Riley glanced at Luna, then hurried to Lillian’s side and whispered something in her ear.
Lillian shook her head, clearly telling Riley to stay quiet.
Valerie slowed down and glanced up at Clayton, her eyes watery.
20
She said in a soft tone, “I’m sorry, Clayton. I didn’t know you were keeping things from Mrs. Patel. Audrey probably doesn’t really want a divorce. Maybe she could apologize in person. If she shows some sincerity, Mrs. Patel will forgive her.”
Clayton’s frustration simmered under the surface. He thought, ‘Apologize in person? Audrey wouldn’t even agree to say it through a call. No way she’s showing up to grovel.’
He gave Luna a gentle pat on the head and said to Valerie, “Take care of her. I’ve got stuff to handle at the firm.”
As he walked away, Valerie’s grip on Luna’s wrist unconsciously tightened -hard enough to make the freshly bandaged wound start bleeding again.
*****
Back at her apartment, Audrey unpacked what little she’d brought and then opened her laptop to download a test paper set for Ivan.
It would take about ten minutes, so she opened her browser to catch up on
gossip.
She saw a headline about Little Dreamers Preschool exploded. A guy got caught picking up his secret lovechild by his wife right in front of the preschool.
Many people had posted videos in the comments, piecing the whole mess together.
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Leo’s wife, Alice, had been nearby that day. She got an anonymous tip sent by Audrey and rushed to the scene.
“Leo, what are you doing here?” Alice asked, playing dumb with a fake
smile.
Leo looked like a deer in headlights, panic flashing before he forced a casual smile and tugged her arm. “A colleague asked me to check out the school for their kid.”
“Oh? Who?” Alice asked.
“Gloria.”
“Gloria just had another baby?”
“It’s Gloria’s cousin’s kid.”
Leo was clearly getting annoyed. He tried to switch the subject. “Didn’t you have a spa day with Aliyah? What are you doing here?”
Just then, a chubby little boy pushed through the crowd and grabbed Leo’s shirt. “Daddy, a bastard transferred to our class today. What’s a bastard?”
Alice turned to the boy with cold eyes. “What did you just call him?”
Leo yanked his shirt out of the boy’s grip and snapped, “Get lost. Don’t call me that.”
He frantically gave the kid a look, trying to shut him up. The boy stumbled and fell, bursting into loud sobs.
All the other parents waiting outside were now staring, whispering to each
other.
Leo tried pulling Alice away, but she didn’t budge.
She shrugged off his hand and crouched down in front of the little boy. “Sweetheart, a bastard is what you call a kid whose mom had them with
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someone else’s husband. People hate such kids. Do you have a dad?”
20
“Yeah, I do,” the boy cried, staring at Leo with a heartbroken gazes. “I’m not
a bastard. I have a dad.”
Leo felt like he was being stabbed in the chest. He wanted nothing more than to scoop the boy up and carry him away on his shoulders like he used to. But Alice was standing right there, so he couldn’t show a flicker of emotion.
“Come on, let’s go. Why are you wasting time with a kid?” Leo dragged Alice by the arm and walked past the crowd.
Just then, one of the teachers rushed out holding a water bottle. “Mr. Sanchez, Bryson forgot this.”
The teacher handed it to Leo, who instantly froze, unsure how to respond.
“Bryson, why are you crying?” The teacher crouched down beside the little boy and pushed him toward Leo. “Mr. Sanchez, please let Mrs. Sanchez know that Bryson took his cold medicine on time today.”
“Mrs. Sanchez?” Alice repeated, her laugh sharp and cold.
Before Leo could speak, she slapped him across the face–loud enough to make everyone around them flinch. The crowd took a few steps back and started to whisper.
“Honey, wait, let me explain.” Leo tried to chase after Alice, but then he looked back at Bryson, who almost cried his eyes out.
He ended up scooping the boy into his arms and snapping at the teacher, “I’m filing a complaint against you.”
The video ended there, shaky and zoomed in on Leo’s back as he stormed
off.
Just before the video ended, Audrey caught a glimpse of someone familiar
passing by.
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‘Valerie and Luna? Weren’t they supposed to be at Starise Preschool?‘ she thought with a frown.
20
Soon, the test paper finally finished downloading, and Audrey grabbed her bag and went to Ivan’s place.
Audrey first found out about Leo’s secret by accident. One day, the driver had the day off, so she drove to pick up Clayton from a business dinner. That was when she saw them–Leo, his mistress, and their child.
Back then, she thought they were just a family. It wasn’t until she got locked up in Ashwood Mental Hospital that she realized Leo’s wife was someone else.
As soon as Audrey rang the doorbell, the door opened, like Ivan had been waiting for her. Ivan politely greeted her. “Hi, Ms. Henderson.”
Brooke, sitting in the living room, looked like she’d bitten into a lemon. She felt uncomfortable that her son barely glanced at her but lit up the second Audrey stepped in.
Audrey gave Brooke a brief nod and walked straight into Ivan’s room.
She said to Ivan, “Let’s start with a few questions I taught you yesterday. If you get them right, I’ve got something cool to show you.”
Ivan nodded eagerly and picked up his pen. When he was done, Audrey saw he still made some mistakes, but at least it wasn’t a complete disaster like yesterday.
Audrey handed Ivan her phone to show the scandal video. Ivan clenched his jaw the whole time. After watching the whole video, he asked, “That’s
all?”
Audrey replied, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. Leo’s wife helped him get Ashwood’s license. Now that they’ve got cracks in their marriage, we’ve got a shot to tear the whole thing down.”
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She set the phone aside and looked him straight in the eye. “Your job is to study hard, so I can earn more money. I’m not letting those people off the hook.”
Ivan gave a sharp nod. He actually wanted to ask her how an adult like her ended up getting thrown into Ashwood, but before the words came out, she tapped him on the head with her pen and said, “Focus,”
Brooke walked into the room a few times during the lesson. Audrey didn’t say anything but just jotted it down in her notebook. Every interruption meant an extra lesson fee, which was clearly stated in their contract.
When Audrey was about to leave, she held out the schedule log for Brooke to sign.
Brooke shot back, “What the hell is this supposed to mean? I bring you water and turn on the AC, and that counts against me? He’s my son. I can’t check on him in my own house?”
“Mrs. Gomez, you can check on him any other time, but do you really have to do that right during our lesson?” Audrey replied coolly while showing her the signed contract.
rooke signed the sheet, full of resentment. “If Ivan still comes in dead last for the upcoming exam, don’t bother showing up again.”
Brooke meant it as a threat, but after Audrey left, Brooke was stunned to find Ivan actually started to read books on his own.
*****
Someone paid to boost the scandal about the wife catching her husband picking up his lovechild, and it soon went viral.
Soon enough, people recognized the man was Leo, and Ashwood Mental Hospital started trending too. Countless people left their comments about Ashwood.
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Netizen A: [My son’s classmate was sent to Ashwood before. He came back totally wrecked with bruises all over.]
Netizen B: [My neighbor’s kid was sent there. Said they beat the kids and barely fed them.]
Netizen C: [Didn’t Alan Watson die in that place? They called it an accident and swept it under the rug.]
Netizen D: [They’re supposed to fix people’s morals? The owner cheats on his wife and has a secret kid. Maybe he should fix himself first.]
Leo watched in horror as the comment section turned into a mob. Some people even reported Ashwood to the authorities for operating without proper licenses. In just two days, the place had become a PR nightmare.
Leo was swamped–fielding angry calls from the press and getting chewed out by higher–ups. Finally, he blamed everything on Audrey.
He thought bitterly, ‘If she hadn’t stopped me at the park, I’d have picked up Bryson earlier and avoided the whole scene with Alice.
“Now look where we are. Alice wants everything I gave to Valentina back. If I don’t do that, she threatens to charge me with bigamy.‘
Just then, a knock came at the door. One of the staff said, “Mr. Sanchez,
Mr. Patel arrives.”
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