“Okay.” Arron nodded and rushed to the bed.
He settled on Crystal’s side and held her fingers tightly.
Soon, the boy finally calmed down.
I watched it all from the side as I tried to process the complex emotions that surged in my heart.
“Will Mommy be fine?” Arron wiped the sweat from Crystal’s brow and turned to look at me. There was a depth to his eyes, like he was no simple child but an adult as well.
“She will be all right, I promise.”
Arron nodded silently and turned back to his mother. He sat there for a long while, just staring at her and holding her hand. It seemed that he had forgotten about his promise to leave after making sure that Crystal was fine.
I chuckled to myself. I should let the mother and son have their time for a little while. So, I exited the room and asked one of the servants to prepare a cup of hot cocoa.
I brought it back to the room myself, walking to Arron and handed the steaming cup to him. “Here, drink this before you go. You can’t stay here all the time, and you should be in bed by now. Your mommy will be mad when she wakes up and finds out that you went past your bedtime.”
Arron turned his wide eyes at me and pouted. He was still holding Crystal’s hand, clearly reluctant to let go. “Okay. I want to keep Mommy company for a while more, but I don’t want her to be angry.”
He finally let go of her and took the cup. “Let’s go, I don’t want to disturb Mommy.”
I picked him up and headed for the door. “Arron, would you like to see your sister? Beryl is with Grandma Laura right now. Don’t you want to spend some time with them? You can even sleep with Beryl tonight.”
Arron held the cup with both of his pudgy hands, but made no move to drink the cocoa. He hesitated for a while before saying, “Can I really? Mommy said I’m not allowed to call Grandma Laura ‘Grandma’ when we are outside, and I can’t see her during the daytime.”
A thought suddenly occurred to me. I gestured at the guards to leave us alone and turned to Arron with a serious expression. “Of course, you can. I’ll personally take you there right now. What do you think?”
“Thank you, sir! You are so kind!” Arron visibly cheered up and tried to wrap his arms around me. I barely had enough time to salvage the cup of cocoa before it crashed to the floor. The boy just giggled and flashed me a smile.
Out of nowhere, I felt the urge to rub my cheek against his, but I held myself back. After a moment’s thought, I asked, as casually as I could, “Arron, do you think you can tell me why your mommy forbade you from calling Laura ‘Grandma’?”
Arron frowned and squirmed in my arms. Seeing his reaction, I began to have this nagging suspicion that Crystal might have purposely forbidden her son from revealing his identity to anyone.
Rufus’ POV
I could feel my heart sinking. “I don’t know why,” Arron mumbled in his cute little voice. “Mommy just told me not to.”
I heaved a short sigh. “Arron, are you very familiar with your Grandma Laura?”
“Yes! Before we came to the imperial palace, I used to make video calls to Grandma. Beryl and Mommy, too!” This time, he did not hesitate.
I didn’t know what to feel. It seemed that Laura and Crystal had kept a lot from me over the years.
“How long have you been calling each other?” I prodded.
Arron spread his hands and counted his fingers. “As long as I can remember? Three years? Maybe five, I guess. I’m not really sure, but it’s been a long time.”
I narrowed my eyes and made some calculations in my head. Crystal had been installed in the border pack exactly five years ago. If what Arron said was true, then Crystal had been in touch with my mother the entire time.
I realized that Arron had grown quiet, and I turned to see him looking up at me, waiting for my response. I mustered an awkward smile to hide the bitterness I felt.
I was angry, yet at the same time envious. How could my mother have kept in touch with Crystal for so long? But why would I even feel this way?
Maybe it was because of the fact that they had hidden it from me…
Before long, we were at the entrance of my mother’s palace. I patted Arron’s head and said, “All right, I understand now. You’re such a good boy.”
“Are you mad?” The little boy blinked innocently at me, his lips pursed. “Do you want me to stop calling Grandma Laura ‘Grandma’, too?”
“No, of course not. I’m not mad. You can call her Grandma from now on. It’s okay.”
The white lie rolled off my tongue easily. I considered myself lucky that Arron was too young to read emotions. He was perceptive for his age.
I pressed my lips into a thin line. My mood was worsening by the minute. I still remembered how my mother acted like she didn’t know Crystal when they had first met in the imperial palace.
I spotted my mother as soon as we entered her courtyard. It looked like she had been notified of our impending arrival. She was pacing back and forth near the gates, looking sick with worry.
“Grandma!” Arron called out to her before I could even say anything.
My mother was stunned for one brief second, but the moment she laid eyes on Arron, her face lit up.
I felt strange as I watched my mother rush over without a care for royal etiquette.
“Good boy, my baby!” She plucked Arron out of my arms and practically shoved me aside.
My mother rubbed her cheeks against Arron’s like he was some kind of rare treasure, and I felt another pang of envy as the little boy giggled.
“Baby, are you hurt anywhere? Let me have a look!” My mother pulled back and proceeded to examine Arron’s arms and legs.
But the boy merely shook his head and hugged her again. “It’s okay, Grandma! I’m not hurt!”
“That’s good, then. Oh, that’s very good. I’ve been so worried!”
My mother tightened her embrace and peppered Arron with kisses. They looked so intimate, far too intimate for my liking.
I was standing barely an arm’s length away, yet she barely spared me a glance.
I was pissed as hell.
Rufus’ POV
I walked past Laura and Arron and went straight to Beryl’s room. I opened the door and found her sleeping soundly on the bed.
According to the doctor, Beryl had used a lot of energy, but she would be fine as long as she had enough sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep for a while.
In truth, I was expecting her to be awake by now. The encounter must have taken a great toll on her tiny body.
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