Mr Billionaire's Regret Chasing His Irresistible Wife (Jared and Arielle) novel Chapter 194

"Mommy, you seem really happy about work lately," Maverick said, his voice filled with curiosity. "What's going on?"

I blinked, taken aback by his sudden observation. We were in the car, on the way to school, and I hadn’t expected such an out-of-the-blue question from him.

I hadn't even realized that I'd been so obvious, but I guess it was hard to hide my happiness. I'd been feeling enthusiastic and optimistic since my meeting with Jared these days, and it seemed like Maverick had picked up on it.

Do these two have a father-son psychic link or something?

Hesitating, I tried to decide on how much to say and reveal to him because the young man wouldn't let me be unless I gave him an answer. He was already staring at me expectantly with those large innocent eyes.

"Oh it’s just business stuff, sweetie," I said casually, trying to brush it off. "I’m working on some new projects, and they’re going well."

But he didn't look convinced, his eyes piercing into mine, as he tried to probe more information from me.

"What kind of business stuff?"

I chuckled, impressed by his persistence and how much I can predict him. "Let's say that I'm working on a new project, and it has the potential to take my business to the next level. It's still in the early stages, but I'm really excited about it."

"Alright, Mommy," he said, nodding solemnly like a little grown-up. "I wish you all the best, and I hope everything works out the way you want them to."

"Thank you, sweetie," I murmured, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

He gave me a small, happy smile and turned his attention back to the window, watching the world rush by. That was his favorite part of our morning drive—he liked how everything seemed to blur in a fast-forward motion, like his own little version of a movie scene.

For a few minutes, the car was quiet, and I thought the conversation was over. But then, out of nowhere, he turned back to me, his expression suddenly heavy.

"Mom," he asked, his voice quieter now, "why doesn’t Daddy come to see me lately?"

My chest tightened, and for a brief moment, I forgot how to breathe. My heart lurched, caught between wanting to protect him and not knowing exactly how to explain the mess that had become his father’s absence.

I didn’t want to lie, but I wasn’t ready to tell him everything.

I took a deep breath, "Well, sweetie, Daddy’s been really busy lately, he’s been… competing with Uncle Dwayne’s company, and that’s taking up a lot of his time."

Maverick’s eyes widened in surprise, his brows furrowing as he processed this. "But Nana said they’re brothers!" he exclaimed, looking at me as if I had told him the sky was green.

"Why are they fighting, Mommy? Are Daddy and Uncle Dwayne enemies now?"

I paused for a moment before answering, trying to keep it simple but honest.

"No, sweetie, they’re not enemies," I said softly. "They just have different goals, and they’re both trying to succeed in their own way. Neither of them wants to give up, that’s all."

Maverick looked up at me, clearly trying to make sense of it all. His small face scrunched up in thought.

I softened my tone and added, "Competition isn’t always a bad thing, baby. Think about it. If your teacher said she was giving a big prize to the student who gets the best score on the next test, wouldn’t you want to do your best? You’d be competing with your friends, right? Like with Bella?"

He paused, his eyes focused on something far beyond the window, his tiny frown deepening as he considered my words. "I guess it depends on how good the prize is," he mumbled.

I couldn’t help but smile. "Fair enough, champ. And there's something else, too." I paused, trying to find the right words. "Some things happened between me and your Daddy."

Maverick nodded thoughtfully. "I noticed, Mommy. Can you tell me what happened?"

Once again, I was amazed at my son's observation skills and glad that I did not choose to lie.