Chapter 19 Son
Ambrose faltered mid-step, his brow furrowing slightly. "Has a doctor seen him?"
"Yes, it's just a cold. The doctor prescribed medication, but Hayden refuses to take it," Chase replied, carefully watching Ambrose's expression.
Noticing Ambrose's face darkening with anger, Chase quickly added, "It's probably because you haven't been home for dinner lately. He's upset. Why don't you have dinner with him tonight?"
Ambrose silently studied Chase for several seconds. "Only you would make excuses for his tantrums."
With that, he strode toward the elevator with Chase following, offering earnest reassurances.
"Mr. Boleyn, Hayden has grown up without a mother. He's already had it tough. As his father, you should be more understanding. Otherwise, his reluctance to speak will only get worse."
Ambrose's expression grew serious at those last words.
Hayden had matured faster than other children, especially in his speech. When Hayden first started talking, he spoke with remarkable clarity, shocking everyone. But somewhere along the way, he gradually became unwilling to speak, and now he barely uttered a word all day.
Ambrose had taken him to various renowned psychologists, but with minimal results.
Ambrose ultimately canceled his business engagement—Hayden was his son, after all. By the time he arrived home, it was nearly eight o'clock. The butler, Kai, hurried to greet him.
"Mr. Boleyn, welcome home."
Ambrose handed his coat to Kai and asked coolly, "Has Hayden's fever broken?"
"The young master's fever has gone down, but he hasn't taken his other medication yet," Kai responded respectfully.
Ambrose did not comment, but his fingers working at his collar buttons betrayed his suppressed anger. Familiar with Ambrose's every gesture, Kai quickly added, fearing Hayden would be scolded.
"The medicine needs to be taken after meals, but the young master hasn't had dinner yet. He said he wanted to wait for you."
Chase had called ahead to arrange dinner, which was already prepared.
Ambrose's expression softened slightly. "Where is he?"
"The young master is in his room."
Ambrose nodded and said, "Let's get dinner started," before heading upstairs.
Ambrose knocked on Hayden's door before entering.
The cosmic blue-themed room was temperature-controlled year-round, quiet and serene. Dressed in blue loungewear, Hayden sat amid a collection of limited-edition spaceship figurines, quietly focusing downward as he assembled a newly acquired space elevator LEGO set.
Ambrose crouched before him, brushed the hair from his forehead, and checked his temperature.
"Your fever's gone. Come down for dinner."
Hayden glanced up briefly before lowering his head again, continuing with his LEGO.
Seeing this, Ambrose ran his tongue along his teeth. Already irritated after meeting Wesley, he'd been suppressing his temper to comfort Hayden. Seeing Hayden's indifference, his anger finally surfaced.
"I came home specifically to have dinner with you, and you're still giving me attitude?"
Ambrose's cold tone didn't prompt Hayden to speak. Instead, the boy reached for his tablet, wrote something, and handed it to Ambrose.
[Join me or don't. I don't care.] The words stared back at Ambrose, who took a deep breath and said icily.
"So you've completely stopped talking now? Communicating like this?"
Hayden took back the tablet, wrote something else, and passed it over again.
[I don't want to talk to you.]
Ambrose read it and demanded. "Why?"
Hayden didn't move, didn't take back the tablet to write anything more, and just lowered his head to continue with his LEGO.
Ambrose was frustrated but knew that the more he pushed, the more stubborn Hayden would become. He needed another approach.
After some thought, he scoffed dismissively.
"You don't want to talk to me? Well, I don't want to listen anyway."
With that, he sat down across from Hayden and picked up some robot parts—specifically the ones Hayden needed. Hayden's eyes, shaped just like his father's, suddenly glared at him, filled with anger.
But Ambrose pretended not to notice, focusing only on what he was doing. Seeing he couldn't complete his project, Hayden quietly stood up and left the room.
Ambrose tossed aside the pieces and watched Hayden disappear, his expression grave.
At the silent dinner table, father and son ate without exchanging a word. Shortly after, Hayden finished his meal and got up to leave.
"Kai, give him his medicine," Ambrose instructed.
Kai quickly brought over the medication. Hayden quietly accepted it, took it, and then went upstairs.
Ambrose's expression didn't improve. Hayden's calm demeanor, rather than acting out, was even more concerning.
After dinner, he called Chase to his study.
"When he communicates with you, does he speak or write?"
Chase paused for two seconds, realizing who "he" referred to, then said. "During martial arts lessons, I do the talking, and Hayden listens."
"So you haven't heard him speak recently either?" Ambrose's brows knotted tightly.
Chase hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Ambrose lowered his gaze, visibly worried. Seeing this, Chase suggested, "I heard from Kai that Hayden has been enjoying school lately, which shows improvement. Why not ask his teachers about how he's doing there?"
Ambrose subsequently called for Kai and inquired about Hayden's situation at school. Kai's report was mostly discouraging, except for one detail.
"The young master has recently befriended a little girl. They get along very well, and he's always reluctant to leave school."
"A little girl?" Ambrose was surprised. Hayden typically ignored other children—had something changed?
"Yes, she looks like an angel. Whenever I pick up the young master, neither wants to leave until both their parents arrive. Only then do they go their separate ways." Kai paused briefly before explaining Hayden's recent mood.
"That little girl hasn't been to school yesterday or today, and the young master has been feeling down because of it."
After getting this information from Kai, Ambrose requested the kindergarten teacher's number and called her. The teacher, receiving her first call from Hayden's father, immediately launched into advice.
"Hayden is extremely intelligent. As a parent, you need to spend more time with him. Otherwise, he'll increasingly feel unloved and become more reluctant to speak."
Ambrose patiently acknowledged this before getting to his main concern. "Does he speak at school?"
"Actually, I wanted to discuss this with you. When teachers ask questions, he doesn't answer, and he doesn't talk much with other children either."
Ambrose's expression grew serious. Recalling Kai's words, he asked. "Not even with his best friend?"
"Apart from Yara Mellon, he doesn't have close friends. He seems to talk with Yara."
Yara... wasn't that Scarlett's daughter's name?
The kindergarten teacher continued with more advice about spending time with Hayden, finally mentioning a parent-child activity next week that she hoped he would attend.
After hanging up, Ambrose contemplated for a while. Chase asked. "Hayden doesn't speak at school either?"
Ambrose nodded, then quickly shook his head. "He talks to Yara."
Chase was stunned—the clever little girl who was also Scarlett's daughter.