After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 268

“Of course, if you don’t want to, | won't force you,” Amelia said, putting the choice in Rebecca's hands. “I just

want you to remember-you can have Richard in your life too.

“Alright.” Rebecca said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel there was a wall in her heart, keeping her distant.

But Rebecca knew she’d be thinking about her mom’s words, maybe more than she’d like to admit.

“Get srest,” Amelia said, gently ruffling Rebecca’s hair like she was still a kid. “Soon, you won't have much

free tleft.”

Rebecca leaned in and hugged her, nuzzling her cheek against Amelia's neck. “Mom, | love you.”

Amelia smiled softly. “I love you too.”

By the tRebecca finished washing up and got back to her room, it was already past ten.

Sitting on her bed, she pulled out her phone and shot Samuel a quick text, still feeling a bit concerned about

him. “Hey, are you asleep yet, babe?”

Samuel sprang out of bed as soon as he saw the message.

He didn’t even bother putting on shoes-just rushed straight to the study and flung the door open. There was

Jeffrey, sitting alone by the big window, all wrapped up in an air of loneliness, staring out into the dark like he

was searching for someone.

“Mr. Hanson,” Samuel said softly.

Jeffrey snapped back to reality at the sound of Samuel's voice.

Seeing Samuel's bare feet, Jeffrey immediately picked him up in his arms. “Why did you cwithout shoes?”

Samuel didn’t answer Jeffrey. Instead, he sent Rebecca a quick text: [Nope, not asleep yet. Mommy, wanna video

chat?]

Just as he hit send, Rebecca called him.

The video call cin from Rebecca.

Samuel, still nestled in Jeffrey's arms, answered with a sweet, “Mommy!”

Jeffrey paused while searching for Samuel's shoes, catching sight of Rebecca on Samuel's little screen. For that

brief second, swarmth seemed to return to his heart after all that emptiness.

But just a moment later, Jeffrey was reminded of what Rebecca had said to him-she didn’t want him showing up

in her view.

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Chapter 268

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Her words echoed in his mind: “Don’t let her see you.”

‘I shouldn't be here now," he told himself.

While Samuel waved his smartwatch and moved around, Jeffrey lifted him onto the couch. “I'll go find your

shoes,” he said gently.

Not bothering with Samuel's response, Jeffrey swiftly stepped out of the study, purposely giving him the privacy

he needed.

Samuel was like, “Huh? What's going on here?”

Samuel could tell something was off.

‘No point stirring things up with Mom right now,’ Samuel thought. ‘I'll wait till the call’s over, then have a proper

talk with Dad.”

“You don’t have your shoes on?” Rebecca asked, catching what Jeffrey said in the background.

“I ran over too fast and totally forgot!” Samuel replied, his voice soft and sweet, cheeks all puffed and cute. “But

it’s okay, Mommy! Your little guy takes good care of himself-no way I'm getting sick!”

Jeffrey stood outside the study, listening in on their conversation.

In that moment, the hollow feeling in his chest somehow grew even deeper, like someone had taken another

piece out of his heart.

Twenty minutes after Samuel finished his call with Rebecca, he opened the door barefoot and found Dad leaning

against the wall. No beating around the bush, he called him out directly, “Why'd you bail just now?”

“Bail?” Jeffrey instantly put his poker face back on, acting like he hadn't just made a quick exit.

“You dipped out as soon as you heard Mommy's voice,” Samuel pointed out, eyes landing on Jeffrey's empty

hands. “Weren't you supposed to be getting my shoes? So, where are they?”

Jeffrey, thinking on his feet, replied, “They're in your room.”

Samuel walked right up to him, looking up at Jeffrey with a serious expression. “Con, what's really going on

between you and Mommy?”

Jeffrey raised an eyebrow and teased, “Didn’t you figure it out already?” Then he picked Samuel up so his little

feet wouldn't be touching the cold floor.

Samuel kept his eyes locked on him, not letting up.

Jeffrey stayed calm, completely unmoved.

“So just because you guys are divorced, you have to dodge every tshe calls?” Samuel wasn’t sugarcoating

it, his face totally serious. “If you won't tell me, I'm gonna tell Mom everything you've been up to over here.”

Jeffrey didn’t care at all. “Be my guest.”

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Chapter 268

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Samuel puffed up his cheeks and teased, “I'm gonna tell Mommy that you just zone out all the time, staring at

things like the dining table, the window in your study, the back seat of the car, and basically every single corner

in Rebecca’s Manor. That's all you do-day in and day out!”

Jeffrey set him down on the bed, replying with a casual, “Sure, whatever you want.”

Samuel frowned, his tone tinged with annoyance. “Dad!”

Jeffrey froze for a moment.

“If you don’t tell me, I'm seriously gonna get angry!” Samuel insisted, throwing a fit-which was rare for him.

Over the past couple days, Samuel kept catching Dad lost in thought. Even when Dad tried his best to act

normal, Samuel could always spot those moments when he zoned out.

He could see that Dad always had Mommy on his mind.

Deep down, Samuel knew Dad still cared about Mommy.

‘But if he likes her so much, why can’t he just cout and say it?’ Samuel wondered, getting a little frustrated.

‘Why can’t he just go apologize and make things right with Mommy?‘

“I'm just trying to sort sthings out,” Jeffrey said, noticing how intent Samuel was. “When I've figured it out,

I'll let you know.”

Samuel's eyes went wide, innocence written all over his face. “Really?”

Jeffrey nodded. “Yeah.”

Samuel pouted, “If you lie, you're a puppy!”

Jeffrey didn’t even blink. “Whatever you say.”

“Alright, since you're being so honest with me, Ill let it slide this time,” Samuel said, pulling the blanket over

himself. He gazed up at Jeffrey with his big, round eyes and added, “I get a little scared sleeping by myself. Can

you stay with me?”

Jeffrey paused, realizing Samuel was just worried about him.

‘What kind of dad lets his kid worry about him? Jeffrey thought, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“Say ‘Dad’ and maybe I'll think about staying,” Jeffrey teased, messing around with him like always.

Samuel pulled the blanket over his head and mumbled, “Like | even care if you stay or not.”

“Keep the bed warm for me. I'll be back after | finish up,” Jeffrey said, gently pulling the blanket down. Even

though Samuel's care brought a flicker of warmth to Jeffrey’s heart, that hollow feeling stubbornly lingered.

The hole in his heart could only be filled by Rebecca.

No one else could help-not even Samuel himself.

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Chapter 268

That night, Samuel ended up sleeping in the sbed with Jeffrey.

He knew Jeffrey was just giving him the runaround, but he let it slide.

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If Dad didn’t want to share, Samuel figured it was probably something kids weren't meant to know. So he trusted

the grown-ups to handle things however they wanted.

still, if he could have his way, Samuel just wished Dad and Mommy could get along-even if all they could

manage was a polite nod as exes, or maybe, just maybe, they could patch things up and be friends again.

Early the next morning, around six, Samuel opened his eyes and found the spot beside him empty. He reached

out and felt the sheets-they were already cold.

He let out a sigh, got out of bed, and tiptoed toward the master bedroom. Just as his hand touched the doorknob,

Jeffrey's voice cfrom behind him. “Up so early?”

Samuel turned around.

When he saw Jeffrey, he couldn't help but feel confused, like a bunch of question marks popped up in his

mind.

‘Wait a sec, this is weird,’ Samuel thought to himself.

‘Shouldn’t Dad be in the master bedroom right now, staring at Mom's stuff and losing sleep, just like he always

does?’ Samuel wondered, totally thrown off.

“Since you're up early, go swap your slippers for ssneakers and let's hit the road,” Jeffrey said, totally

unfazed. He gave Samuel's arm a gentle pinch. “All this squish-gotta burn it off somehow.”

“Did you forget? Mr. Mason just tolda few days ago that I'm tough—a real martial arts prodigy,” Samuel

replied, rolling his eyes. “If you're so eager to run, knock yourself out. I'm crawling back to bed for sextra

Zz7's.”

Samuel didn’t bother to wait for Jeffrey’s reaction.

He just spun around and strolled back to his own room.

If he'd opened the master bedroom door right then, he'd find the bed still warm-because the only place Jeffrey

could get even a few hours of sleep was wherever Rebecca had once been, no matter how restless the night.

Watching Samuel's door close again, Jeffrey rubbed his tired forehead.

“That little guy’s got sserious trust issues,’ Jeffrey thought to himself.

He looked away, headed downstairs, and went out for his morning run.

As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted Gregory standing at the door with a deadpan look. Gregory took one

look at Jeffrey's outfit and said, totally serious, “Mr. Hanson, you haven't slept properly for days. If you go

running now, you might just drop dead on the spot.”

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