Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 122

Leo's eyes instantly welled with tears.

It wasn't because he was being scolded.

It was because of the word "embarrassing."

He had spent so long fixing it the night before.

The glue had stuck to his fingers, stinging when he peeled it off. He just wanted his father to praise him, even a simple "it looks okay" would have been enough.

But his father called it embarrassing.

Willow immediately reached out to take Leo's hand. "Leo, Dad didn't mean it like that. He just wants you to do your best today."

Leo took a step back, dodging her touch.

This time, his rejection was even more obvious than the last.

A few nearby parents glanced over.

Willow struggled to keep her smile intact.

Lawrence's expression darkened.

Ms. Miller, his homeroom teacher, walked over just in time. She paused when she saw the tension. "Leo's dad, you're here. The activity is about to start. Is Leo's mom not coming today?"

Before Lawrence could speak, another parent chimed in with a laugh. "Isn't this Leo's mom? I saw her carrying all those supplies earlier and just assumed."

The air suddenly went dead silent.

Willow lowered her head, looking a mix of embarrassed and shy.

She didn't deny it.

She simply murmured, "I'm Leo's aunt. Wren is busy with work today."

It was a very clever response.

Aunt, Wren, busy with work.

It sounded like an explanation, yet it deliberately left room for interpretation.

Mrs. Gable laughed awkwardly. "Oh, my apologies! I saw you two walk in together and thought..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

But everyone understood the implication.

Lawrence heard it all.

He could have easily corrected her: Leo's mother is Wren.

But in this kind of public setting, he didn't want to make the atmosphere any more awkward.

More importantly, he didn't think a simple misunderstanding was a big deal.

Wren wasn't here.

Willow was.

Whatever anyone else thought didn't change the facts.

But Leo heard it, too.

He tilted his head back, looking up at Lawrence, waiting for his father to say something.

Lawrence said nothing.

Willow murmured, "Then you can make it sound a little nicer. Like, Mom takes care of the family, Dad protects his career, and Leo works hard to grow up."

She picked up another marker, ready to write it for him.

Leo suddenly slammed his hand onto the display board.

"I'll write it myself."

Willow's hand froze.

Nearby, a kid yelled, "Teacher, our family is done!"

Leo grew even more frantic.

He bent over the board, his hand trembling slightly. The first line was written in a shaky scrawl: Mom used to be responsible for a lot of things.

When he wrote the words "used to be," he stopped for a long time.

Lawrence stared at those words, his expression turning icy. "Who taught you to write that?"

Startled, Leo's marker slipped, dragging a long, dark line across the paper.

His eyes welled with tears, but he bit his lip, refusing to cry.

Ms. Miller hurried over and crouched down. "It's okay, Leo. We can turn that crossed-out line into a flight path! See? Space flights run into turbulence all the time."

She pulled out a star sticker and placed it right next to the jagged black line.

The boy's breathing slowly steadied.

Watching Ms. Miller expertly soothe him, that familiar surge of discomfort flared in Lawrence's chest.

In the past, Wren was the one who did these things.