Chapter 444 Did You Break up with Him Because of Me?
Gavin slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes twinkling as he stared at Andrew.
He looked like he was afraid the guy in front of him might vanish any second.
Andrew crouched down slowly.
One hand gently hugged his kid's tiny body, the other pointed at the problem, and said softly, "Give it another shot! If you can't, I'll show you how."
Gavin blinked, finally feeling like this was real. It wasn't a dream; his dad was actually here.
He lowered his head and started working on the problem. He nailed it pretty quick.
Andrew ruffled his little head.
Gavin couldn't help but feel stoked. He pointed to the next two pages of homework and said quietly, "The next part's kinda tough."
Andrew grinned, "Then I'll stick around."
The servant brought him a chair and made some coffee.
Andrew asked her for water. Gavin couldn't help but sneak a glance at him, then buried his head in his homework again.
Andrew stayed by his side.
Later, he noticed something was off. Gavin was super smart and aced the earlier homework.
But on the next two pages, he messed up almost half of it!
Seeing Gavin's slightly flushed cheeks, he got it.
Silly kid!
But he didn't call him out. Instead, he patiently went over all the mistakes with Gavin.
The servant chimed in, "Gavin is really smart!"
Andrew smiled, "Yeah, he's a sharp one!"
Gavin's face turned a bit red.
Just then, Chloe came downstairs holding Natalie to get some formula.
Seeing Andrew, she paused a bit.
Andrew was here partly to pick up Gavin and partly to talk to Chloe.
But now wasn't the right time to chat.
He reached out to take Natalie, feeling her forehead. She wasn't hot anymore.
Andrew couldn't help but kiss his soft little daughter's cheek, gently soothing her. Chloe's eyes welled up as she turned to make the formula.
The servant quietly left.
Andrew held Natalie, and soon Gavin came over to play with her.
Once the formula was ready, Chloe handed it to Andrew.
Andrew sat on the sofa, holding Natalie in his arms as she drank from the bottle. He was still in his business suit from work, but it didn't seem out of place.
He seemed to just know how to take care of kids.
Chloe watched quietly for a bit, then told him she was heading upstairs.
Andrew refocused on Natalie.
Gavin just watched him. After a while, Gavin spoke up, "Mom broke up with Maurice. Dad, are you happy?"
Andrew paused.
The adult world was messy, not something he could explain in a few words.
But he knew what Gavin wanted to know.
He turned his head and said softly, "Mom's feeling down. Help to take good care of Natalie."
Gavin leaned against him, pursing his little lips.
Andrew then asked if he wanted to stay with him for a few days. Gavin wanted to, but he couldn't bear to leave Natalie. Every night before bed, he had to kiss her.
Gavin hesitated and asked, "Can I bring Natalie?"
Andrew wanted to take Natalie too, but she was too young and needed her mom.
Gavin was still pumped.
He leaned against his dad, stroking Natalie's golden hair, and said like a little grown-up, "Then I'll go for a week. I'll be back next week."
Natalie held the bottle, drinking while looking at Gavin with bright eyes.
Gavin couldn't help but kiss her. He murmured, "So cute!"
Andrew finished feeding Natalie, played with her for a bit, then carried her upstairs to Chloe.
Chloe was in the living room reading a script.
There was a treadmill next to her. Andrew put Natalie in it to play.
Chloe looked up, "What's up?"
Andrew sat across from her, carefully looking at her slightly red eyes.
He didn't know if it was from staying up late or being upset about breaking up with Maurice. Even though he wanted to know, he couldn't ask. Finally, he said, "You and Maurice..."
"Broke up!" Chloe said calmly.
She walked to the window, where a cup of coffee was placed.
Andrew watched her back, feeling a bit lonely.
He thought she was just over 30 and would need someone to be with her. He had met Maurice a few times; they seemed to get along well. Putting aside love, their marriage wouldn't have been bad!
Andrew felt conflicted. He was both incredibly relieved and filled with guilt.
Natalie ran towards him, wanting to jump into his arms but was blocked by the treadmill.
Natalie stomped her feet, looking up at him.
Andrew picked her up.
Soft little Natalie hugged his neck, thinking her dad was handsome, and kissed his face, leaving saliva all over his chin.
Andrew didn't mind. He held Natalie and slowly walked behind Chloe.
After a long time, he finally asked with difficulty, "Do you like him?"
Chloe lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, "If I say I like him, will you stop appearing in front of me and not come to here?"
Andrew's heart ached.
She and Maurice broke up, and they both knew why.
But he couldn't promise anything.
He admitted he was selfish. But when someone desperately wanted something, they would stop at nothing.
Chloe was calm, "Andrew, I don't mean anything else! I just want to tell you that in my heart, Gavin and Natalie are more important than anyone. It's not because of you."
These words were cruel and realistic.
He knew what Chloe meant. She just wanted to tell him she didn't accept him.
Maurice didn't work out, and she didn't want to be with him either.
Andrew responded softly, "I know."
"You know what?" Chloe turned around, her eyes slightly moist, somewhat angry.
But Andrew was holding Natalie, who was patiently smearing saliva on his chin, looking incredibly cute.
Andrew's eyes deepened.
This scene didn't diminish his charm at all.
Chloe suppressed her anger.
Andrew naturally noticed. He gently patted Natalie's butt and said, "Your butt is bigger than my face!"
Natalie didn't understand, just kept hugging and kissing her dad.
Andrew was straight-up about it. He handed Natalie to Chloe, reluctantly patted her, and said, "When she's a bit older, I'll look after her for a while. Today, I'll take Gavin back! Don't worry; I'll take good care of him."
Chloe looked at Natalie. "Gavin agreed?"
Just as she asked, Gavin came up with his backpack, all neat and tidy.
Chloe didn't say anything. She walked over, adjusted her son's clothes with one hand, and gave Andrew some instructions.
Andrew stared at her intently.
Chloe had matured, and mature women always had a special attraction to men.
"Listen to your Grandma, okay?" Gavin nodded.
Andrew held his little hand and kissed Natalie.
"I'm leaving!" Andrew said softly, his warm breath tickling Chloe's ear.
Chloe looked up.
He raised his hand and gently stroked her shoulder, saying tenderly, "Get some rest early!"
Before she could get angry, Andrew left with Gavin!
As they went downstairs, they ran into Patrick.
Andrew naturally called out, "Dad."
Patrick was leisurely drinking coffee and smiled, "Still calling me Dad?! But you coming over almost every day isn't surprising anymore!"
He didn't like Andrew, but he doted on Gavin.
He waved them over, showered Gavin with affection, and then let them go.
As Andrew was leaving, Patrick said something meaningful, "Chloe isn't young anymore. Some things are beyond our control! But as long as her mom and I are around, we won't let you bully her."
Andrew understood that Patrick was reminding him: pursuing Chloe was fine, but he couldn't force it.
He smiled faintly, "I understand, Dad."
Patrick sneered, "Calling me Dad won't help!"
Andrew took it in good spirits.
He took Gavin back, and halfway through the drive, Frederick called.
He thought it was about Chloe. But as soon as the call connected, Frederick asked, "Is Charlotte with you?"
Andrew held the steering wheel. He paused, "She's not here, and she hasn't contacted me today."
He asked what was going on.
Frederick coughed lightly, his voice tense, "It's nothing major; just a little disagreement."
Andrew knew about them.
Their relationship had been good over the years, but Frederick was quite possessive. Charlotte had already reduced her social interactions, but Frederick would get angry at her for any interaction with the opposite sex.
It was hard to say if it was good or bad.
Charlotte naturally wouldn't come home to cry about it.
Andrew hung up and called Charlotte's cell phone, which quickly connected.
Andrew asked softly, "What's going on with Frederick?"
On the other end, Charlotte was drinking with Lily and smiled faintly, "Frederick asked, didn't he?"
Andrew didn't deny it.
Charlotte's voice was soft, "It's nothing; just a small issue. It'll be fine in a couple of days."
Marital issues weren't something Andrew could easily intervene in.
Charlotte hung up, and Lily looked at her, "So, you're really not going back tonight?"
Charlotte sat on a high stool.
In front of her was a large floor-to-ceiling window, showing a vast view of Syeattel's nightscape, with the Vertex Innovations Group building prominently lit up in the center.
Charlotte's eyes were moist, and she forced a smile, "Not going back! I'll stay at a hotel."
Lily clinked glasses with her. She admired Charlotte, "What about the kids at home?"
Charlotte lowered her eyes, the crystal glass in her hand sparkling. She was lost in thought for a moment before saying, "If I'm not there, he'll definitely go home early."
Actually, the conflict between her and Frederick started at the Hughes Family banquet.
That night, she ran into Gabriel.
Frederick didn't say anything at the time and drove away, but he came to pick her up unusually early that night, waiting at the hotel entrance like he was catching her in the act.
Fortunately, she had politely declined Gabriel's offer to take her home, or who knows what would have happened.
Even so, that night he took her to their post-marriage villa and was quite intense with her all night. In the heat of the moment, he said things he shouldn't have.
Those words, Charlotte didn't want to remember.
The issue had passed, but on another night, Frederick started going out late and coming back early. Whenever Charlotte had any social engagements or went out, he would follow or have bodyguards follow her.
He said it was for protection, but it was really surveillance.
Such intense feelings were hard for Charlotte to bear, especially since Frederick had her phone monitored.
She threw away her phone.
The couple started a cold war.
But these marital issues were too private for Charlotte to share, even with Lily.
From Lily's perspective, it would seem like love.
Charlotte didn't think so.
She loved Frederick, and she knew he loved her too; but love wasn't a reason to monitor her. No one liked being watched.
Charlotte chose to leave. When she went downstairs this day, wearing a fitted long dress, Frederick looked at her a few more times.
Charlotte ignored him and had Jared drive her.
Once in the city, she took a cab, so Frederick didn't know where she was.
Her phone rang again, this time it was Frederick calling.
Charlotte answered.
She said gently, "Yes, I'm with Lily!"
Frederick said something, and she hung up. When he called again, she blocked him.
Lily rested her chin on her hand, amazed.
"Charlotte, you two have been together for so many years, and it's still this intense!"
Charlotte said, "Frederick, he might be going through a midlife crisis." That's why he cared so much about Gabriel and unconsciously compared himself to younger men.
She didn't hate it, but she needed him to stop monitoring her.
Just as Charlotte finished speaking, a male voice sounded at the door of the private room. "I'm going through a midlife crisis?"
Charlotte turned around.
Frederick was dressed in a business suit, looking like he had come from a meeting. He walked over, leaned down, kissed her, and said, "You don't value things once you have them, do you?"
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