Chapter Fourteen

"That's good, but you sound strange." Brielle wrinkled her smooth forehead. "Haha! Mommy, you got me! I yelled a lot with my friends. My throat feels funny." Ariel knew his mom was sharp. He wasn't going to be able to get away with lying that easily.

Stephen and Scott looked at him in surprise. why didn't he tell his mother he was ill? "Oh! Be careful next time. And try not to use your voice a lot till it heals up. I'll be back in a few days. It's late, and I've got a bedtime with my name on it. Good night. Mommy loves you." There was a faint smile on Brielle's face. She was never stingy with her patience and love for her son. but she never gave an inch to anyone else.

"OK! Mommy, I love you, too. I'll wait for you to come back! Bye!" When ariel hung up, his face was as rosy as usual. "Ariel, your mother is coming back." Scott was excited. 'Finally, I get to meet the mystery woman!'

Stephen was quiet as he went about setting out the food. You might have told him n insurance agent was coming, for all the emotion he showed. but he was growing more curious about that woman by the minute.

"Yes!" Ariel's voice cracked as his voice rose. "Mommy will be back in a few days, Uncle Scott. She is very beautiful. You'll love her!" Ariel said proudly. But he didn't know that his words embarrassed both men.

"Er... Little one, I don't really care if your mom is attractive or not." He glanced at Stephen secretly. She was his boss's wife. There was no way. He would have a bad death if he dared to like his boss's woman.

Stephen relaxed. She was his wife. He didn't need any rival for her affections. What was Ariel thinking? "Why not? Although mommy is a cold beauty, she really has a kind heart. Don't worry. She would never let you do push-ups." Ariel looked at Scott innocently. scott's jaw dropped. Stephen's face showed concern as well. Jesus! 'Ariel! You can't talk about your mom and other men that way! Don't you see the expression in your father's eyes?'

The conversation brought some unfamiliar feelings to the fore. Stephen felt pure jealousy the way Ariel talked about his mom. Especially sexual hints. He was totally caught off-guard.

"Ariel." Scott continued. "Let's not talk about this, okay? It's more than a little weird, and I don't think about your mom like that." Scott needed to put his foot down.

Stephen was staring at him so intently as if it might burn a hole in his face. "Uncle Scott, why can't you like my mommy?" Ariel pouted. Stephen almost spilled the porridge as he stared at Ariel. Scott was visibly nervous.

"All right. You tell me first. Why do I have to like her?" Scott indulged this little guy. He was hoping to shut this down before it got him in trouble. But why was Ariel pushing so hard?

"Becasue no one likes mommy except me! many people like me. But no one likes mommy." He repeated. Ariel was going to cry. Scott raised his head and cast a glanced at Stephen. Stephen was astonished and couldn't say a word. he just stood there.

Stephen felt a pain in his heart. Was it because of what Ariel said, or the fact that his son was crying? "Ariel, are you hungry?" Stephen said at last. "Let's eat!" Stephen ignored Scott's quizzical expression.

"Yes, Ariel, you need to eat. I need to get back. I'll visit you tomorrow." Scott said. 'Oh, no!' Scott thought. he had to get out of there. Who knew what problems were waiting for him next?

"Okay! Goodbye, Uncle Scott. Think about it when you're back home, please." Scott thought he would make a quick exit. What Ariel added almost made his trip.

Stephen looked at Scott. The man was red-faced and eager to get away from Ariel and the topic his son insisted on talking about. Scott disappeared quickly. However, Ariel smiled slyly. He wasn't sad anymore!

"Daddy, do you think Uncle Scott is funny?" Ariel said those words deliberately. Mommy was coming back, and he wanted to see whether Stephen liked his mother or not. So he played with Scott to test his father. He only had to add some fuel to the fire. Then he would get the answer.

"Ariel, it's impolite to make fun of your uncle Scott!" He realized that Ariel was just teasing Scott. But he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more than a little truth behind his words. He always felt that the little guy was up to something.

Brielle was always quiet. At this moment, sitting quietly and looking into the distance, she fiddled with the phone there. Her cold face was full of melancholy. Missing him was like a rose. The thorns might cause pain, but the rose, like love, still smelled as sweet as ever, still used to missing him, chasing him, and waiting for him. Sometimes she felt too weary to love someone again, afraid that she could not help throwing herself into his arms, but she knew that the person in his arms could never be her.

She missed him a lot, but she couldn't see him. Oh, he appeared in newspapers and magazines, and she would quickly snatch up an issue in which he appeared. He smiled gently to the lovely ladies around him. But this tenderness did not belong to her. She was his wife, but he was never concerned about understood how painful it was when she missed him! He had even forgotten that there was such a woman in his life.

He would never know how many sleepless nights she spent looking at Ariel's face for his shadow, trying to pick out all the things in Ariel that reminded her of Stephen. He would never know how much she wanted to throw herself into his arms when Ariel was sick. She was a soldier, but she was also a woman. Like anyone, she wanted to be loved. But he was always an unreachable dream to her, and the only thing left was the endless pain when she woke up. Who said that secret love was beautiful, that it was happy? They were wrong. She never felt that way.

It was already late at night, but Stephen still couldn't sleep. he couldn't stop thinking about Jack's strange behavior as well as Ariel's love towards his mommy. He admitted to himself that he had always been ruthless to women, especially for those who were totally irrelevant. But this was his legal wife. The mother of his child. There's no way he could stay emotionless and uncaring anymore.

She never asked about him on the phone, nor did she want to talk to him. But he wanted to learn more about her. This drove him nuts. They didn't even stand to be around each other for a long time. So why was he drawn to her? Panic rose in him and wrested for control. He needed to escape.

The next morning, Scott and Fan arrived at the hospital at almost exactly the same time. They couldn't be more different. Fan was introverted and calm, and Scott was outgoing and thought he was the bee's knees. Fan hoped that Scott wouldn't see him and quickened his pace. He felt embarrassed to be around the man. But Scott yelled after him.

"Fan, stop! Wait up! Why are you running? There are no girls chasing you!" Fan thought to himself, 'I wouldn't run if there were beautiful women behind me. But instead, it's this clown!' Thinking about this, Fan picked up the pace.

'Maybe he didn't hear me.' Scott thought. 'No way! he heard me!' He remembered that Fan looked back at him, then sped up. "Go as fast as you like, Fan! I will chase you to the ends of the earth!" Scott yelled. People began to stare at them, which was exactly what Fan wanted to avoid.

Fan felt tears well up inside. How could he have forgotten to burn incense this morning? He regretted that bitterly. If he had, he wouldn't be in this mess. Scott was a devil, and Fan missed his chance to protect himself from evil. Scott got all dressed up that day. No one who came to the hospital would dress in that way. What's more, he was holding a nice bouquet of red roses. Anyone who knew him knew he was here to visit Ariel. For those who didn't, they might think the roses were gifts for Fan. How could they think anything else, as he chased after and screamed after Fan? 'Man, they're going to think we're a couple! Argh! I want to slam that idiot into the wall!' Fan thought. 'What kind of man would visit the hospital with roses as gifts? Especially for a little boy.'

They made noise all the way to the patient's room. Fan quite calmly put away the things he brought along. However, Scott was angry. You could hear him before you saw him. "Damn it, Fan! Why did you run away from me?" Shit, you don't deserve any response, fan thought.

Stephen was already there. He looked at Fan and inquired silently about the matter. What was wrong with that dude, shouting and yelling so early in the morning?

Fan was just about to answer Stephen's unspoken question when Scott rushed in.

"Uncle Scott, are you going to take part in the peacocking contest? If not, why have you dressed all pretty like a flower?" Ariel curiously stared at Scott, with his eyes smiling like a crescent moon.

Looking at his outfit, Scott wondered if he were too ostentatious. Well, he admitted that his shirt was flowery, and his trousers were super loud. Yet, he was still far from as pretty like a flower, wasn't he?

"Dear boy, this is the latest trend! Accept no imitations, and don't be one of the sheeple!" Stephen smiled in amusement. Fan was also laughing. That outfit was ridiculous!

"Uncle Scott, are you sure these are the latest fashions, instead of the latest ladyboy costume?" Ariel was in a good mood today. He wouldn't miss the chance to tease Scott, especially in that getup. Scott had been asking for it. He had left in a hurry last night when Ariel wanted to use him to make his daddy jealous.

"That's in poor taste. Taking revenge now?" With clenched teeth, Scott looked at the little boy helplessly, who was smiling brightly in front of him. He regretted leaving suddenly last night. Otherwise, Ariel wouldn't tease him like this.

"How could an innocent boy like me know anything about revenge?" Scott had no idea that he would soon be dragged into the mire by Ariel a second time. "Stephen, your son's bullying me. Shouldn't you teach him a lesson?" That boy was far away from innocent. He was no better than a little devil.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Stephen said coldly, with his thin lips moving slightly. However old he was, he still couldn't get out of the habit of acting cute.

"Ah! Uncle Scott, about last night's question... Are you going to like my mommy or not?" Ariel would never forget his original intention, which was to make Stephen love his mommy again.

"Um -- that is, you see -- Stephen, I'm rather busy today. Lots of business proposals waiting for me! I gotta go now." He just won't stop! The little guy was so persistent! He started this last night, and Ariel still fixated on this issue. Scott must naively answer this tricky question. Did they really think he was an idiot to say that he liked his boss' wife info in front of Stephen?

"Uncle Scott, don't rush off! At least, not before I get an answer!" Scott just flew out of the room. Damn! The little guy was just like his father, setting traps and waiting for him to jump in.

"Wow!" Ariel exclaimed. He turned to his father. "Mr. Chu, are my words scary?" Stephen laughed. Not scary at all. Your uncle Scott was afraid of your daddy.

"Leave him alone, he was going mad today." Stephen was already used to the fact that his son would call him 'Mr. Chu' now and then. So, he didn't pay much attention to it.

Fan found himself wondering what Scott would be like. Not surprisingly, Ariel wouldn't miss any chance to humiliate those who irritated him. He counted himself lucky that it wasn't him who offended father and son. That would end badly for him.

Ariel was happy. He got the answer he wanted, that Daddy cared for Mommy at least a little. otherwise, he wouldn't humiliate Scott like that. Scott had no idea that he had been sacrificial for Ariel to mess with his Daddy's head.