Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel 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 home these 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 Cossio hasn’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.

"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 some food!"

"You two—slow down!" Ms. Stephanie called after them, hurrying to catch up, but they were already out 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 calling me over something so minor? He’s hungry, so let him eat. Do I really need to come in? 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 path as the boys made their way toward the cafeteria. Adrian kept a firm grip on Julian’s hand, grumbling as they walked, "You’re too fragile. Next time, eat before you come to 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.