Chapter 833 Took My Mom Out to Eat Something Good..........

Chapter 833 Took My Mom Out to Eat Something Good..........

Eddy was six years old. It was the day of his first-grade entrance ceremony.

His parents had promised him early on that they would take him to school and be there for the event.

That evening, Thalia was at an event in Regal City and was planning to fly back to Emerald City with William.

Then a massive storm hit Regal City, forcing the airport to cancel all flights.

High-speed rail tickets were completely sold out.

Driving back in that kind of storm was way too dangerous.

The two of them didn't make it home until noon the next day.

The moment they walked into Mistwood Hill, they found Eddy sitting on the couch in his school uniform, stroking the cat and muttering something under his breath with a sulky look on his face.

Thalia nudged William and told him to go deal with it.

William cleared his throat, feeling a little guilty, and opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't bother. I can heal on my own."

Eddy cut him off before he could get a word out.

William: ............

Thalia: "I always say my son is the best."

Eddy: "If I ever become a murderer because of psychological issues, I'll just say it's because my parents never paid attention to me growing up — too busy making money and living their own little world to care about me."

"My only friend is Cheesy."

"Is that so?" Thalia put down her bag. "Next time I see your friend Mango, I'll have to let her know that your best friend isn't her — it's Cheesy."

Eddy immediately blew up. "Mom, you skipped my entrance ceremony and now you want to mess up my friendship with Mango?"

"You're already on your way to becoming a murderer. What do you need friends for? Once you're locked up, even your dad won't be able to get you out."

William: ...... Well, they're at each other's throats. As long as I stay out of it, I'm fine.

"Dad, aren't you going to do something about your wife?"

William poured a glass of water and handed it to Thalia, then gave Eddy a sideways look. "You think I have that kind of power?"

"In this house, even the cat listens to your mom."

Eddy went quiet.

---

Eddy was seven. William was swamped with work, and Thalia's career was hitting a second peak. The older relatives in the family had started dropping hints — more or less suggesting that the two of them should have another child.

Thalia acted like she didn't hear a word of it.

She was too busy throwing herself into her career.

One day, Thalia had just wrapped up filming on a drama and was heading back to Emerald City when she started hearing all kinds of gossip circulating in their social circle.

It was all about William.

When you're at the top, even if you keep your hands clean, people will still come after you.

Thalia listened for a while and realized the gossip was about her own household.

She was sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, eating snacks, and the more she scrolled through her phone, the darker her expression got.

"Damn it!"

Eddy spun around. "What's wrong?"

"If your dad replaced me, whose side would you be on?"

Eddy tossed his iPad onto the carpet and crawled over on all fours to sit across from her. He looked her dead in the eye and asked seriously, "If Dad found me a stepmom, would you divorce him?"

"Divorce him," Thalia said through gritted teeth. "Why wouldn't I?"

Eddy asked, "Why would you?"

"If you divorce him, whose money are you spending? Who's buying your bags? Who's investing in your projects so you can keep acting?"

"Just ignore him. If Dad goes out and finds me a stepmom, you go find me a stepdad. Same thing, right? Divorce would be a total loss for you. You can't divorce him. Look how good your life is right now — nothing like my classmates' moms, who drag themselves to work every day, dutifully pick their kids up from school, then come home to do laundry, cook dinner, and clean the house. Could you do that?"

"You're a princess! Just treat Dad like your personal workhorse and call it a day."

Thalia: ........ "You know what, that makes sense."

Fallon: ......... If your dad ever hears this, he'll skin you alive.

"Feel better now? I was just watching videos online and found this place with a bunch of good-looking guys working there. Let me find it — I'll take you. My treat."

Thalia's mood lifted noticeably.

"Found it." Eddy handed the iPad to Thalia. "Navigate here. Let's go."

"I'll use my allowance to make you happy."

"Let's go."

Fallon was alarmed to see the two of them ready to act on a whim like that. "Mrs. Brown, we really shouldn't."

"Don't listen to Fallon," Eddy said, taking Thalia's hand and heading upstairs to change. "You deserve to be happy. When you're happy, I'm happy. When I'm happy, I grow up healthy. It's a positive cycle."

William had hired a philosophy tutor to come to the house since Eddy was little.

On top of that, whenever William had free time, he taught Eddy himself.

After a couple of years of this, Eddy could out-argue just about anyone.

The only two people who could hold their own against him were Thalia and William.

William could, because his knowledge simply outclassed Eddy's.

Thalia could, because she was willing to get physical.

Every now and then, when Eddy left Fallon completely speechless, Fallon would go looking for one of them as backup.

---

At half past ten, William came home from a dinner engagement.

He'd heard earlier that Thalia would be back that day, so he slipped away from the table as soon as he could.

What he didn't expect was to come home and find neither his wife nor his kid anywhere in sight.

"Where is everyone?"

Fallon looked at William nervously. "Eddy took Mrs. Brown out."

William looked like he hadn't heard right. "Say that again — who took who out?"

"Eddy took Mrs. Brown out," Fallon repeated.

William nodded slowly, pulled out his phone, and checked the location on Eddy's smartwatch.

Rich Ladies' Paradise?

Just from the name alone, he could tell it wasn't anywhere good.

---

At half past midnight, the two of them came strolling back into Mistwood Hill, hand in hand, happy as could be.

"Did we get robbed? Why is every single light off? It's pitch black in here."

"How would I know?" Thalia muttered, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She looked down, changed her shoes, and hit the light switch by the entryway.

Click.

The whole room lit up.

William was sitting on the couch, face like stone, staring at the two of them.

He was so furious he looked like he was about to combust on the spot.

Eddy: Oh no. He's done for.

William's voice came out cold and sharp, cutting right through them. "Should I formally invite you in?"

Thalia shuffled over slowly, and the two of them stood in front of the coffee table with their heads down — exactly like getting called into the teacher's office for a scolding.

"Honesty will be rewarded, resistance will be punished. Who wants to go first?"

Eddy squeezed his eyes shut and steeled himself. "Mom was in a bad mood today, so I took her out for something good to eat."

"Is that right?" Mr. Brown's voice stayed ice-cold as he pressed, barely keeping his anger in check. "How good, exactly?"

"Just......" Eddy scrambled for the right words.

"Nothing special, really. Just some fresh greens," Thalia jumped in to cover for him.

Fresh greens?

Was she calling him old and tough?

William let out a short, humorless laugh. "So the food at home is too tough and chewy for you now?"

"We just wanted a change!"

William gave a slow, measured nod, then pulled out his phone and opened the payment app. "A few leaves of fresh greens cost me fifty-eight thousand dollars?"

Silence.

Eddy froze.

No way.

How did his dad know?

William watched Eddy's stunned expression with calm eyes. "What? Did you forget that your allowance comes through a linked account I set up?"

The two of them stood there, completely dumbstruck.

Thalia: ......... We're dead. We are both absolutely dead tonight.

"Get upstairs. Now."

The moment Thalia heard that, she turned around with Eddy and started heading for the stairs.

"Stop right there." The sharp command came from behind them.

Thalia grabbed Eddy's arm. "Your dad's talking to you. Go on."

Eddy: "He's clearly talking to you."

William's breathing was unsteady. He'd come home still in his suit, hadn't even had a chance to take it off, and now their back-and-forth was pushing him over the edge. He walked over and grabbed Thalia by the arm with one hand.

Then he swung a leg out and knocked Eddy flat on the floor.

"I'm enrolling you in a school abroad first thing tomorrow. You're getting shipped out of the country."

Thalia reached down to help Eddy up.

"No — no, it's fine, I've got it, I'll get up myself."

"I'm going, I'm going." Eddy, tough as nails, dusted off his backside, headed upstairs, shut his door, and still managed to shout back down: "Good night, Mom and Dad! Love you both!"

Thalia: Done. She is completely done for.

William grabbed her and dragged her into the bedroom.

Before he even had a chance to blow up at her, she looked down, put on her most pitiful face, and struck first. "I was wrong."

"I'll never do it again. It was your son who tricked me today."

"Eddy hasn't developed a moral compass yet — but you haven't either?" William couldn't hold back his anger and turned on her.

Thalia looked down and said nothing.

"Talk," William snapped.

Thalia pressed her lips together, picked up her phone, scrolled for a moment, and handed it to him. The headline was hard to miss: "Emerald City's Richest Man Spotted Entering and Leaving Hotel with Mystery Woman"

William took the phone and scrolled through. Wall-to-wall text, not a single actual photo to be found.

He tossed the phone onto the bed in frustration and called Brian.

"Pull the hotel security footage from my client dinner two nights ago and send it to me."

Brian sounded surprised. "Right now?"

William's tone left no room for argument. "Is that a problem?"

He hung up and sat down on the edge of the bed, the veins on the back of his hand standing out sharply against the surface, his gaze locked on her.

A few minutes later, the footage came through. William handed the phone to Thalia. "See for yourself."

"I don't want to look."

"Next time you have doubts, come to me directly. Don't let your imagination run wild and trap yourself."

"The only reason my imagination runs wild is because you don't make me feel secure enough. You should be looking at yourself before you come at me."

Some things never change — she could still flip the script on him without missing a beat.

"How exactly have I failed to make you feel secure? Have I ever stopped you from looking at my phone? Have I ever kept my schedule from you? Have I ever not come home?"

Thalia dug her heels in. "I don't know. I just don't feel secure."

"Tell me exactly where this insecurity is coming from."

"You just can't stand to see me doing well. You're not happy unless you're giving me a hard time every few days."

Thalia couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore. She went and took a shower, then padded over to Eddy's room and lifted his blanket to climb in.

Eddy was so startled, he scrambled out of bed. "Mom, do you have any idea Dad will actually kill me?"

"If he kills you, he goes to prison."

"Do you think it's fair to sacrifice my life just to get my dad locked up?"

Bang — the door to Eddy's room flew open with full force. William stood in the doorway, absolutely furious. Eddy grabbed the blanket from the couch and pulled it over his head.

Forced invisibility.

William scooped Thalia up, blanket and all, and hauled her back to the master bedroom.

Before she could even put up a fight, he had his hand at the back of her neck, pressing her down beneath him...