Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 161

Xavier Sterling was afraid Lily Sutton would get too worked up, so he comforted her softly. "Alright, don't get angry over irrelevant nobodies."

As he spoke, Xavier cast a faint, dismissive glance at Yates Hawthorne out of the corner of his eye. His gaze didn't linger, shifting away lightly without a single ripple of emotion, perfectly reflecting his words.

To him, Yates was just a nobody on the side of the road, low enough in the dirt that he wasn't even worth Xavier's full attention.

Whether it was Xavier's words or his attitude, they acted like sharp knives, plunging ruthlessly into Yates's chest.

Yates stood rooted to the spot, his gaze predatory and cold as he watched Xavier's car speed off, disappearing into the heavy snowfall.

The snow was falling harder now. Within moments, a thick layer of white coated the black umbrella his assistant held over him.

His face devoid of emotion, Yates walked into the village and approached Summer Vance's home.

"Mr. Hawthorne, what brings you here?" Summer had thought it would be Gavin Loomis and Jude Montgomery arriving, never expecting to see Yates.

"I happened to be on a business trip nearby. My condolences."

Yates felt he owed Summer a favor, and since he genuinely was in the area for work, he had made it a point to come.

Summer led Yates into the memorial hall. Yates placed a floral tribute by the altar and bowed his head solemnly in respect.

Right at that moment, Gavin and Jude finally arrived.

After paying his respects, Gavin pulled Summer into a hug. "Sorry I'm late, Summer."

Summer knew the tech company was swamped. With a major delivery deadline approaching, she hadn't been able to help out because of her family emergency.

She had heard from her colleagues in the group chat that Gavin and Jude had pulled an all-nighter to catch up on the project schedule.

No wonder both of their eyes were completely bloodshot.

Summer understood and felt a pang of guilt. Since joining the company, she had spent most of her time requesting leaves of absence. "I know, Gavin."

Gavin patted her back and let go, only for Jude to immediately swoop in for a hug. "Stay strong, Summer."

Summer still had to go back out to manage the funeral arrangements. Leo was too young; he hadn't fully recovered from his recent illness, and staying up late grieving with her had caused him to lose a noticeable amount of weight.

Summer asked Leo to act as the little host and stay in the room to entertain everyone, giving him an excuse to rest.

She shot a knowing look at Jude, who nodded while holding Leo. "Go ahead. I'll take great care of my son."

Once Summer left, Yates finally voiced his confusion.

Gavin was quick to clarify. "Godson."

Leaning closer to the boy, Gavin added, "Leo, how about you stop calling me Uncle Gavin? Just call me Dad Gavin from now on."

Jude shoved him away in disgust. "You shameless jerk. Stop trying to steal my son."

"What's wrong with having an extra dad to love him?" Gavin countered, looking back at Leo. "Leo, you'll have two dads who love you now. That's one more than everybody else."