Chapter 123

Chapter 123:

The next day, Stella was woken up by noise outside.

She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone. It was still early, and the sky was barely brightening. Outside her bedroom, the sounds of a cartoon mixed with the hurried pitter-patter of little feet.

Stella got out of bed and found her precious son racing around the house with several toy cars, still dressed in his sheep pajamas.

“Adrian… what are you doing?” Stella asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Adrian didn’t even look up as he dashed by. “Darling, you’re up!” he called, too focused on playing with his toys to stop.

Stella sighed in exasperation. Who did this little boy take after? He could get up all on his own, without anyone waking him, but he usually needed a nudge when it was time for school.

Yet today, here he was—wide awake—at four-thirty in the morning, playing with his new toys.

The boy hadn’t even let her sleep!

Looking around his room, Stella saw the pile of toys that had been neatly stacked the night before. But now, the packages were torn apart, and the toys were scattered everywhere.

Every toy, dozens of them, had been unwrapped.

Her son, despite his enthusiasm, clearly didn’t know how to open packaging properly—he had ripped everything to shreds!

Stella groaned internally. She had hoped to return some of these toys or sell them to get back some of the money, but now it looked impossible. Not a single box was left untouched!

She had been so careful not to wake him last night, thinking she could sort it out later. But now, in just one morning, Adrian had undone everything.

And the culprit himself? Adrian seemed completely oblivious to the seriousness of what he had done. He continued playing, racing cars around the house as if nothing was wrong.

“Darling, you don’t know how badly I wanted to play with my toys! Last night, when we got home, Uncle Tristan didn’t let me open them.

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I had to endure it all night! I didn’t even sleep well because of them!” he complained, his little voice filled with sadness, as if he had been the one suffering.

Stella couldn’t believe it.

Who was the one suffering? Adrian had torn open all the toys without even asking, and now she had to clean up after him! But from the way he spoke, he sounded so innocent.

“Adrian, haven’t I told you not to take things from strangers? Don’t you understand?” Stella said, her frustration showing.

She didn’t know what she would do if Tristan kept sending things to Adrian. There were just too many toys!

Adrian, tired from chasing his cars, finally sat down, his little legs crossed as he fiddled with a remote control. He glanced up at Stella and blinked, looking confused.

“But, Darling, Uncle Tristan isn’t a stranger. He’s been to our house before!”

The look in Adrian’s eyes was as pure as it could be, and there was even a hint of defense for Tristan.

Stella’s frustration grew. He had only gone out with Tristan once, and now Adrian was already so attached to him? Her son was getting too close to a man she barely trusted!

But for Adrian’s sake, she kept her temper in check.

“Mommy isn’t that familiar with Uncle Tristan. From now on, you’re not allowed to accept anything from him. If you want something, Mommy will buy it for you,” Stella said, trying to sound firm.

She would rather save up to buy things for Adrian herself than let anyone else, especially Tristan, provide for him.

Adrian pouted at that.

“You’re so mean!” he said, his voice full of dismay. “Uncle Tristan told me you’ve known each other for years! But now you’re saying he’s a stranger? Darling, you always tell me we should have some conscience. Do you have any?”

Stella was stunned into silence.

Adrian continued, “Besides, Uncle Tristan also said he took care of you when you were little.

He used to take you to school, and when you were sick, he took you to the hospital! He was so kind to you, but now you’re calling him a stranger? He’d be really sad if he heard that.”

Tears welled up in Adrian’s big blue eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.

Stella’s heart softened seeing her precious son like this, but the words he spoke only made her angrier—not at Adrian, but at Tristan.

How dare Tristan tell her son all about their past? What was he trying to accomplish by telling Adrian stories from when she was still in school?

It left Stella feeling vulnerable, like she had lost her authority in front of Adrian.

She couldn’t believe how much Tristan had shared in just a few hours the night before. She even began to suspect that instead of taking Adrian to the amusement park, he had taken him to a café to have a long chat!

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