Chapter 11 Difficulties for the Child with Mother
Every time William gazed into Emily's bright eyes, he felt an indescribable sense of closeness.
Emily remembered how her mom would always give her a piece of candy whenever she got sick. She quickly slid off the bed, found her little bag of candies, and handed her favorite one to William.
"Take your medicine, then have some candy."
Emily didn't quite get the whole video call thing yet. She wanted to give the candy to William but realized she couldn't.
William's gloomy mood lightened up as he watched Emily's antics.
Sophia walked in to see Emily lying on the bed, shaking a candy in front of the phone, chanting about eating candy.
"Emily, you've already had candy today. If you eat more, your teeth will get cavities. How about we save it for tomorrow?"
Emily shook her head, "Emily won't eat it. He will."
Sophia thought Emily was talking about James. She patted Emily's little head, "You can have it when James comes over."
She picked up the phone to talk to James, only to see the video call had already ended. She felt a bit disappointed.
The weekend was coming up.
Sophia sent James a voice message, asking if he had time to come over.
William lay in the hospital bed, his handsome eyes slightly closed. The pale color of his lips added a fragile touch to his otherwise noble and striking appearance.
His phone buzzed with a message from Sophia.
The long voice message was filled with care for James, but didn't mention William at all.
William's eyes turned cold, the chill in his gaze growing sharper.
The next day.
Sophia still hadn't received a reply from James but saw news about the Peace Group entering the entertainment industry.
The comments under the article were all about a domineering CEO stepping down for love.
William and Alice's names were trending again.
Meanwhile, someone dug up a video from two years ago, and rumors started swirling about Alice becoming the future Mrs. Peace Group President.
William hated having his photos taken.
Even more, he hated seeing his photos in entertainment news.
Anytime a photo of him appeared online, the Peace Group's PR team would immediately have it taken down.
Even as his legally recognized wife, Sophia, wasn't allowed to post even a faceless hand-holding photo of them on her personal social media.
Two years ago, his candlelight dinner with Alice was the only exception.
Alice always had special privileges with William.
It was at that moment that Sophia realized that William wasn't against public displays of affection; it was just that the person wasn't her.
Looking back on those five years, her heart still ached, but it no longer felt like she was drowning.
Her phone rang. It was Lyra.
"Sophia, my cousin, opened a family resort. It's having a soft opening today. Why don't you bring Emily, and we can spend a couple of days there?"
Sophia was a bit worried. "What about your safety?"
Lyra had the most black fans and sasaeng fans in the entertainment industry, often putting her at risk.
Lyra reassured her, "Don't worry. It's just family and friends this weekend. It's totally safe."
Sophia hadn't taken Emily out for a while, so she agreed.
Before leaving, she messaged James, inviting him to join them, but he didn't reply.
Sophia was a bit worried about James.
However...
As soon as they arrived at Koi Paradise Resort, Sophia, holding Emily, saw James and Michael getting out of a car not far away.
Alice followed them out.
Alice reached out to Michael, who obediently held her hand. From a distance, Sophia could hear Michael's excited voice.
"Dad, come on! Alice said she'd take us kite flying. You should come too. Let's see whose kite flies higher."
Sophia stood frozen.
James, who got out of the car after Michael, looked a bit down.
Emily, in Sophia's arms, immediately spotted James and waved her little hands, calling out to him.
"James,"
James thought he was hearing things.
It wasn't until Emily called out a couple more times that he saw them, his eyes lighting up.
He waved back, "Mom, Emily."
William also saw Sophia, their gazes meeting briefly before both looked away coldly.
Emily wriggled out of Sophia's arms and ran towards James.
James was about to run over when Alice stopped him.
She pretended to be sad, "James, I made time to be with you and Michael. Are you going to leave me?"
Michael also pulled on him, "James, we promised Alice we'd fly kites with her."
Alice smiled, "I bought lots of kites with your favorite characters. Don't you want to play?"
Michael, excited, said, "I want to play."
For Michael, as long as he had his favorite toys, it didn't matter who he played with.
James felt conflicted. He wanted to fly kites with Sophia and Emily.
He glanced at William, remembering how he had scolded Sophia in the yard, and lowered his head sadly. He didn't want Sophia to cry again.
James muttered, "Okay, I understand."
Emily, dressed in a white top and pink overalls, with a matching candy bag slung over her shoulder, looked adorable as she ran over and grabbed James's hand.
She sweetly called out, "James."
James was happy to see her, but noticed how his dad looked at his mom. He tightened his grip on Emily's hand.
He said, "Dad, I'm taking Emily to her mom."
James quickly led Emily away.
Sophia was walking towards them.
She bent down and patted James's head, gently asking, "James, why didn't you reply to my messages?"
James glanced at William and said, "Sorry, Mom. Dad hasn't let me use my phone lately, so I didn't see your messages."
Sophia shot a glance at William, knowing he did it on purpose.
She smiled at James, "It's okay. I understand."
She was about to ask if he wanted to play with them when Alice's sarcastic voice cut in.
"Sophia, William agreed to let you see the kids on weekends, but you can't cling to them all the time. The kids need time with their dad, too. You're making things hard for William and the kids."
Sophia straightened up, the smile fading from her eyes.
She sneered, "What's hard for him? Choosing between their mom and their stepmom? Between spending time with his kids or his lover?"
William's lips pressed into a thin line, his sharp features looking especially cold. His eyes were calm but piercing.
His gaze fell on James, nestled in Sophia's arms, and darkened. "James, come here."
William was strict with the kids, always hands-on, never indulging them because of their age.
To him, James had been obedient until Sophia came back into the picture.
James had never seen William look at him like this. Remembering how Sophia was scolded because of him, tears started to fall.
Sophia immediately panicked, "William, why are you being harsh with James?"
She held James close, soothing him, "James, don't be scared. I'm here."
Emily hugged him too, imitating Sophia's comforting gestures, gently patting his back.
Emily softly reassured him, "James, don't be scared."
William's long lashes cast a shadow over his eyes as he frowned at the trio huddled together.
"James, I'll say it again. Come here."