Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 450

The place where Adrian and Parker first started fighting was a narrow corner—right in the surveillance blind spot, making it impossible to tell exactly what happened.

But the infirmary cameras had caught everything.

Mila had already prepared herself for what she might see.

If the footage showed Adrian throwing the first punch, she was ready to accept responsibility. She’d apologize, make amends, but she wasn’t about to let her own child’s injuries be brushed aside either.

After all, both boys had fought.

And honestly, what the other kid had said was cruel.

The school administrators arrived quickly, unlocked the security footage, and soon everyone was crowded around the screen in the infirmary, watching frame by frame.

Just as Ms. Stephanie had described, the footage showed the two boys bickering as they entered the infirmary. Eventually, they were separated into different rooms. A little while later, Adrian—face already bruised—suddenly rushed into Parker’s room, grabbed him by the arm, and tried to pull him outside. That’s when Parker lashed out.

Adrian didn’t fight back.

He went face-first into the desk, and that’s how he lost his front tooth.

Watching it, Mila instinctively squeezed Adrian’s hand, her heart pounding with lingering fear. If he’d hit his eye or some other fragile spot instead of just his tooth, the consequences could have been much worse.

Thank God it was only a tooth.

But even so, this was serious.

When the video ended, everyone fell silent.

Whatever had happened outside, there was no evidence to prove who started it. But here in the infirmary, there was no doubt—it was Parker who struck first.

Mila pressed her lips together, took a steadying breath, and patted Adrian’s back as he sobbed quietly in her arms. Once she’d calmed herself, she looked up at Randall, her eyes cold. “Mr. Grant, what do you have to say for yourself now?”

Randall looked furious.

Ignoring Mila, he turned on his son, his voice sharp with anger. “Parker, did you hit him?”

“No, Dad!” Parker sobbed. “He said you were dead, and that you had another kid somewhere else and didn’t want me anymore. That’s the only reason I hit him. I didn’t think he wouldn’t dodge. I didn’t mean to—he called me names first…”

Randall’s expression darkened.

Adrian, still crying, tugged at Mila’s sleeve and tried to speak through the gap where his tooth used to be. “That’s not true! Mom, don’t listen to him, he’s lying. He said my dad was gone, and that I was some worthless orphan, and that you and Dad were divorced and nobody wanted me anymore. I just wanted to ask him why he said that, but he wouldn’t explain and then he hit me. It hurts, Mom…”

Mila’s heart twisted painfully.

She cradled Adrian tighter, whispering soothing words.

Parker, voice shrill, shouted back, “That’s not true! You—you—” He couldn’t find the words, his little fists balled up in frustration as he tried to lunge forward, but Randall caught him and held him back.

“Parker! That’s enough!”

Parker blinked away tears, looking up at his father’s disappointed face. “Dad, I swear I’m telling the truth—please believe me!”

Fine, then. What if Parker’s injuries turned out to be worse?

—

At the hospital, after the exams, Mila anxiously questioned the doctor about the severity of Adrian’s injuries and whether his tooth would grow back.

She finally breathed easier when she heard it was just a minor injury.

If they hadn’t wasted time arguing at school, she would have brought Adrian to the doctor much sooner.

Thank goodness it wasn’t serious.

“Next time something like this happens, you come straight to me,” Mila said softly as she dabbed ointment on Adrian’s scrapes, her tone a little scolding. “If you can’t find me, go to Grandpa, or Mr. Leonard, or your teacher. Violence is the absolute last resort. It hurts others and yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mom. I was wrong.”

Adrian admitted his mistake, but when the medicine stung his skin, he winced and tried to squirm away, tears spilling over again. Mila quickly soothed him.

When she finished tending his wounds, Mila continued, “No matter what, hitting someone is wrong. You owe Parker an apology too.”

“Why should I? He started it!” Adrian protested, his voice rising. But under his mother’s gentle gaze, his resolve crumbled. He turned away, grumbling, “Well, only if he apologizes first! He insulted me first!”

Mila stroked his hair in silence.

Just then, the hospital room door swung open. Randall appeared, clutching a crumpled exam report. He glared at Adrian, muttered a stiff “Sorry,” and stalked out without another word, disappearing down the hall.