Chapter 19 Not In The Mood Today

Yvonne looked behind Elijah and only saw a few middle-aged women carrying shopping bags.

The little boy was indeed calling Elijah "father."

Looking closely, the little boy and Elijah did have some resemblance in their eyebrows and eyes.

Without greeting Yvonne, Elijah walked directly to the little boy's side and coldly said, "Joseph, you bumped into someone, go apologize."

The mischievous child from earlier suddenly became obedient after hearing Elijah's words.

The tearful light shimmered in Joseph's beautiful big eyes as he bowed to Yvonne. "Sister, I accidentally bumped into you just now, I'm sorry."

Yvonne couldn't resist the pitiful expression of the little one and extended her hand to touch Joseph's little head. "I told you it's alright."

Helplessly, Joseph stared at Elijah, and Elijah's voice softened, "Go play."

"Thank you, Dad." Joseph, like a bird released from its cage, ran toward the playground on the side.

Yvonne looked at Joseph, then at Elijah, with countless question marks in her mind, not knowing where to start.

Elijah, who was only twenty-seven, actually had a six or seven-year-old son!

Confusion and shock flooded Yvonne's mind all at once.

It felt like thorns prickling her organs inside, like wild grass growing uncontrollably.

"Your son is very cute." Yvonne struggled several times before uttering this sentence.

Elijah spoke softly, "I rarely have time to spend with him. He has been afraid of me since he was little."

The little one looked at Elijah with deep reverence, or rather, fear.

Yvonne had a big question that she originally didn't want to ask, but curiosity got the better of her. "Where is Joseph's mother?"

"Joseph has never seen his mother," Elijah said calmly, "I raised him on my own."

Yvonne was completely stunned!

Honestly, besides Grace, she hadn't heard of any other woman having a close relationship with Elijah.

But the child was there, forcing her to think deeper.

She guessed that Elijah must have had a relationship with a woman at some point, but they went their separate ways and the child ended up with Elijah.

But she couldn't understand why Elijah didn't live with his son and frequently wore a stern expression toward him as well.

"How can you separate after having a child?" Yvonne tentatively asked, "Actually, it would be better for the child to be with his mother."

Elijah remained silent, his gaze falling on Joseph in the playground.

Her phone rang. Hannah had messaged her on WhatsApp saying she had got a spot and urged Yvonne to come quickly.

"Hannah and I are going to have French cuisine. Do you and Joseph want to come along?" Yvonne asked.

Elijah replied slowly, "We made plans last week. He's going to have pizza later."

"Alright then." Yvonne turned and left.

Sitting on the chair, Yvonne felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Her first man actually had a son!

The cold and aloof person had turned out to be someone with plenty of romantic experiences!

It was supposed to be a mutual love affair, but she felt an indescribable sense of regret.

Hannah noticed her distraction and asked, "Did you meet a scumbag who left you empty-handed while going to buy water?"

Yvonne shook her head. "Hannah, in what situation would a child be with their father from birth and never see their mother?"

"There are only two possibilities. Either the child's mother was gone as soon as he was born, or the mother didn't want to lose her freedom after having a child and left him with his dad," Hannah said.

Yvonne still couldn't figure out where Elijah and Joseph belonged.

Back in Rhode Hills, nothing seemed right to Yvonne.

Elijah had a son!

She threw away her dignity as a woman, just to sleep with him.

But what's ridiculous is that she went to great lengths to give her virginity to a man who was already a father!

Yvonne felt restless, standing on the balcony of her bedroom while smoking a few cigarettes.

In fact, her intention to sleep with Elijah was to provoke Grace. Now that Grace was out of the picture, she had achieved her goal and shouldn't be angry.

With that in mind, Yvonne's mood gradually calmed down.

Elijah came back at half past eleven.

She lied in bed, with no desire to greet him.

But Elijah knocked on the door of her bedroom. "Joseph asked me to bring you mousse cake."

"I don't eat sweets at night, just put it in the fridge," Yvonne replied irritably.

There was no sound from Elijah outside.

Yvonne got out of bed and opened the door. The living room was pitch black, only the study light was on.

She wanted to see what Elijah was doing, so she intentionally went to the bathroom opposite the study.

Elijah hadn't changed his clothes. He was sitting with his hand propping up his head at the desk, looking exhausted.

"It's so late, shouldn't you go to bed?" Yvonne smiled and walked into the study.

"I have a trial tomorrow, can't sleep," Elijah said as he took off his coat and glanced at Yvonne, "Can't you sleep either?"

Yvonne sat across from him. "Insomniacs are kindred spirits. Let's chat for a while."

"What do you want to talk about?" Elijah unbuttoned his shirt cuff, with a hint of teasing in his deep eyes. "Miss Brooks, are you curious about how I have a six-year-old child, where the child's mother is, and why I don't live with Joseph's mother?"

"You're really smart." Yvonne didn't hide her thoughts. She smiled at him and said, "I don't mean anything else, I'm just afraid that our occasional sleepovers will affect your family relationship."

"How can a friend with benefits affect a family relationship?" Elijah casually said, "Even if it's not you, there would be other women. It's normal for adults to have occasional needs."

Yvonne's perception of Elijah was once again overturned.

So he would still find other women even if she didn't initiate anything with him.

"Go to sleep early, you still have to work tomorrow." Yvonne turned around to leave, but Elijah suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Elijah's kiss landed, and Yvonne, unlike before, tried to avoid it by turning her head.

His lips grazed Yvonne's cheek and then reached her neck. Yvonne pushed him hard, and both of them fell onto the sofa beside the desk.

Yvonne's mind was filled with thoughts of six-year-old Joseph. She was determined not to yield.

The two struggled for a few rounds. Elijah released the woman beneath him and walked to the window, lighting a cigarette. "You found out about my son and now you despise me?" he asked.

Yvonne didn't rush back to the bedroom. She tidied up her disheveled clothes and said softly, "Not in the mood today."

"Goodnight." Elijah extinguished the half-smoked cigarette.

Yvonne returned to the bedroom and locked the door.

Elijah stayed in the study for a while, his anger still burning inside. He reluctantly went to the bathroom and took a cold shower.

Returning to the study once again, he saw a missed call on his phone and quickly dialed back.

"Mr. Harper, the thugs who attacked Miss Brooks have been captured. However, someone is pressuring the department to release them on bail," the man on the other end of the phone spoke respectfully.

Elijah closed his eyes, rubbing his temple with one hand, and asked in a low voice, "Who is pressuring you?"

The man remained silent for a moment before saying, "It started with Grace, but later George's wife also got involved and used her connections."

"We live in a society governed by the rule of law. Personal connections should not be used to distort justice." Elijah's voice was calm as he placed the phone on his desk.

"Mr. Harper is absolutely right. Miss Brooks's case will be treated fairly and justly." The man's voice carried a sense of flattery.

That night, Elijah slept on the sofa in the study.

When he woke up, it was already half past seven in the morning.

Yvonne had already left, but there was breakfast left on the dining table- fried eggs, hot milk, and two slices of toasted bread.

After getting dressed, Elijah was about to leave when he noticed a pink note stuck on the refrigerator. It read: "Mr. Harper, make sure to have breakfast!" Without a doubt, it was from Yvonne.

He hesitated for a moment, then put down his briefcase and sat down on the dining chair, drinking the milk and eating a slice of toast.

Having breakfast felt quite nice.

Yvonne arrived at the company early and ran into Susan. They stared at each other, motionless, for a full minute before Yvonne finally called out, "Susan."

Susan, with a serious expression, simply replied with a "Hmm."

"I heard from the finance department that you secured a two million dollar deal," she said.

"The client has already made a 20% advance payment." Yvonne stood tall and confident.

"I see." Susan remained aloof, without a single word of praise.

Yvonne was surprised to see that Susan, who always went makeup-free, was now wearing makeup.

Anyone wearing makeup would usually enhance their beauty to some extent, but Susan's face seemed out of place.

Ryan's deal had saved Team C, and Thomas and the others looked up to Yvonne like a deity, fetching water for her, handling deliveries, and indulging her with various snacks.

Yvonne had a pleasant day.

Before leaving work, Yvonne called the police station to ask if the two scumbags had been caught and if they had identified the mastermind behind them.

A young female police officer answered the call and reassured her not to worry, saying that the case was going through the proper procedures and they would inform her as soon as they had any updates.

Yvonne had complete faith in it. After all, it had only been a workday.

While driving back to Rhode Hills, Ryan called her and said that Mrs. Winston had a sudden urge to see her and asked her to visit the Winston family again.

Yvonne readily agreed, and they set a meeting point.

Just as Ryan was about to hang up, Yvonne stopped him. "Can I ask you something? Does Elijah have a six-year-old son?"

"You're referring to Joseph, right? Not many people in Winslow know about it, but I've known for a while," Ryan chuckled. "Joseph was born in Norway, and Elijah brought him back to Winslow when he was a month old."

"What about Joseph's mother?" Yvonne asked eagerly. "He's such a cute child, but Elijah's terrible temper scares him away."

"For all these years, Elijah has kept his lips sealed about Joseph's birth mother." Ryan suddenly lowered his voice. "Elijah had deep love for her. Ever since he brought Joseph back to Winslow, they've been fighting. Elijah has been raising his son alone while his first love stayed in Norway and got married."

"I see." Yvonne felt a little heartbroken.

"And here's some insider information: Elijah's first love got divorced six months ago and is returning soon," Ryan sighed. "Who knows if they'll reconcile."

"With a child involved, they most likely will." Yvonne hung up her phone as Elijah's call came through.