Chapter 58 Softness

Sophia, catching Nicholas's reaction from the corner of her eye, picked up a fluffy dumpling with her tongs and placed it on the plate in front of Nicholas. She smiled and said, "Nicholas is such a good boy. Eat up, and then Mommy will take you to the garden to play, okay?"

"Okay." Nicholas looked up at Sophia, agreed softly, and then obediently started eating the dumpling.

Watching this scene unfold, Freya felt a rage that almost made her spit blood. Yet, she managed to squeeze out a couple of tears, looked at Raymond with eyes brimming with emotion, and said with a quivering voice, "Raymond, I really miss my son so much. Can I spend the day with him today?"

Raymond, who was in the middle of breakfast, gracefully wiped the corners of his mouth with a warm towel. Then he turned to Freya and nodded almost without thinking. "Sure, just ask Nicholas."

Freya smiled immediately upon hearing this, but the next second, she heard Nicholas say in a passive voice, "Mommy just said she's taking me to the garden to play."

As soon as Nicholas finished speaking, Freya was rooted to the spot in shock.

Sophia looked at Nicholas, a tender light flickering in her eyes. She picked up a bowl of savory custard. Scooping up a spoonful, she brought it to Nicholas's mouth. "Let's finish up breakfast quickly, then we can go play in the garden, alright?"

"Alright." Nicholas nodded and opened his mouth wide in cooperation.

"Nicholas, what's wrong with you? I'm your mother!" Freya said as tears began to fall.

Nicholas turned his head to look at her and suddenly fell silent.

"Raymond..."

"Bzz—bzz—bzz—"

Raymond continued eating his breakfast, unconcerned with the unfolding drama. Just as Freya was about to seek his help, his phone by his side vibrated timely.

Raymond picked up a warm towel and elegantly wiped his mouth again. Then he grabbed his phone and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window to take the call.

"Someone please show our guest to the door!" Sophia commanded, unable to bear Freya's pretentious demeanor any longer.

"Sophia, I carried Nicholas for ten months and raised him day by day, bite by bite. What right do you have to take my son away from me?" Freya gathered her courage, her face twisted with grievance and pain, as she accused Sophia.

Seeing that Raymond showed no sign of asking her to leave, Freya defiantly made her case to Sophia.

Some scenes were not suitable for Nicholas to witness, so Sophia, with a faint smile at Freya, remained silent and continued to feed Nicholas the custard.

"Mom, Nicholas can eat by himself."

Like Sophia, Nicholas paid no mind to Freya's presence, his bright black eyes fixed on Sophia with an understanding and clever look.

"That's awesome, Nicholas! Now you eat it all up by yourself," Sophia praised, gently rubbing the top of Nicholas's head before handing him the spoon.

"Okay," Nicholas agreed and then began to eat eagerly, spoonful by spoonful.

Freya stood a few meters away, like a bitter clown, watching Sophia and Nicholas. She was seething with the urge to tear them apart, yet she was unable to let any hint of this show on her face.

Nicholas was good as gold. He finished all of the custard under Sophia's watchful eye, then flipped the little bowl over with a pleasing gesture and showed his mom. "Look, Mom, Nicholas is done!"

"You did even better than Mommy thought!" Sophia lavishly complimented Nicholas, then took a warm washcloth to clean his mouth and hands.

"Now, let's go play." After cleaning Nicholas and putting down the towel, Sophia lifted him from the high chair and, taking his hand, walked out together.

"Nicholas..."

Watching Nicholas approach, Freya hurried over, reaching out to him.

However, before her hand could touch Nicholas, he retreated a step back as if he'd seen something terrifying and hid behind Sophia.

At that moment, from a distance, Raymond, who had just finished a phone call by the patio doors, turned around to witness this scene, and a shadow passed through his deep, dark eyes.

Why was Nicholas increasingly resistant to Freya?

Sophia, noticing Nicholas's automatic response, was taken aback.

Even though Freya was Nicholas's birth mother, why had he begun to reject her after just a few days?

"Nicholas, come to Mommy, will you?" Freya's voice was nearly a plea, teetering on the brink of tears as she watched him take shelter behind Sophia.

Nicholas hesitated with a certain apprehension, then wrapped his small arms around Sophia's legs.

Looking down at Nicholas, Sophia bent over and lifted him, gently tousling his hair. "Don't worry, let's go have some fun."

Nicholas, no longer showing fear, eagerly agreed with an "Okay." He threw himself into her embrace, his little arms clinging to her neck and his face buried in the crook of her neck.

When Nicholas clung to her so dependently, Sophia's heart quivered uncontrollably as a sense of tenderness she had never known before rippled endlessly within her.

The sensation was delightful, one to which she had no resistance.

Smiling, Sophia stroked the back of his head and stepped towards the door with Nicholas in her arms.

"Sophia, stop right there!" Freya rushed forward, blocking her path.

Sophia's once gentle gaze turned icy as she demanded, "Move!"

"Give me back my son," Freya insisted, her tone filled with the entitlement of a matriarch.

Sophia sneered coldly, then tightened her grip on Nicholas and barged forward. She used her elbow with force, aiming straight for Freya.

"Ah!"

Sophia's strength could have been better.

But as she collided with Freya, Freya let out an exaggerated scream and staggered back several steps before landing heavily on the ground with a thud.

Hearing the pitiful cry, Sophia didn't even bother to glance at her and continued to stride out with Nicholas.

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