Chapter 283

She was about to go out to deliver food to Bradley.

The moment this realization hit him, irritation instantly surged in his chest.

"What, I'm not allowed to come here?"

Arthur's voice was deeper than usual. "Julius misses his mom. I brought him here for dinner. Is that not okay?"

As he spoke, he didn't wait for an answer. He turned sideways and pushed past Elaine's arm blocking the doorway, pulling the still-confused Julius straight into the living room.

Elaine was forced back half a step by his sudden move, displeasure rising quickly inside her.

She closed the door and turned to look at the father and son who had already made themselves at home on the sofa.

Julius, pulled into the house, sat on the sofa looking somewhat lost. His eyes darted around everywhere except at Elaine.

Arthur sat sprawled out, his gaze heavily fixed on Elaine's face. "It's been a long time since we had a proper family meal together. Perfect timing—you've already made dinner, so don't go out. Let's eat together."

He said it so matter-of-factly, as if they were still that estranged couple from before, and all he had to do was give an order and she should drop everything to comply.

Elaine looked at him and found it absurd.

"Arthur, I made myself very clear on the phone. If you want to have dinner with the kids, you can take them to a restaurant, or..."

She paused, glancing at Julius. "If you think Julius needs to see me, you can contact me in advance and we'll set a time. But I have plans tonight. I've already made arrangements."

Her gaze fell back on the insulated bag. The meaning couldn't be clearer.

Arthur's eyes instantly sharpened. "Your plans—you mean rushing off to deliver food to Mr. Lewis? To take care of him?"

His tone carried obvious accusation.

Elaine met his gaze, feeling a wave of disgust.

"Bradley got hurt protecting me. By any standard, I should take care of him. This doesn't seem to concern you."

Arthur looked as if this statement had completely enraged him. He shot up from the sofa and stepped closer, his tall figure carrying intense pressure.

"Elaine, get this straight—I'm Julius and Vera's father! What is Bradley? An outsider! Is he worth you running over there every day, not even caring about your own children anymore?"

His voice rose involuntarily. Julius was startled by his father's sudden outburst and instinctively shrank back, his eyes on Elaine growing more complicated.

Elaine's chest heaved with anger at his barrage of accusations, her annoyance reaching its peak.

"Arthur!"

She cut him off, her voice turning cold. "We're already divorced! My time, where I go, who I take care of—none of it has anything to do with you!"

Arthur looked as if he'd heard a joke, his expression darkening terribly. "You're the mother of my children—that will never change! You're constantly mixed up with another man—what are the kids supposed to think? What will people think?"

"What the kids think depends on how we teach them!"

Elaine didn't back down an inch. She was sick of him always standing on moral high ground to criticize her. "As for what others think, I act with a clear conscience. I don't need to answer to anyone, and I certainly don't need you telling me what to do!"

The atmosphere between them was explosive, the air almost frozen.

Julius looked at his furious father, then at his cold mother, his small face full of anxiety.

His gaze involuntarily fell back on the insulated bag, his nose seeming to catch a faint familiar scent.

It was the smell of Mom's cooking...

It seemed like... it had been so long since he'd had it.

Elaine used to cook often. Although sometimes she'd scold him for not eating his vegetables, those home-cooked meals had a taste no restaurant could match.

A strong longing welled up inside him.

He wanted to eat Mom's cooking too, wanted to sit at the table like before, even if Mom scolded him a bit, and have hot home-cooked food.

He timidly tugged at Arthur's sleeve and said softly, "Dad... stop fighting..."

Then he looked at Elaine, his eyes full of hope, his voice softening. "Mom... your cooking... smells so good... I want to eat it too... can we eat together?"

This was a rare conciliatory signal from Julius, with a hint of pleading.

In the past, Elaine might have softened, might have immediately put everything aside to comfort the child.

But now, hearing her son's words, Elaine's heart filled with bitterness.

She looked at Julius's eyes, so similar to Arthur's, remembering how he'd repeatedly sided with Emily, even spoken harshly to her, and felt a chill in her heart.

"Sorry, Julius."

Her voice was firm. "This is prepared for a patient. It's not suitable for you. If you're hungry, have your dad take you to a restaurant."

She drew a clear line.

Julius froze. He hadn't expected Elaine to refuse him so directly.

That small hope that had carefully risen was instantly punctured. His lips trembled and his eyes immediately reddened.

Arthur took in Julius's reaction completely. Seeing Elaine's indifferent expression, the fury in his chest instantly blazed to its peak!

She actually refused even such a small request from her son!

Just to rush off and deliver food to Bradley?

In her heart, was one meal for Bradley more important than her own son?

"Elaine!"

He practically roared, grabbing Elaine's wrist as she was about to pick up the insulated bag, gripping so hard it made her frown in pain. "Do you even see this son of yours? He just wants to eat your cooking and you won't even give him that? Is Bradley all you have in your head?"

A sharp pain shot through her wrist. Arthur was gripping hard enough to almost crush her bones.

"Let go!"

Elaine's face paled with pain as she shouted, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

Not only did Arthur not release her, he gripped even tighter, his eyes burning with rage. "Answer me! Elaine! What exactly is Bradley to you? Is he worth abandoning your own son for?"

"Enough!"

Elaine exploded, using all her strength to violently shake off his grip.

Her chest heaved violently as days of pent-up negative emotions came crashing down in this moment!

"Arthur! What gives you the right to question me?"

She stepped forward, staring him down without backing off. "Whether I see my son? Why don't you ask yourself—did you ever see me as your wife! Whether I'm good to the kids isn't for you to judge! Why don't you think about why Julius has become like this?"

Her voice grew louder: "Who repeatedly defended another woman in front of the child? Who made Julius think that as long as he acts spoiled and difficult, even takes outsiders' side, he'll get more indulgence? Who was it, Arthur? Who?"

Arthur was momentarily speechless, stunned by her unprecedented intensity, his face ashen.