Chapter 143 Wanting to Make Amends
"You dare!" Olivia's face turned pale in an instant. "Luca, if you dare tell Leo the truth, I'll take him and go far away, so you'll never find us!"
The two faced each other, the air around them freezing solid.
Luca looked into her determined eyes, his heart crushed by a huge weight, feeling both angry and helpless.
He knew Olivia's pain ran too deep; a simple "I'm sorry" couldn't fix it.
But he couldn't give up. Leo was his son, the one he'd worried about for five years. He couldn't miss out again.
After a long time, Luca took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and softened his tone. "I won't force you, and I won't tell Leo right now. But I won't give up. I'll prove it by showing you I can be a good father and protect you and Leo. You don't have to accept me, but please don't stop me from being good to Leo."
"I don't need you to be good to him!" Olivia shot back right away. "His life is fine now. He doesn't need you getting involved! Your idea of being good to him is just to ease your own guilt, not really for him!"
"Whether it's for him or not, time will prove it." Luca looked at her, eyes steady. "Olivia, I won't give up. Leo is my son. That will never change."
Olivia didn't want to keep arguing. She turned and headed to the restaurant. "I'm done wasting words with you. I'm taking Leo home. If you get near him again, I'll call the police and say you're harassing us!"
Luca watched her back but didn't follow. He just stood there, fists clenched tight, knuckles turning white.
He knew this road would be hard, but he wouldn't back down.
No matter how much Olivia resisted, he had to keep her and Leo close and make up for the past five years.
Back in the restaurant, Leo saw Olivia's red eyes and immediately put down his fork. He asked worriedly, "Mom, what's wrong? Did you cry? Did Uncle LO bully you?"
Olivia squatted down, touched her son's head, and forced a smile. "No, Mom just got something in her eyes from the wind. We're done eating. Mom will take you home, okay?"
Leo nodded like he kind of understood. He glanced at Luca standing at the restaurant door and whispered, "Mom, did you fight with Uncle LO? Can I not play with him anymore?"
Olivia's heart ached. She hugged her son and said softly, "Baby, how about we don't play with him anymore? Mom will make more time for you, take you on the carousel, get steak, okay?"
Leo looked down, clutching his shirt, and said quietly, "But I think Uncle LO is really nice…"
Seeing Mom's red eyes, he quickly changed his words. "Okay, I'll listen to Mom. I won't play with him anymore."
Olivia held her son, her heart full of guilt and helplessness.
She knew this wasn't fair to Leo, but she had no choice.
She couldn't let Luca mess up their quiet life or drag Leo into adult fights.
After paying the bill, Olivia took Leo's hand and hurried out of the restaurant without looking back at Luca.
At a nearby street corner, Jason stared at their backs, his face dark.
Jason had come to the area for business and, by chance, spotted Olivia and Luca.
He saw them leave the restaurant together, the mood tense, and all sorts of feelings hit him.
He thought Olivia would stay on guard against Luca, but they'd already met privately—and even ate with the kid.
A burst of unexplained anger rose up. Jason's eyes turned cold.
He'd protected Olivia and Leo for so many years, but Luca shows up and slips right into their lives.
He pulled out his phone and called Olivia.
The call connected fast. Jason tried to sound gentle. "Olivia, you free tonight? I want to take you and Leo out for dinner."
Olivia paused, surprised by Jason's sudden call.
"Tonight won't work. I have work to do." She made an excuse. She didn't want to meet him or let him know about Luca.
"Okay." Jason sounded a little down. "Alright, won't bother you at work."
"By the way, how's Leo at kindergarten? Getting along with the other kids?"
Olivia didn't want to worry him, so she lied. "He's good. Leo's well-behaved and gets along fine with everyone."
After hanging up, Jason's face went completely dark.
He knew she was lying. He'd clearly seen Leo with Luca's nephew earlier.
She'd fully let Luca in now—not even willing to tell him the truth.
Jason gripped his phone hard, knuckles white.
He'd given so much, but still couldn't beat Luca, the guy who came later.
Meanwhile, Olivia walked to kindergarten holding Leo's hand.
Leo kept his head down and said nothing, looking unhappy.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Olivia stopped, squatted down, and looked at him.
"Mom, do you not like Uncle LO?" Leo looked up, eyes red. "Didn't you say before that if someone's nice to me, I can be friends with them?"
Olivia's heart hurt. She pulled her son into a hug. "Babe, it's not that Mom doesn't like him. It's just some grown-up stuff you don't get yet. From now on, don't go off with strangers or take things from them, okay?"
"But Uncle LO isn't a stranger," Leo said, feeling wronged. "He's nice to me and plays with me."
"Being nice now doesn't mean he will be later." Olivia didn't know how to explain it, so she tried her best. "Babe, Mom does this for your own good, so you don't get hurt."
Leo nodded like he half-got it and didn't ask more.
But Olivia could see the disappointment on his face. She felt even more helpless.
She knew this might hurt her son, but she had no choice.
Back at kindergarten, Leo went straight in, silently.
Olivia watched his back, her heart full of guilt.
She really didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong.
That afternoon at pickup, Olivia arrived at the kindergarten gate right on time.
But after waiting a long time, she didn't see Leo.
She panicked and rushed inside to his classroom.
The room was empty except for a new teacher packing up.
"Excuse me, where's Leo? Why hasn't he come out?" Olivia asked, anxious.
The teacher paused, then said, "Oh, Leo? His dad said something came up and picked him up early."
"His dad?" Olivia's mind went blank with a buzz.
Who else but Luca?
This man had actually dared to take the kid right out in the open!
Olivia shook with anger and pulled out her phone to call Luca.
The moment the call connected, she couldn't hold back her rage anymore.