Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Underestimating Serena Sinclair’s Presence
"Miles, hurry up!"
At a glance, she saw Miles Lockwood’s action of hiding the phone watch.
A flash of irritation flickered in Chloe Lynch’s eyes.
Adrian Lockwood has changed, even the most easy-going Miles has changed.
Mrs. Lockwood, once so close at hand, suddenly became an unknown far away.
Fortunately.
Beatrice Sutton is reliable.
"Miles, your grandmother hasn’t seen you for a week, she misses you very much... and your aunt, she said she brought your favorite Bumblebee Lego. Let’s go, it’s time to leave!"
Chloe Lynch reached out her hand.
Miles glanced at the darkening sky outside the window, "Can I wait for Dad to come back and have him take me over?"
"Be good, Miles, Dad has been working all day and is already very tired, and he doesn’t even know when he’ll be back today. If we go to Grandma’s house early, you can watch Tiga earlier, wouldn’t that be nice?"
"But I don’t like watching Tiga anymore."
"..."
Looking up, Chloe Lynch wore a gentle smile, reaching out her hand waiting for him to hold it.
But Miles felt an inexplicable fear in his heart.
Aunt Chloe was smiling.
But her eyes showed no sign of a smile.
She seemed to be angry.
And very angry.
Before Miles could continue to ask if he could call Dad.
And asked Chloe Lynch why, when he and Mom had already planned to go to the amusement park tomorrow, the plan changed to send him to Grandma’s instead.
Chloe Lynch pushed open the door and entered.
"Miles, hurry up... it’s going to be a traffic jam soon."
Chloe Lynch grabbed Miles’ arm and walked him outside.
"Aunt Chloe, you’re hurting me..."
The slender nails pierced into his flesh like a row of needles.
But Chloe Lynch seemed not to hear.
The more Miles struggled, the more painful it became.
She dragged Miles out of the villa and stuffed him into the car seat in the back.
Bam!
The car door slammed shut, and the car turned around and drove away.
Watching the bright red taillights disappear completely into the darkening night, the stifled breath in Chloe Lynch’s chest finally slowly eased.
Beep.
Beep beep.
The car drove towards Beatrice Sutton’s house; Miles called Adrian Lockwood, but the phone rang for a long time without being answered.
His eyes felt warm.
Yet he didn’t want to admit he was crying.
Miles turned his head and curled up in the seat.
...
In the apartment living room, Serena Sinclair unblocked Adrian Lockwood and called him.
It took a long time to connect; the voice on the other end was unfamiliar, "Hello, Ms. Sinclair, President Lockwood is in a meeting and is not available to take calls at this moment."
"Please ask him to return my call."
Serena waited until ten o’clock but did not receive a call from Adrian Lockwood.
She called Miles again, but the watch was already turned off.
Wyatt Hawthorne entered quietly, but as he opened the door, he saw Serena Sinclair sitting on the sofa, eyes on the TV, but her mind far away.
Washing up.
Turning off the light.
As darkness descended, Wyatt embraced Serena from behind before asking her, "What’s wrong?"
Serena didn’t know how to explain.
Rationally, she knew Adrian Lockwood, although not a good husband, was at least a decent father.
Even if he’s not home, Chloe wouldn’t and dare not mistreat Miles.
But emotionally, Serena sensed that Miles was wronged.
Serena even felt this topic was not quite suitable to discuss with Wyatt.
But at this moment, she could only tell Wyatt, "Miles seems... not quite well."
In the darkness, Wyatt remained silent for a long time.
When he spoke again, his voice was gentle, "Did he cry?"
"No. But, I can feel it."
Wyatt gently stroked Serena’s back, "He’s five, already a little man. If he didn’t cry or say anything, give him some time. Feeling wronged is something he should learn to deal with, so he can become someone who doesn’t get wronged sooner."
He spoke as if he was once a child who felt wronged.
Serena’s thoughts were inadvertently sidetracked, "What about you? When did you realize and become a child who wasn’t wronged?"
Clearly unwilling to discuss this topic, Wyatt was somewhat dismissive, "I don’t remember."
2S quietly slipped into the bedroom, landed lightly on the bed, and gracefully nestled between Serena and Wyatt in the world of Wyatt’s unorthodox theories.
Thinking of how Miles wanted to pet a cat last time, maybe next time, he could let him interact with 2S.
Thinking about how Miles said he could do addition and subtraction within a hundred.
Wyatt gently kissed her shoulder and held her close, stroking her back.
Serena didn’t even know when she fell asleep.
The next time she woke up, it was the phone ringing that startled her awake.
Seeing "Adrian Lockwood" on the screen, her mind unexpectedly thought of Wyatt, and she instantly became alert.
Sitting up, she noticed Wyatt was already gone.
Serena sighed in relief and answered the call, "Adrian Lockwood, I had plans with Miles to go to the amusement park today, why did you cancel at the last minute?"
Adrian Lockwood seemed unaware, "When did this happen?"
Serena: ...
She could hear Adrian asking Chloe Lynch, who explained that Beatrice Sutton called to have the driver take Miles there.
Adrian spoke again, his tone softening, "Maybe something urgent came up for my mom, sorry. Let’s do it next week, I promise it won’t be canceled then."
"Alright."
Serena agreed and hung up the phone.
Adrian turned to Chloe Lynch, his expression not as pleasant as before, "I told you two days ago, Miles was going to see Serena this weekend. Why didn’t you tell me you were sending him to my mom’s yesterday?"
"Sorry, honey..."
Chloe Lynch cooed at Adrian’s arm, "You were in a meeting, so I didn’t want to disturb you."
Chloe had her own motives.
Miles going to see Serena and Adrian going to a social engagement, if it coincided with mealtime, it would be more than just a dinner issue.
A man and woman alone.
Plus, a chattering Miles calling them Mom and Dad.
What if...
Adrian’s feelings towards her were evidently not as passionate as before.
Toward Serena, he no longer bore the same anger as in the past.
Even when Miles called Serena, he wanted to appear casually to establish his presence.
Recalling the two H-brand bags delivered by a courier, Chloe realized belatedly that she had overestimated her charm and underestimated Serena’s presence.
No matter how much Adrian disliked Serena, they had years of childhood affection and six years of marital bond.
Not to mention, there’s Miles.
In the elite circles of Aethelgard, couples divorcing and remarrying was not uncommon.
She had come this far with great effort and would never give Serena any opportunity.
"Honey, it’s almost time, let’s get going..."
Chloe coaxed Adrian into the cloakroom.
Old Master Rivera’s birthday banquet was arranged at the Rivera Family old house.
Though it wasn’t publicly announced as a grand event, the Rivera Family ranked high within Aethelgard elites, and the Old Master’s status in both high society and the construction industry was well acknowledged.
When Adrian and Chloe arrived, the banquet hall was bustling with people.
Back when she was just the CEO’s assistant, Chloe had attended similar social gatherings with Adrian, but none as grand as today’s, and the people she met back then were far less prestigious than those she saw today.
Chloe even spotted a few first and second-tier actresses from the entertainment industry.
As a secretary before, she could only follow Adrian closely.
But today, she could proudly hold Adrian’s arm, allowing herself to be scrutinized by those wealthy women and actresses.
Chloe was feeling elated.
"Young Master Hawthorne is here!"
Someone shouted, and the entire banquet hall turned to look at the entrance.
Chloe instinctively turned her head, and after a brief moment of daze, her eyes widened in astonishment.