Chapter 145 Charles Runs Away from Home and Disappears
Patricia clenched her fists tightly, using this to suppress the piercing pain in her heart.
Just as she was about to step through the doorway, Martin's voice suddenly rang out behind her, “Wait…”
Patricia paused, but still did not turn around.
Martin asked, “What in the world is going on? Why are you leaving Charles with me? I promised him that I wouldn’t contest custody with you. He's always been with you, aren’t you being too cruel to him now?”
Patricia hastily denied it: "I didn't abandon him, I... I just..." She paused, then with a pained expression added, "Compared to me, you can protect him better. He's just living in a different environment now. Our relationship as mother and son won't change."
After speaking, without waiting for a response from the two behind her, she quickly left, afraid that lingering would only make her more heartbroken.
Martin felt something was off, that there had to be an issue. He wanted to chase after her for the truth, but with Charles there, he held himself back.
He squatted down to look Charles in the eye, gently stroking his little head, and asked with concern, "What happened? Why did your mom send you here?"
Charles had initially thought his mom was threatened by his bastard dad, which was why he was sent back to the Langley family. But from the recent conversation between his parents, it seemed his dad was not aware.
Had he wronged his bastard dad? So, was it really because his mom didn't want him that she sent him to his dad? Did she see him as a burden?
Contemplating this possibility, the usually strong Charles couldn't hold back anymore. With a sob, he ran upstairs.
Martin, concerned he might harm himself in his distress, handed his suitcase to the new butler and quickly followed him.
Last time mistaken for Randy, Charles had stayed here. He ran straight to the room he had stayed in before, slammed the door shut, and locked it from the inside. His small body slumped against the door, face buried between his knees, shoulders shaking.
His sobs filtered through the cracks.
Martin stood outside, unable to hear the sounds inside, but acutely aware of Charles's sorrow.
He gently tapped on the door, whispering, "Charles, don't be sad! Your mom is right, even though you're not living under the same roof now, she is still your mom. If you miss her, you can go stay with her for a few days, or she can come over. It doesn't change anything. It's just a different living environment."
Charles did not respond.
Martin, not skilled at comforting others and feeling helpless, especially in this situation, sighed and waited by the door a while longer. Seeing that he wasn't coming out, he eventually walked away.
Once downstairs, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Patricia.
"What's really going on? Why suddenly send Charles over? Do you know how heartbroken he is?"
It took a long time for the reply to come through.
"He'll be fine once he gets used to it."
"...??"
Martin didn't expect Patricia to respond so indifferently, without a word of concern.
His long fingers hovered over the message input area for a long time before he finally typed: "Can you really bear it?"
This time, Patricia did not reply.
Martin was almost certain that Patricia must be crying even harder than Charles at this moment. For some reason, she had to hand over Charles to him. What could that reason be?
He did not press Patricia for answers, concerned for Charles. He avoided going to the hospital and the office, asking Alan to send work to his email instead. He worked on the first floor, staying by Charles' side.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Ellenstein Villa District, Patricia didn’t want to return to the home filled with memories of Charles. She headed straight for the hospital, trying to numb herself with work.
Worried about Randy's concern, she did not visit the ward. Randy was eagerly stretching his neck, looking forward to Patricia's rounds. Seeing another doctor instead, his little face fell immediately: "Dr. Hughes, why is it you? Where's mummy? Isn't she working today?"
Dr. Hughes, unaware of the situation, replied casually, "Professor Watson is in her office. She must be ill; she looks pale, and her eyes are red and swollen, probably from staying up all night."
"What? Mummy is sick?" Hearing that Patricia was unwell, Randy immediately jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and ran to the office. Sure enough, he saw Patricia looking miserable, sprawled across her desk.
He went to her, gently touched her head, and softly called out, "Mummy..."
Hearing his voice, Patricia's body shook, but she didn’t lift her head.
Her unusual behavior did not escape Randy. Feeling increasingly that something was wrong with his mother, he asked anxiously, "Mummy, what's wrong? Do you feel unwell?"
Patricia still did not look up, just shook her head slightly, "Mummy is fine, just tired, I want to lie down and sleep for a bit."
As soon as she spoke, she realized her voice was terrifyingly hoarse. Like someone with a high fever, in the early stages of recovery from a serious illness.
Startled, Randy's heart tightened, "Mummy, what's really wrong with you? Don't scare me, I'm really worried about you."
Afraid that continuing to evade would only worry Randy more, Patricia finally lifted her head, gave him a tight-lipped smile, and reassured him, "I'm really okay, just up late working overtime last night, so I didn't sleep well."
Randy scrutinized her closely for a long while. Her eyes red and swollen, with bloodshot undersides, her cheeks deathly pale, devoid of any color. It seemed like the result of staying up late, and yet, not quite.
There was a nagging feeling that things were not so simple. "Mummy, are you sure you're okay?"
Patricia smiled and rubbed his little head, "I'm really fine. If something were wrong, would I be sitting here? Now go back to your room, you’ll need your IV soon. Mummy will join you for lunch at noon."
Hearing her say that, Randy could only nod his head and leave, constantly looking back as he took each step away.
Patricia had spent the entire day at the hospital with Randy.
Meanwhile, Martin had stayed home to keep Charles company.
It wasn't until seven in the evening that Patricia, exhausted, made her way home.
No sooner had she opened the door than Fannie came running over, 'thump, thump, thump', grabbing Patricia’s hand anxiously and saying, “Mommy, it's terrible, Charles has run away from home! His clothes and suitcase are missing. He didn't go to kindergarten today either; we must go look for him right away!”
Seeing the color drain from Patricia’s face, Jade, putting together the events of the day, asked with a grave expression, “Patricia, what's actually happened? Where is Charles?”
Not wanting to worry Fannie, Patricia gently rubbed her little head and said, “Charles hasn't run away from home; he's just gone back to where he belongs.”
Fannie, not understanding, blinked and asked, “What do you mean?”
Jade understood, her eyes growing wide with disbelief as she stared at Patricia, “You mean Charles… Charles…”
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Patricia, drained of energy, just nodded: “Jade, please take good care of Fannie for me. I'm very tired and need to go back to my room to rest.”
Jade had a myriad of questions but seeing Patricia’s pale face, didn't want to disturb her any further, allowing her to return to her room to rest.
Patricia gave Fannie a weak smile, dragging her feet as if they weighed a ton back to her room.
Just as her bedroom door closed, she could still hear Fannie asking Jade.
“Jade, where exactly did Charles go? What is this place he belongs to? Isn’t Charles meant to be here?”
The door shut, muffling all sounds from outside.
Without showering or changing her clothes, Patricia collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind filled with images of Charles.
How was Charles's day over at Ellenstein Villa District?
Had he eaten?
Had he taken a bath?
Was he still feeling sad?
Was he by Martin's side?
As these thoughts swirled in her head, she reached into her pocket for her cell phone, hesitating whether to call Charles, fearing that doing so might intensify his longing to come home.
While she wavered, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Martin calling.
Despite her initial urge to reject the call, Patricia couldn't control the longing she felt for Charles and, as if possessed, she answered.
As soon as she did, Martin’s anxious voice came through: “Has Charles come back home?”
Realizing something, Patricia's breath hitched, and she hurriedly asked, "What do you mean? He's not at the Ellenstein Villa District?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then the voice came through, heavy and grave, "Charles is missing. I thought he might have gone back to you…"
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