CHAPTER 14
1408 Words
It was Emman.
The boy was sitting comfortably beside him.
It seemed that Emman had slept next to him the whole night.
Earl scratched his head in confusion.
“When did he even get here?” he muttered.
Emman noticed he was awake.
The boy immediately smiled brightly.
He grabbed his notebook and quickly wrote something on it.
Then he showed it to Earl.
“Good morning!”
Earl smiled.
“Oh… good morning.”
He stretched his arms and yawned.
Then he looked around.
“Where’s your mother?”
Emman wrote again in the notebook.
“She’s still sleeping.”
“Oh…”
Earl nodded.
Then Emman wrote another question.
“Are you hungry? Do you wanna play?”
Earl chuckled.
“You want to play?”
Emman nodded quickly.
“Alright,” Earl said.
He moved closer and stretched his hand.
“Here’s the game. Give me your hand. Point it in my palm and never let me catch it, okay?”
Emman looked excited.
He quickly placed his finger on Earl’s palm.
Then the game started.
Earl suddenly tried to catch his finger.
But Emman pulled it away quickly.
Both of them started laughing.
They tried again and again.
Earl kept pretending to almost catch him.
Emman laughed louder every time.
His bright laughter filled the hallway.
From the corner of the corridor…
Meave was standing quietly.
She was watching them.
Her eyes focused on her son.
Emman was laughing loudly.
Something that rarely happened before.
Beside her stood the butler.
“Ma’am,” the butler said softly, “Emman’s condition has been getting better since Earl was here.”
Meave did not answer immediately.
She simply watched the scene.
Then she smiled faintly.
“I’ll go to the office,” she said calmly.
“If Earl needs anything, you arrange it, okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Meave turned and walked down the hallway.
But her mind was not on work.
Her thoughts were still lingering on Earl.
On the way he spoke last night.
On his gentle voice.
On the warmth he brought to her son.
Meanwhile inside the room, Earl was still playing with Emman.
The boy was laughing uncontrollably.
But suddenly—
Earl’s phone rang.
He stopped moving and looked at the screen.
His expression immediately changed.
Kennah.
“Wait baby…” Earl said to Emman.
Emman simply smiled and waited.
Earl answered the call.
“Hello?”
Then Kennah’s furious voice exploded from the other side of the phone.
“Hello, Earl! When did you get in contact with the Castillon family!? Why did the divorce paper is sent here by her legal team!?”
“So that’s what Meave meant when she said she’ll handle everything…” Earl murmured to himself.
His voice was very low, almost a whisper. He did not want Kennah to hear what he was saying.
On the other side of the phone, Kennah was still breathing heavily with anger.
Earl could almost imagine her standing in the living room of the Muller mansion, holding the divorce papers in her hand.
The moment he heard her voice earlier, he already knew what had happened.
Meave had already sent the documents.
She truly handled everything.
Earl slowly stood up from the side of the bed and walked toward the window. His expression was calm, but inside his chest, his heart was beating faster than usual.
“Since you already received it,” Earl said quietly, “just go and sign it, Kennah. We’re done.”
There was a long silence.
Then Kennah suddenly laughed.
But it was not a happy laugh.
It was cold and sharp.
“No, Earl,” she said slowly. “We’re not done yet.”
Her tone turned mocking.
“And do you really think Meave Castillon has feelings for you?” she continued. “God, Earl… when did you become such a gold digger?”
Earl closed his eyes for a moment.
Her words were harsh, but he did not argue.
He had heard worse from her before.
“This whole thing… the marriage,” Kennah added. “It was only a joke to you, right?”
Earl shook his head slowly.
“No,” he said firmly. “Now, I’m letting you go, Kennah.”
His voice sounded calm, but there was determination in it.
“Just hurry and sign the contract.”
Kennah suddenly became quiet.
Then she said something that made Earl freeze.
“Bella needed you, Earl.”
His eyes widened slightly.
“She’s sick now,” Kennah continued. “And she misses you so much.”
For a moment, Earl could not speak.
The name alone was enough to shake him.
Bella.
His daughter.
His heart tightened.
He tried to process what Kennah had just said, but confusion quickly turned into anger.
“Isn’t it your responsibility to make sure our daughter is in good health?” Earl said, his voice rising slightly.
His calm expression disappeared.
“What kind of mother are you, Kennah?”
“Shut up, Earl!” Kennah shouted through the phone.
Her voice was sharp and furious.
“She needs you!” she continued. “Now come back here!”
Earl’s jaw tightened.
For a few seconds, he did not answer.
Then without another word—
He ended the call.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Earl slowly lowered the phone.
His mind was filled with mixed emotions.
Anger.
Confusion.
Worry.
He stared at the floor while thinking about Bella.
His daughter.
He had not seen her in a long time.
Every time he tried to visit her before, the Miller family always found a reason to stop him.
They always treated him like he did not belong there.
And Bella…
Bella had slowly grown distant from him.
But hearing that she was sick made his heart feel heavy.
While Earl was lost in his thoughts, someone gently tapped his shoulder.
He turned around.
It was Emman.
The boy was looking at him with worried eyes.
In his hand was his notebook.
Emman handed the paper to him.
Earl looked down and read the words written in simple handwriting.
“Is everything okay?”
Earl stared at the sentence for a moment.
Then he slowly smiled.
He did not want the boy to worry.
“Yeah, baby…” Earl said gently.
He nodded while patting Emman’s head.
“Everything is okay.”
Emman looked at him carefully.
Then he smiled again.
The boy seemed relieved.
Earl returned the notebook to him.
For a brief moment, the heavy feeling in Earl’s chest softened.
But then—
His phone vibrated again.
Earl looked at the screen.
A message notification appeared.
His heart sank.
Kennah.
He opened the message.
The moment he read the words, his face slowly turned pale.
“Come back now. Bella’s condition is getting worse!”
Earl stared at the message silently.
The room suddenly felt colder.
His hands slowly tightened around the phone.
His daughter was sick.
And now Kennah was telling him that her condition was getting worse.
His mind quickly filled with questions.
Was it true?
Or was Kennah just trying to manipulate him again?
But even if there was a small chance that it was true…
He could not ignore it.
Because Bella was still his daughter.
He slowly sat down on the bed.
His eyes were still fixed on the message.
Emman noticed the sudden change in Earl’s expression.
The boy looked confused.
He walked closer and gently tugged Earl’s sleeve.
Earl looked down at him.
Emman tilted his head, silently asking what was wrong.
Earl forced a smile again.
But this time, it looked weaker.
He gently placed his hand on Emman’s shoulder.
For a moment, Earl did not know what to do.
Two different worlds were pulling him in opposite directions.
On one side was the life he had always known.
His daughter.
His unfinished past with Kennah.
And on the other side…
Was this new life inside the Castillon residence.
A strange place where he was treated with kindness.
A place where Emman laughed freely beside him.
And where Meave quietly watched from a distance.
Earl slowly looked at the message again.
“Come back now. Bella’s condition is getting worse.”
His chest felt heavy.
The decision he was about to make could change everything.
And he knew it.
But right now…
He still did not know which path he should choose.
- Writer
