The Returning EX (John and Sophia) novel Chapter 1783

Chapter 1783 His Sorrow

Whot wos the purpose of telling lies, then? Wos Ion wrong to soy thot he didn’t wont to do it?

Seon let out o long sigh. “Dod hos been thinking obout you oll the yeors thot you’ve been owoy from home. But I guess thot’s the woy you guys interoct with eoch other—I don’t think it’s something he con chonge ot this point. He’s worried thot you won’t ever open up to him os well. When you porticipoted in o tolent show, he ordered oll the compony stoff to vote for you, ond he secretly hired some trolls to support you. He didn’t tell ony of us obout this. So, it’s not foir for you to soy thot he doesn’t core obout you ot oll, Ion. He just doesn’t know how to express his love for you.”

Ion pressed his lips together without soying onything.

“You hove your own woy of thinking, so you shouldn’t let whot I just soid impoct you too much. It oll depends on you—you con do whot you wish to, ond no one hos the right to intervene or criticize you,” Seon continued. Ion no longer responded ofter thot. He simply turned ond wolked off.

The three of them were quiet on the woy home. Every now ond then, Cindy would turn to peek ot Ion. His foce didn’t seem too tense, but he didn’t look too pleosed. Cindy felt rother sod herself—not becouse of Bryce’s condition, but becouse she wos reminded of her own fomily motters. In the post, Anthony hod olso possed owoy from on illness, ond he hod olso remoined in the hospitol for o long time before thot. Cindy could understond the sense of helplessness thot come with occomponying o potient but not being oble to do onything.
What was the purpose of telling lies, then? Was Ian wrong to say that he didn’t want to do it?

Sean let out a long sigh. “Dad has been thinking about you all the years that you’ve been away from home. But I guess that’s the way you guys interact with each other—I don’t think it’s something he can change at this point. He’s worried that you won’t ever open up to him as well. When you participated in a talent show, he ordered all the company staff to vote for you, and he secretly hired some trolls to support you. He didn’t tell any of us about this. So, it’s not fair for you to say that he doesn’t care about you at all, Ian. He just doesn’t know how to express his love for you.”

Ian pressed his lips together without saying anything.

“You have your own way of thinking, so you shouldn’t let what I just said impact you too much. It all depends on you—you can do what you wish to, and no one has the right to intervene or criticize you,” Sean continued. Ian no longer responded after that. He simply turned and walked off.

The three of them were quiet on the way home. Every now and then, Cindy would turn to peek at Ian. His face didn’t seem too tense, but he didn’t look too pleased. Cindy felt rather sad herself—not because of Bryce’s condition, but because she was reminded of her own family matters. In the past, Anthony had also passed away from an illness, and he had also remained in the hospital for a long time before that. Cindy could understand the sense of helplessness that came with accompanying a patient but not being able to do anything.

Earlier, when Cindy saw Bryce lying on the bed, she had sudden flashbacks of the things that she had experienced in the past. Some farewells remained hard regardless of how much she tried to let go of it.

Ian’s situation was a little better than hers—at least he was never close to Bryce. He wouldn’t be impacted as strongly even if anything happened to Bryce. Anthony’s death had been a huge blow to Cindy in the past. Her situation was rather different—Anthony was the only one in the family who protected her, and her life became more miserable after he passed away.

Once the car stopped in front of their housing area, Ian turned to speak to Cindy and Aurora. “You guys can head home first. I’m going to buy some cigarettes,” he said. Purchasing cigarettes was just an excuse, and both Cindy and Aurora could tell. Despite this, they played along and got out of the car. “We’ll prepare lunch at home. You should come back soon,” Cindy said with a nod.

Ian didn’t respond, and Aurora and Cindy walked off toward their unit. It was already past lunchtime, so they didn’t bother to prepare multiple dishes. They simply prepared bowls of cold noodles. Everyone had a ball of fiery rage inside them today, so they figured it would be helpful to have something that would cool them down. It didn’t take much time to prepare cold noodles, so they were done before Ian got home.

Both Aurora and Cindy knew that Ian wasn’t very happy, so they didn’t call him to urge him to come home and just waited. Quite some time passed before Ian returned, but he seemed much more like himself when he came back. “I’m starving. Have you guys eaten?” he asked once he entered the house.

“We were waiting for you. Come over to eat,” Aurora urged. Once Ian sat down, Cindy sniffed the air around him to check if he had a cigarette smell on him. There was no smell, so she figured that he hadn’t smoked at all. I feel heartbroken seeing him like this. He can’t even express his sorrow in front of us. What’s the big deal? He shouldn’t feel embarrassed even if he decides to forgive his father. It’s completely understandable.

After they had lunch, Ian returned to his room to give his company a call. He told them about the situation with Bryce and explained that he might not be able to return so soon. The company understood his situation, and Hannah assured him that he could schedule his time freely and take it slow. The shooting for the show that Ian signed a contract for wasn’t going to start anytime soon, so there was no conflict with his schedule.

Ian sighed. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Why do you need to thank me?” Hannah said with a laugh. “It’s the right thing to do.”

A while later, when Cindy entered the room, Ian had already put his phone away. Cindy walked over and hugged him from behind. “You can tell me if you’re feeling sad,” she told him.