Chapter 256

Chapter 256:

Stella’s heart was in chaos as she hurried home to pack her things before returning to the hospital.

As soon as she opened the door to her son’s ward, she was greeted by a room full of snack packages, fruit cores, and toys scattered all over the bed. Amid the mess sat Adrian, stuffing his mouth with potato chips, wide-eyed when he saw her.

“Adrian, what are you doing?” Stella stood there, stunned for a moment before her anger started to rise. “Are you treating the hospital like a garbage dump? It’s only been a few days since I’ve been away, and look at this! Are you in heaven?”

Adrian was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Darling to show up so soon. Didn’t Aunt Emily say there were still a few days before Darling would finish her work? It was too sudden—how was he supposed to handle this?

Quickly swallowing the chips in his mouth, Adrian nervously tossed the rest under the bed, putting on an innocent face. “Darling, you’re here!”

“Adrian, explain this to me! What is going on?” Stella’s stern tone left no room for evasion. “Tell me now, or I won’t spank you—if you give me a good reason.”

Seeing that his mother was genuinely angry, Adrian’s tough front melted. “Darling, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”

“Alright, then tell me, how should we clean up this mess?” Stella’s anger eased a bit upon seeing his remorse.

“I... I haven’t had snacks for a whole month,” Adrian muttered, pouting.

“A month?” Stella questioned, raising her eyebrow.

“Two months,” Adrian said, feeling wronged and about to cry.

“Well, that’s better.” Stella sighed and bent down to tidy up the room. Afterward, she poured a glass of water for Adrian. “Now, who bought all these snacks for you?”

Latest stories on gαℓησvℯℓs.com “Umm... it was...” Adrian hesitated, clearly nervous, which only rekindled Stella’s frustration.

“If you don’t confess, you won’t get to eat any snacks for the rest of the year. And no cartoons either!” she threatened.

Finally giving in, Adrian blurted out, “Aunt Alia snuck them in for me when she came to visit!” The little troublemaker was trembling with fear. “Darling, don’t be mad! I won’t do it again, I promise.”

Stella sat by the bed, helplessly patting Adrian’s head. “You’ve been sneaking snacks? How are you going to clean this up on your own? In the future, if I’m not around, you need to take care of yourself. Be a good kid, Adrian. Don’t be reckless.”

“Okay!” Adrian nodded enthusiastically, jumping up happily now that his mother wasn’t angry anymore. “Darling, where are you going?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she replied, her heart heavy with thoughts of the uncertain future. She feared that soon she wouldn’t be able to take care of him as she had before.

“Darling, why weren’t you here?” Adrian asked, blinking his big eyes. “You’ll always be here, right? You’ll always take care of me?”

“Mmm, I’ll always take care of you and keep you with me forever,” Stella said softly, though she was really just comforting herself. She didn’t realize that someone was listening to their conversation from outside the door.

RK stood outside the ward, feeling a strange pang of guilt. It was like he was the villain disrupting the bond between mother and son. To be honest, he didn’t feel great about it either. But would it be better to let Adrian call Tristan “Daddy”? RK thought it might be easier just to bring Adrian to his side.

He believed that with Alia’s companionship, Adrian would quickly adjust to living with him. As for Stella, he didn’t mind if she wanted to visit Adrian regularly—after all, it was clear that Adrian adored her. If she were willing to stay at the Kingston family home, RK wouldn’t object. The problem was, Stella refused to let go of her connection to Tristan.

RK didn’t fully understand his own hostility toward Tristan. Maybe it was because that guy always meddled. He had a sister he didn’t even seem to care about, yet he involved himself in Stella’s life. It was irritating.

RK stood in the hallway, lost in thought, until the door to the ward suddenly opened. Stella emerged, nearly bumping into him.

Without a word, she turned and headed downstairs, probably going to buy Adrian’s favorite lemon rice.

She hadn’t noticed him standing there, though her face seemed more flushed than usual. She still looked haggard, as if the burden of the past few days was weighing heavily on her. She was so preoccupied that she nearly tripped when entering the elevator.

RK remained in the corridor, watching her leave, a strange feeling washing over him. He adjusted his emotions before stepping into the ward.

Adrian lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. When RK entered, the boy didn’t even acknowledge him.

Despite the undeniable blood connection between them, there was a clear distance between father and son.

“Alia will come see you after school this afternoon,” RK said, feeling at a loss for words. It was rare for him to feel speechless, but this was one of those moments.

Adrian still stared at the ceiling with a sad look, but the slight curve of a smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed his joy. RK felt awkward and walked over to the table near the window, absently fiddling with one of Adrian’s toys.

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