Liam obviously let out a sigh of relief before leaving.
Ella shook her head helplessly. She hadn’t expected young boys these days to have such a strong sense of pride.
Elias and Dorian walked out together, and upon seeing Ella waiting outside but not their dear Daddy, they both pouted.
"Mommy, Daddy didn’t co to pick us up again?"
"Yeah, where did Daddy go? Is he having a secret date with his secretary?" Dorian asked in a serious manner.
Ella almost choked on air. Where did Dorian even learn such things? Eric was undergoing therapy, for goodness’ sake!
"Dorian, why are you talking like that?" Ella bent down slightly and pinched his nose.
Dorian giggled. "I heard it from Skinny Lee in my class. He said his daddy always has secret dates with his secretary and never cares about him or his mommy."
Ella’s expression turned strange. She hadn’t expected kids to talk about such things. It seed the saying was true—parents are a child’s first teachers.
"Daddy would never do that. He’s just busy, that’s why he didn’t co pick us up," Elias glared at Dorian. "Dorian, stop saying nonsense."
Dorian pouted. "I was just joking!"
"Hmph, besides eating, all you do is joke!" Elias said in a mature tone.
Ella lightly knocked on Elias’s head. "Don’t talk to your brother like that. Let’s go ho. Maybe Daddy will be there when we arrive."
The two little ones cheered and quickly jumped into the car.
When Ella got in, she noticed that they had already fastened their seat belts. She found it amusing.
Her sons were growing more independent by the day.
Hopefully, when her daughter was born, she would be just as smart and adorable.
When they got ho, Eric still wasn’t back. Ella gave him a call and found out he was out drinking and singing karaoke with Richard and the others.
Feeling relieved, she had dinner with her sons and played with them for a while before exhaustion crept in.
Eric didn’t return ho until nine in the evening.
Ella secretly observed him and noticed that his mood wasn’t as gloomy as before, which made her feel at ease.
But after putting the kids to bed, Eric sat on the balcony, smoking in silence.
Ella walked over. He stubbed out his cigarette without saying a word. When he turned to look at her, his gaze was intense, mixed with what seed to be anger.
"What’s wrong?" Ella frowned.
Did she do sothing wrong? Why was Eric looking at her like that?
Eric looked away. "I heard you t with Liam and promised to return the painting to him?"
Ella froze for a second. He actually knew? The only people present at the ti were the four bodyguards—one of them must have told him.
How reckless. Eric was already in a bad mood, and now, knowing about Liam, he was probably even more upset.
She wasn’t sure when Eric had beco so petty, but it was likely because all the pent-up emotions inside him were making him more irritable.
"Um... He said he didn’t want the card. His first award-winning painting wasn’t sothing he wanted to sell to soone else," Ella said cautiously.
Eric’s face imdiately darkened.
She handed him the card, and he took it before slamming it onto the table, startling her.
"Ella, I told you—I will not allow another man to make a portrait of my wife the most unforgettable painting of his life!" Eric said coldly.
The chill in his eyes was as deep as the night, like ink spreading in the darkness.
"And yet you sympathized with him, pitied him, or do you still have feelings for him? You agreed to return the painting without my consent? Ella, did you ever consider how I would feel?"
Eric’s words left Ella montarily speechless.
It was just a painting. She really didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
If so n secretly had a crush on her, they could easily take photos of her and hang them on their walls.
That was sothing neither she nor Eric could prevent.
The frustration and anger within Eric were stirring restlessly.
Looking at Ella’s stunned expression, he wanted to drop the argunt, but his brain refused to listen. His rage consud his rationality.
"Ella, would you cheat on like other won?"
Eric was panting, his mind tightening as countless images flooded his thoughts.
He could barely breathe. He saw his parents again—arguing behind his back ti and ti again.
Suddenly, he loathed all forms of betrayal, despised anything that didn’t go his way, and hated seeing Ella show kindness to another man.
Ella was upset, but knowing Eric was in a bad mood, she tried her best to suppress her frustration. "Eric, what kind of question is that? How could I ever betray you? I’m about to give birth, and you’re saying this to ? Isn’t that ridiculous?"
Eric abruptly stood up. "I rember you once said you didn’t like n who paint. You know I don’t like Liam, yet you still agreed to return the painting to him... Ella, I don’t want to fight with you. I’m going outside for so air."
With that, he strode off the balcony.
Ella was speechless, her face dark with exasperation.
He was in a bad mood, but did he really have to be this jealous? She had absolutely no feelings for Liam. She only pitied him for having his award-winning artwork taken away so soon...
And yet, Eric was dealing with his emotional struggles again. It seed he would need so ti to get back to normal.
Still... this side of Eric was kind of cute, even though Ella felt completely helpless.
Eric walked out to the plaza in front of the villa, staring at the hazy glow of the streetlights as he smoked, his cigarette smoke swirling into expanding rings.
Deep down, only he truly understood his own condition.
Others might think that seeing a therapist would help, but he felt like the weight in his heart hadn’t lifted at all.
Eric kept trying to convince himself—he had a wife, a son, and a daughter on the way. He had no right to be depressed.
Yet the heaviness wouldn’t go away. Even though Ella agreeing to Liam’s request seed like such a small thing, just thinking about it filled him with an inexplicable fear.
Maybe the wounds from his childhood were too deep. Even though he had overco autism through treatnt, the aftereffects had always been lurking, ready to resurface at any mont.
John walked over. "Boss, why don’t we go to Country W and see a specialist there? The doctors there are more experienced."
They had considered this before, but Eric never accepted it. He didn’t think his condition warranted a trip to Country W.
Besides, even if he wanted to consult a renowned psychologist from Country W, scheduling an appointnt would take ti.
"Go back," Eric said flatly.
John frowned. It was the first ti he had seen Eric so stubborn.
In the past, Eric was willing to do anything for Ella.
But now, it was like he was running away from sothing. Still, John knew there was no convincing him, so he quietly stepped back, giving Eric the space he needed to think.
Eric kept smoking, one cigarette after another. The ground was littered with cigarette butts, and ashes danced in the night breeze, scattering everywhere.
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