Chapter 117 A Coldly Similar Father and Son
Evening.
The driver came as usual to pick up Liam. Liam climbed into the car but refused to go home, asking, "Where's Daddy?"
The driver replied, "Mr. Hayes is still at the company. He hasn't come home yet."
"I want to see Daddy."
"Mr. Liam, don't be difficult. Be good and go home."
But Liam stubbornly repeated like a broken record, "I want to see Daddy, I want to see Daddy..."
The driver, worn down by his chanting, turned the steering wheel and headed toward Crest Corporation headquarters.
Project Department.
Alexander was inspecting the project team when Jeremy came to report, "The driver brought Mr. Liam here."
Alexander, holding a stack of project reports without looking up, asked, "Why didn't he take Liam home?"
"Mr. Liam was desperate to see you, like something urgent happened."
Only then did Alexander raise his head to glance at Jeremy.
CEO Office.
The moment Alexander stepped inside, Liam immediately jumped down from the sofa and rushed toward him.
Alexander instinctively reached out to catch him, but Liam dodged his hands and circled around him twice, chanting frantically, "This is bad, this is bad..."
As if something terrible had happened, Liam looked panicked and was sweating profusely from anxiety.
He racked his brain trying to organize his thoughts, but couldn't figure out how to tell Alexander that Grace was about to be stolen away by another man.
Alexander straightened up, watching as Liam circled him several times before suddenly stopping motionless, his little hands fidgeting nervously at his chest as he pondered deeply.
Unable to bear it any longer, Alexander asked, "What happened?"
Liam turned around and began gesticulating wildly at him.
Alexander frowned and started translating step by step, "A man?"
Liam nodded, playing what seemed like charades with Alexander, placing his little hands on top of his head to gesture height.
Alexander translated, "A tall man."
Liam nodded vigorously again, then touched his cheeks and gave a thumbs up.
Alexander said, "A handsome man."
Liam clenched his right fist, tapped his left palm, then pointed at Alexander and made a pinching gesture with his fingers.
Alexander pieced it together, "A tall, handsome man."
Liam nodded and began thinking hard again.
Alexander continued guessing based on his gestures, "A tall, handsome man with Grace."
Liam's expression immediately became even more serious. He suddenly stretched out his arms, mimicking an embrace around thin air, closing his eyes romantically, puckering his lips to kiss the air, and even wiggling his bottom.
Alexander watched for a while, then organized Liam's intended meaning, "A tall, handsome man embracing Grace very intimately."
Alexander had completely translated what he wanted to express.
Liam looked as if bearing a tremendous grievance, walked to the wall, and pressed his little head against it with a "thunk," leaning helplessly and pitifully. His eyes reddened, and tears swirled in his eyes before rolling down in large drops.
Grace was going to be stolen away!
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "So?"
Liam turned around, clenched his fists, and glared at Alexander. "Get her back."
Alexander said, "What?"
"Get Grace back!" Liam threw himself into Alexander's arms, his little hands grabbing the corner of his suit jacket and tugging repeatedly. "I don't want... Grace to be taken away."
Alexander said, "You'll have to accept this reality eventually."
He picked up Liam and sat down on the sofa, looking down to see Liam lying against his chest, staring at him tearfully while shaking his head.
He wouldn't accept it!
He wouldn't accept it!!
His vision blurred with tears, his little mouth pouting as he looked at Alexander with both grievance and hesitation.
Alexander said, "Liam, don't be difficult."
He reached into his pocket for a tissue to wipe away his tears.
Liam pushed his hand away, stubbornly repeating, "I want."
Alexander said helplessly, "What do you want?"
Liam declared firmly, "I want Grace!"
Alexander, "..."
Liam said seriously, "If you won't marry her, I will."
Alexander lost his patience. "Stop joking around!"
He came to his senses, realizing he had actually yelled at Liam.
With Liam, he was always gentle and soft-spoken, never bearing to raise his voice.
Liam hadn't expected Alexander to yell at him either, feeling even more wronged as his little head drooped powerlessly in dejection.
Alexander rubbed his temples with a headache, his tone immediately softening. "Liam, be good. Don't make such unreasonable demands."
Liam pushed him away somewhat defiantly, sliding down from him and walking alone to a corner where he squatted down, hugging his knees.
Alexander stood up. "Get up."
Liam's ears twitched, but he treated the command as if he hadn't heard it at all.
Alexander knew Liam was throwing a tantrum again.
But he had always believed that children should be loved but not spoiled.
Especially when making such unreasonable demands, he should firmly refuse rather than indulge endlessly.
Alexander stood up and said, "Stay here and cool off by yourself!"
With that, he walked out of the CEO office and closed the door.
Alexander hadn't gone far when he heard a "click" from behind, like the sound of a door being locked.
The man spun around abruptly, returned to the door, and pushed it, only to discover it was indeed locked from the inside.
Liam had locked him out of his own office.
Jeremy approached and also pushed the door, asking, "Is Liam inside?"
Alexander's expression had become extremely cold. "He locked me out."
Jeremy was shocked and grew nervous. "What should we do? Why did Liam lock you out? Mr. Hayes, did you scold him?"
Alexander glanced at him. "I did. So what?"
Jeremy, "..." No wonder Liam was so angry—he'd been hurt by Alexander's scolding.
He scratched his hair and muttered, "Liam's so well-behaved. Why scold him?"
Alexander raised his wrist to check his watch. "I have another meeting coming up. You have twenty minutes to coax Liam into opening the door."
With that, he turned away coldly.
Jeremy reached out, wanting to stop him. "Mr. Hayes, that's quite a harsh assignment..." He was being asked to coax a child that Alexander himself couldn't handle.
Wasn't that asking too much?
Alexander had already entered the elevator area.
Jeremy steeled himself and turned back, knocking on the door gently. "Liam, it's Jeremy, sweetheart. Please open the door, okay?"
The little guy inside was equally cold, showing no sign of unlocking the door.
In this regard, father and son were remarkably similar—both extremely stubborn.
No matter how much Jeremy pleaded, Liam simply wouldn't unlock the door or open it, maintaining complete silence.
Fortunately, the CEO office had safety nets installed, specifically to prevent Liam from accidentally falling if he climbed the windows while in the office.
But keeping himself locked in the office wasn't a solution either!
Jeremy frantically pulled at his hair, "What am I going to do?"