Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 22

Wren read the message but didn't reply.

A moment later, another one came through.

[Leo was asking when you were coming home last night. You even abandoned him on his birthday. Wren, as a mother, you can't be this selfish.]

Wren stared at the screen for a long moment.

Then, she put Eleanor's conversation on Do Not Disturb.

A few seconds later, a call came through from Leo's smartwatch.

She looked at the caller ID and finally answered.

"Mom."

Leo's voice sounded muffled.

Wren's heart gave a soft ache. "Yeah?"

"Grandma said you're coming home for dinner tonight," Leo asked. "Are you coming?"

Wren fell silent.

"Mom has work tonight."

The line went quiet for a second.

Leo whispered, "Are you still mad?"

Wren gripped her phone, looking out the window.

"No."

"But you used to always come home and eat with me," Leo said, his voice laced with grievance. "You even left on my birthday."

Wren closed her eyes.

Used to.

Yes, she used to always go back to them.

No matter how exhausted she was, no matter how terribly they treated her, as long as her son needed her, she would run back.

But she couldn't do that anymore.

She could still love Leo.

But she could no longer completely destroy herself in the process.

"Leo," Wren said softly, "Mom has her own things to do too."

Leo didn't seem to understand.

"But Willow said Mom's most important job is watching me grow up."

Wren suddenly couldn't find the words.

Through the phone, she could faintly hear Willow's voice in the background.

"Leo, don't pressure Mom. She's busy with work."

Such a gentle sentence.

Yet it was perfectly designed to remind the child: Your mother chose her job, not you.

Wren's grip on her phone tightened.

She didn't call it out.

She merely said, "Mom will call you later."

After hanging up, she sat at her desk for a long time.

Leo sat at the dining table, his eyes red.

Willow sat beside him, coaxing him gently. "Mom is just busy with work, it's not that she doesn't love you."

Leo picked at his food. "But she never used to act like this."

Lawrence sat at the head of the table, his brow heavily furrowed.

He glanced toward the entryway.

It was completely empty.

There was no sign of Wren.

He grabbed his phone and dialed her number.

It rang endlessly, but no one answered.

Lawrence's expression darkened completely.

She was actually ignoring his calls.

Seeing this, Eleanor couldn't help but interject. "Stop indulging her. She's taken this tantrum way too far. Have the driver drag her back tomorrow so we can set her straight."

Lawrence put his phone face down on the table.

"No need."

Eleanor blinked in surprise.

Lawrence's tone was ice-cold. "If she wants space to cool off, let her cool off."

Willow lowered her head, hiding the subtle curve of her lips.

Lawrence still didn't believe Wren would ever actually leave.