Ch. 51..60

Returning from the Dead Chapter 51

“You may stop coming altogether,” he enunciated every word and uttered them through gritted teeth while wearing a frosty expression on his face.

Sasha was rendered speechless.

F**k!

“Just ignore him, Mommy. He’s always like that.”

Unexpectedly, Ian came out just then. Witnessing his father being an insufferable bully again, he put on an icy look and immediately came to his mother’s aid.

Sasha instantly broke out in cold sweat.

However, Sebastian only shot his son a glare before turning to leave. Thank God this a**hole is tolerant toward his own son.

Sasha finally loosened up after he was gone.

“Little Ian, umm… I won’t be coming tonight, so be a good boy and don’t forget to eat your medicine before going to bed, okay? I’ll visit you tomorrow morning.”

“Mm.”

Ian nodded expressionlessly and went back to his room.

Of course, he understood why his mommy wasn’t coming later. He had a brother and a sister out there, and he didn’t wish for them to be neglected because of him.

Hence, Sasha picked up the two children from preschool that evening and didn’t go back to the villa anymore.

“Mommy, did you go look after that sick boy today? How is he?”

This was the first thing that came out of Matteo’s mouth after coming back from preschool.

Sasha was cooking in the kitchen just then and didn’t think much about her son’s question, so she merely replied, “He’s doing alright. It’s not that serious, so he’s almost fully recovered.”

“Really? That’s great!”

Matteo could finally relax after a whole day of worrying.

Vivian walked over right then and sprawled next to her brother. “Matt, does that mean Ian’s okay now?”

“I guess so, but I don’t think we should try to matchmake Uncle Solomon and Mommy anymore. I think Ian got sick because of this.”

“Ah? Really?” Vivian gasped softly.

“Yeah, you know how smart he is. When we didn’t let Mommy go there, he must’ve figured out why and started worrying. That’s why he became sick.”

Matteo was smart as well. After a whole day of thinking, he managed to put two and two together.

Hearing her brother’s explanation, Vivian lost interest in the cartoon playing on the television, scooting closer to Matteo with a cute frown on her face. “Then what should we do? Bad Daddy is always so mean to Mommy. I don’t want him to be with Mommy.”

Matteo fell silent.

What else can we do?

We can only think of a way to stop bad Daddy from bullying Mommy.

Matteo decided to wait until Ian was fully recovered to call him and discuss this matter.

It was a cozy and peaceful night for the family of three.

The next day, Sasha woke up very early. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her eldest son who was sick.

Besides getting up early to bake some pastries, she also made some medicinal soup that could boost his energy, planning to bring everything over to the villa later.

Matteo had always been a sensible child. When he woke up and saw that his mother was busy in the kitchen, he took it upon himself to put on his clothes and also helped his sister to get ready before walking into the kitchen together.

“Mommy, are you cooking this for that boy?”

“Yes. He’s sick, so I made some soup for him, hoping that he’ll get better soon.”

When Sasha saw both children fully dressed, she was touched and delighted at the same time.

Vivian came over to sniff the pastries just then. “Mommy, are these all for him too?”

“No, no. Some of them are for the two of you. How could I forget about my two precious babies?” Sasha hurriedly explained.

Then, she picked up a warm pastry and gave it to her daughter.

They were all her children, so of course she would never be biased toward any one of them.

Once Sasha made sure they had eaten their fill, she went downstairs while holding Matteo in one hand and Vivian in the other. After sending them to preschool, she rushed to Frontier Bay.

“Little Ian, are you awake?”

Royal Court One was beautiful in the morning, with various types of flowers blooming around the garden. As the sun glowed brilliantly, the entire place seemed to be enveloped in a golden veil.

It was a sight to behold.

Sasha entered the villa with the medicinal soup in hand and was about to go upstairs to see her son.

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However, a figure appeared behind her all of a sudden.

“Ms. Wand, where are you going?”

“Ahh?”

Sasha almost jumped out of her skin, instantly halting in her steps to look behind her as her heart raced with lingering shock.

“Oh, it’s you, Berta. I… I’m going upstairs to see if Little Ian’s awake.”

“You’re going up to see Ian? Ms. Wand, he isn’t awake yet, so don’t disturb him. Also, what did you bring here? Why does it look like that?”

Berta, who seemed to have materialized out of thin air, didn’t just prevent Sasha from seeing her son. She even poked her nose into Sasha’s business, asking about the things the latter had placed on the dining table.

Sasha explained, “Those are some pastries and medicinal soup I brought from home. I personally made them for Little Ian.”

“Ms. Wand, I’ve told you before that Ian can’t eat outside food. He’s sick, remember?”

Resentment was written on the housemaid’s face.

Sasha started to feel uneasy. Glancing at the food she brought, she reigned in her temper and insisted, “I personally made them. There won’t be a problem.”

“Who knows? He did come down with diarrhea because of the brownies you made.”

Sasha’s brows drew together at that.

Little Ian fell sick because he ate the brownies I made him?

As the possibility surfaced in her mind, she remained motionless on the spot.

Of course, she didn’t think that her food itself was the problem since she was confident in her own skills. However, listening to what the housemaid said, she began to suspect that Ian was allergic to certain ingredients.

It was a possibility that couldn’t be ruled out completely.

Sasha’s face turned pale, thinking that she had caused Ian’s sickness.

“What are both of you doing?”

Right then, a tall figure descended the stairs, wearing a black tailored suit over a white shirt. The moment he appeared, the noble and imposing aura he emanated caused Sasha to hold her breath subconsciously.

I thought he should be at the company by now.

“Mr. Hayes, Ms. Wand brought food over again. I was afraid that Ian’s condition would worsen after eating whatever she brought, so I was offering her a word of advice.”

Berta immediately began complaining about Sasha to the head of the household.

Sasha became frantic. “No, I-I didn’t know that Little Ian fell sick because he ate the brownies I made. I-I really didn’t do it on purpose,” she stammered out an explanation, afraid that Sebastian would misunderstand her and never allow her to see her son again.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

His eyes that were always devoid of warmth swept across the food on the table before returning to stare at the woman who had her head bowed.

“Who told you that he fell sick because of the brownies?”

“Huh?”

Sasha whipped her head up and stared blankly at the man. “H-He didn’t? But Berta said—”

“I didn’t say that, Ms. Wand. I clearly said that the child is sick and needs to be careful of what he eats lest his condition worsens!” Berta interrupted her and raised her voice to deny it.

Sasha stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief.

Wow, look how quickly she changed her statement. Does she think I’m stupid?

Sasha went purple with rage.

“That’s enough. Since you have so much free time, you should think about how to take good care of him because if something happens to him again, you’ll have to answer to me, Sasha Wand!”

Sebastian withdrew his indifferent gaze but didn’t do anything else about the matter.

A strange feeling slithered into his heart.

Although he constantly wanted her to be at his mercy, when he saw the crestfallen look on her face just now, he realized that it didn’t bring him any pleasure whatsoever.

Shaking off this peculiar feeling, he strode out the door.

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Due to Sebastian’s intervention, Sasha managed to untangle herself from Berta. Without a moment’s delay, she carried the food and went upstairs.

“Little Ian, Ms. Nancy is here. Are you awake?”

“Mm.”

She was happy to see how obedient her son was. After softly calling out to him, he opened his eyes on the bed and got up with her help.

Sasha was more than pleased with their progress.

This was a rare heartwarming moment she shared with her son.

After dressing Ian up, she coaxed him into drinking the soup she made, causing Berta to grit her teeth in irritation.

“Little Ian, let’s go to the garden for a walk, hmm?”

After Ian finished his breakfast, Sasha noticed that the weather was particularly good. With her son’s health in mind, Sasha thought it would be good to let Ian go out and sweat a little.

However, Ian’s face instantly sank. “No!”

Sasha was taken aback. “Why not, sweetie? Children should exercise more to become stronger. Once you’re all better, you can start going to preschool where you can make lots of new friends who will play with you. Isn’t that fun?”

“No, it’s not fun! It’s not fun at all!”

Sasha never expected that what she said would make things worse. Ian hurled the Transformers figurine in his hand and ran away.

Anxious, Sasha got to her feet and went after him. “Ian, don’t run! Wait for me.”

What’s going on? Why did he become so worked up all of a sudden?

Sasha was dumbfounded.

She raced after him to his room, planning to coax him. However, he slammed the door before she could reach him and locked her out.

“Little Ian? Please open the door. Don’t be angry. Did I say something wrong? Let me in so that we can talk, okay?”

“Weren’t you oh-so confident in yourself? What’s wrong? Are things not going well?”

Berta came upstairs at some point and began mocking her.

Sasha was in an irritable mood, and what Berta said was the last straw. Her gaze turned icy as she shot a fierce glare at the latter.

“One more word from you, and I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you say.”

Berta was stunned, having never seen this side of Sasha.

In an instant, fear gripped her as she cowered slightly, feeling a chill travel down her spine.

Since when did this woman become so scary?

Her arrogance was instantly knocked down several notches, and she stuttered, “I-It’s because you mentioned preschool. Ian has always hated going to preschool.”

“He doesn’t like it? Why?”

Sasha was perplexed.

He hates going to preschool?

Why?

I know that he doesn’t like to interact with others, but why doesn’t he like going to preschool too?

His condition shouldn’t be that serious.

Sasha felt that something was amiss and decided to wait for Sebastian to come home to ask him the reason behind it.

However, Sebastian didn’t come back all afternoon. Instead, someone else came to visit the villa.

“Quick! Tidy the place up. Mr. Hayes will be here soon, so make sure everything is spotless, or we’ll never hear the end of it from him.”

Sasha had come down to make lunch for her son when she overheard this.

When she saw Berta ordering the housemaids in the garden, she almost missed a step and stumbled down the stairs from shock.

Sebastian’s father is coming?

Oh God! Why all of a sudden? Why wasn’t I told about this?

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What am I going to do? I’m not ready to meet his father yet! Besides, that scum and I agreed that he’d be the one to take me to see his father. That way, I’d have more time to make myself more presentable so that when his father sees that I’m sincere, he wouldn’t be as mad. That was the deal!

In her state of panic, Sasha was about to tuck tail and leave.

“Ms. Wand, where are you going?”

“Huh? Umm… I just remembered that there’s something I have to do. I’ll be back later,” Sasha formulated a response in haste.

Yeah, it’s not the right time. I’ll avoid him for now and come back here after he’s gone.

However, something seemed off about Berta this time as she tried to make her stay.

“Ms. Wand, Mr. Hayes is going to be here soon. Since you saved Ian and have been caring for him all this time, you should stay and meet his grandfather. He’s a nice person, so I’m sure he’ll be very grateful to you when he finds out that you’re his grandson’s savior.”

The housemaid’s attitude toward Sasha took a hundred and eighty-degree turn.

Sasha couldn’t help but feel skeptical.

Despite her rising suspicions, there were more pressing matters at hand, and she couldn’t be bothered figuring out Berta’s motives.

“No thanks. It’s not a big deal anyway. Well then, I’ll be leaving now.” With that, Sasha put down the bowl in her hand and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Berta rushed over to grab her arm.

She was about to stop the latter from leaving when a small figure appeared at the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Ian asked. Having locked himself in his bedroom for the whole afternoon ever since Sasha brought up preschool, he finally made an appearance right then.

Although Sasha was delighted to see him, she made sure to approach him carefully.

“Little Ian, there’s something I have to do back home, so I need to leave for a while, but I’ll come here again at night. Is that okay?”

Ian remained silent.

None of them knew that it wasn’t a coincidence that he had come down at that moment. When he was upstairs, he had actually heard that his grandfather was visiting and noticed the panic in his mother’s voice as she argued with the annoying housemaid.

That was why he came down.

Why is Mommy so scared? Why is she rushing to go home?

Could she be… scared of Grandpa?

Is it because she lied about being dead last time, then secretly took Matteo and Vivian with her?

There was no change in his expression when he glanced at his mother, but a brief moment later, he commanded in an adorable voice, “Don’t let him in!”

“What?”

The moment he said that, Sasha stopped in her tracks, and even Berta snapped her gaze to him with a look of shock on her face.

“Ian, w-what do you mean? Don’t let who in?”

“Grandpa!”

“Grandpa? What? Ian, how could we possibly do that to Mr. Hayes? How can we stop him from entering?” Berta instantly rejected, disagreeing with the little boy’s decision.

Ian’s face turned gloomy.

He then padded down the stairs on his short legs and went straight to the living room to grab the phone.

Sasha snapped out of her daze and quickly went over to him.

As she neared her son, she found that his call had connected and he was speaking stiffly into the phone. “I just don’t want you to come!”

Oh my God!

Sasha was so anxious she had the sudden urge to pull at her own hair.

“Little brat, why don’t you want Grandpa to come? You’re sick, so Grandpa just wants to see you.”

“No need!”

Ian’s expression remained stoic as he stubbornly stood his ground.

Sasha put her hand on her chest, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat. In her mind, she was picturing a gray-haired old man holding the phone while clutching his chest in anger.

Oh God, will he be p*ssed at his grandson?

After they talked on the phone for several minutes, just like Sasha had predicted, Frederick remained adamant as her son failed to stop him from coming.

Sasha grimaced.

After a moment, she squatted in front of her brooding son and cautiously coaxed him, “It’s okay, Little Ian. Just let him come. I will be fine.”

“Well, I won’t! I don’t wanna see him!”

Out of everyone’s expectations, Ian abruptly gritted out such shocking words.

Did I misunderstand the situation? So my son wasn’t trying to help me at all, but he actually doesn’t want to see his Grandpa? Oh.

Sasha was lost for words all of a sudden.

“Can you drive?” Ian asked.

“What?”

“Come with me!”

With that, Ian went upstairs again. Sasha was still confused when he came down once again with something held tightly in his hand. When she took a closer look at it, she was so stunned her jaw almost hit the ground.

My dear son, does your daddy know that you’re such a genius?

Sasha reacted after a beat and scurried after Ian. Ten minutes later, she finally drove a blue and sleek Ferrari out of the villa’s garage, feeling like she was treading on air!

Returning from the Dead Chapter 55

“Little Ian, how come you have the keys to this car? Mom… I love you to bits!”

She was so excited that she started babbling incoherently. A glance at the rearview mirror showed the housemaid whose face had gone red from anger outside the villa, but Sasha was too far gone to care.

Seated on the front passenger seat, Ian cast a cold glance at her.

This car is mine, okay?

Silly Mommy!

The mother and son duo zoomed out of Frontier Bay in no time, shoving the villa to the back of their minds.

“Little Ian, where should we go next? Do you want some good food? Or do you want me to bring you somewhere to play?”

As the car sped along the road, Sasha’s spirits were lifted considerably, and she started to think about where she could bring her son to have fun since they had already left the villa.

Ian’s eyes finally lit up with excitement.

Indeed, he rarely came out to play. Even going for a simple stroll happened only once in a blue moon.

Every time he went to places frequented by children of his age, everyone would call him a weirdo and laugh at him when they saw how quiet and introverted he was.

Thus, he hated going to preschool and refused to go to crowded places. His father rarely allowed him to go out as well because of his frail body, and whenever he did, he would make sure Ian was escorted by many bodyguards, which Ian found to be a hindrance.

“The amusement park,” he finally said the words at the tip of his tongue after remaining silent throughout the whole ride.

Sasha shot a furtive glance at her son. Upon noticing the bright gleam in his eyes, she readily agreed to his request, “Alright! The amusement park it is! I will make sure you have fun today. I promise!”

Then, she floored the accelerator and headed straight for their destination.

Her curiosity was piqued. Didn’t Ian refuse to go for a walk earlier? I’m sure he knows that there’s gonna be a lot of walking at the amusement park. Then why is he so excited about it?

Sasha decided to use this opportunity to understand her son better.

…

Sebastian only found out about what happened at Frontier Bay when he returned to his office after a meeting.

As soon as he was informed, he slammed the document in his hand onto the table.

“How did my father find out about this?”

“I-I investigated. No one at the villa would’ve dared to speak a word about it, so could it be one of th-the doctors?”

Luke stammered as he trembled slightly.

The moment he was done, Sebastian uttered in a frightening voice, “Did you leave your brain at home today? Do you really think any of the doctors I hired would dare to breathe a word about it? Investigate this at once and find out who leaked it.”

“Yes, yes! Right away!”

Luke nodded profusely.

What Sebastian said was right. Ever since Frederick’s health deteriorated, no one dared to tell him about Ian’s health condition. Otherwise, death would be the only outcome for them.

The doctors undoubtedly knew this as well.

At that moment, Luke felt that he had indeed left his brain at home.

“What about her? Where is she now?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean… Ms. Wand? She… ran away with Ian.”

“What did you say? Ran away? With my son?”

As Sebastian whipped his head up, the temperature in the office plummeted drastically, scaring the daylights out of Luke.

He hastily explained, “Well, when Ian heard that your father was going to visit, he was very against it. So, he called your father and told him not to come, but of course, your father didn’t listen. Then, Ian… He took the keys to the blue Ferrari you gave him for his birthday and asked Ms. Wand to take him away…”

Cold sweat was dripping down Luke’s forehead because truth be told, this was the first time Ian had done something like this.

Sure enough, Sebastian’s expression became even more terrifying, and he exuded a menacing aura that seemed to fill every inch of the office.

“And you believe that?”

“Uh… Come again?”

“He’s only five, but you’re telling me he’s capable of something like this? Then why wasn’t he this bold in the past?” Sebastian enunciated each word slowly as anger radiated off his body.

Luke did not dare to say a word.

So does Boss mean that it wasn’t Ian’s idea but Ms. Wand’s?

Oh boy, she is so screwed!

“Call… Call that damned woman and tell her if… if she doesn’t bring my son back in… in twenty minutes, I will bury her uncle… and his entire family along with her!”

Beside himself with rage, pain began to spread through his skull as though a bomb was about to go off in his head. The pain was so excruciating that he wanted so badly to strangle that woman alive at that moment!

Sasha Wand, I showed you some leniency and you start acting out already?

Very well. Just you wait!

…

Sasha and Ian both had a blast at the amusement park.

Since the latter had never been here before, he had eagerly tried every ride with Sasha.

Right then, Sasha glimpsed a shadow of Matteo in him as he finally seemed more like a child of his age.

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“Are you having fun, Little Ian?”

“Mhm.”

Both of them were sitting in a small wooden boat that could seat only a parent and a child. It wasn’t powered by anything and could only move by manually pedaling and rowing the double oars. Hence, when Sasha pedaled, Ian would use his little hands to row the oars.

His face was flushed and perspiration coated his forehead, but his beautiful eyes were exceptionally bright, which was a stark contrast to his usual aloof self.

Sasha smiled along with him and continued pedaling vigorously, about to bring him to play some more. Just then, her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Madam, oh my God. What were you thinking? How could you kidnap Ian and run away like that? Goodness gracious, I really can’t… Please, come back quickly or you’ll be done for!”

The moment Sasha answered the call, Luke’s frenzied voice reached her ears.

Her expression fell as she asked, “What’s wrong? He knows? No… I didn’t kidnap Little Ian. He didn’t want to see his grandpa, so I brought him out with me. That’s all.”

Oh God, doesn’t she understand the gravity of the situation now?

Luke didn’t bother to elaborate further. Instead, he begged her to quickly bring Ian back and said that if she didn’t, she would never be allowed to see Ian again.

Sasha finally came to her senses and brought a very reluctant Ian back on shore.

“Little Ian, our fun stops here for today. You just fell sick, so you can’t play too much. Let’s go find Daddy now, okay?”

“Daddy?”

Ian was an immensely intelligent child, so he instantly realized that something was off by listening to his mother’s words.

However, Sasha would never tell him anything she deemed inappropriate for a child’s ears. After coaxing him a little, she carried him back to the car, and they both left the amusement park, heading toward Hayes Corporation.

Twenty minutes later, the car drove into the city center and approached Hayes Corporation.

Then, it rolled to a stop in front of the skyscraper. After receiving the call from Luke earlier, Sasha didn’t have the inclination to go in whatsoever. From Luke’s tone, she knew for a fact that that man would make things difficult for her if she went up.

Unfortunately…

“Ms. Nancy?”

“Oh, alright. I will bring you up, hmm?”

Sasha snapped out of her trance. Glancing at the boy beside her who still looked a little pale and sickly, she alighted the car and brought him down.

“Oh, the president’s son is here. Hi, little one. I see you finally have some time to come over.”

Perhaps because Sebastian often brought Ian to the company, everyone there knew who he was. As soon as Sasha led him in, the front desk receptionist immediately came over to greet him warmly.

Ian never liked speaking, so he merely shot a fleeting glance at her.

To dispel the awkwardness, Sasha quickly answered for him, “Yes, his father asked me to bring him here. Is he in his office now?”

“Oh, yes, yes. The president didn’t go out this afternoon. Oh? I’ve never seen you before. Are you the newly hired nanny for Mr. Hayes’ son? You’re very young!”

Unexpectedly, the receptionist posed such a question after giving Sasha a once-over.

Following that, Sasha’s whole body stiffened.

Nanny?

Hah! Isn’t that the truth though? She didn’t dare to acknowledge this child as her own at that moment. Besides, no one in this building knew that she was once the president’s wife and would have been the lady boss here because their wedding back then hadn’t even been announced to the public.

Sasha lowered her gaze as a self-deprecating smile played on her lips. Just when she was about to admit to being a nanny, the small hand she was holding abruptly tugged her twice.

“Let’s go!”

Ian’s eyes were extremely hostile as if someone had provoked him.

Upon seeing this, Sasha did not waste a second, quickly bringing him to the elevator. Not long after, the front desk receptionist received a notice of dismissal from the Human Resource Department.

The reason for her dismissal was because Ian didn’t like her!

Sasha brought Ian to the president’s office on the highest floor.

“Ahem… Little Ian, why don’t you go in on your own, hmm? I won’t be going with you. Your daddy is inside, so it wouldn’t be very appropriate for me to go in. Is that okay?”

Sasha’s reluctance to see Sebastian had steadily increased all the way here. Standing right outside his office, she finally succumbed to it.

Ian looked at her and agreed, “Okay!”

Then, he obediently let go of her hand and made his way into the office.

Sasha was stunned.

No way.

That was too easy. He really agreed? He’s usually very clingy. Why is he so obedient all of a sudden?

Sasha was rather surprised that her son had agreed so readily, but at the same time, she was beyond delighted at how smoothly things went. She slowly turned around and tiptoed toward the elevator, hoping to quickly leave this place.

“Sasha! Get in here!”

However, her hopes were crushed when a voice boomed from inside the office. Suddenly, her whole body was frozen to the spot, as if held by an invisible force.

How is that scum’s hearing so sharp?

Like a meek little girl, Sasha obediently approached his office.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hayes.” She let out an awkward laugh.

Upon stepping into the office, her eyes were immediately drawn toward the man sitting behind the large desk. In the spacious and brightly illuminated office, sunlight poured in through the French windows, creating a halo around his figure. Right then, he looked like a king reigning over his kingdom in his throne, so noble and lofty no one dared to look at him directly.

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Sasha subconsciously held her breath and immediately averted her gaze.

“Come here, Ian.”

Sebastian’s eyes did not immediately find Sasha when she came in. Instead, he asked his son to come over first, indicating that he would settle the scores with her later.

Ian furrowed his brows and walked toward his father.

“Where did you go today?”

“Nowhere,” Ian answered indifferently.

Sasha let out a long sigh of relief.

Oh, thank God he didn’t say that we went to the amusement park. Otherwise, it would only make that man angrier.

However, Sebastian didn’t believe Ian when he noticed all the sweat on the latter’s body. “Then why are you sweating so much? You’re even lying to me now?”

Ian had no way to refute that.

When Sasha realized that things were getting out of hand, she hurriedly stepped forward, forgetting about her own predicament. “Don’t blame him. It’s not his fault. We just… went out to play for a bit, but don’t worry, he won’t catch a cold. I bought a small towel for him and made sure to wipe off his sweat.”

Afraid that he would blow up, she quickly added in the last sentence.

“Shut up!” the man snapped at her in return.

He looked like he was a second away from biting her to death with that insidious look on his face.

Sasha swallowed hard.

Whatever. I’m not going to argue with this scum.

Deep down, she knew that it seemed reckless to bring Ian out when he had recently fallen sick.

However, his longing gaze at that time made her heart wrench painfully in her chest. As his mother, there was no way she could bring herself to refuse him.

Besides, since she was a doctor, she had considered things from all aspects and allowed him to go only after she was certain that no harm would befall him.

Luckily, Sebastian found nothing wrong with him after checking his son from top to bottom. Because he perspired quite a lot while playing at the amusement park, his cheeks were flushed a healthy shade of pink, making him glow slightly.

Hence, Sebastian’s expression was no longer as grim.

“Alright. Mr. Scott will take you up for a shower and get your clothes changed.”

“Oh,” Ian agreed sulkily.

Soon, Luke came in to take him to the lounge room upstairs.

“Daddy,” Ian called out.

Sebastian raised his brows in question.

“Don’t scold her!” Ian sternly said.

Out of everyone’s expectations, Ian did not forget about Sasha before being led out of the office.

Sasha, who was steeling herself to receive a tongue-lashing, instantly felt warmth spreading in her heart. “Little Ian…”

“Don’t ‘Little Ian’ him anymore!” Sebastian snapped at her before turning to Luke. “And what are you waiting for? Take him upstairs now!” Already fuming, his anger seemed to skyrocket just then.

Ungrateful little brat. Did he forget who raised him all these years?

After Ian was taken away, silence blanketed the office, and Sasha knew that it was time to face the music.

I don’t get it. Why is he so angry?

All I did was take him out to play for a bit.

Sasha decided to break the silence. “Okay, I apologize for what I did. I understand that it was quite inappropriate for me to take him out, but I did it because I saw something today, and I think you owe me an explanation, Sebastian.”

“What did you say? I owe you an explanation?”

Sebastian never thought that before he could reprimand her for what she did today, she would question him first.

Sasha nodded. “Yeah, why doesn’t he like going to preschool? The weather’s quite good today, so I wanted to bring him for a walk in the garden. But the moment I suggested it, he became very agitated. Then, when I brought up playing with the kids in preschool, he got all riled up and started shouting. Sebastian, don’t you think you owe me an explanation for this? How did a healthy child become like this under your care?”

Silence ensued.

Within a split second, the atmosphere turned almost suffocating.

The sun was still shining brightly outside, its golden rays filtering through the windows. However, standing in the middle of the office, Sasha felt as if she was in the dead of winter, so cold that she shuddered involuntarily.

What’s going on?

Did I say something wrong?

There was a gnawing sensation in her chest.

“You want me to give you an explanation, is that it?”

“Well… yes.”

“Very well, Sasha. I will give you just that. He became like this because you abandoned him back then. Due to his premature birth, he was critically ill and couldn’t speak until he was two years old. He didn’t have a mother, so I was the one who raised him. He’s quiet and withdrawn because there has always been a void in his heart that only his mother could fill, causing him to constantly feel out of place and insecure wherever he goes. Is this good enough of an explanation for you?”

Due to the anger coursing in his veins, Sebastian’s chiseled face grew cold, with sarcasm and hostility the only emotions lining his features.

As he looked at her, a mocking chuckle escaped his lips, but that rich sound was like a knife stabbing into her heart.

Returning from the Dead Chapter 58

What did he say?

This is all my fault?

Sasha was stunned with a buzzing sound in her ears. In an instant, her face drained of all color.

She had never thought of this possibility.

“What? Nothing to say? Weren’t you acting all righteous just a while ago, accusing me of not taking good care of your son? Why aren’t you saying anything now? Go ahead, ask me more. I promise that there’s a lot more you don’t know about.”

Faced with her silence, Sebastian’s tone became harsher. His handsome face seemed to be the biggest mockery of all, and the sight of it seemed to twist the knife further into her heart, causing every cell in her body to scream in pain.

Sasha squeezed her red-rimmed eyes shut, enduring the excruciating pain in her heart.

“Yes, you’re right. All of this happened because I abandoned him. I admit that I have failed as a mother, but what about you, Sebastian? Are you completely innocent? If you hadn’t brought that woman home when my due date was approaching, would things have turned out this way?” she refuted.

She believed that if she was at fault, then he as a father was to blame as well.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, the man scoffed with disdain.

“Are you saying that it’s my fault? Have you forgotten that it was you who shamelessly wanted to marry me? If it wasn’t for you, would something like this have happened? How dare you pin the blame on me? All of this sh*t started because of you!”

A deafening silence shrouded the entire office.

The sun continued to shine brilliantly outside, which was a stark contrast to what Sasha was feeling. She felt as if there was a hole in her chest, allowing harsh winds to gush in and chill her to the bone. All that was left in there was her bleeding heart.

The pain was so strong that gradually, her heart became numb to it.

Why is this happening?

Wasn’t what I suffered five years ago enough?” Why did I come here to humiliate myself again?

Sasha’s bloodless lips slowly curved into a mirthless smile.

“You’re right. I don’t have the right to talk to you about responsibility. I was the one who shamelessly married you back then, leading to everything that has happened up till now. It’s my fault, Sebastian. It’s all my fault. If I could turn back time, I’d rather jump off the building with my mother than cling onto you.”

Her face had gone as white as a sheet. Even then, she looked at him with a smile on her face, one that was filled with regret, as she told him that if given a choice, she would rather die than meet him again.

Sebastian’s mind went blank.

He had never seen this look on her face, let alone heard her say such words.

Why does she look like that?

There was once when she loved him deeply. Even when he showed up with Xandra five years ago and she collapsed in a pool of her own blood, her eyes still gleamed with sorrow and despair when she looked at him.

But now, he couldn’t discern any emotion in them.

She was like a desolate and barren land. Besides her pale complexion, her face showed nothing.

Like a star winking out of existence, only emptiness remained.

Sebastian squeezed the pen between his fingers.

“Oh? Mr. Hayes, Ms. Wand, you’re both still here. Umm… Ian is done with his shower, but he doesn’t want to wear his clothes. He wants… Ms. Wand to go upstairs.”

Just when the temperature in the office seemed to have reached sub-zero, Luke pushed open the door and came in, saying that Ian didn’t want his help in dressing up.

Sasha’s face was colorless and her heart had frozen in her chest, but when she heard that her son was looking for her, she regained some semblance of rationality.

“Is something wrong with him?”

“I’m… I’m not too sure either. He just doesn’t want to come out of the bathroom and keeps asking for you. Maybe his stomach is acting up again?” Luke made a guess.

Upon hearing this, Sasha’s expression changed drastically. Not bothering to continue arguing with Sebastian, she immediately picked up her feet and left.

At the end of the day, she was still a mother. No matter what she was going through, as soon as she heard that something had happened to her child, she locked away all her scars and rushed to find him.

Glancing at the man behind the desk who was staring after the woman, Luke heaved a long sigh.

…

Sasha reached the lounge room upstairs.

Indeed, Ian had ordered Luke to go down and get his mommy because he knew that his daddy would never listen to him and bully his mommy. If Matteo were to find out about this, he would definitely be angry.

Hence, Ian had asked Luke to go down.

After the latter left, Ian took the opportunity to call Matteo using his smartwatch.

“Hello? Ian, is that you?”

Returning from the Dead Chapter 59

Matteo, who was in preschool at that time, had been wanting to give Ian a call. Ever since he heard from his mommy that morning that Ian had fallen ill, he had been feeling guilty and worried. He thought about calling Ian to ask how he was doing.

Unfortunately, he did not have the courage to do so, for fear that this brother would not answer his call.

Luckily, Ian called him first.

Matteo was delighted. “Ian, I’m sorry. I didn’t know stopping Mommy from going to your place would cause you to fall sick. Are you okay? I really didn’t mean it. I got upset after seeing Daddy bullying Mommy, and I don’t ever want Mommy to be with a man like him. Ian, do you get me?”

Matteo apologized to his twin over the phone.

After listening to him, Ian paused momentarily before he nodded. “Yeah.”

Matteo sounded grateful. “Thank God you understand! That’s great, Ian!”

“But,” Ian had more things to say. “I want to see Mommy too. Matt, can you give Daddy another chance?”

This was the first time he managed to form several sentences at once. The fact that his tone carried a hint of grief and desperation made it even rarer.

Matteo was stunned.

Give bad Daddy another chance?

Of course he wanted his daddy and mommy to be together. He also wanted to have a father by his side. That way, their family would be complete. But he knew that his daddy was a really nasty man. The other day, Matteo was bursting with anger when he saw him bullying his mommy.

Matteo deliberated for quite some time on the phone. Nevertheless, Ian patiently waited for his reply on the other line. In the end, Matteo finally agreed to his request.

“Okay, we’ll give him one more chance then. But remember, you must not let him bully Mommy again. Also, report to me if anything happens, do you understand?”

“Alright!”

Ian agreed as well before he hung up the phone with satisfaction. For the first time, there was a faint smile on his usually emotionless face.

Sasha knew nothing about the little secret between her two sons. After she came upstairs and noticed that the bathroom lights were still on, she quickly composed her emotions.

Warm light emitted from the gap of the closed bathroom door, and the silhouette of a small figure could be seen crouching on the floor in there.

What’s he doing? Is he doing that because he doesn’t feel safe?

Seeing him like this, Sasha’s heart wrenched in pain. She sprinted to the sofa and quickly retrieved a set of clothes for Ian to change into. She called out to him outside the door, “Little Ian? Little Ian? It’s me, Ms. Nancy. Can I come in?”

“No!”

At that moment, Ian was actually trying to put on his underwear in the bathroom. He was so nervous that beads of sweat were already trickling down his flushed cheeks.

He was not Matteo, who had been independent since he was much younger. Matteo did not require anyone to help him get dressed, among other basic tasks. On the other hand, Ian was the young master of a rich family whose daily routines had been taken care of since he was a baby. Hence, he was not accustomed to getting dressed on his own.

Fortunately, after a little struggle, he finally managed to put on his underwear. He did not have to feel ashamed in front of his mommy anymore.

Only then did he announce from the bathroom, “You can come in now.”

Sasha had been waiting anxiously outside. This was the first time she had to personally help her eldest son get dressed. She actually felt both excited and blessed to be able to do so.

Moreover, she was worried that he would be scared while he was inside.

When Sasha was finally given the green light to enter, she quickly opened the door and burst into the bathroom, holding the stack of clothes in her hand.

“Little Ian? You…”

Surprisingly, after coming in, she found that her son had disappeared behind the shower curtain. Only the back of his head could be seen.

What’s this kid doing?

Suspicion glinted in Sasha’s eyes, and she hurried over to check on him. Standing behind Ian, she asked him gently, “Ian, is there something wrong? Why are you hiding?”

Ian’s face stiffened. “You… don’t look!”

Huh? Don’t look?

Sasha finally understood why Ian was behaving so strangely. As she stood there, with her previous confusion vanished, she could not help but chuckle, “So our Little Ian is actually quite shy. That’s alright. Do you see what I have here? I’ve brought you a big bath towel. We’ll wrap you up in this and then get you into some clothes. How does that sound?”

Sasha waved the bath towel in front of the boy.

Behind the shower curtain, Ian stayed quiet.

Wrap my whole body?

Eventually, his little head poked out from behind the curtain. His face had turned red because of the water vapor in the bathroom. His pair of dark, charming eyes resembled his father’s as they sparkled like that of a vigilant kitten.

“Give it to me.”

“Oh, alright, here you go!” Sasha then passed the bath towel to him.

The experience she had as a mother came in handy. She had already foreseen the situation in the bathroom before coming in.

And so, Ian came out of the bathroom wrapped in the big bath towel. Thanks to her quick thinking, Sasha successfully helped her son dress up for the first time.

Additionally, she also found a good excuse to turn over the underwear he had put on wrongly in the bathroom.

After Ian was properly dressed, both mother and son stepped out of the bathroom.

“Little Ian, do you… want to stay here?”

Now that Ian was done with his shower, she thought about leaving again, refusing to stay in this place a moment longer.

Returning from the Dead Chapter 60

However, instead of responding to her question, he went to the TV cabinet in the living room, where he rummaged for a large set of Lego blocks and began to play with them on his own.

Sasha was stupefied by his actions.

It’s like he’s telling me that he doesn’t want to go back. Now what? Do I… just leave him here?

It should be fine if Ian did not want to return. This place seemed to be fully equipped with everything the boy needed, as though it was exclusively prepared for him. Furthermore, when she brought him here the last time she came over to deliver medicine, hadn’t he stayed with that man the whole afternoon?

Hence, Sasha chose to let him be for now. She planned to head downstairs and inform Luke before going back.

However, what irked her was that when she came down, not only was Luke not in the president’s office, but the man she loathed the most was also nowhere to be seen.

Where did they go?

She was getting agitated as she could not find Luke and did not know where he had gone to. What now? Should I go look for him again?

Sasha’s frustration was building up.

Right then, the phone on Sebastian’s desk rang.

Ring, ring…

Sasha paused in her tracks for a moment, then turned to leave.

It was impossible for her to be bothered with phone calls right now, especially when she did not even want to meet the owner of the office she was currently in or spare the man a glance. So why would she even care about his affairs?

All of a sudden, a small figure appeared across from her, “Answer the phone!”

“What?”

Sasha whipped her head around, surprised to see her son, who seemed to have followed her without her knowing.

Ian looked up at her. “Daddy’s phone calls are very important. We can go home after you answer it!”

Still holding onto the Lego blocks, the boy stepped into the office.

Sasha deliberated with herself.

Fine, I’ll see who’s calling so that I can take him home after this.

Sasha picked up the phone and greeted, “Hello.”

“Hello!”

Surprisingly, after the call got through, the caller on the other end spoke in Jetroinian.

Arching her eyebrows, Sasha replied in fluent Jetroinian, “Good day, how can I help you?”

When the other party heard that Sasha could also speak Jetroinian, they were quite pleased. Meanwhile, the little boy playing with Lego blocks in the room also turned to look at her.

Wow, silly Mommy is so awesome!

“Good day, Mr. Hayes. I am Matsushima Oka, chairman of Nikkawa-Gen. I would like to inform you that I have received the acquisition contract issued by your company and that I agree to sell Nikkawa-Gen to the Hayes Corporation! “

The speaker was fluent in Jetroinian too. From the sound of it, he must be a native Jetroinian.

When Sasha heard that, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to take notes. “Yes, sir. However, I am not Mr. Hayes. He has stepped out at the moment. Would you like me to leave a message for him?”

Her patience was running thin.

And so, Matsushima Oka started, “Alright, thank you, miss. Please deliver this message to him. I have a little request which I hope Mr. Hayes can agree to. You see, Nikkawa-Gen is a family business passed down from generation to generation in the Matsushima family, so I don’t want this family legacy to end like that. After Mr. Hayes’ acquisition, I’d like to use all the funds to buy some of the shares and become one of the new shareholders. Is that possible?”

The scribbling stopped right then.

Are all businessmen nowadays so shameless? It’s like someone asking to occupy a room of the house they’ve sold and share part of its ownership.

Sasha sneered, “Mr. Matsushima, you have crossed the line with that request. Since you have decided to sell your company to the Hayes Corporation, there is no reason for us to make you one of the shareholders, no matter how we look at it. What’s the difference between this approach and looking to the Hayes Corporation for financing needs?”

“What did you say?”

The Jetroinian man did not expect that the request he made would be summed up by a regular employee so bluntly and accurately. In a split second, he got somewhat irritated.

Is the Hayes Corporation that great? So much so that even a regular employee knows so much about finance?

“Did I say something wrong? You’re selling the company, and yet you intend to become one of the shareholders yourself. What is this if not financing? Let me tell you, if you really want to raise funds, you don’t need to seek out the Hayes Corporation. Sebastian Hayes is not an idiot. He won’t be fooled by you. You should take your GDP to Wall Street for a spin. Maybe get an analyst who’s willing to help you gain more bang for the buck. Do you hear me?”

Sasha explained herself clearly, then hung up the phone!

Ian was rendered speechless.

Is Mommy scolding someone else? Has Mommy just ruined Daddy’s business? I guess it doesn’t matter since he bullied her first. Let this be his punishment then.

The little boy withdrew his gaze from his mother and went on to play with the Lego blocks.

Ten minutes later, Sasha left the company and returned home with Ian.

About three o’clock in the afternoon, Sebastian finally returned to the company after ending a meeting with one of his clients.

“Mr. Hayes, we have a problem. The chairman of the Jetroinian machinery company that we intended to acquire has promptly decided not to sell the firm to us. What should we do now?”

Sebastian had just returned to the office when the company’s vice president, who was in charge of marketing, came looking for him while uttering cries of anguish. According to the vice president, the acquisition project that they had been working on for so many months was suddenly disrupted.

Sebastian frowned. “Why’s that?”

The vice president was aggrieved. “I don’t really know. According to the staff at the Marketing Department, someone by the name of Matsushima personally called up our company. He originally proposed the possibility of becoming a shareholder after the acquisition. However, the person who answered the phone gave him a scolding and told him to take his GDP to a financial analyst on Wall Street. That way, he could perhaps gain more bang for the buck!”

Sebastian sank into his thoughts.

As he stood there, Sebastian pondered over the statement while he wiggled out of his suit jacket, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

Take their GDP to Wall Street? This is interesting…