Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 553

After a brief hesitation, Mila accepted the apron, looping it around Forrest and tying the straps behind him with gentle hands. She didn’t step away afterward, instead staying close, occasionally handing him utensils or ingredients as he cooked.

The sound of running water mixed with the soft murmur of their conversation.

When Forrest asked where Adrian had been during the day, Mila couldn’t help but chide him, “Next time, please don’t take him to the Federal Security Bureau. Even aside from the project, that place is highly classified. It’s not appropriate.”

It was a government project, after all.

A child might not know any better, but surely the adults did.

It was just reckless.

Forrest continued scrubbing the pot, his hands covered in suds, but he still replied, “Don’t worry, I know where the lines are. It was a sudden situation—I couldn’t just leave him alone. The excuse I came up with was hasty, and that’s on me. I really shouldn’t promise things I can’t follow through on. Even if it’s just a child, they take things so seriously… I’ll go apologize to him later.”

“Sorry you had to deal with this.” Mila hesitated for a moment. “He must have been a handful today, wasn’t he?”

She knew Adrian’s temperament all too well.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Forrest replied with a warm smile, handing her the freshly washed pot. “He’s my responsibility. If I can’t look after him properly, what does that say about me? Besides, Adrian’s just a bit willful—he’s actually pretty adorable.”

Then he tilted his head, smiling a little more mischievously. “And at dinner, you were defending me, weren’t you?”

Mila was caught off guard.

She quickly took the pot, avoiding his eyes as she set it on the rack. “I just… didn’t want to see you two like that. I have my own thoughts on the matter. I can’t let you be the only one putting in the effort…”

Forrest couldn’t help but laugh.

He moved closer, and though his hands were still soapy, he just bumped her arm lightly. “Sorry for worrying you. I’ll figure out a way to get along with the kid.”

They stood close—so close that Mila could see how the kitchen’s stark white light played over Forrest’s handsome features, glinting off his hair, catching the edge of his glasses, sliding down his high-bridged nose. The light fell into his half-visible eyes, making them glow with a soft, gentle brightness.

Striking, but not harsh at all.

Just like him: gentle, restrained, just enough to make her feel safe and at ease.

She lingered in that moment, only realizing she’d been staring when she caught herself and hastily looked away, her ears growing warm at the sound of his clear, unguarded laughter.