The Ex and Her Riches

Charles took off his disposable gloves and observed his injured hand in the corridor.

He was about to go downstairs when he bumped into Gwendolyn coming back from the restroom at the corner.

Gwendolyn had just finished a video conference. She washed and sanitized her hands to prevent bringing bacteria from the computer mouse to Benedict before returning to the ward.

When she faced Charles, she immediately noticed the bloodstains on his hand. By the time Charles tried to hide his hand behind his back, it was already too late.

“You’re injured?” she asked.

Charles smiled casually and replied, “It’s nothing. I slipped and fell on my way here.”

Observant as always, Gwendolyn sensed something unusual about him. “Even if you really slipped, you wouldn’t have gotten such an injury given your skills. Don’t tell me that your hand happened to hit a nail on the ground as you fell.”

Charles chuckled. “You know me well, Gwen.”

“The laboratory has top-notch security measures and cleanliness. How is a sharp object like a nail going to end up on the floor? Don’t try to deceive me. What really happened?” Gwendolyn asked.

Charles shrugged indifferently. “It seems impossible to hide anything from you, Gwen.”

A few minutes later, when the door to the ward was slowly opened, Benedict, who was devouring a piece of durian, quickly threw the remaining of it into the trash and hastily wiped the corners of his mouth.

Gwendolyn entered the ward.

Although Benedict’s actions were swift, he still couldn’t escape Gwendolyn’s eyes.

“Is your meeting finished, Mommy? Actually, there’s no need for you to rush back here. I know your work is important. I’m already used to receiving the drip alone. I can handle it myself,” Benedict said.

Gwendolyn said nothing as she calmly walked to his bedside.

Her gaze inadvertently fell on the corner of his mouth, where there were still traces of durian flesh. The room was filled with the pungent smell of durian.

Benny clearly loves eating durian. Why did he throw away the remaining piece as soon as he saw me coming in?

tissue from the bedside table

his face showing no

across her mind. “Did you cause the injury

Benedict’s disgust toward Charles quickly

went to tattle to you, Mommy! Why didn’t he tell you that it was all voluntary on his part, that he agreed to fulfill my three demands? I didn’t

the corridor, and I asked him. He insisted that he accidentally injured himself, and

the best. If you want to retaliate against him, he will surely

Benedict remained silent.

didn’t take the opportunity to strike back. Maybe I’ve thought too poorly of him all

being so serious with him. Although he had wrongly accused Charles, he still felt

a naughty child who caused

“Yes…” Gwendolyn sighed again.

I’m sick, I can’t go to kindergarten like Zendy, and I can’t make any new friends. I have to receive daily drips and endure the pain. All I want is to make things difficult for Charles and to

had always been strong and rarely cried, had a faint redness

wide open because he

ached when

indeed extremely sensitive. She hadn’t said anything yet, but he

his back patiently to comfort him, she said, “I wasn’t going to reprimand or punish you, Benny. I know that

her response, Benedict looked

not angry at all, Mommy?”

his nose gently. “What’s there to be angry about? Charles caused your hospitalization, so you made him chop the durian and feel the pain too. It’s

wouldn’t suggest such retaliatory behavior to Benedict under normal circumstances, but now that he had already

was a tad surprised. “I thought you were going to scold

never thought of you as a bad child. Benny, at the age of five, you can already solve high-school-level Mathematical Olympiad math problems. You’re truly our talented

have its limits, Benny. Although I support you unconditionally, you can’t go too far as to cause harm to someone’s life or hurt someone just because you don’t like them. In these extreme cases, I won’t support you. Instead, I will punish you if you do

but it

people don’t mess with me, I won’t offend anyone. I won’t actively cause trouble, but I’m

attentively and nodded firmly. “Don’t worry, Mommy. I understand. But Mommy… why is your

she had been holding her

could barely hold it any