The slippers were dusty and had clearly been worn by someone else. Cedrick realized who it was who wore them, and the look in his eyes darkened. "How hideous."Catelyn choked at his tone and retorted, "If you're only here to tell me how hideous my slippers look, you sure have a lot of free time at hand."Cedrick snarled as he glanced at the shoe cabinet. Noticing that these were the only slippers for men, he decided against changing his shoes altogether and walked into the living room in his polished leather shoes.Catelyn scowled at the black footprint on the floor.Before she could get angry, Alex hurriedly pushed the luggage he had brought along. "Miss Clark, this is Master Ollie's trunk."It was an enormous piece of luggage that was half the height of a normal person."Master Ollie left in a hurry and left a lot of his belongings behind. These are his favorite books and toys, along with some of his clothes," Alex explained.Ollie did not approach the luggage when he heard th
"What do you think?""The boys are mine!" stressed Catelyn, raising her voice without even knowing it.Cedrick seemed to enjoy her panicked state. The more anxious she became, the more leverage he had."Without me, would you be able to give birth to them? Catelyn, I didn't realize that you were a single-celled organism." He steadily moved to pour himself a cup of tea and sipped on it. It was simply one of the common brands that one would find in local markets, so the taste was rough and odd, but he found it acceptable given his good mood. He even took a few sips of it.Despite the complicated look on Catelyn's face, her tone remained determined, "This is Franche, not Sapphire City. If you try to take my children away, I'll call the cops! Cedrick Mason, don't push me into a dire situation! I have nothing but them, and those kids are the one thing that I'm not willing to compromise.""Are you scared?" Cedrick lifted an eyebrow as he studied the determination in her eyes.Catelyn st
He narrowed his eyes dangerously when she failed to respond right away. "You don't agree?""No, it's just that—""Make the call, then!" interjected Cedrick as he handed her a black phone. "George's number is here. Call him, explain, and I'll forget that this has ever happened. I won't fight you for custody over the children."Catelyn's mind was tangled in a mess. After all, she was neither engaged to George nor pregnant, but she was not sure how she could explain it to him. At the same time, she was furious at Cedrick's tone as he sounded as though he was being generous.The situation escalated, and Catelyn did not accept the phone. "Cedrick, I—""Mom, I'm hungry," Miles' sweet voice suddenly rang from the children's room.Catelyn stilled.Both Miles and Ollie ran out of their bedroom cheerfully with a book they liked in hand.Seeing as the books they were holding were brought from Mason Estate, it was clear that the two had been unpacking.The two noticed that Catelyn and Ced
Cedrick moved smoothly without a pause, and Miles rolled his eyes at him.'Is Big Demon really doing that? How childish!' he scoffed internally.Catelyn, still holding a spatula in her hand, went back into the kitchen when she confirmed that nothing bad had happened.Ollie studied Cedrick intently and remarked, "Father, that's rude.""If you still remember that I'm your senior, you should shut up." Cedrick moved to sit on Catelyn's seat. There was a soft, pink cushion on the chair as it was almost winter, so he could tell it was hers right away.Ollie frowned, doubting if the man was truly the Cedrick Mason he knew.After dinner, Cedrick showed no intention of leaving.Miles struggled to stay awake, hoping to chase Cedrick out, but Catelyn coaxed them into sleeping out of fear of a ticking time bomb like Cedrick.Soon, the two fell asleep on the couch. Catelyn gently lifted Miles and headed into the bedroom. Cedrick glanced at Ollie and picked him up as well, before following C
There was a smirk in Cedrick's tone, and it sounded as though the devil himself was whispering into her ear.Catelyn tensed, but she then thought of the lawyer's letter she received from him. Slowly, the anger in her eyes faded.She was not afraid of a lawsuit, but it would be traumatizing for her sons to endure court trials.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. By the time she opened them again, her emotions were already at bay. "There are new towels and toothbrushes. Let me go, and I'll grab them for you."Cedrick followed her closely into the bathroom.The bathroom in Catelyn's apartment was small with bottles and items piling up on the counter next to the sink. There was no partition between the shower and the toilet, while the shower head was just across the sink.The look in Cedrick's eyes darkened.Ollie had been raised in a wealthy household, and it was difficult to picture that he would enjoy himself while living in such an environment.He turned to look at the
"No..." muttered Catelyn stubbornly, feeling pathetic that she had to endure the pain and his intrusion.She stared at the floor and prayed that the pain would subside, but a lump formed in her throat, and a sob escaped her.Tears scrolled down her cheeks, and it took Cedrick by surprise.She had responded with indifference, even when he pushed her up against the rockery stone, and she knew exactly what to say to provoke him. At this moment, however, her face was pale as a ghost as she curled up and panted from either pain or sobbing."Let me see where you are hurt," he spoke, softening his tone as his heart sank at the sight of her tears.However, as soon as he touched her, Catelyn slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!"Cedrick's voice grew cold at the rejection, hissing, "Will you listen if I go and wake up Miles and Ollie?"Catelyn bit the inside of her cheek at the threat. She bit on her lower lip to the brink of drawing blood without another word while Cedrick turned her
They had arrived at the hospital by the time Catelyn woke up.Cedrick did not carry her, of course, out of concern that he would tear her wound on the back. Instead, he woke her up so she could walk into the hospital on her own.It was late into the night, and Cedrick stormed into the doctor's office.As not many doctors were on the night shift, there were long lines outside every office with nurses monitoring the patients, so Cedrick's action triggered a wave of complaints, especially with his drenched appearance as water was dripping off the tips of his hair.The nurse beamed at Cedrick's handsome features but stopped them dutifully. "Sir, please line up. We have a lot of patients waiting here."The patients in line muttered their disapproval."Move," he uttered coldly."Cedrick..." Catelyn noticed the other patients staring daggers at them and pulled at his clothes, despite the pain. "Don't. Let's just line up.""You don't get to speak," he said before turning back to the nu
Cedrick turned toward Catelyn and asked her to go see the doctor.Catelyn thus walked into the doctor's room, all while many pairs of eyes were on her. Without much of a choice, she steeled herself and ignored the gazes.…It was a male doctor.Catelyn lay on her stomach on top of the emergency room's bed while the doctor asked the routine questions. The doctor was about to check Catelyn's wound, reaching for her shirt, but Cedrick grabbed his wrist with a frown."What are you doing?""I…I'm checking her wound." The doctor froze at how suddenly he was halted and said in frustration, "How am I supposed to look at it without taking her shirt off?"Catelyn turned her head and said to Cedrick softly, "Just lift the shirt and show the doctor the wound.""I'm requesting a female doctor!" demanded Cedrick.He would never allow another man to take her shirt off."Are you crazy? It's in the middle of the night, and there are only two doctors on call at the moment. You either let me do