Chapter 31 It's Just a Son, Isn't It?
Emily suddenly felt out of place in this harmonious atmosphere, struck by the illusion that they looked like a perfect family.
But deep down, she knew the truth—they really were a family of four.
Emily couldn't understand why Grace refused to tell Alexander about Max's parentage. Was she afraid that once Alexander knew Max was his son, he'd fight for custody?
That was the only concern Emily could think of. Any other woman would have already leveraged motherhood for status and security.
Even if she had to give up custody of Max, the Hayes family would surely compensate her handsomely.
However, Grace was clearly an oddball who couldn't be bought with money.
Perhaps this was the unbreakable bond between mother and child.
But what about Liam?
Grace probably didn't know that Liam was also her biological son, did she?
If Alexander found out that both children were his and Grace's, then Emily would have no chance of marrying into the Hayes family.If only Emily could have the chance to bear Alexander's son!
Emily's heart ached with jealousy. Grace was incredibly lucky—she'd given the Hayes family two sons in one pregnancy, fraternal twins.
She walked over to Liam and said gently, "Liam, I didn't mean to call you disabled! Please don't misunderstand me, I care about you the most."
Liam was perceptive enough to know that Emily was only being nice to him to win over his father, so he completely ignored her attempts at flattery.
Emily's face flushed with embarrassment.
She tried again sweetly, "Liam, how about I take you out for something delicious?"
Liam shook his head, clearly uninterested.
Emily continued, "Don't you like pizza? I'll take you out for pizza."
Liam pouted and shook his head again.
Max looked surprised. "You like pizza?"
Liam nodded.
He did indeed like pizza, but having grown up with every luxury imaginable, he wasn't so easily bribed.
Emily asked Alexander, "Alexander, are you free tonight?"
Alexander replied, "No, I rarely have free time. I'm staying home with Liam."
Emily grew increasingly resentful of Liam—this child monopolized too much of Alexander's time.
If it weren't for the fact that Liam didn't like her, perhaps Alexander would have married her long ago.
It was just a son, wasn't it?
She could have children, too. Why should he treasure a mentally challenged Liam like some precious gem?
Alexander said to Emily, "I'll have the driver take you home."
"No need," Emily replied, her displeasure evident. "I drove myself here. Alexander, I'm leaving now."
With that, she turned and walked away.
A servant entered the study, looking somewhat confused. "Mr. Hayes, I noticed Miss Blake seemed quite upset. Did you make Miss Blake angry?"
Alexander said, "That's not your concern."
The servant immediately fell silent.
Emily walked all the way to the entrance, expecting Alexander to come after her when he saw she was angry. She deliberately slowed her pace, but there was no sign of Alexander.
"Miss Blake, shall I drive you?" the driver asked respectfully from the doorway.
Emily snapped, "Are you kicking me out?"
The driver shook his head in panic. "No! No, Miss Blake, you're always welcome here."
Emily frowned and left in frustration.
Welcome here... as a guest!
She didn't want to be a guest—she wanted to be Mrs. Hayes, Alexander's wife!
...
"Ms. Foster, these are Max's textbooks." A servant brought in the books that Windsor Academy had delivered.
Grace packed all the textbooks into the school bag.
She stared at the bag for a moment.
The craftsmanship looked exquisite. Apparently, this single bag cost nearly ten thousand dollars.
It was definitely an elite school—even the school bags reeked of upper-class privilege.
"Mommy!" Max walked in wearing his Windsor Academy uniform, with Liam following behind. "The school uniform looks so cool!"
Windsor Academy had two sets of uniforms.
One was formal—a suit uniform for official events.
The other was for daily classes—a sailor-style uniform in black, white, and gold that looked very distinguished.
Grace asked, "Does the uniform fit properly?"
Max nodded. "It's not too big or too small—it fits perfectly."
Grace asked, "What did you say when you went to see Alexander today?"
Max tilted his little head with an innocent expression. "I asked him to pretend to be my dad and come with us to that man's birthday party."
Grace said, "He agreed?"
Max nodded.
Grace was surprised. "How could he agree to something so childish?"
Max explained, "I promised him I'd help tutor Liam from now on. It was a trade!"
He thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Mommy, I actually think Liam isn't stupid at all."
Grace asked, "Do you like Liam?"
Max said happily, "I like him a lot! Liam and I are best friends now! We agreed to attend classes together and walk home together. Alexander said he'll arrange for Liam and me to be in the same class, and maybe we can even be desk partners!"
Grace smiled. "Good, you should take care of Liam from now on."
Max said, "Mommy, let's go shopping for clothes tomorrow?"
Grace smiled. "Okay! It's been a while since I bought you new clothes. Now that you're at a new school, you should have some nice outfits, too."
Liam raised his hand, wanting to come along too.
Grace said, "Of course, Liam can come with us. I'll buy Liam some new clothes too!"
Liam nodded vigorously, looking very happy.
Grace suddenly felt worried.
Liam was accustomed to luxury—any piece of clothing he wore was a prestigious designer brand worth tens of thousands of dollars. While she was willing to spend good money on Max and scrimp on herself, even her best purchases were discounted end-of-season items from department stores.
Grace secretly checked her bank account balance and was shocked to discover an unexpected two hundred thousand dollars had appeared.
She traced the source of the transfer and found it came from her perverted former boss who had sexually harassed her.
Previously, she had reported her former boss to the police for workplace sexual harassment, but the man seemed to have some influence—the police wouldn't file a case, and she received no compensation.
Although no actual physical harm had occurred, she had cherished that job and invested a lot of energy into it. She had just joined a major project when the incident ruined her career prospects.
Could this be compensation money?
Grace double-checked several times—exactly three hundred thousand dollars down to the cent. She decided that tomorrow she'd use this money to buy new clothes for Max and Liam.
The next day.
Grace was about to leave with Max and Liam when Liam's nanny stopped her.
"Where are you taking Liam?"
Grace replied, "I'm taking both children to the mall to buy some new clothes."
The nanny looked skeptical. "Liam only wears designer brands, not cheap knockoffs from street vendors."