Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 55

"Leo, Hunter is younger than you, and he's a guest. As the older boy and the host, you can't bully him."

A raging fire instantly ignited in Summer's chest.

She was going to be infuriated to death by this absolute scumbag.

It was bad enough that he had lied to her and used her. She blamed herself for being blind enough to trust a piece of trash like him.

But Leo was his son!

How could he not even ask a single question before immediately deciding Leo was at fault? He just slapped the label of a bully onto his own child without a second thought.

How heartbroken must Leo be right now?

The moment she thought of her son being wronged—and wronged by his own father, no less—Summer felt an agony far worse than anything she had suffered herself.

She couldn't tolerate it. But before she could step in to defend him, Leo spoke up on his own.

His little face was tense, but his gaze was bold and unsettlingly calm as he looked Xavier dead in the eye. "Which eye of yours saw me bully him?"

Leo was only five years old, yet his logic was perfectly sharp, his tone utterly composed.

Xavier was momentarily stunned by the question. He instinctively tried to explain himself. "I didn't say you bullied him. I was just reminding you."

"If you believed me, why would you need to remind me? The fact that you felt the need to remind me proves that you don't trust me at all. In your heart, you already decided I bullied him. I am very disappointed in you."

At the exact same moment, Summer tapped her phone, and a surveillance video immediately popped up on the massive living room screen.

The footage showed Hunter grabbing a small robot toy that belonged to Leo—a gift from Sebastian Stone.

Leo looked incredibly serious, but his tone was calm. "That's my robot. If you want to play with it, you have to ask for my permission. Taking it without asking is stealing! Put it down!"

Hunter gripped the toy, looking obnoxiously smug and arrogant. "No! I want to play with it! Uncle Xavier said I can play with whatever I want here. What are you gonna do about it?"

It was agonizing.

So this was the reality. When you aren't the favored one, everything you do is automatically wrong.

Hunter wailed even louder, pointing an accusing finger at Leo. "He let go on purpose! Wahhh, my butt hurts so much!"

Leo quietly stared at the crying boy. Even at such a young age, facing the harsh condemnation and distrust of his own father, and the blatant lies of another child, he remained perfectly composed. His dark eyes held a level of intelligence and depth that didn't belong to a five-year-old.

So what if he did it on purpose?

"Didn't you see the video? Mrs. Gable fell down. I was worried about her, so I went to help her. Was I wrong to do that?" Leo tilted his head, his dark, grape-like eyes clear and completely steady as they locked onto Xavier.

Seeing this broke Summer's heart even more. Her eyes unconsciously welled with tears.

Children who aren't favored are forced to grow up fast. They have to learn how to protect themselves.