Chapter 271 Undercover
Matthew kept his head down, dodging Quentin's eyes. He was scared Quentin would shoot down his request. His brain was buzzing with ideas, but Quentin, preoccupied with concern for Matthew, hadn't picked up on any of them.
Seeing Matthew like this, Quentin just couldn't say no. He knew he wasn't exactly Dad of the Year, so he tried his best to give Matthew what he wanted.
"Alright, I promise your mom can pick you up," Quentin said.
He felt a pang of sadness, realizing how much he couldn't stand the thought of being away from Matthew.
But the past was long gone, and Quentin watched as the days of having Matthew around were slipping away. His sighs and sadness wouldn't change a thing.
Before, when Ethan came to take Matthew back, Quentin had flat-out refused and even mocked Ethan. But deep down, he knew his anger was just jealousy that Ethan might actually become Matthew's stepdad.
Maybe he could stubbornly keep Matthew with him, but thinking about Matthew's tears and sadness, his heart softened.
He thought, 'Forget it. For Matthew's happiness, I can deal with anything.' So, Quentin walked out of the room and called Lauren.
Lauren almost freaked out when she got Quentin's call. Quentin just told her which hospital and which room to visit Matthew and hung up before she could ask anything.
Hearing Matthew was in the hospital, Lauren was super anxious. She rushed over as fast as she could, only to find a healthy-looking Matthew and a cold Quentin standing nearby. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Mommy! I miss you so much!" Matthew, full of energy, shouted happily at Lauren.
Lauren blinked and walked over with a smile. Quentin moved away from Matthew's bed and headed towards the window.
Lauren asked worriedly, "Matthew, what happened to you?"
She looked at Matthew, who was covered in rashes, and felt heartbroken. Although the rashes had gone down a lot, there were still plenty, which made Lauren worry.
Matthew shook his head, indicating he didn't know. He pointed to Quentin and said loudly, "Mommy, you should ask Daddy. He brought me to the hospital and took care of me all night, so he should know what's up."
Hearing Matthew's words, Lauren looked towards Quentin. She pursed her lips and didn't speak because she knew that even if she did, Quentin wouldn't respond.
As Lauren was staring at Quentin's back, Quentin suddenly turned around and looked at her. Their eyes met for a second before they both turned away.
"Matthew has hives. The doctor said it's nothing serious and will go away on its own," Quentin replied.
With that, he gave Matthew a deep look, then walked out of the room step by step.
After Quentin left, Lauren could finally breathe easy. She raised her hand to touch Matthew's cheek, her face full of heartache.
Lauren asked, "Matthew, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable? If there is, you have to tell me."
Matthew replied, "I don't feel bad, Mommy. I missed you so much. Did you miss me?"
Lauren smiled and kissed Matthew. She replied, "Of course I missed you, Matthew."
Matthew giggled and held Lauren's hand, starting to spill all the info he had gathered like a little spy.
"Mommy, Daddy's in a bad way. He drinks a ton every day and is always wasted. I wanna play with him, but he's just lying in bed, can't even get up. I'm really worried about him. Is he sick or something? Is that why he's drinking alone all the time?" Matthew said, all innocent-like.
Lauren listened to Matthew, and it hit her right in the feels, stirring up all kinds of emotions.
She thought for a moment and then gently said, "Your Daddy's really sad, Matthew. You need to spend more time with him to cheer him up."
Matthew replied, "I've been trying, Mommy. But I'm too young for Daddy to talk to me about his feelings. I even saw him crying in his own room!"
Matthew blinked his big, innocent eyes, making it seem so real that even Lauren believed him. She never thought Matthew was saying this just to make her feel sorry for Quentin.
Hearing that Quentin was secretly crying, Lauren was deeply moved. Quentin, who was always so proud and tough, actually shedding tears.
The first and last time Lauren saw Quentin cry was the day Jessica passed away. He had desperately called for the doctors to save Jessica, and it was the first time she had seen Quentin so helpless.
'Quentin must be in so much pain and so lonely,' Lauren thought deeply. 'Even with Sophia by his side, he probably can't share those painful memories with anyone.'
Quentin's weakness was worse than she had imagined. Drowning his sorrows in booze and shutting himself off from the world, Quentin probably wasn't even thinking about the company's affairs right now, while Ethan was taking the chance to stir up trouble.
Matthew's plan to get Lauren to feel sorry for Quentin worked. Knowing Quentin was in such pain, Lauren felt a bit of compassion. She hadn't convinced Ethan to back off last time, but now she needed to figure out how to make Ethan willingly stop targeting Quentin.
"Mommy, Mommy!" Matthew shouted.
Lauren snapped back to reality and looked at Matthew. She asked, "Matthew, you feeling hungry? Want me to grab you something to eat?"
Matthew shook his head. He asked, "Mommy, can I stay with Daddy for a few more days? I wanna see him happy and playing with me like before."
Lauren gently patted Matthew's head, touched by his understanding. She hoped Quentin would shake off his gloom soon, but she hadn't anticipated Matthew falling ill at this moment.
"Alright, Matthew, I promise. But you gotta focus on getting better first before I'm comfortable sending you back to Dad. So you gotta listen to the doctor and get well, okay?" Lauren asked.
"Okay!" Matthew nodded eagerly.
Quentin felt that once he handed Matthew back to Lauren this time, he might not have another opportunity to be as close to him. He was also very conscious of not bothering Lauren anymore and just went back to his sad, lonely life.
During the three days Matthew was in the hospital, Quentin never showed up again. He had really let go of Matthew.
Lauren successfully kept Matthew by her side and fulfilled Jessica's last wish. It should have been something worth celebrating, but her heart was always filled with a faint sadness.
These days, Lauren tossed and turned, unable to find peace because of Ethan's opposition and her guilt towards Quentin.
