Chapter 294: Rejecting Charles Again

"Andy, what are you doing here?"

The moment Seraphine saw Andy, all the frustration Charles and Sean had caused her vanished instantly. Her face lit up as she hurried over to him and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"It's not the weekend. Don't you have school?"

"Dad let me stay home today."

Andy took advantage of the hug to plant a kiss on her cheek, his voice chirping with excitement like a happy little bird.

"Dad said today is really important for you, and from now on, he and I are going to be there for all your special days."

"Mr. Hearst called us here too."

Madison laughed softly, deliberately winking at Seraphine.

"Seraphine, Mr. Hearst has been working so hard to make you happy! He's been calling me personally for the past week to confirm my schedule, all to make sure I'd be here on time today."

Jason had quietly done so much for her.

Seraphine licked her lips and instinctively glanced over at Jason.

But Jason didn't take the opportunity to claim credit. He simply gave Seraphine a warm smile, then steered the conversation back to Andy.

"Seraphine, Andy has a gift for you."

"Oh, right, the gift."

At the reminder, Andy smacked his forehead and quickly pulled a beautiful snow globe from the little backpack he was carrying.

The snow globe looked custom-made.

Inside were three cartoon figures. From their outfits, they appeared to be Seraphine, Andy, and Jason.

"Seraphine, remember at the restaurant when I accidentally broke the snow globe Sean gave you? After that day, I asked Dad to hire a teacher for me. I made this snow globe with my own hands."

"I sculpted the three little figures myself with clay. It's my first time making something like this, so it's not perfect. I hope you won't mind."

Seraphine looked down at the little globe in Andy's hands, her mind involuntarily replaying the scene of Sean snatching the snow globe from her.

She closed her eyes, mentally pushing those unhappy memories out of her system, then raised her hand to accept the snow globe Andy had made for her.

But at that moment, Sean rushed forward and shoved Andy hard.

"Ah!"

Trying to protect the snow globe in his hands, Andy couldn't dodge Sean's attack in time. He was knocked to the ground and let out a pained grunt, his face scrunching up.

"Andy!"

Seraphine's expression changed instantly. She rushed forward, pulling Andy protectively into her arms, then shot Charles a furious glare.

"Mr. Stuart, control your son. If he hurts Andy again, I won't let this go."

"Mom, what are you saying?"

Sean hadn't expected Seraphine to scold both Charles and him because of Andy. His pupils contracted sharply, and the color drained from his face.

"I'm your child. How can you blame me and Dad because of Andy? Let go of Andy and come hug me. I'm so upset."

"Oh, so you do know you're my son? But how did you treat me before? When Vivian and Mason were bullying me, did you help me?"

Seraphine looked at Sean calmly, not a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

"Oh, I remember now. You didn't help me. Not only that, you joined Vivian in bullying me. What right does a child like you have to ask me for a hug?"

"I admit I did some things wrong before, but I realize my mistakes now. I even made you a gift with my own hands."

Sean's lips trembled as he instinctively tried to defend himself.

Unfortunately, Seraphine had no interest in arguing with him. Before Sean could finish, she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an impatient snort.

"Yes, you apologized. But I did warn you, didn't I? Not every apology deserves forgiveness. You and your father have hurt me too deeply. No matter how much you try to win me over, I'm never coming back to you."

"As for your handmade gift—"

She paused, a flash of coldness darting through her eyes.

"Take your gift back. A gift that's mine today and could belong to someone else tomorrow? I don't want it, and I wouldn't dare accept it. Now I have a gift that no one can take away from me."

As she spoke, Seraphine turned her head slightly and carefully took the snow globe Andy had been protecting in his arms.

"Andy, thank you. I love your gift."

She kissed Andy's forehead, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"No, no, you can't do this to me, Mom."

Seeing this, Sean turned pale and looked at Charles in panic.

"Dad, how did it turn out like this? You said when Mom saw the gift I made, she'd be so touched she'd agree to come home with us right away. Why doesn't she want my gift? Why doesn't she want me?"

"Seraphine—"

Charles's expression was grim too. After a long silence, he forced out a sentence.

"I get it now. You're using Andy to provoke Sean on purpose, and you said all those hurtful things because you're still angry and insecure. You're afraid that if you forgive Sean and me today, we'll keep letting Vivian bully you in the future. Isn't that right?"

Why would she be insecure when she didn't even care about them anymore?

Seraphine frowned, about to fire back with a cutting remark.

But before she could find the right words, Charles clapped his hands sharply.

"Seraphine, you don't need to be afraid. Sean and I won't bully or ignore you anymore. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you right now."

Seraphine blinked, suddenly sensing Charles was about to lose it.

To keep herself and Andy safe, she moved behind Jason before Charles could make his next move.

Charles didn't notice her retreat. After speaking to her, he pulled out his phone and swiped rapidly across the screen.

"Mr. Stuart!"

Moments later, Eli arrived.

With Eli came Vivian, looking battered and disheveled.

What Charles had been doing on his phone was ordering Eli to bring Vivian over.