to don one of the suits and then escorted to a hair salon where his hair underwent a buzz cut, leaving him with an unusual sensation, though Bobby refrained from voicing any complaints.
Following that, the lady escorted him to a restaurant where she clerified his father's identity. It turned out that he was the offspring of one of the wealthiest families in the South Region, the Astor family, and held the position of CEO at Astor's Entertainment Industry—one of the most prominent entertainment companies in New Earth.
After conveying all this information and outlining the rules he needed to adhere to as a member of the family, the regulations primarily revolved around avoiding actions that could tarnish the family's reputation. In fact, based on the stipulated rules, he was barely allowed to do anything.
She drove him to the family's house, which was the largest he had seen at that time. There, he was introduced to the rest of the family, including his father's parents, his younger sister, and surprisingly, two other boys who looked around his age range and also bore a resemblance to his father. Bobby later learned they were the children his father had from his late wife. However, there was no sign of his father in this gathering, and Bobby had to assume he was most likely too busy.
Upon being brought before the family members, Bobby immediately sensed their gazes of repulsion, making him feel uncomfortable. Before the lady could introduce Bobby to the family, they all left one by one, disinterested, leaving just the two boys behind who looked his age.
Devastated by this, Bobby was unwilling to accept that his first meeting with his father's family, whom he hadn't seen and assumed were dead for 10 years, would go like this. Instead, he believed their behaviors were probably due to their busy lives as owners of a successful entertainment industry, or perhaps they wanted to understand his personality first.
Deciding to first connect with the two kids who had remained, Bobby introduced himself. However, the responses he received from these kids were far from what he had expected. They immediately started with how he was a mistake, born because their father had gotten drunk and assaulted his low-class mother. They claimed he was only accepted into the family because his grandfather had abandoned him and threatened to expose to the public that their father had assaulted his daughter if they didn't accept Bobby into the family.
Bobby's expression soured as he silently stood, enduring a barrage of insults directed at him, his late mother, and grandparents. In that moment, he wasn't concerned with the joy of meeting his father's family or maintaining a positive first impression. Instead, all he could think about was silencing the two brats with a well-deserved punch to their mouths.
However, even at that age, Bobby wasn't foolish enough to impulsively engage in a fight with the two. He could sense the scrutiny from the surrounding security guards, seemingly poised to intervene if he made even the slightest aggressive move. Even the lady beside him, silently observing the situation, didn't appear inclined to support Bobby if he decided to confront the two.
Not that Bobby stood a chance in the first place; the two had significantly better physiques than him. However, the more they continued to blab and insult his mom and her family, the less Bobby considered the disadvantages he would face by starting a fight with them.
Fortunately, the lady who had picked up Bobby and remained unresponsive throughout the whole drama finally spoke up, likely sensing how quickly the atmosphere was becoming tense.
She swiftly offered Bobby the opportunity to follow her and showed him to his room, suggesting he rest there for the meantime. Bobby immediately accepted her offer, certain that the longer he stayed in the same space as the two, the more likely he was to do something very foolish.
Arriving at his room in an extremely foul mood, Bobby eventually convinced himself that this situation probably occurred because they hadn't met before and needed to get to know him first. He wasn't eager to judge his father's family harshly, at least not after just one encounter.
He had anticipated that their next meeting would be much more pleasant; however, little did he know it would be the complete opposite.
The insults had only intensified the next day and the day after that, and so on. The boys never missed an opportunity to call Bobby a failure and remind him of how he was a mistake. The rest of the father's family remained silent, observing as this unfolded.
He could always discern the disdain in their eyes when they looked at him. Even though they didn't vocalize it, he could sense the strong resentment from his father's family. His father's sister soon joined in, hurling insults at him and his mother, labeling them as cheap and gold diggers. She emphasized how his birth was a curse to the family, destined to bring them down.
As for his father, after the initial video call, Bobby rarely saw the man. When he did, there was never a hint of concern or attention directed toward Bobby. His father consistently prioritized his other two children over him.
Bobby remained mostly concealed from the public eye until the family devised a 'suitable' explanation for why their heir suddenly had an already grown-up new son.
Publicly, they declared that Bobby's identity had been kept secret due to a mental illness he suffered from, making it challenging for him to cope. To protect him, they had to conceal his existence. With the power and influence the family possessed, they easily managed to orchestrate this narrative, making it sound nothing too far from the truth.
The family successfully gained sympathy with their crap fabricated story, compelling Bobby to make occasional public appearances and play his part as a kid who had supposedly suffered from mental retardation.
Initially, this took a toll on Bobby, and he struggled to cope with it. There were moments when he would cry and throw tantrums, expressing his desire to return to his grandfather. However, the Astors responded by either laughing at him or outright ignoring his pleas.
Over the years, he gradually grew accustomed to it all. He embraced the labels of being a failure, a mistake, and the "retarded" member of the affluent family. As he became more reclusive, he spent the majority of his time locked up in his room, immersed in the online world only leaving his room and the Astor's mansion when he was needed for his occasional public appearances to garner the public's sympathy as usual.
With a monthly allowance exceeding two hundred thousand credits, he discovered there was a wealth of content on the internet to divert his mind from his real-world struggles.
He eventually discovered that his maternal grandfather had succumbed to a severe illness, yet his father's family confined him to the house. They didn't even allow him to pay his respects. Not that Bobby had any plans to do so either because, the way he saw it, he had ended up here because of his grandfather.
However, his life would eventually take a turn during one of his occasional public appearances.
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