Chapter 231: Tell Him

He held Joanna and turned to walk down another path.

Evelyn stood there, watching Brandon lead Joanna away by the hand. They slowly disappeared into the distance.

Joanna's shoulders were still shaking, but she didn't look back.

Evelyn took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Andy, her gaze turning cold.

"You need to go apologize to Joanna right now."

Andy hugged his bear and took a step back, shaking his head. "I'm not going. I didn't say anything wrong."

Evelyn crouched down to meet his eyes, trying to be patient. "Joanna's mom passed away when she was very little. She doesn't have a mom. You can't hurt her like that. Losing her mom is already so painful, and then you say things like that to her—how sad do you think she must be?"

Andy froze for a moment, seemingly shocked by this news.

But that bit of shock was quickly covered by grievance, and his mouth started to quiver again.

"Even if she doesn't have a mom, she can't take mine. You're MY mom, not hers."

Evelyn straightened up, looking at Andy's stubborn expression. The anger inside her was becoming hard to contain.

For a moment, she even felt disappointed in this child.

She looked at Luke. "I'm going to find Joanna. You talk to him."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Andy instinctively wanted to follow, but Luke held him back.

He opened his mouth, wanting to call out "Mom," but the word stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out.

He watched Evelyn's figure get farther and farther away. Finally, tears fell down his face. Hugging the big bear, he cried in gasping sobs.

Luke crouched down, looking at Andy's tear-stained face, not rushing to comfort him.

Only after Andy's crying had quieted down a bit did Luke speak:

"Andy, remember this—no one is trying to take your mom away. But you also need to remember that Mom doesn't belong to just you. She has her own friends, her own life. You need to learn to respect that."

Andy sobbed, unable to speak.

Luke wiped his tears away. "In a bit, you're going to apologize to Joanna. No matter what you're thinking inside, you need to say you're sorry."

Only then did Andy nod, hugging his bear and following behind Luke in the direction Brandon had left.

The amusement park was huge. They searched for quite a while without finding them.

Andy's eyes were red, and his little hands holding the bear were getting sore.

But he didn't throw a tantrum. He just followed Luke, walking and looking around.

On Evelyn's end, when she found Brandon and Joanna, they were sitting on a bench by the lake.

Joanna had stopped crying. She was leaning against Brandon, holding the pink rabbit in her hands. Her eyes were still a bit red, but she had calmed down.

Evelyn walked over and crouched down in front of her, taking her hand. "Joanna, I'm sorry. I didn't handle this well, and you got hurt."

Joanna shook her head and sniffled, her voice a bit hoarse. "I don't blame Andy. What he said wasn't wrong. I really don't have a mom."

She lowered her head, her fingers touching the rabbit's ears. Her voice was soft and low, as if afraid to disturb the water on the lake.

"I just... I just really envy him. He has a mom like you. I wish I had one too."

Evelyn's eyes started to sting, but she didn't say anything.

Joanna looked up again and smiled at her. The smile was a bit forced, but she was trying hard to smile.

"Ms. Thomas, you look so beautiful today. Like an angel. My dad says you're beautiful too."

After saying this, she sneaked a glance at Brandon.

Evelyn smiled and pulled her up by the hand. "Come on, I'll take you to play something else. There's a carousel over there, a really big one, and it even has little carriages."

"Okay!" Joanna's eyes lit up. Hugging her rabbit, she held Evelyn's hand and followed her.

Brandon stood up from the bench and followed behind them without saying anything.

The three of them played at the amusement park all afternoon.

The sky gradually darkened, and the park's lights came on one by one.

As they were walking toward the exit, they ran into Luke and Andy at the entrance.

Andy was holding the big bear, standing next to Luke. His eyes were still red, and a small patch of the bear's fur had gotten wet from his crying.

Seeing Joanna, he lowered his head and walked over.

His voice was very small, as if talking to his shoes. "Joanna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

Joanna froze for a few seconds, then smiled. "It's okay, I don't blame you."

Andy looked up, a bit surprised.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but Joanna had already turned around and taken Brandon's hand. "Dad, let's go."

The two groups parted ways at the amusement park entrance.

After Brandon and Joanna had walked a few steps, Joanna suddenly turned back and waved at Andy. "Goodbye, Ms. Thomas. Goodbye, Andy."

Andy waved back too. "Goodbye, Joanna." His voice wasn't loud, but this time there was no reluctance in it.

Watching them leave, Andy reached for Evelyn's hand.

"Mom, let's go home."

Evelyn paused, then turned and said, "You go home with Dad. Mom still has work tonight."

Andy knew Evelyn was angry with him today, so he didn't dare make a fuss. He nodded. "...Okay, then goodbye, Mom."

"Goodbye."

Evelyn got in her car, fastened her seatbelt, and glanced in the rearview mirror.

Luke was holding Andy's hand at the amusement park entrance. The colored lights above their heads were flashing on and off. Andy was hugging the big bear, head lowered, thinking about something.

Evelyn looked away, started the engine, and drove out of the parking lot.

A few days later, Frank introduced Maggie to another big collaboration opportunity.

The meeting place was a high-end hotel in the city center—quiet environment, good privacy.

Maggie arrived ten minutes early, dressed formally with perfect makeup, sitting in the private room waiting.

Before long, Frank pushed the door open with a middle-aged man in his fifties behind him.

The man had a square face and wore a dark blue suit, with the kind of polite smile businesspeople typically have.

"Ms. Smith, this is Albert Sanchez from SylvanTech."

Frank stepped aside and brought Albert to the seat across from Maggie. "Mr. Sanchez, this is Maggie Smith from BlueSky Biotech."

Maggie stood up, extended her hand, and said with a smile, "Mr. Sanchez, I've heard so much about you."

Albert shook her hand, his gaze sweeping across her face before he sat down.

After some pleasantries, Albert picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, set it down, and suddenly looked at Maggie, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ms. Smith, have I met you somewhere before? You look very familiar."

Maggie's hand holding the coffee cup paused for a moment, then she smiled and said, "At that industry networking event a few days ago, I was there too. Maybe you saw me there."

Albert slapped his forehead, suddenly understanding.

"Right, right, right, now I remember. That day, wasn't Mr. Miller from the Miller Group with you? You two came together."

Maggie nodded. "Yes."

Albert picked up his coffee cup and took another sip, his tone carrying a hint of sentiment.

"That day I thought you and Mr. Miller were a couple. I didn't expect you to be so close with Mr. Hernandez too. Ms. Smith, you're young and beautiful, and so capable—you must have plenty of admirers in the industry."

As he spoke, he glanced at Frank.