A Desperate Tantrum

Hayes turned his head away coldly, refusing to meet her gaze. "I don’t feel like talking."

Sylvie blinked, processing his blunt rejection. That was quite the petulant excuse for a three-year-old mastermind who had just delivered a flawless lesson in capitalism.

She leaned in a little closer, keeping her tone light and engaging. "Can you promise me that you will speak more in the future, then? Your voice really sounds super nice and beautiful. It would simply be too wasteful if you don't speak! Besides, if a deity hears you making a wish with such a beautiful voice, it will definitely fulfill your wish!"

Hayes shot her a sideways glance. "Childish."

Sylvie held back a sigh. Okay, then. It really wasn't easy to fool toddlers these days, especially not this particular one. She spent the rest of the afternoon racking her brain, trying to come up with new games that might coax him into talking a bit more.

The hours slipped by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already half past five in the evening. The soft light of dusk began to filter through the windows. It was time for Sylvie to go and pick Aria up.

Sylvie checked the time. Julian hadn't returned yet. She couldn't possibly leave Hayes all alone in this massive house, could she?

Stepping slightly away from the play area, she dialed Elias Rowe's number. "Mr. Rowe, can I know when the boss will return? I have to go home now because I need to do something."

A few feet away, Hayes paused. He was sitting in the middle of his indoor sandbox, a small plastic shovel clutched in his grip. The exact moment he heard her words, the atmosphere in the room abruptly shifted. His expression instantly fell, the tiny trace of warmth vanishing without a trace. He closed himself up once again, sealing his lips tight and not saying a single word.

Instead of speaking, his small hands plunged deeply into the sand. He grabbed huge handfuls of it and sprinkled it randomly, violently hurling the grains all over the pristine floor.

Sylvie was taken aback, startled by the sudden destructive outburst. She immediately put her cell phone aside and hurried over. "Huh? Hayes, what's the matter with you? Don't sprinkle sand everywhere, otherwise, you might get it into your eyes and it’ll hurt a lot."

Hayes refused to listen to her gentle warnings. He dug his hands back in, grabbing even more sand. "You want to leave, so I’ll sprinkle it, I’ll just sprinkle it!"

Sylvie caught her breath. Cough. So it turned out that this was the real reason behind his sudden meltdown.

She crouched down next to the sandbox, keeping a safe distance, and comforted him patiently. "I have to get something done at home, sweetie, so I have to go back tonight. I swear I will come and accompany you again tomorrow. Be a good boy, okay?"

"No. I don’t want that." Hayes continued desperately sprinkling the sand everywhere. His voice cracked with panic. The sand scattered all over his head, settling into his dark hair, and got into his clothes. It was basically all over him. He was clearly on the verge of collapsing emotionally.

Sylvie knew that children should generally not be allowed to get away with it when they threw tantrums. However, Hayes's situation was special. If she allowed this escalating panic to go on, she was terrified he would fall into a violent rampage just like the night before.

With a heavy sigh, Sylvie helplessly surrendered. "Okay, okay. I am not leaving anymore. I’ll stay and accompany you tonight. You should calm down."

It was only then that Hayes stopped his destructive actions. He dropped the sand and threw himself directly into her arms. He continued to clutch firmly onto her body, wrapping his short limbs around her as if he was a koala bear. He buried his face into her shoulder, trembling slightly, deeply afraid that she would lie to him and vanish.

Sylvie felt as though he was tugging violently at her heartstrings. A tender ache spread through her chest. She would never have thought that her son, whom she had not seen for three long years, would actually be so deeply dependent and clingy toward her.

Her emotions became unusually gentle as she wrapped her arms around his back, carrying his small body up from the mess. She could only pull out her phone, call Tessa, and ask her friend to pick Aria up in her stead.

Miles away, the sleek black sedan glided smoothly down the busy highway. The contents of the brief phone call drifted inside the quiet car, very clear and distinct.

Elias Rowe gripped the steering wheel and scoffed. "She knew that the little master would be reluctant to let her leave, so she deliberately called me in front of the little master in order to use Hayes as an excuse to stay. She is a very cunning person."

In the back seat, Julian's handsome face remained an unreadable mask, displaying an inexplicably deep and secretive look. The aura surrounding him was cold and eerie, lowering the temperature in the car by several degrees.

He didn't say anything to his assistant. He simply instructed Elias to continue driving as he silently dialed Giselle's phone again.

In his opinion, Giselle was gentle and decent. Moreover, she was his child's biological mother. If Giselle were to spend more time getting along with Hayes, then the boy definitely wouldn't want to get close to a manipulative woman like Sylvie.

However, the call could not be connected.

Julian's brow furrowed. Was she really that busy at work? A cold, hard expression settled over his sharp features as he switched off his cell phone in silent frustration.

He arrived at the villa half an hour later.

Sylvie had just finished taking care of Hayes. She bathed the sand out of his hair, fed him dinner, and was currently cleaning up the dishes. When she saw Julian walk through the door, she greeted him politely. "Hayes is upstairs, and the day went smoothly."

Julian took off his tailored suit jacket and threw it aside. He was very cold and aloof, not paying any attention to her at all.

Sylvie bit the inside of her cheek. Pfft. Did he really think that she would want to talk to him if it weren't for Hayes?

Unfortunately, she had no choice but to put her dignity aside because she had a couple of things to ask for permission.

Sylvie spoke up again, maintaining her composure. "Well, there are two things that I want to tell you. I'm thinking of taking Hayes out to the mall to buy some clothes tomorrow. He's still very young, so he should be trying on various styles of children's clothing in different colors. Besides, black clothes are not good for his mental condition."

Julian paused, but didn't look at her.

Sylvie cautiously pressed on, needing to explain her presence. "And I might have to stay here tonight because Hayes threw a tantrum and lost his temper when I said I wanted to leave just now. I'm afraid that he will act like he did last night, so I agreed to stay."

She detailed the incident carefully, desperate to prove to Julian that she had no ulterior motives for spending the night. She just wanted him to understand she was acting in Hayes's best interest.

In reality, Julian had already misunderstood her from the start. To him, her explanations were nothing but a calculated seduction tactic.

He slowly turned around. His cold and sharp eyes fell heavily on her, pinning her down where she stood. The air in the room grew suffocating.

"Sylvie," he warned coldly, his voice dripping with cynical suspicion. "You should always remember the conditions that you agreed to last night. Don’t play any tricks in front of me."