Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 35

By the time Lawrence rushed back to the Langford estate, it was nearly eleven o'clock.

The lights in the second-floor nursery were still on.

The door was slightly ajar, and Leo's intermittent sobs drifted out into the hallway.

"I want Mom..."

"I want Mom..."

Lawrence paused his steps.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside the nursery, Willow was sitting on the edge of the bed, a tissue in hand, her face plastered with anxiety.

Leo was huddled under the covers, his eyes red from crying, clutching the small teddy bear Wren had bought for him.

The bear was already very worn.

The edges of its ears had been washed until they were faded and white.

Lawrence had rarely paid attention to these things before.

He only knew that Leo had an endless supply of toys and that the Langford family always gave him the absolute best. But at this moment, he realized that what his son relied on the most was just an old, faded bear.

Seeing him walk in, Willow looked as though she was finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Lawrence, you're back."

Lawrence walked over to the bed and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Willow said softly, "Maybe it's because Wren hasn't been around these past few days, so Leo hasn't been sleeping well. He had a nightmare just now, and nothing I do can calm him down."

Hearing Lawrence's voice, Leo looked up with red, tear-streaked eyes.

"Dad."

Lawrence sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to stroke his hair.

"What did you dream about?"

Leo sobbed, "I dreamed that Mom didn't want me anymore."

Lawrence's hand stalled in mid-air.

A flicker flashed through Willow's eyes, but she quickly lowered her head to wipe Leo's tears.

"That's not true. Mom loves Leo the most. Mom is just busy with work."

But Leo suddenly shrank back, avoiding her touch.

Willow's hand froze in mid-air.

A heavy silence blanketed the room for a second.

Clutching his bear tightly, Leo mumbled, "Willow, I want to talk to my dad."

Willow's face paled slightly.

She quickly forced a smile. "Alright, I'll step out first."

She stood up, looking at Lawrence, her voice dropping lower. "Lawrence, I'll be right outside. Call me if you need anything."

Lawrence fell silent.

He wanted to do what he usually did and simply tell the child that it wasn't his fault.

But the words reached the tip of his tongue and refused to come out.

An image surfaced in his mind—Wren standing in the garden, holding Leo.

She had looked down at the boy with an expression of profound tenderness, yet she looked so incredibly exhausted.

Lawrence suddenly recalled the night of the birthday banquet.

Leo had dragged Willow up to the stage to cut the cake, announcing that Mom could just watch from below.

At the time, he thought the kid was simply overly excited.

He thought Wren shouldn't hold a grudge.

But hearing the child repeat it now, he belatedly realized that to a mother, a comment like that carried devastating weight.

However, the moment the thought surfaced, Lawrence quickly suppressed it.

Wren was Leo's mother.

The child was young; it was normal for him to say the wrong thing.

As the adult, how could she really let something like this drive a wedge between her and her son?

Lawrence patted Leo on the head.