Chapter 14

“Nope, just these! I don’t feel cold, though. I swear!”

In face of her mother’s questioning, Autumn insisted on saying she wasn’t cold. Just then, a gust of wind breezed through, causing her to wrap her chubby arms around herself. She quickly lowered her head out of guilt from lying.

Autumn then admitted that she wanted to wear this outfit for quite some time, but her mother had always made her wear that coat with every outfit she wore. She thought the coat was ugly, so she just wore whatever she wanted when her mother wasn’t home.

Silvia was fuming. She lectured Ryan as soon as he was near. “Pierce, would it kill you to give Autumn an extra coat during cold weather?!”

Ryan, however, was already in a bad mood. The sudden scolding irked him even more, and he snapped, “She wanted to wear this, so what does that have to do with me? How could she not know if she’s cold or not?”

Silvia was so angry that tears formed in her eyes. “She’s three years old, for pity’s sake! How could she even know that? Does she even know that the weather changes? If children could take care of themselves, why would they need parents?!”

After that, she started taking off her own jacket, intending to warm her daughter up.

‘Maybe he thinks I’m just throwing a tantrum, but I don’t care anymore. He never cared for Autumn. He wouldn’t know how worrisome it is for a child to fall ill.’

Every time Autumn came down with a cold, Silvia felt as if her heart had shattered into millions of pieces. She didn’t mind the extra work; she was just sad to see her daughter in such a weakened state.

She wished she could direct every sickness or pain her daughter experienced onto herself, so that she could suffer in Autumn’s place instead.

Hence, she was furious to see Autumn wearing casual clothes on such a chilly day.

It was likely that the mood between them was way too tense; what with Silvia’s fury and Ryan’s hostile expression. And so, Autumn tugged on her mother’s shirt gently. She seemed to be trying to calm them down.

“Mama, don’t be mad at Papa. I wanted to wear this…”

However, it would’ve been better if Autumn had said nothing at all. Silvia felt even worse, knowing that her daughter was such a considerate child.

At the very moment, she hated herself for overestimating her abilities and for selfishly bringing the little one into their messy worlds.

‘She didn’t have to live with the fact that her father didn’t love her,’ Silvia thought bitterly to herself.

She then took another glance at her daughter, biting down on her lip in frustration. Without saying a thing, she proceeded to unbutton her jacket.

All her clothes belonged to Rosaline; at the moment, she was wearing a pair of jeans, a sweater, and a jacket. Just as she unbuttoned the first button, she felt a soft grasp around her trembling hands.

Lifting her gaze, she wondered if she was hallucinating when she noticed a hint of guilt flashing through Ryan’s dark pupils.

Before she could think any further, he let go of her and took his expensive coat off instead.

“Here, wear mine.”

He brought the little girl into his arms, wrapping his coat around her tiny body, and taking her straight towards his car.

Watching him slowly walking away, Silvia thought to herself. ‘He probably thinks my clothes are too cheap for our daughter. That’s why he’s willing to let her use his coat instead.’

Just then, she snapped back to her senses and immediately ran after the two. ‘Damn it, he was just using his coat to take Autumn away! What the heck? That’s just a low blow!’

“Ryan Pierce!”

When Silvia caught up to them, Ryan had already brought Autumn to his Bentley. However, Silvia was quick enough to stop him from opening the door to the back seat.

He glared at her and scoffed, all while holding Autumn with one arm. “Didn’t you say you were worried Autumn might get sick? What are you trying to do now?”

Silvia was speechless, but she was in quite a fit of panic and rage. She was simply afraid that he might take their daughter away from her, and that they would be separated forever.

However, she couldn’t bring herself to mention the cruel decision that she had come to. She wished to talk about this matter with her daughter when the time was right, in hopes of not traumatizing her little heart.

Thus, she had to be indirect for now. “Autumn’s used to having me as her caretaker…”

Silvia actually wanted to say that their daughter could never be apart from her, as she was the one caring for Autumn since birth. Naturally, Ryan should put Autumn under Silvia’s care. She figured Ryan would understand her hidden implications, especially with his exceptional smarts.

However, he replied innocently, “I’ve never stopped you from taking care of her, though.”

Silvia shot him a dirty glare as she tried to grab her daughter from him. “Let me take her to my place, then.”

“To yours?” Ryan asked as he nonchalantly shifted Autumn from one arm to another, causing Silvia to miss her chance.

This made her grit her teeth in rage. However, she knew she couldn’t object much.

Ryan narrowed his eyes lightly, his voice frosty. “Aren’t you going home?”

Silvia felt a bundle of rage rising in her chest once again. ‘What does he mean?’

‘Why would I ever go back when we’re getting a divorce soon?’

‘Does he enjoy dragging it on and torturing me like this? Is he happy with himself for doing that?’

Unable to suppress her emotions any longer, Silvia didn’t even care that her daughter was right there with them. She turned her head to the side and replied indifferently, “I’m never going back.”

Hearing this was infuriating for Ryan, to say the least. Before he could explode, someone else spoke up.

The little girl in her arms cocked her head cheekily and asked, “Are you guys getting a divorce?”

Ryan and Silvia both froze in shock.

Silvia felt a sharp, stinging pain in her heart. She didn’t know Ryan was feeling at the time, but it was incredibly suffocating for her to hear her own daughter say those words.

‘He probably doesn’t feel much. He has close to no affection for Autumn, after all. Divorce will be releasing him from this unhappy marriage, anyway.’

Silvia was silent; she didn’t know how to answer her daughter’s question.

Ryan was the one to speak up instead. Still hugging his daughter, he lowered his gaze and asked in a deep monotone, “Why do you ask?”