M, of course, refused.
However, she couldn''t hold back and pulled Nathaniel aside to offer him some advice.
"I get the feeling that the kid might be a bit withdrawn. I''m not a professional, so I can''t say for sure, but as his guardian, you should spend more time with him. Maybe take him for some counseling sessions. Don''t underestimate teenage psychological issues—the sooner they''re addressed, the better."
Nathaniel felt a pang of frustration.
It wasn''t that he hadn''t sought help. When Julian witnessed his mother''s crime and almost became a victim himself, it traumatized him. The memory of that event was a blur, leaving him with psychological scars. Julian became more reserved and shunned most people.
For reasons Nathaniel couldn''t quite understand, as Julian grew older, he developed a habit of running off, searching for his mother. That led to him being abducted once...
Thankfully, Julian didn''t reject Nathaniel as an uncle, but that didn''t stop his constant quest to find his mother.
Only recently had Nathaniel seen a glimmer of hope with M.
Whenever Julian was with her, he behaved normally, except for asionally mistaking her for his mother. He had stopped running away, which proved more effective than any therapy.
How could he convince M to spend more time with Julian?
Nathaniel now regretted offending her so deeply over the years. It made it difficult to ask for favors.
As he racked his brains for a solution, he noticed M stepping aside to answer her phone.
It was a call from her father-inw, Conrad.
M picked up, and he invited her over for dinner at the family estate for the uing festival, saying her mother-inw missed her, and it had been over two weeks since theyst met.
Given her mother-inw''s condition, they had agreed to gradually reduce visits to every other week.
But M remembered that her mother-inw seemed stable during thest visit and decided to decline. "I''m dealing with some health issues right now and am in the hospital, so it''s really not convenient. I''ll visit once I''m better."
Her reasoning was simple.
The divorce case was about to go to court, and her legal team had advised her to avoid contact with the Montgomery family to prevent anyplications.
Using her health as an excuse, Conrad couldn''t argue much. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they ended the call.
As soon as she hung up, M called Eugene, who had gone to arrange her discharge, asking him toe back.
After careful consideration, she decided against leaving the hospital.
Suddenly, the idea of being hospitalized seemed like an excellent excuse to dodge many issues, even if it meant enduring the medicinal smells.
She was more than willing to stay until the court date!
Mfortably discussed her situation with the doctor, mentioning persistent headaches and concerns about her head injury. The brain was such a critical organ, after all. She managed to extend her hospital stay.
Regardless of what others thought, Nathaniel was quite pleased.
He decided not to discharge Julian either and extended the child''s stay, quickly leaving him in the room before dashing off.
Julian didn''t mind as long as he was with his "mom."
He toddled over to M, eyes wide and innocent, reaching out with tiny hands and softly calling, "Mommy, mommy."
M''s heart melted as she pulled him into her arms.
Eugene, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth, muttering under his breath, "That damned Nathaniel!"
At Montgomery Manor.
Conrad hung up the phone, ring at the expressionless Leonard standing by the door, dismissively waving him away.
"Get out, get out! Tell that son of mine I''m done with his affairs. He''s a grown man, yet he still needs to use his old man''s reputation to get his wife back. And he couldn''t even manage that!"
The thought made him even angrier.
After Leonard left, he informed Lysander.
Lysander wasn''t surprised. He had plenty of ways to make M return. Thewsuit? She wouldn''t win!