"Dad, when can Ashley go see Mom?" Ashley mumbled while eating, not quite clearly.
Logan, who had been reading the newspaper, looked up at Ashley and said, "Eat your meal and don't talk so much."
Ashley took a bite of rice and still asked insistently, "But Ashley misses Mom, Ashley wants to eat the food Mom cooks."
Logan threw the newspaper aside and said, "Mom won't be coming back, Ashley will stay with Dad from now on."
"Why won't Mom come back?"
Logan thought of Scarlett and the message delivered by his subordinates. She hadn't even divorced him yet, and she was already so eager to get back with her ex-husband. Damn Scarlett, she's such a bitch.
"Don't mention that woman in front of me, eat your meal and stop asking so many questions," Logan slammed the table, speaking irritably.
"Mom is not like that."
"Stop talking nonsense, eat, and don't mention her in front of me again."
Ashley burst into tears and dropped his chopsticks, saying, "Dad is so mean, Ashley will never talk to Dad again."
He cried and ran upstairs.
"Sir, the young master is still just a child," the butler couldn't help but remind.
"Get out," Logan responded grumpily.
It was time to take Ashley to school, but he locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out.
Mr. Reginald Butler knocked on the door and said, "Ashley, it's time for class, please open the door."
Ashley sat by the door, leaning against it, and said, "I'm not going to class, I'm not going."
"Ashley, be good, you'll be late for school."
"I'm not going."
Logan had somehow made his way upstairs and stood at the door for a while, asking Mr. Reginald Butler, "He won't come out?"
"That's right, Ashley is unwilling to come out."
Logan knocked on the door and said, "Ashley, I'll count to three, you come out for me."
"I won't."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Ashley, are you coming out or not?"
"I won't come out." Ashley wiped his tears with his hand and shouted, "I won't come out."
Logan's face turned red with anger, saying, "Fine, if you have the guts, never come out in this life."
Mr. Reginald Butler looked at the angry Logan and couldn't help but say, "The young master is, after all, still a child."
"When it comes to the matters of the Liang family, is there a time for you to talk out of turn?"
Mr. Reginald Butler kept his head down and didn't dare to speak.
Logan said, "He has guts, I'll see how long he can stay in there."
Ashley sat by the door holding his little rabbit, wiping his tears with his hand, and muttering, "Mom, Dad is so mean, Ashley is so scared, Ashley misses Mom so much."
He cried for a while and felt hungry. He hadn't eaten much at noon and after crying for so long, he felt even hungrier.
He got up from the floor, sat on his chair, took out his diary from the drawer, and started writing.
September 19, 2022.
Today, Dad was so mean, Ashley was so scared. Dad said Mom won't come back anymore, but Ashley misses Mom so much.
He finished his diary, locked his little diary in the drawer.
He suddenly remembered that Logan had bought him a phone watch for his birthday this year. He thought it was too ugly and had never worn it. It seemed to have been placed on the top of the bookshelf.
He moved his little stool, stood on it and stretched for a while before finally touching the edge of the box.
He couldn't reach it.
He was too short to reach it.
Ashley looked around and saw the little wooden box under the bed. He jumped off the stool, pulled out the little wooden box from under the bed.
He struggled to put the wooden box on the stool and climbed on top of it.
He managed to get the box down, but lost his footing and fell with the box.
"Young master? What are you doing in there? I heard such a big noise, did you fall?" Mr. Reginald Butler pressed against the door, anxiously asking.
"Go away," Ashley said. He rubbed his sore bottom from the fall, then sat on the floor and opened the box. The box was covered in dust.
There was only a charging cable and instruction manual inside, no phone watch.
"Ashley's first number to save is Mom's."
"Okay."
Suddenly, this memory popped into Ashley's mind. He remembered that even though he thought the watch was ugly, he had played with it later and saved Scarlett's number. As for the watch, he couldn't remember where he put it.
He threw the box aside and searched the room, but still couldn't find it.
He sat on the floor for a while, then saw the bear on the bookshelf with something hanging from its neck. It was the phone watch.
He took the phone watch down. The watch had no battery.
He charged it for a while, sat on the floor, and dialed Scarlett's number.
Scarlett looked at the number on her phone, answered the call, and Ashley's voice with a cry came through: "Mom, where are you? Ashley misses Mom so much, Dad is so mean, Ashley is so scared."
"Ashley, didn't you go to school?"
"No, Dad is so mean, Ashley is scared, Ashley doesn't want to go to school."
Scarlett's heart ached on the other end. She held her phone and kept comforting Ashley: "Ashley, don't be afraid, don't be afraid." She couldn't help but cry as she spoke. She didn't even have a formal job. How could she get custody of Ashley?
"Ashley, are you coming out for class or not?"
"Mom, Ashley is hanging up first." Ashley hung up the phone, hid the phone watch under his blanket, ran to the door, and opened it.
Logan stared at Ashley for a while, then said to Mr. Reginald Butler: "Take Ashley to school." After all, Ashley is his own flesh and blood.
Ashley was taken to school.
Scarlett held the phone and weakly sat by the door.
That dog Logan, he dared to scare Ashley.
Philip heard the movement, helped her up, and said, "The floor is so cold, why are you sitting on the floor?"
Scarlett grabbed his arm and said excitedly, "Logan, that dog, Ashley is still his own flesh and blood, and he actually treated Ashley like that."
Philip patted her back and said, "Calm down, calm down."
"How can I calm down? How can I calm down? Ashley told me he was scared, he missed his mom so much. How can you let me calm down?"
Philip comforted her for a while, and Scarlett's emotions finally stabilized.
Scarlett, with red eyes, cried and hugged him, saying, "After so many years, don't you blame me? Why don't you blame me? Why are you still helping me?"
Philip said, "I don't blame you, I only blame myself for not being capable enough."
"Aren't you lying to me?"
"I won't lie to you."
"Really won't lie to me, right?"
"No, I won't."
Scarlett murmured, "Anyway, I'm a person with nothing now, I have nothing, and I'm not afraid of you lying to me."
Philip grabbed her wrist and said, "I won't lie to you, never, I will help you get Ashley's custody back."
Scarlett thought of William again and said, "What if William still refuses to accept me?"
Philip said, "It's a matter of time, he will accept you."
"Really?"
"Really, he will definitely accept you."