Chapter 285

Chapter 285

To Julius? How dare she? How could she?

He lunged forward, his eyes fierce as if ready to devour someone: "Elaine! Say that again? You're saying you don't even care about your son anymore? Are you even human?"

Facing his fury, Elaine merely took half a step back, creating a safe distance.

"See, this is how you always are. You're allowed to hurt others again and again, but you can't stand it when others feel hurt or want to back away. Arthur, the world doesn't revolve around you. My heart is mine to control."

She pointed toward the door, her tone returning to its initial coldness: "Now, take your son and leave my home. Immediately."

Arthur glared at her, his chest heaving violently, veins throbbing at his temples.

But in the end, he could only force out a few words through clenched teeth: "You've got some nerve."

With that, he stopped looking at her, bent down and scooped up the still-sobbing Julius, turned around, and strode toward the door with large steps, walking out without looking back.

In the hallway, motion-sensor lights flickered on with his footsteps.

Julius was held in his father's arms, still sobbing intermittently from the earlier fear.

He wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck, pressing his wet little face against his neck, asking softly: "Daddy... Mommy... does Mommy really not want us anymore? Does she... not like me anymore?"

The child's question, innocent yet cruel, cut straight to the core.

Arthur's steps paused briefly, his arms unconsciously tightening around Julius.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his jawline tensed.

He didn't want to admit it, but a voice deep inside was saying: This time, she seemed serious.

That Elaine who once considered him and the child her everything seemed to have truly... turned and walked away.

But looking at Julius's panicked little face in his arms, Arthur took a deep breath, suppressing the storm surging in his heart.

He patted Julius's back, his voice firm, as if comforting him while also convincing himself:

"No, she won't."

He said, "Mommy's just angry for now. She loves you, how could she not want you? In a few days... once she calms down, everything will be fine."

He spoke with such certainty, as if he were still that Arthur who controlled everything.

But only he knew that somewhere deep in his heart, something was quietly crumbling.

Meanwhile, Elaine stood in place, her gaze falling back on the mess on the floor.

Broken porcelain pieces were everywhere, the soup half-congealed, sticking to the tiles in a sticky mess.

Looking at all this, her heart felt only numb.

For this dinner, she had prepared for a long time in advance, thinking that Bradley needed nutrition after his injury but shouldn't have anything too greasy, so she specially chose mild, nourishing ingredients and simmered them slowly over low heat for ages.

Now, it was all ruined.

"Mommy..."

Just then, a timid call pulled her back from her thoughts.

Elaine looked down to see Vera had somehow quietly come out of her room again, standing not far away, looking up at her with worry on her little face.

Seeing her daughter, a trace of warmth rippled through Elaine's cold heart.

She took a deep breath, trying to push her emotions about that father and son to the deepest place, crouched down, and reached out to Vera, her voice much softer, though still hoarse: "Vera, were you scared?"

Vera shook her head, quickly walked closer, reached out her little hand to hold Elaine's fingers, and said softly: "Mommy, I'm not scared. I'll help you clean up."

As she spoke, she was about to bend down to pick up the larger pieces on the floor.

"Don't move!"

Elaine quickly stopped her, afraid the broken porcelain would cut her daughter's tender little hands. "This is dangerous, let Mommy do it. Vera, go get a wet cloth, okay?"

"Okay!"

Vera nodded vigorously, immediately turned and ran to the bathroom, and soon came running back with a cloth wrung half-dry, crouching seriously beside Elaine.

After Mommy cleared away the glass shards and debris, she began wiping the sticky stains on the floor bit by bit.

Her movements were a bit clumsy, but very focused, as if completing an extremely important task.

Watching her daughter's sensible behavior, much of the coldness in Elaine's heart dissipated.

She reached out and gently stroked Vera's soft hair, saying softly: "Thank you, Vera. Vera is wonderful."

Vera looked up and gave her a sweet smile: "Mommy don't be angry, Vera will stay with you."

That one sentence almost made Elaine's forced composure collapse again.

She quickly blinked, pushing down that sourness, and nodded: "Yes, Mommy's not angry anymore. With Vera here, Mommy won't be angry."

Neither mother nor daughter mentioned the two people who had just left, as if they had never appeared.

They cooperated tacitly, one sweeping, one wiping, and soon cleaned up the mess.

After finishing, it was getting late.

The originally planned dinner was ruined, and Bradley was still waiting.

Elaine checked the time and said to Vera: "Vera must be hungry, right? Mommy will make something simple to eat. You eat first, okay? Mommy needs to take food to Bradley, he's injured and can't go hungry."

"Okay! Mommy, go cook quickly. I'm not hungry, I can wait!"

Vera said very sensibly.

Elaine's heart softened as she quickly walked into the kitchen.

There was no time for careful preparation. She opened the fridge and quickly stir-fried two simple dishes with the available ingredients, then rapidly cooked a small pot of light vegetable porridge.

She first portioned out a serving, watched Vera sit obediently at the dining table and finish eating, carefully checked the doors and windows, told Vera to watch cartoons at home, and only then picked up the newly packed insulated bag.

"Mommy come back early."

Vera stood at the door, waving her little hand.

"Okay, Mommy will come back right after the delivery. Lock the door."

Elaine kissed her daughter's forehead, turned and went downstairs.

Night had fallen. Elaine walked quickly to the parking lot, started the car, and drove toward Bradley's apartment.

She had been coming every day these past few days. For convenience in taking care of him, Bradley had already given her the entry code to his apartment.

The car soon arrived.

Elaine carried the insulated bag, took the elevator upstairs, and entered the code.

With a soft "beep," the lock opened.

She pushed the door open and, out of habit, changed her shoes while saying softly: "Bradley, I'm here. Tonight I just made some simple porridge and dishes, you'll have to make do..."

Her words stopped abruptly.

In the hallway near the bathroom, a tall figure was walking out while drying his hair.

Bradley had obviously just finished showering.

He only had a bath towel wrapped around his lower body, exposing his broad, solid shoulders.

Water droplets slowly slid down his well-defined back, and his damp brown hair hung somewhat messily on his forehead, with water still dripping from the ends.

He apparently hadn't expected Elaine to come straight in at this time either. His motion of drying his hair paused slightly as he looked up.

Their eyes met.

Elaine's brain went "buzz," instantly blank.

Her fingers holding the insulated bag unconsciously tightened, and her cheeks flushed at a visibly rapid pace.