The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 5

Leander's other hand firmly captured my chin, not allowing me to escape, as he pressed his lips against mine. "You're going to like this."

...

Nigel was in his final year of preschool.

School started promptly at 8 AM every day.

It was a twenty-minute drive from our house to the preschool, and to avoid him being late, we always left at 7:30 AM.

I, on the other hand, would get up at 6:30 AM to prepare breakfast.

Today's breakfast was a bit simpler, consisting of chicken sandwiches I had prepared the night before.

The breakfast muffins required a bit more effort, needing fresh bacon and eggs.

I sautéed bacon in a pan, cracked three whole eggs, and finally added the bacon and chives to the eggs before placing it in the oven and turning the heat up. Once the muffins were ready, I took them out of the oven and was greeted by the rich aroma.

After making some fruit salad, I turned off the oven and cleared up the dishes.

With everything in order, I left the kitchen to help them pick out their clothes for the day.

Leander, being the CEO of his company, dressed quite meticulously.

Nigel, being a young boy, wore whatever was comfortable and convenient.

After selecting their outfits, I laid them out in their respective bedrooms.

By the time they had almost finished getting ready, I took this chance to serve the chicken sandwiches, the breakfast muffins and fruit salad.

The muffins were still hot. I waited quietly for the muffins to cool down.

"Mom!"

I heard Nigel's annoyed voice and turned to see him storming over with his tablet in hand.

He was irate, asking, "Did you delete Luna's contact and leave the group we were all in?"

Looking at his vividly upset little face, I shook my head. "No."

But I could understand Nigel's feelings. Even though he's young and can't yet fully discern right from wrong, Luna is someone who indulges him. She allowed him to eat whatever he wanted and play as he pleased. To him, Luna was his favorite person. It didn't matter that his parents cut off his contact with Luna for his own good...

He couldn't accept it.

I braced myself for his anger, but I didn't expect his words to be so hurtful.

"If it wasn't you, who else could it be?" Nigel glared at me with reddened eyes. "No wonder people all say Dad doesn't like you! A woman who likes to control everything and everyone's every move doesn't deserve to be liked!"

Although I anticipated his emotional outburst might lead him to say extreme things, I told myself that, as a mother, I should be understanding.

But...I overestimated myself. His words struck me like a sharp arrow, easily breaching my defenses and piercing my heart.

So my son truly believes I am so despicable.

My hands trembled uncontrollably. "If your dad doesn't like me, then who does he like?"

Nigel puffed his cheeks in anger. "Obviously, Luna! He said himself that he's liked Luna for a long time!"

"Really?" My mind went blank. "How do you know this..."

Nigel cocked his head at me. "Dad told me, of course. Why else would he always take me to play with Luna?"

His innocent and straightforward question hurt even more because of his simplicity.

Indeed, if Leander truly didn't have feelings for Luna, he wouldn't keep in touch with her.

But their recent interactions had been worryingly frequent.

Leander's feelings for Luna were clear as day.

It felt like a giant hand was squeezing my heart.

"Dad must really like Luna. The way he looks at her is different from how he looks at you. Dad said he won't divorce you because he's worried that if he does, I'll end up like you, from a single-parent family, which wouldn't be good for my mental development." "He's also worried you'd cling to him, lose control, and possibly harm others!"

I looked at Nigel standing before me. As a five-year-old, his voice sounded childishly sweet, yet he spoke harsh words.

What he said...was unimaginably extreme and hurtful.

I tried to comfort myself, telling myself he was just in a bad mood...

Yet my hands kept shaking.

The muffins were ready.

The aroma wafted to my nose, forcing me to push aside Nigel's "childish words." I served him some muffins and fruit salad, placing the plate on the table, careful not to scald him. "Let's eat," I said.