William Campbell looked up, and Adam Jones also glanced up, his eyes darkening as he did so. When their gazes met Elly’s, the coldness in the depths of their eyes was evident.
"Lynn, take William upstairs to have a bath."
Elly’s gaze shifted away from Adam’s face as she spoke with a detached tone.
Lynn Clark’s eyes carried a thoughtful glance as they stole a look at both Elly and Adam, hesitating before she approached William.
Having been scolded coldly by Adam earlier, Lynn was still somewhat apprehensive as she regarded his darkening countenance.
"William, come on, Auntie will take you to have a bath."
William’s expression clearly showed reluctance, his hand still clutching Adam’s clothing, and he looked up at Elly, saying, "But Mommy, I haven’t finished talking to Daddy."
"William, go have your bath first; we can talk with Daddy afterward."
Adam spoke up first, handing the child over to Lynn.
When William heard Adam say this, he obediently nodded and followed Lynn upstairs to have his bath.
Adam and Elly, one standing at the top of the stairs and the other in the living room downstairs, both wore expressions that were dark and cold. After a long moment of silence, Adam spoke icily, "The boy is mine as well."
Having said that, Adam turned and left through the front door.
William quickly finished his bath and came out, seeing Elly leaning absentmindedly against the railing of the second-floor hallway.
William walked over, glanced down into the living room, and tugging Elly’s hand, he asked, "Elly, where’s my daddy?"
Elly came back to her senses and, looking down with a quiet voice, she said to her son’s disappointed face, "He’s gone."
Seeing her son’s eyes fall in disappointment, Elly too began to feel a pang of distress, "William, will you come inside and talk with Mommy, okay?"
Lynn, noticing that Elly’s expression was off and remembering how Adam had descended the stairs with an equally dark expression earlier, guessed that the two must have had a quarrel.
Pushing down the complex thoughts in her eyes, she stepped forward, helping Elly, "Madam, let me assist you back to your room. You’ve just hurt your foot; it’s best not to walk around unnecessarily."
Elly replied tiredly, leaning on Lynn for support as she returned to her room, with little William following behind them, his clear gaze silently watching her.
"Lynn, you can leave us."
After Lynn left the room, Elly sat on the bed, looking at her intelligent and well-behaved son, sighed inwardly, and said, "William, didn’t you say that you also don’t like the men whom Mommy doesn’t like?"
William paused, then nodded, "But..."
He pursed his lips. It was clear to see that Mommy didn’t like Daddy at all.
Perhaps it’s a natural bond between father and son, for Elly could see that William really liked Adam, even though they hadn’t spent much time together.
She also knew that making such a small child choose between her and Adam was truly too cruel and too hard on him, but... if she forced herself to be with Adam for William’s sake, and neither of them was happy, what was the point?
"William, if one day Daddy wanted to take you away from Mommy, would you be willing to go with Daddy?"
William answered decisively, his hand tightly gripping Elly’s, saying, "Although William really likes Daddy, William likes Elly more, and I don’t want to be apart from Elly."