From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 356: Chapter 356

Tyson and Max hadn't even stepped into the kindergarten yet when they heard a boy wailing loud enough to shake the sky.
Tyson and Max stood at the entrance, exchanging puzzled looks.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a sports event? Why is someone crying?" Tyson asked, confused. He had lived most of his life alone, as a widower for a good chunk of it.
When he adopted Max, Max was already halfway to being a teenager. Besides, he'd always been too busy to pay attention to Max's school activities. By the time he found his biological daughter, Paisley, she was already a mom of two, making him a grandfather overnight.
So this was actually the first time he was attending a school event as a parent. Even if it was just a kindergarten fun sports day, that was enough to get him excited—more excited than he had been in decades.
"No idea. Maybe someone lost a game?" Max craned his neck, trying to see inside, but the walls blocked his view.
It was actually Leo who first got the distress call from Maria, which was how Max found out about Serena's kindergarten sports day.
Other kids had both parents or even their whole families joining in, but Serena only had Paisley. And to make things worse, Paisley had work that day and probably wouldn't make it in time.
So Maria asked Max to step in as Serena's "dad" for the event. Max agreed, happily and readily.
Then Max told Tyson about it, and to his surprise, Tyson immediately decided to come too.
The thought of Serena and Paisley being the only ones without family support, always finishing last in every event, broke Tyson's heart. So Tyson canceled his flight abroad and postponed an important meeting—
Nothing was going to stop him from attending Serena's sports day.
Max and Tyson thought they had everything planned perfectly. They even followed Maria's suggestion to keep it a secret and surprise Paisley and Serena on the day. But things didn't go as planned—their flight got delayed.
When it became clear they wouldn't make it in time, Max had no choice but to call Nathaniel and ask him to go ahead and be there for Paisley and Serena.
As soon as they landed in Harrowfell, they picked up Maria and rushed straight to the kindergarten.
When they arrived, the security guard at the gate saw them as two unfamiliar men without parent passes and immediately stopped them. "And who might you gentlemen be?"
The guard looked them up and down. Their tailored suits and polished appearance screamed wealth and status, so he spoke a little more politely.
Tyson grinned, "We're here for the sports day. Parents of one of the kids."
"Parents?" The guard raised an eyebrow and muttered, "This is getting weirder. So many unfamiliar parents today."
Despite his doubts, the guard still did his job. "Which kid are you here for? Where's your invitation card?"
"Uh...we don't have one?" Tyson replied, looking lost.
Just then, Maria hurried over from the car, holding up her invitation card. "Here! We're with Pre-One Class, Serena's family. Her mom isn't here yet, so I brought her uncle and grandpa along first."
The guard blinked in shock. He thought, 'Another one from Serena's family?'
Maria thought he didn't recognize her, so she stepped closer. "Come on, it's me, Maria. I pick up Rena all the time. I—"
The guard did recognize Maria. He nodded and let them through, but his face was still frozen in disbelief.
Maria didn't care and quickly walked into the kindergarten.
But Tyson, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"That guard's way too old for this job. Can he really keep the kids safe?" Tyson muttered as he walked inside, glancing back at the security guard. His gut told him something wasn't right.
"Maria," Tyson called out.
Maria stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"
"Is that guard...uh, all there? He looked kinda off to me. Want me to get some professionals to keep an eye on the place?" Tyson complained.
That was the first time Tyson had ever been so nosy and dramatic. But he couldn't help it. After all, Serena was in this kindergarten.
Maria burst out laughing when she heard that. "Oh, no need! It's really safe here, don't worry."
Seeing that Tyson still looked uneasy, Maria quickly added, "We should hurry inside. The sports day should've already started by now. I just asked Paisy—she's still on the way. I wonder how Rena's doing... Do you think she cried?"
That immediately shifted Tyson's attention, and he quickened his pace.
Just thinking about how all the other kids had their families with them while his precious granddaughter was all alone made his heart ache.
As they walked, he shot Max a sharp glare. "What's wrong with your secretary? She couldn't even book a proper flight? Out of all options, she picked one that got delayed? Fire her when we get back!"
Max was just as anxious, but all he could do was force a smile. "Let's not panic. Nathaniel's already inside."
As for firing his secretary, that wasn't happening. He knew Tyson was just venting his frustration.
By the time Tyson and Max followed Maria through the twists and turns to reach the sports day venue, Jasper had just finished getting a thorough beating. He was now crouched on the ground, holding his head and sobbing.
Standing beside him was his grandmother, who had exhausted herself from hitting him, and his mother, whose eyes were red like a rabbit's as she kept apologizing to Lauren.
A little further away, Jasper's grandfather had just regained some color in his face and was trying to help Jasper's father smooth things over with Dominick and Reginald.
"Huh? Why hasn't it started yet?" Maria asked as she walked in, puzzled. Based on the schedule, it should've begun a while ago.
She didn't pay attention to anyone else and instead scanned the crowd for the Pre-One Class and Serena. It didn't take long before she spotted Serena in Nathaniel's arms.
She recognized Nathaniel and knew Max had arranged for him to come early. So, seeing Serena being carried by a redhead didn't alarm her at all.
She walked over with a bright smile. "Rena! Look who's here!"
The moment she spoke, everyone turned to look in their direction.
When Serena heard Maria's voice and saw who was behind her, her face instantly lit up with a huge smile. "Grandpa! Uncle!"
That sweet little voice calling out "Grandpa" melted all the frustration Tyson had been holding in.
"Rena, sweetheart! I'm here!" Tyson said in an excited tone, hurrying toward her.
They had only been apart for a short while, but he had already missed his little girl like crazy.
Max also sped up, heading straight for Serena without a second glance at anything else.
Serena perched on Nathaniel's shoulder and waved her arms excitedly toward Tyson and Max.
Nathaniel pressed his lips together, feeling a little annoyed.
He thought, 'So what now? Wasn't I the Prince Charming just a second ago? I've been holding her for so long, and now they are just casting me aside? But, really, what can I do about it? I am just the junior here.
However, the moment Nathaniel saw Dominick's darkened face, the frustration in his chest instantly vanished. He thought, 'At least I'm still Prince Charming—I got to hold the little princess and even spin her around. Meanwhile, that bastard Dominick couldn't even get his own daughter to smile at him.'