Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Chapter 67

I think it might be because I haven't been spending time with Rollo lately, he may be feeling neglected and emotionally hurt.

"Rollo, would you like to go to the playground?" Rollo enjoys the playground for children near the apartment. But unlike his usual enthusiasm, Rollo just looked at me coldly without any expression and continued reading his book.

"Or would you like to go to the fast food restaurant? Do you want to go somewhere?" I continued to ask, smiling and sitting down next to Rollo, but he remained silent in response to my questions. Just when I didn't know what else to ask, I heard him say, "Mom doesn't have to pretend to care about me. Dad said you only care about your love and there will come a day when you'll abandon me."

"Is that right?" Rollo looked at me and emphasized.

I awkwardly chuckled and asked, "What are you saying, Rollo? Ron is also your father. He loves you very much. You know he's always there for you, besides me." This was the truth. Even though Ron knew that Rollo was Enzo's son, and I hadn't fully accepted his feelings, he still wanted to be there for Rollo since the day he was born.

Ron had been by my side with Rollo when we were in our most difficult times. In everyone's eyes, the three of us only started to resemble a family. Over six years ago, Enzo and I had already agreed to divorce. I had the right to seek and start a new life. I was not only surprised but also very angry at Rollo's words.

But Rollo was just a child. He wouldn't say these things lightly because no child could think like that.

After Rollo asked, he didn't even look at me and continued reading his book. Was the book more important than me? I forcefully grabbed the book from Rollo's hand and tossed it aside. Rollo looked up at me and asked, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Rollo asked me so calmly as if he had become a different person. "Why are you asking what I'm doing? Rollo, do you know what the things you're saying mean? Do you know what you're capable of saying? Do you know that saying such things will make Ron very sad, and it could hurt him when he hears it?"

I had to restrain my anger. Now I knew exactly who had said these absurd things to my son. Enzo, that despicable man, what was he planning to do now?

"Ron is not my father; my father is Enzo Robert. For the longest time, I've been calling Ron 'Dad,' even though he's not my real father; he's just your lover. And someday, Mom will abandon me for your love, just like you abandoned Dad. Isn't that right? Min said the same, that Mom left with Ron and left her behind. Why can Mom be so selfish?"

Rollo stood before me, shouting, and every word from the boy's mouth struck my heart like a heavy blow. I couldn't believe my own son was calling me selfish. Am I selfish?

"Rollo... What are you saying?" I trembled, not realizing that tears were streaming down my face, crying in front of my son. Rollo continued to interrogate me as if I were a criminal.

"Isn't what I'm saying true? Mom is selfish and terrible; you abandoned Sis and my dad for that man. So one day, Mom will abandon me just like you did before-"

Before the boy could finish, I slapped Rollo hard across the face. It was the first time I had ever hit him. Even the sound of the slap conveyed the pain it caused. Rollo turned his face to the side, and his cheek bore the mark of my five red fingers. The sound of the slap also brought me back to my senses. I quickly moved closer to inspect the wound on Rollo's face, but he retreated swiftly.

His gaze held nothing but hatred, devoid of any affection. Rollo screamed, "I hate you, Mom! You never wanted me, did you? That's why you hit me now! I hate you!"

"Rollo! How dare you say that to me!" I shouted, watching his figure rush up to his room and slam the door shut. After the sound of the closing door, everything fell into a fearful silence.

I breathed heavily out of anger, realizing that it was a mistake to let Rollo spend time with Enzo. I didn't know what Enzo had said to him, but now he was speaking these words to me.

"Ron shouldn't hear about this; he might be deeply hurt," I whispered softly, feeling the hurt on behalf of Ron. Ron had sacrificed his own happiness for Rollo and me. Without his concern and care, I couldn't guarantee that my life would be as good as it is now.

I looked towards Rollo's room, wanting to explain things to him but not knowing how. Just as Rollo had said, I had left and left Min next to Enzo, but that's what I thought I had to do because at that moment, I believed that if Min followed me, he wouldn't have a rich and fulfilling life like he did with Enzo.

Everything I did was for Min's good, but I just didn't want to live with someone who didn't love me and looked down on me like Enzo did. So, does that also make me selfish?

"Enzo, I want to meet you..." I called him, and he picked up the phone very quickly. I just uttered a brief sentence, and he hung up.

I wanted to know what Enzo had said to my son to make him change like this. Right now, there was a distance between my son and me, and it was difficult to explain everything to a five-year-old because how much could a child that young understand.

After hanging up, I really wanted to punch that wretched man straight in the face, to do something that would make him disappear from this Earth. What did he really want? I couldn't believe he repeatedly wanted me to come back to him, and now he was even using a child to manipulate me.

I suddenly found it laughable that I had underestimated the wretchedness of Enzo. Through all these incidents, I didn't even know if he realized how wretched he was. When I only had Min, he also wanted to steal Min away from me and use the child as a shield to justify the terrible things he did.

And now, it was happening again, except I wasn't the weakling I used to be.

The café where we used to meet regularly when we were business partners. It used to be a beautiful place, but it had become a place I despised ever since. Enzo and I hadn't met after that project ended.

As I entered, there should have been plenty of customers inside, but there was no one, not a single customer. There was soft and gentle music playing, but the atmosphere felt unusually tense. The female staff hurriedly greeted me.

"Welcome, lady."

"Can I ask... why is the café closed today? Why are there no customers?" I asked in confusion, but the female staff avoided my gaze and led me directly upstairs. She seemed very fidgety and anxious, but I didn't think much of it, assuming she was a new employee.

"Wishing the lady a joyful day."

I looked in the direction pointed by the female employee, Enzo, dressed elegantly and gracefully in a suit, sat next to the window, gazing straight at the city. He always shone like that, even in dark attire, his imposing demeanor remained the center of attention for everyone.

Despite my strong dislike for him, I couldn't deny that his natural beauty was truly captivating. I sighed and walked over to sit across from him.

"I never expected you to initiate a date, Flora. I'm delighted," Enzo said, flashing a sunny smile. If it weren't for my deep understanding of his rotten personality, I might have been charmed by that smile.

I placed my bag aside and looked at the man in front of me coldly. "Honestly, I didn't expect myself to reach out to you either. After today, I'll delete your contact number." I wanted to convey that I had no intention of keeping in touch with him after this meeting, but the man in front of me seemed oblivious.

Enzo continued to smile cheerfully, gazing at me. "No problem, even if I hope for you to initiate contact, it's highly unlikely. Let's consider this a stroke of luck for me, and next time, I'll be the one to reach out to you. How does that sound?"

I felt like this man was deliberately teasing me. "What do you want now?" I didn't think there would be a next time for a meeting with this man.

Enzo looked at me with an expression of misunderstanding, but I knew he was pretending, pretending not to understand what I was saying, pretending not to know the reason for our meeting. Enzo was skilled in deceiving others; one could say that pretending was an art for him.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Enzo laughed, his face appearing innocent as if he genuinely had no idea. I couldn't wait for him to realize, so I spoke bluntly, "Don't pretend. The other day, when you came to my house, what did you say to Rollo? What did you inject into that kid's head?"

It was only then that Enzo seemed to suddenly grasp what I was referring to. "Oh," he exclaimed, bursting into laughter, seemingly amused by something that was not at all funny.

"So, you arranged this date because of that."