Alexander bravely went upstairs, knocked on the study door, but there was no response.
Summoning his courage, he opened the door.
A folder immediately flew towards him.
Followed by a furious shout, "Get lost!"
Quick on his feet, Alexander used the door to block the incoming folder, cautiously calling out, "Daddy...!"
Ethan paused, and the visible coldness surrounding him reduced.
Sensing the change, Alexander pushed open the study door again, walked in, and placed the tray on the desk. "Daddy, Grandpa butler said you haven't eaten anything all day, so I personally cooked a bowl of noodles for you."
Seeing the steaming noodles, Ethan showed a hint of surprise in his eyes. "You cooked?"
Alexander handed the fork to Ethan and nodded vigorously. "Yes! This is my first time cooking noodles for Daddy. Give me face and eat it!"
Thinking about his son, who never entered the kitchen, cooking for him, Ethan's heart suddenly warmed.
He picked up the noodles, tentatively took a bite, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Where did you learn this skill?"
It was surprisingly similar to Samantha's cooking.
Alexander asked eagerly, "How is it? Is it delicious?"
Ethan rubbed his son's little head, pleased. "Very delicious, thank you!"
Alexander sat across from Ethan, hands supporting his chin, smiling, "If it's good, eat more. If it's not enough, I'll cook another bowl."
Ethan felt touched by his son's considerate gesture. Unable to disappoint him, he finished the noodles and even drank the soup.
For some reason, while eating this bowl of noodles, all he could think about was Samantha—the way she frowned and smiled.
Feeling a mix of anger and happiness, Alexander anxiously asked, "Daddy, are you full? Do you want me to cook another bowl?"
Ethan leisurely wiped his mouth, satisfied, and said, "I'm full!"
Seeing him eating and not as angry as before, Alexander, gathering courage, asked, "Daddy, can you tell me what happened today? You didn't come to pick me up from kindergarten."
Ethan recalled the audio recording, and his face darkened.
Seeing him remain silent, Alexander bravely continued, "Is it related to Aunt Samantha? Did you two have a fight?"
Attempting to console him, he said, "It's normal for couples to argue. It happens all the time. Don't be so angry, Daddy. Getting angry is bad for your health, and I'll worry about you."
Looking at his son's understanding, Ethan couldn't help but rub his head and said, "You're still young, you wouldn't understand."
Alexander puffed out his chest, unwilling to concede, "Why wouldn't I understand? Do you know how many love letters I get every day? I have more experience than you."
Surprised, Ethan asked, "You get love letters?"
Proudly, Alexander said, "Of course, I receive many love letters from girls every day. It's annoying. Being popular is troublesome. Sigh... sorrowful..."
Seeing him act smug but deliberately pretending to be sad, Ethan couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, let adults handle their affairs. Children shouldn't get involved."
Alexander hopped off the stool, walked behind him, hooked his arm, and coquettishly said, "Then tonight, Daddy has to give me a bath, accompany me to sleep, and tell me a bedtime story."
This way, he could distract his father from thinking about the argument with Mommy.
Facing such a request, Ethan couldn't refuse.
He nodded in agreement.
...
In the early morning hours, Noah, unaware of the events during the day, secretly used Samantha's phone to send a message to Ethan.
However, after searching for a while, he couldn't find Ethan's contact.
He opened the search bar and entered Ethan's phone number.
Upon clicking, he discovered that Samantha had blocked Ethan.
A sense of unease washed over him.
Thinking of sending a message to Alexander to inquire about the situation, he realized that at this time, Alexander was likely already asleep.
He hesitated to send a message to Ethan’s Ig but decided to try.
As Ethan, who had just coaxed Alexander to sleep, heard the sound of the message notification on his phone.
The first thought that flashed through his mind was that Samantha had messaged him again. Despite constantly reminding himself to stay away from that hypocritical woman, his hand involuntarily reached for the phone.
Upon seeing the friend request notification, his face instantly turned cold, resembling a demon emerging from hell.
That woman had actually blocked him...!
Did she have the audacity to send another friend request now?
Who did she think he was?
Feeling the surge of anger, Ethan decisively rejected Noah's friend request.
Noah, not giving up, sent another friend request, "Ethan, I'm Samantha. I accidentally deleted your phone number. Can you give it to me again, please?"
Her tone was humble and sincere.
Seeing this explanation, Ethan's anger diminished by half. After hesitating for a few minutes, he reluctantly send the number and accepted the friend request.
Eagerly staring at his phone, he waited for a message on Instagram or WhatsApp.
However, unaware of the events that had unfolded, Noah, fearing exposure, didn't dare to send a message after his friend request was accepted. He deleted the record and quietly put down his phone.
Unable to wait any longer for a message, Ethan angrily smashed his phone.
...
The next morning, after dropping Noah and Charlotte off at kindergarten, Samantha drove to the Coffee Shop to meet Ellena.
To her surprise, Suzy was also there.
Seeing her walk in, Suzy greeted warmly, "Samantha, you're here! Come over quickly, I ordered your favorite iced Americano for you."
Seeing her feigned friendliness, Samantha felt a wave of nausea.
But with Ellena present, she couldn't afford to show hostility. So, she reluctantly sat down next to them.
Ellena explained with a smile, "Miss Samantha, sorry for the inconvenience. After you called me yesterday, Suzy also called me. Her initial design is complete too! I thought it would save time to have her join us. I hope you don't mind."
Since Suzy was already here, Samantha couldn't say much.
Refusing would make her seem petty.
Smiling, she shook her head, "Of course, I don't mind!"
Handing over the folder in her hand to Ellena, she said, "This is my initial design. Take a look, Miss Ellena. If you don't like it, I can redesign it."
Ellena smiled and took the folder. However, when she saw the contents, her expression turned unpleasant.
Samantha, noticing Ellena's displeasure, hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"
Ellena asked in a deep voice, "Is this your design?"
Samantha nodded, "Yes! I just completed it yesterday!"
With a confirmation, Ellena's face turned from unpleasant to disdainful.
"Do you know what the design industry despises the most?" she asked.
Samantha was momentarily stunned.
Ellena continued, "As a designer, you can lack talent, you can even lack diligence, but you absolutely cannot plagiarize. It's an insult to the profession of being a designer."
Although Samantha didn't understand why she suddenly made such remarks, she quickly grasped the crucial information, "Plagiarism?"
Ellena handed Suzy's design to her, saying, "Take a look!"
Samantha opened the folder with Suzy's signature.
Upon seeing the design, her face turned almost ashen.
Suzy's design was exactly the same as hers.
***