Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 479 "Yes, sir." The car fell quiet for a moment. Leonard thought for a bit, then filled in the gaps from the past few days- everything he hadn't reported yet. He hesitated, then added, "And about Mrs. Bennett... her throat's been bothering her lately, so she's been resting at hthese past few days..." "I know," the man replied, his voice tinged with a faint, amused warmth.

Leonard's expression shifted. He continued, "And, two days ago, Eugene dropped off our radar for a while. There's a good chance those people are already here." The man's tone lost its smile in an instant. "But Coshasn't made a move yet," he said, clicking his tongue softly. "That old fox is being extra careful. Keep a close watch-they're bound to act soon... especially concerning Mrs. Bennett. Don't let your guard down around her." "Understood." Meanwhile, at Sunnybrook Elementary.

Adrian walked into the classroom and saw Julian sitting alone in the back corner, surrounded by a cluster of kids all talking at once. Julian, though, just stared into space, only occasionally mumbling a reply, stiff and absent, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Adrian's fists curled instinctively-he always had the urge to start a fight. But remembering Leonard's warning, he forced himself to hold back, took a few deep breaths, and finally strode over, pushing through the ring of classmates.

As soon as he appeared, Julian's dull eyes lit up.

"Adrian!" "... Yeah." Adrian gritted out a reply. He reached into the desk and yanked out Julian's backpack, not caring whether Julian agreed or not. Grabbing his hand, he dragged him to the seat beside his own, tossing Julian's bag onto the chair. He muttered, not sounding all that thrilled, "From now on, you're sitting next to me." But Julian just smiled.

It had been so long since he'd been around other kids-and there was something about Adrian that made him instinctively want to get closer. He reached out, trying to grab Adrian's hand.

Already annoyed, Adrian shook him off. He hadn't meant to use much force-but whether it was his own strength or Julian's weakness, he wasn't sure. Either way, Julian stumbled, hit the edge of the desk, his face going pale with pain. He clutched his stomach in silence, sliding slowly to the floor.

Adrian froze.

He hadn't pushed that hard, had he? "Hey, don't fake it! I barely touched you!" Adrian protested, backing up a step. But Julian just sat there, head down, saying nothing. That only made Adrian angrier- until Leonard's words echoed in his mind: Hold back. Be a friend...

Fuming, Adrian knelt and tugged at the boy. "Get up!" Julian didn't move. Even after being pulled a couple more times, he only whimpered quietly, his face white and slick with cold sweat.

Now Adrian realized something was wrong.

Without thinking further, he hoisted Julian to his feet-despite being a year older, Julian was much smaller and lighter. Adrian all but carried him down the hallway, heading for the nurse's office.

He knew the place well-years of scrapes and scuffles had made him a regular.

They'd barely arrived when Ms. Stephanie, their teacher, hurried over, fuming as the nurse checked Julian over. "Adrian, are you fighting again? I'm calling your mother this instant!" After the last fight, Adrian's mom, Mila, had left her number with Ms. Stephanie, telling her to call if anything happened.

"I didn't!" Adrian bristled. "I just gave him a little push, barely touched him, and he fell! It's not my fault!" "...Ms. Stephanie," Julian interrupted, voice shaky but soft, "I just... my legs gave out. I wasn't steady. Adrian broughthere." "See?" Adrian chimed in immediately.

"Really?" Ms. Stephanie still looked doubtful-Adrian was notorious for getting into trouble.

But Julian nodded earnestly. The nurse, after checking Julian's stomach and a few other things, asked squestions and quickly figured out the truth: the boy was simply hungry, his stomach aching and head spinning from missing breakfast.

Depending on how you looked at it, it could be serious or not.

Just to be safe, Ms. Stephanie reached for her phone, intending to call Julian's parents. But Julian, now a bit steadier, grabbed her sleeve, his face still pale. "Please, Ms. Stephanie, I'll be fine if I eat something... Don't call home..." He hesitated, then added, "If my folks find out I skipped breakfast, they'll be upset with me." "But you-" "He said not to call, so don't call!" Adrian jumped in, not only impatient but worried his own mom might get dragged in if parents got involved. He grabbed Julian, steering him toward the cafeteria. "C'mon, I'll get him sfood!" "You two-slow down!" Ms.

Stephanie called after them, hurrying to catch up, but they were already out they were a of reach She couldn't shake the worry though, and dialed the number anyway. The phone barely rang before it was answered-a woman's lazy voice on the other end: "Ms. Stephanie? I just dropped my kid off, and now you're callingover something so minor? He's hungry, so let him eat. Do I reallumet

need to cin? We donate a fortune to your school, and this is how you handle things? Do you call for every little thing?" Click. The call ended abruptly.

Ms. Stephanie stared at her phone, speechless. What kind of parent was that? After a moment, she shook her head and rushed after the two boys.

Outside, the sun poured through the trees, dappled gold and warm on the om path as the boys made their way toward the cafeteria Adrian kept a •NO firm grip on Julian's hand, grumbling as they walked, "You're too fragile. Next time, eat before you cto school-don't make trouble for me! And from now on, we're friends, got it?" He declared it unilaterally.

Julian, trailing just behind, blinked up at him and said nothing at all. But the hand in Adrian's tightened, little by little.

Adrian scowled and tried to shake him off, but didn't let go.