As Ian lifted his head to stare at Sebastian, the man actually saw traces of anger and resentment in his
eyes. He had never seen his son like that before.
Resentment? Does Ian resent me? Does he hate his own daddy?
Sebastianâs temper finally rose at that thought. His face darkened as he loomed over his son. âWhat do
you mean I donât keep my promises? What did I do now?â
âYou scolded her!â
âWho? Sasha? After all this time, youâre still defending her! Yes, I scolded her. What about it? Have I
promised you that I wonât argue with her? Ian, have you forgotten that youâre my son? Have you
forgotten that I was the one who raised you?â
When Sebastian finally came to a realization, an overwhelming pang of jealousy exploded within him,
and he couldnât help but bellow at the child in a loud voice.
Ian was utterly frightened!
He had never seen his father so scary before. The boyâs face turned pale as tears began to flow out of
his beady eyes that were still glaring at his daddy.
âI hate you! I donât ever want to see you again!â
With as much strength as he could muster, he tossed the toy he had been holding in his hand at his
father. Then, he darted to his bed, where he proceeded to wrap himself tightly in the blanket.
Sebastian was dumbfounded.
It took some time for him to come to his senses. After that, he turned to look at the bundle on the bed,
where a childâs whimpering could be heard. How he wished to slap himself in the face at that moment!
Sebastian, what were you thinking? Are you crazy? How could you lose your temper in front of your son!
Heâs just a child!
He took several steps forward and stood by the bedside as he contemplated his next move. Then, he
leaned in and sat down next to the little bundle. âIan, Iâm sorry. I was wrong for losing my temper and
yelling at you. More importantly, I shouldnât have broken the promise I was supposed to keep. Can you
forgive me?â
There was no reply.
The bundle did not budge. It seemed like the child was really hellbent on ignoring him.
Sebastian could not help but feel an ounce of regret.
Frankly, his son was never a crybaby to begin with. Perhaps because of his character or because
Sebastian kept instilling in him what it meant to be a man, the boy rarely showed his vulnerable side in
front of other people.
He was like a precocious kid who matured too fast. At the age of five, the times he had cried could be
counted using the fingers on one hand.
However, the little boy was currently wrapped up in his blanket, crying his heart out.
Sebastian was beyond guilty. He got increasingly frantic the longer Ian refused to come out of his fort.
So, he decided to open up the blanket himself. âIan, please come out. I promise you that I will never
argue with⦠Ms. Nancy again, alright?â
Sebastian hoped his coaxing would work.
Indeed, that seemed to satisfy the kid, for the crying gradually stopped.
âDo you⦠really mean it?â
Sure enough, the little guy lifted the blanket almost immediately. It was clear as day that, while he was
hiding in there, tears had streamed down his face while snot ran down his nose, the sight of which
completely upended his past image.
Sebastianâs eyes twitched slightly as he took in his sonâs face, but he suppressed his emotions. âOf
course, I wonât quarrel with her for no reason anymore. We had a disagreement today because she took
you out when you were still recovering from your illness. I was worried, so I merely reminded her what
she shouldnât have done.â
Ian sniffled. His teary eyes had reddened like a rabbitâs.
However, he did not shed any more tears.
Sebastian took this as a sign that the boy had chosen to believe him, so he pulled him out from under the
covers and into his arms.
âAlright. Letâs get you washed up. Itâs time for dinner.â
âBut sheâs already mad.â
âWhat?â
When Ian blurted that out of nowhere, Sebastian was unable to make head or tails of what the boy
meant. It was not until he found the little fellow standing by the bathtub, with his head drooping once
again, that he realized what was going on.
Is he talking about his mother? What about her? Is she not coming over tonight?
Right then, the hand that was testing the temperature of the water in the bathtub froze midair. A glint of
grimness flashed across his eyes when he thought about the reason why he came home so early.
â¦
Sasha had to stay at her uncleâs house until it was close to ten at night.
Jacksonâs health problem was nothing new. Initially, his condition got better after Sasha treated him.
Moments later, his daughter, Xenia, popped by. When she saw Sasha, she began to mock the doctor.
And that was how Jackson lost his temper.
As a result, his blood pressure rose, and Sasha had to stay back to look after him.
âSasha, you know, you donât have to be so kind. Heâs my father, not yours. Itâs futile no matter how nice
you are to him. Thereâs not much value to be squeezed out of him anymore.â
Xenia struck a conversation, albeit with stinging mockery, when she noticed that Sasha was still treating
Jacksonâs illness despite the late hour.
Sasha merely furrowed her brows, opting to ignore her.
She had not seen Xenia in five years. Contrary to their relationship now, the two used to get along really
well in the past. When they were children, Sasha used to visit the Wand family often to spend time with
Xenia. She even requested her father to enroll her in Xeniaâs school. They were not sisters by blood, but
their relationship had been closer than that.