The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 38: Chapter 38
You are reading The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep, Chapter 38: Chapter 38. Read more chapters of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep.
Oliver looked up and saw Victor walk in. He immediately burst into tears, wailing, "Vic, Leon tried to hit me. He wants to kick me and Mommy out, and he even broke all my toys."
Victor scooped Oliver up into his arms, very concerned. "There, there, Oliver. Don't cry. Tell me what happened, okay?"
Oliver sobbed, pointing at the toys scattered across the floor. "Leon said this is his home and won't let us stay here. He also said you'll only love him, not me anymore."
Victor shot Leon an angry glare.
Leon stood frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape. His big eyes were filled with utter bewilderment.
His fist remained clenched in mid-air as he looked back and forth between the toys scattered on the floor and Oliver cradled in Victor's arms.
Leon just couldn't understand as he wondered, 'Why is Oliver crying? And how does it suddenly become my fault?'
Victor hugged Oliver and scolded Leon, "Leon, how could you treat Oliver like that? He's our guest. How could you bully him?"
Leon's tears finally welled up and streamed down his cheeks. Choking out between sobs, he cried, "I didn't do it. He said he'd kick me out first. He broke the toys himself, then blamed it all on me."
Eliza appeared at just the right moment, gently taking Oliver from Victor's arms and holding him close. She said, "Leon, you shouldn't lie. Don't worry about the broken toys. We can always get new ones."
Her eyes were slightly red, her brow furrowed with restrained emotion as she continued, "If you don't want me anymore, we'll move out right away. But no matter what, you mustn't hit Oliver."
Hearing Eliza's words, Victor grew even more certain that Leon was to blame.
'How can a kid this young already be lying?' Victor fumed inwardly. 'It's fine if a toy gets broken. I can always buy another one. But hitting Oliver, and then lying about it? That's a whole different matter. I can't just let that go.'
Leon felt so wronged. He remembered how, when Serena was still around, she would always comfort him gently and patiently teach him. She never jumped to conclusions or scolded him without hearing his side, like Victor did.
"I want Mommy," Leon wailed, tears streaming down his face. He had had enough of being blamed and misunderstood.
Eliza comforted Leon, saying, "Leon, your mommy will be back soon."
Victor grew even more irritated as he watched Leon keep crying and calling for his mom. He rubbed his aching temples and snapped, "If you don't stop this tantrum right now, I'll send you back to Powell Manor."
Leon instantly stopped crying. He dreaded his stern grandfather, and what terrified him even more was the thought of being locked away in that gloomy mansion. Yet no one here understood him, and no one believed him.
At school, Leon often zoned out in class and got into frequent clashes with classmates. The teacher kept calling Victor to report on Leon's problems at school.
After work, Victor returned home and saw Leon, wondering, 'Ever since Serena left, Leon has become increasingly rebellious and hard to handle. Perhaps I really should sit down and have a heart-to-heart with him.'
"Leon, come here," said Victor.
Leon hesitated briefly, then dragged his feet as he slowly walked over to stand in front of Victor.
Victor crouched down so he was eye level with Leon. He asked, "What's been going on with you lately? Your teacher says you aren't paying attention in class and have even gotten into fights with your classmates. Is that true?"
Leon kept his head lowered, refusing to say a word.
"You weren't like this before. Back when your mom was here, you were always such a good, obedient boy," Victor continued.
Those words were the final spark that ignited all the pent-up anger in Leon's heart.
"When Mom was here, she used to read me stories and play games with me. She never yelled at me like you do." Leon roared at the top of his lungs, "You don't care about me at all. You only trust Eliza and Oliver."
Victor was stunned by Leon's outburst of anger. He never realized his son harbored such deep resentment toward him.
"That's because you never listen," Victor snapped, his voice edged with frustration. "Why do you keep bullying Oliver?"
"I didn't bully him. Why do you always take his side over mine?" Leon retorted.
Victor's eye twitched with fury when he heard what Leon said. "I'm not taking sides. You broke the toys and still won't admit it—and you even hit him."
"I didn't. I didn't hit him," Leon cried out.
"Regardless of what happened, hitting is absolutely wrong. Go to your room and think about what you've done," Victor warned.
The conversation between them ended on a sour note.
Victor watched as Leon stormed off to his room in a huff, slamming the door so hard the walls shook. He slumped onto the sofa, feeling utterly helpless and drained.
'I really wanted to have a proper talk. How did it end up like this again?' Victor wondered.
Back in his room, Leon curled up tightly under the covers, cocooned in his blanket. He felt wronged and angry, with no one to turn to.
Victor picked up his phone and dialed his assistant, Kevin. "Hello, Kevin, find out where Serena is right now."
"Got it, Mr. Powell. I'll get right on it," Kevin replied.
After Victor hung up, Eliza entered with a cup of water and placed it on the coffee table before him. "Here, Vic, have some water and cool off a bit."
"Thanks," Victor said quietly. He took the cup and took a gentle sip.
Eliza took the opportunity to sit down beside him. After a brief pause, she asked hesitantly, "Were you trying to find out where Serena is?"
Victor set down his cup and looked up at Eliza. He said, "Yeah, it's been long enough. She should have cooled off by now. I need to go bring her home."
Eliza's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the water. Forcing a faint smile to mask her unease, she asked softly, "Where is Ms. Gray now?"
"I don't know, and that's why I asked Kevin to look into it," he replied.
Eliza asked tentatively, "I-If you find out where she is, could I go with you? Vic, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me, Ms. Gray wouldn't have misunderstood you. I should personally explain the truth about us to her."
Victor met Eliza's earnest gaze and nodded. "Sure, let's go together."
Early the next morning, Kevin placed a slip of paper with an address on Victor's desk. "Mr. Powell, Mrs. Powell is currently working at a design firm in Glonia."
Staring at the address, Victor recalled Leon's recent troubling behavior. He silently vowed to himself, 'This time, no matter what, I will definitely bring Serena back.'
At this thought, Victor found himself unexpectedly looking forward to seeing her again.
He immediately instructed Kevin to book two tickets to Glonia, clearing his entire schedule. Then he went downstairs to the design department to find Eliza. "Ellie, we've traced Serena's whereabouts."
"Is that so?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm heading to Glonia, right this minute." Victor nodded.
"Now? But what about work—" Eliza hesitated.
"I've already asked Kevin to handle everything. All my work is cleared." Victor walked over to Eliza and gave her a gentle, reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go together."
After arriving in Glonia, Victor and Eliza headed straight to the design firm where Serena worked.
Victor asked in Glonish, "Excuse me, is Ms. Gray working here?"
Victor scooped Oliver up into his arms, very concerned. "There, there, Oliver. Don't cry. Tell me what happened, okay?"
Oliver sobbed, pointing at the toys scattered across the floor. "Leon said this is his home and won't let us stay here. He also said you'll only love him, not me anymore."
Victor shot Leon an angry glare.
Leon stood frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape. His big eyes were filled with utter bewilderment.
His fist remained clenched in mid-air as he looked back and forth between the toys scattered on the floor and Oliver cradled in Victor's arms.
Leon just couldn't understand as he wondered, 'Why is Oliver crying? And how does it suddenly become my fault?'
Victor hugged Oliver and scolded Leon, "Leon, how could you treat Oliver like that? He's our guest. How could you bully him?"
Leon's tears finally welled up and streamed down his cheeks. Choking out between sobs, he cried, "I didn't do it. He said he'd kick me out first. He broke the toys himself, then blamed it all on me."
Eliza appeared at just the right moment, gently taking Oliver from Victor's arms and holding him close. She said, "Leon, you shouldn't lie. Don't worry about the broken toys. We can always get new ones."
Her eyes were slightly red, her brow furrowed with restrained emotion as she continued, "If you don't want me anymore, we'll move out right away. But no matter what, you mustn't hit Oliver."
Hearing Eliza's words, Victor grew even more certain that Leon was to blame.
'How can a kid this young already be lying?' Victor fumed inwardly. 'It's fine if a toy gets broken. I can always buy another one. But hitting Oliver, and then lying about it? That's a whole different matter. I can't just let that go.'
Leon felt so wronged. He remembered how, when Serena was still around, she would always comfort him gently and patiently teach him. She never jumped to conclusions or scolded him without hearing his side, like Victor did.
"I want Mommy," Leon wailed, tears streaming down his face. He had had enough of being blamed and misunderstood.
Eliza comforted Leon, saying, "Leon, your mommy will be back soon."
Victor grew even more irritated as he watched Leon keep crying and calling for his mom. He rubbed his aching temples and snapped, "If you don't stop this tantrum right now, I'll send you back to Powell Manor."
Leon instantly stopped crying. He dreaded his stern grandfather, and what terrified him even more was the thought of being locked away in that gloomy mansion. Yet no one here understood him, and no one believed him.
At school, Leon often zoned out in class and got into frequent clashes with classmates. The teacher kept calling Victor to report on Leon's problems at school.
After work, Victor returned home and saw Leon, wondering, 'Ever since Serena left, Leon has become increasingly rebellious and hard to handle. Perhaps I really should sit down and have a heart-to-heart with him.'
"Leon, come here," said Victor.
Leon hesitated briefly, then dragged his feet as he slowly walked over to stand in front of Victor.
Victor crouched down so he was eye level with Leon. He asked, "What's been going on with you lately? Your teacher says you aren't paying attention in class and have even gotten into fights with your classmates. Is that true?"
Leon kept his head lowered, refusing to say a word.
"You weren't like this before. Back when your mom was here, you were always such a good, obedient boy," Victor continued.
Those words were the final spark that ignited all the pent-up anger in Leon's heart.
"When Mom was here, she used to read me stories and play games with me. She never yelled at me like you do." Leon roared at the top of his lungs, "You don't care about me at all. You only trust Eliza and Oliver."
Victor was stunned by Leon's outburst of anger. He never realized his son harbored such deep resentment toward him.
"That's because you never listen," Victor snapped, his voice edged with frustration. "Why do you keep bullying Oliver?"
"I didn't bully him. Why do you always take his side over mine?" Leon retorted.
Victor's eye twitched with fury when he heard what Leon said. "I'm not taking sides. You broke the toys and still won't admit it—and you even hit him."
"I didn't. I didn't hit him," Leon cried out.
"Regardless of what happened, hitting is absolutely wrong. Go to your room and think about what you've done," Victor warned.
The conversation between them ended on a sour note.
Victor watched as Leon stormed off to his room in a huff, slamming the door so hard the walls shook. He slumped onto the sofa, feeling utterly helpless and drained.
'I really wanted to have a proper talk. How did it end up like this again?' Victor wondered.
Back in his room, Leon curled up tightly under the covers, cocooned in his blanket. He felt wronged and angry, with no one to turn to.
Victor picked up his phone and dialed his assistant, Kevin. "Hello, Kevin, find out where Serena is right now."
"Got it, Mr. Powell. I'll get right on it," Kevin replied.
After Victor hung up, Eliza entered with a cup of water and placed it on the coffee table before him. "Here, Vic, have some water and cool off a bit."
"Thanks," Victor said quietly. He took the cup and took a gentle sip.
Eliza took the opportunity to sit down beside him. After a brief pause, she asked hesitantly, "Were you trying to find out where Serena is?"
Victor set down his cup and looked up at Eliza. He said, "Yeah, it's been long enough. She should have cooled off by now. I need to go bring her home."
Eliza's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the water. Forcing a faint smile to mask her unease, she asked softly, "Where is Ms. Gray now?"
"I don't know, and that's why I asked Kevin to look into it," he replied.
Eliza asked tentatively, "I-If you find out where she is, could I go with you? Vic, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me, Ms. Gray wouldn't have misunderstood you. I should personally explain the truth about us to her."
Victor met Eliza's earnest gaze and nodded. "Sure, let's go together."
Early the next morning, Kevin placed a slip of paper with an address on Victor's desk. "Mr. Powell, Mrs. Powell is currently working at a design firm in Glonia."
Staring at the address, Victor recalled Leon's recent troubling behavior. He silently vowed to himself, 'This time, no matter what, I will definitely bring Serena back.'
At this thought, Victor found himself unexpectedly looking forward to seeing her again.
He immediately instructed Kevin to book two tickets to Glonia, clearing his entire schedule. Then he went downstairs to the design department to find Eliza. "Ellie, we've traced Serena's whereabouts."
"Is that so?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm heading to Glonia, right this minute." Victor nodded.
"Now? But what about work—" Eliza hesitated.
"I've already asked Kevin to handle everything. All my work is cleared." Victor walked over to Eliza and gave her a gentle, reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go together."
After arriving in Glonia, Victor and Eliza headed straight to the design firm where Serena worked.
Victor asked in Glonish, "Excuse me, is Ms. Gray working here?"
End of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep Chapter 38. Continue reading Chapter 39 or return to The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep book page.