The Barrister's Love in Town

Since Amanda didn’t expect Aiden to ask her such a grown-up question out of the blue,

she smiled and retorted, “Why are you asking? Do you want Uncle Elias to be your daddy,

then?”

Aiden replied sensibly, “Mommy, I like anyone you like.

Amanda was slightly surprised by his words. Still, she couldn’t deny that his words melted

her heart as she lowered her head to kiss his soft cheek. “There, there. Don’t overthink

things. You just have to spend every day of the rest of your life happily.”

“But Mommy, I think you like Uncle Elias…”

Her heart skipped a beat as her eye fluttered in panic. Then, she lowered her head and

looked at Aiden, who lay in her arms. She couldn’t help but feel flustered, it was as though

Aiden had spilled her secrets.

“You’re still a kid, so what do you know? I like him? When?” Amanda blustered. When she

parted her lips. to rant, she immediately shut her jaws with a click when she realized there

was no point in explaining this matter to Aiden.

“Oh, I know, I can feel it, Mommy. I can feel that you like Uncle Elias. You treat Uncle Elias

differently than

Uncle Simon.”

Amanda was stunned. Really? How did I treat Elias? And how did I treat Simon? Is there

really a difference? Why can’t I see it? “What’s the difference?”

Aiden thought it over carefully for a few seconds before answering. “You treat Uncle Elias

like a family but treat Uncle Simon like a friend.”

She kept quiet, unable to respond. Is it really as what Aiden said? Is it truly so obvious?

It was 1.00AM, and Elias sat by the fire, staring at it while immersed in his train of thought.

Just then, an unzipping sound came behind him as Amanda left the tent.

Elias swiftly snapped out of his thoughts, raised his head, and looked at her. “Why are you

out? Are you not sleeping?”

“I’ll take over for a while, so you can go in and sleep for a moment. We still have to take

Aiden mountain climbing tomorrow, so Elias will be dead on his feet if he doesn’t get some

rest tonight.

So, Amanda walked up to Elias, sat beside him, and poked the fire with a branch.

Nonetheless, Elias declined her offer, “I’m not sleepy. Besides, I’m a man. Just go to sleep.

I don’t know how to coax children.”

“So, what if you’re a man? Men can also get tired. Just go into the tent and sleep. After all,

I can’t sleep right now. Indeed, Amanda only came outside for some fresh air because she

was having trouble sleeping after hearing Aiden’s astute observation. She couldn’t help

but feel awkward around Elias whenever her mind. strayed to her conversation with Aiden

earlier. Do I really treat Elias like a family?

“Then, I’ll stay with you for a while. I can’t sleep either. Elias couldn’t sleep because of the

pain he felt from hearing Amanda’s hurtful remarks while Amanda couldn’t sleep because

of Aiden’s words.

Either way, tonight was bound to be a sleepless night for Amanda and Elias.

The others were sleeping soundly in their tents. Only Amanda and Elias were sitting by the

fire.

Only the sound of cicadas chorusing and the light and hurried footsteps of some little

critters crawling were heard in the quiet night.

Suddenly, Elias said, “Tell me about your life abroad in the past four years. Were you

nervous when you. gave birth to Aiden?” Besides his misunderstanding of Amanda, there

was one more thing Elias regretted. That was he wasn’t by Amanda’s side when Aiden was

born. Was there anyone by Amanda’s side when she gave birth? Could it be Simon again?

He felt his heart wrench at that thought. It was my woman who gave birth, yet it was

another man who stayed by her side. Such a feeling is indescribable.

Amanda smiled faintly and said, “Frankly, I was quite nervous. I was very anxious

throughout my pregnancy. Since I was abroad and couldn’t access home-cooked meals

often, I was constantly afraid that I lacked nutrition. Baby was born when he was about 38

weeks old and weighed less than 8 lbs. At that time, I kept blaming myself for not eating

well. Fortunately, my worries were for naught as it turned out that he was pretty healthy. I

made sure he ate well and slept well after he was born. Sure enough, he gained weight.

rather quickly.”

“Then, who accompanied you to the hospital when you gave birth?” Since Elias knew how

complicated the healthcare system abroad was, he naturally knew giving birth abroad was

very troublesome,

“It was all thanks to Simon, I suppose. He helped me a great deal. He helped me make the

hospital appointment. He sent me to the hospital when I went into labor in the middle of

the night,” Amanda. answered truthfully while feigning nonchalance..

There was an apparent hint of despair in Elias’ eyes. My guess was right on the money. It

was indeed Simon who was by her side. At that moment, Elias genuinely felt that he failed

terribly as a father. I can’t believe I was unaware of my son’s birth! “Really? I would have

shown up by your side promptly and kept you company in the labor room if you had

informed me earlier.” Elias sounded jealous.

“Unfortunately, there is no if. At that time, I thought you were long married and had

children of your own. After all, you had already shown me that you liked that woman a

great deal. Amanda felt her blood boil whenever she remembered the scene from four

years ago. She could never get over it, no matter how hard she tried.

Elias had no words to say in his defense. He also knew that it was all his fault. He was the

one who pushed his wife and child into the abyss of despair, and he even nearly killed his

own son due to his actions.

The silence dragged on as their discussion brought back terrible memories. Suddenly,

Amanda heard something rustling through the leaves. She followed the source of the

sound, and to her horror, a snake had crawled to her foot. It was even flickering his

tongue, as though it was scenting her as prey.

“Oh, my God! A snake!” she yelled instantly in fright.

He got up and pulled Amanda to stand behind him quickly. Unfortunately, due to the

ruckus, the snake seemed to have been frightened as well, for it bit Elias ankle.

Elias grunted in pain. Then, he immediately pulled the snake up and tossed it into the

woods.