Chapter 18

Though Miles had countless thoughts of doubt, as a child, he immediately turned his attention to the thought of how worried his mother would be after he had been gone for so long.

Shaking away the thoughts that swarmed his mind, he ran toward the door and banged on it furiously, causing the door to squeak as he yelled, "Open the door, let me out! I knew you guys are terrible people!

"Come and fight me, you big demon! What kind of man are you to lock me up like this?!

"Mommy…I—I miss you…"

On the other side of the door, Albert choked on the words he meant to say to calm the boy.

'It seems that the young master misses his mother again. This certainly explains his behavior today, but…it's unfortunate that the identity of his mother was an unresolved mystery here in Mason Estate,' he solemnly thought to himself.

…

In Ocean Path Residence, on the fifth floor of the building, the family gathered around the table with only a few casual dishes.

Ollie looked at the dishes and noticed how spicy they were from the red color and the enticing scent. However, he scowled wordlessly at the sight because he usually preferred milder flavors.

"Why aren't you eating?" Noticing that he did not even move, Stella asked, "Didn't you say you're hungry? Do you think Grandma's cooking isn't good enough now?"

Ollie pursed his lips and ate one piece of fishcake; the spiciness of the seasoning instantly spread on his tongue.

"It's spicy…"

He forced himself to swallow it and poked out his tongue.

Noticing how flushed he was, Catelyn immediately poured him a glass of warm water and chuckled. "This is spicy? You always say that Grandma's cooking isn't spicy enough compared to that restaurant out the street."

Ollie paused mid-way as he was sipping the water, thinking, 'Does this boy Miles like spicy food?'

"I guess Grandma's cooking improved."

Stella beamed at the praise and started piling food on Ollie's plate. "Eat more if you like it! Grandma will cook more for you whenever I don't have poker games planned…"

A troubled expression appeared on Ollie's face, but it faded shortly after as he smiled shyly. "Thank you, Grandma."

"Oh, my! Why is Miles so polite today?"

The shy smile on Ollie's face simply deepened.

"Alright, dig in. If it's too spicy, just drink more soup!"

"Alright."

The meal ended in cheerful conversations and laughter.

Ollie tried his best not to look odd, but he had to drink a glass of cold water as soon as he was done before washing out his mouth as well to ease the pain in his stomach.

He watched as Catelyn and Stella tidied up the table and realized that though it was a house smaller than the bathroom in Mason Estate, it was filled with a kind of warmth that did not exist in Mason Estate.

His father would never fawn over him like Catelyn did.

Ollie felt even more inclined to stay.

At night, it was customary for Catelyn to tuck her son into bed. After his bath, Ollie put on Miles' pajamas, which fitted perfectly, and laid on the bed with his entire body tensed.

He used to sleep alone and had a hard time getting used to having someone next to him. His heart throbbed hard, and he could only pray that it would not expose him of his true identity.

Catelyn patted him on the head out of habit and asked, "Which story would you like to hear tonight?"

"You are going to tell me stories?" Ollie's big, dark eyes peeked from the blanket and blinked with anticipation.

"Do you not want to hear it tonight?"

"I do." Scared that she would misunderstand, he blurted out, "I like whatever story you tell."

His words warmed Catelyn's heart. This was her son. They depended on one another, and he always found a way to move her without even trying.

"Let's continue on the story of the City Rat and Country Rat from the night before, then?"

"Okay." Ollie nodded, before leaning toward Catelyn's arms sneakily with a pink flush on his face. He drifted off to sleep while listening to her gentle voice and felt so happy that he could drown in it. As he was about to fall asleep, he grabbed onto Catelyn's sleeve and asked longingly, "Will you be designing Young Master Mason's mansion?"

That way, he would still be able to see her even if he returned to Mason Estate.

"Probably not," she answered in a soft voice as she adjusted her blanket.

Ollie instantly lost all urges to sleep and widened his eyes. "Why not? Didn't they assign you?"

Catelyn did not want to discuss work with her son, but since Ollie would not give up, she could only explain, "I accidentally crossed the young master's dad, so when the king gets mad, his servants suffer…"

Ollie's eyes were instantly filled with anger and despair when he realized that his father had changed his designer without telling him. He refused to let Catelyn suffer in any way.

The next day, Catelyn woke up early to make everyone breakfast. Ollie woke up as well shortly after she did as he never slept in back in Mason Estate.

Suddenly, Catelyn's phone on the nightstand started ringing. Ollie picked it up and instinctively wanted to bring it over to Catelyn, but then he swallowed the words as soon as he saw the caller ID.

He knew that number all too well. It was Albert's.

On the other end, Miles hid inside the washroom and was calling Catelyn with the phone he stole from Albert. He had no other way because he left his phone in Catelyn's purse and could only borrow Albert's.

Albert's phone was ancient; black and heavy like a brick. Luckily, he could still use it to make the phone call.

The phone kept ringing and no one picked up. He pouted, but just as he was about to give up, someone answered the phone.

Miles beamed and immediately started blurting out his explanation, "Big Kitty, I didn't mean to not go home! Someone abducted me…"

"Sorry, but I'm not Miss Clark. She's in the kitchen now and cannot answer your call." Ollie cleared his throat and asked gingerly, "Are you… Miss Clark's son, Miles Clark?"

Miles's eyes widened in shock and slipped down the toilet, before checking on the screen in disbelief. It was, no doubt, Catelyn's number.

His face tensed and his eyes began to turn red. He fanned himself with his palm and asked, "Who are you? Why are you at my home?"

He had only been missing for a night. Not only did Catelyn not look for him, but there was another man in his house? Was Catelyn abandoning him?

"It's Mason, Ollie Mason," Ollie introduced himself steadily. "Your mommy took me home."

Miles paced back and forth in frustration inside the washroom. "Get out of my house right now! You don't get to be close to my mom!"

"I'm afraid I can't comply."

"You—"

"Miss Clark is calling me for breakfast now. Goodbye."

With that, Ollie ended the call.

Miles's eyes reddened like an abandoned puppy. Biting his lip, he tried dialing the number once more, but—

"Sorry, the number you're calling is unavailable."

A robotic voice reminded Miles over and over again that Ollie had blocked this number.