The man on watch stood rooted to the spot, worried that something might have happened to Darrell.
“Mr. Darrell? Mr. Darrell!”
Yet the large lump under the blanket turned out to be nothing but a giant stuffed toy. Darrell had already opened the window and escaped.
By the time the man rushed over to the window, all he could see was a red–haired “monkey” leaping swiftly from a branch before landing steadily on the lawn.
Darrell casually brushed the dirt from his palms, walked toward the gate without looking back, and gave a middle fin- ger behind his back.
The man shouted, “Mr. Darrell, if your parents find out about this, you’ll be in serious trouble!”
But Darrell paid him no mind.
He thought, “Mom and Dad are getting a divorce. They don’t have time to care about what I do, OK?
“Mom’s been lecturing me on a whim these past few days, but I’m sure she’ll get distracted by something else soon enough.
“If she really wanted to discipline me, she would’ve done it a long time ago.
“She wouldn’t have let me run wild for so many years.
“I should be used to it by now,
shouldn’t I?
“What everyone says is true. I grew up without a mother’s guidance. That’s just how it’s always been.
With that, he pushed the gate open without hesitation and sprinted toward his destination.
Cordelia was choked awake by thick smoke.
The moment she opened her eyes, she found the room filled with the smell of burning cigarettes.
The smoke was so dense that she could hardly see anything.
As soon as she stepped out of bed, she almost tripped over her slippers.
Fortunately, a pair of large hands reached out from the smoke and caught her by the waist in time, preventing her from twisting her ankle.
“Declan…
“Were we robbed?”
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Just as she wanted to ask more, she was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.
Declan helped Cordelia out of the room, only to find the hallway even smokier.
The servants were busy fetching buckets of water, apparently trying to put out a fire.
“What happened?”
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Hearing his question, the man in charge of watching Darrell immediately stepped forward and reported, “I’m sorry. Mr. Darrell lit up all the cigarettes in his room…”
Cordelia was immediately seething with rage.
“That brat! He’s done for!”
She broke free from Declan’s support and stormed into Darrell’s room, only to find it empty.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
The man wiped his sweat nervously. “H–He jumped out the window and ran away…”
Seeing the distance between the window and the tree, Cordelia gave a wry smile.
“Maybe we should sign him up to be an athlete in the future.”
Throughout it all, Declan silently watched as Cordelia rushed around frantically like a headless chicken, shielding her with his body, worried that she might fall.
Yet, the next second, she suddenly turned to him, blaming him for everything.
“Declan, you always do everything by the book. How is it that your son is nothing like you? He’s so wild and impul- sive!”
Declan lifted his head to look at her and said flatly, “Perhaps he takes after his mother.”
Furious, Cordelia stormed around the living room.
Meanwhile, she was puzzled.
How did Declan always manage to get under her skin with just a few words?
Were they really born sworn enemies?
Fueled by fury, she began searching everywhere for the wooden stick. “That brat has some nerve messing with me. I swear I’m going to teach him a lesson!”
However, with the stick in hand, she suddenly realized something–she had no idea where Darrell had gone after he jumped out the window.
Declan poured her a glass of water. “Have some water. Calm down.”
The sight of him enraged her even more. “Our son is missing at this hour! Calm down? How am I supposed to calm
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Chapter 5
down? You’re his father! How can you be so irresponsible?”
She didn’t take the water, so Declan could only set the glass down in front of her.
She snatched it up, threw her head back, and gulped the water down without hesitation.
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Just then, Declan noticed that their youngest son, Elton Beasley, who had been hiding in his room, had come into the living room.
Clutching a painting with his small hand, he timidly walked over to Cordelia and poked her arm.
The moment she turned around, she was met with an adorable face.
His gentle temperament was worlds apart from Darrell’s arrogance.
She immediately realized this was her third son, Elton, whom she hadn’t met until now.
Putting on a gentle smile, she pinched Elton’s cheek. “Elty? What’s the matter?”
Without a word, Elton handed her the painting.
She took it and saw that he had drawn an abandoned dock, on which stood a red–haired man.
The man, with his hands on his hips, looked as fierce as a gangster.
“Is this… Darry?” she ventured.
Elton nodded carefully.
Puzzled, she turned to Declan and asked, “What does this mean?
“Why does Elty use a painting to communicate? Why doesn’t he say anything? He’s so introverted.”
A wave of complicated emotions surged through Declan.
After a few seconds, he said slowly, “Elty can’t talk.”
She failed to process his words. “He can’t talk? What is that supposed to mean?” she blurted out.
Without saying anything, Declan just looked at her.
After what felt like an eternity, the truth crashed down on her. She sprang to her feet, realizing the agonizing fact.
Her youngest son was mute.
The harsh reality was so overwhelming that it made her dizzy.
Her eldest son was autistic, her second son was rebellious, and her youngest was mute.
What had she done to deserve this?
Just as she was reeling from the shock, Declan studied the painting and deduced, “Elty is telling us that Darry has gone to the abandoned dock on Kelmire Street for a gang fight.”
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His words instantly snapped Cordelia back to reality.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
With that, she made to stride out, the stick in hand.
The servants had just finished clearing the smoke.
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The moment they saw Declan’s face, they all lowered their heads and covered their mouths, straining to stifle their laughter.
Only then did Cordelia see the dunce cap she had drawn on Declan’s face–the marker surely held up well.
Horrified, she hastily cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment.
Noticing something off, Declan asked, “What’s wrong?
“Is there something on my face?”
Naturally, the servants knew Cordelia was the one who had drawn the dunce cap.
But they were utterly clueless about the current state of her relationship with Declan.
They could only bow their heads in tense silence.
Norma Gibson, the longest–serving staff member, finally pointed timidly at her own face.
面
“M–Mr. Beasley,” she faltered, feeling awkward, “perhaps … you would like to take a look in the mirror?”
The moment Declan stepped into the bathroom, he saw the enormous dunce cap drawn across his chiseled features.
He stood frozen, frowning at his reflection for a long time, yet he still couldn’t recall when Cordelia had managed to do it.
Back in the living room, Cordelia stood clutching the stick.
She couldn’t help but imagine Declan’s reaction in the bathroom, and a laugh almost escaped her.
However, when Declan came back after washing his face, he was completely composed, as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s head to the dock.”
As he sat in the car, he finally couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, “Why did you draw a dunce cap on my face?”
In the past, when they had had an argument, Cordelia had cursed harshly, smashed things, and even once deleted a crucial document of his.
But drawing a dunce cap on his face? She had never resorted to such a childish trick before.
Cordelia shrugged and blurted out without thinking, “For fun, of course.”
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Chapter 6
