Nydia's words left Ted momentarily stunned. Mona was also surprised.

"Nydia, are you going to abandon your biological son and rush to be someone else's stepmother?"

The moment those words were spoken, Ted's eyes welled up with tears.

"You really betrayed Dad! You're the worst! How could I have such a despicable mother?"

Norman was about to step forward to say something, but Nydia quickly pulled him back, shielding him behind her. Nydia looked at her biological son with a deep sadness in her heart.

"I'll step back, and you can have the mother you think you deserve." Her voice was cold, as though it had no warmth.

Ted's eyes welled up with tears that froze at the corners. 

"Have you had enough of this?" A familiar, cold voice interrupted them from the crowd.

Even without looking, Nydia knew who it was. She had expected to run into him once she returned, but she hadn't anticipated i

Nydia was surprised when Norman nodded decisively.

"That's right, we're relatives," he said.

Nydia would soon become his aunt. She would be his closest family.

Nydia froze. She didn't dare to claim any relation to Eddie.

To her surprise, Nelson bent down and picked Norman up. "You can call me Mr. Mcbride. What do you like to eat? I'll treat you and Nydia to a meal."

Norman immediately began listing dishes.

Honestly, even those fast-talking comedians couldn't beat his speed. He kept listing food and urging, "Come on, let's go! I'm starving."

Nelson's face showed a hint of concern. "Can you really eat 108 different dishes by yourself?"

Norman rolled his eyes. "Are you looking down on big eaters?"

Nydia explained from the side. "If you want that many dishes, it's not about making things hard for Nelson, it's about making things hard for the restaurant."

Norman was surprised. "Is i

Nydia hurried to the vicinity of the surgical office. She was nearly sprinting.

It wasn't unusual for kids to fight, but Norman didn't have any guardians with him. Meanwhile, the other child had a whole group of bodyguards with him, drawing quite a crowd.

Nydia quickly pushed through the crowd. "Norman, don't be scared…"

Before she could finish, she saw the other child involved in the fight—Ted. At that moment, Ted was being pinned to the ground by Norman, his face marked with scratches from being grabbed.

Nydia swallowed the words she had been about to say. When Ted heard the familiar voice, he immediately looked over. As their eyes met, Ted's eyes instantly turned red.

But soon, he lifted his gaze and glared at Norman. "You thief! You stole my stuff. I'm going to beat you to death!"

Norman held Ted's shoulders firmly, not letting him move.

"Idiot. Even if you steal, you can't get away with it. You can't even fight back. All you do is shout and scream. You're not better than Max."

Max was probably a dog. 

Being insulted and compared to a dog made Ted's face turn red with anger. "You stole my stuff! I'll kill you!"

With that, he tried to push Norman down again, and the two started to fight.

Nydia rushed forward and separated them, only to realize they were fighting over a brooch. Ted took the chance to push Norman away. He assumed Nydia would side with him and gave a smug look.

"You thief! My mom is going to—"

"This isn't yours. You shouldn't have tried to take it from Norman," Nydia interrupted, her tone serious. She handed the brooch back to Norman.

Norman's eyes instantly lit up. He eagerly grabbed Nydia's hand. Ted, who had been watching, froze in place.

Nydia pulled Norman behind her and then turned to Ted. "Don't you remember? You threw away the things I gave you."

Her status wasn't high, and her salary wasn't much. She couldn't afford luxury goods or custom-made items, so she made everything herself.

Ted had liked pandas, so she made him panda brooches, bracelets, and other items.

But... All of them had been thrown into the trash in front of everyone. He was worried people would laugh at him for such cheap things. That had made him lose his dignity as well.

Seeing Nydia do this, Ted couldn't believe it. He angrily shouted, "You favor this bastard?"

He just couldn't understand how his mother, who had always been so kind to him, could now stand up for someone else.

Norman immediately put his hands on his hips and angrily shouted, "Who are you calling a bastard?"

Ted yelled back, "I'm calling you a bastard!"

"Well, the bastard sure has a loud voice," Norman shot back.

Ted's fair face flushed red with indignation.

Nydia sighed softly. After all, he was her biological son. She didn't want anyone to laugh at him, nor did she want to continue this scene.

"If you like the brooch, ask your father to have one custom-made for you. As for mine…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Ted seemed to lose all control. He grabbed a promotional frame from the wall and hurled it toward her. Terrified, Nydia instinctively pulled Norman into her arms and turned away to shield him.

Although she dodged in time, the frame still struck her arm. Pain shot through her body, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

Seeing her hurt, Norman's eyes turned red with anger.

Norman broke free from Nydia's arms, his fury igniting like a leopard ready to strike. He lunged at Ted with a ferocity that caught her off guard.

"Norman, wait, don't—" Nydia reached out instinctively to stop him, but she was a beat too late.

Ted hadn't anticipated her siding so fiercely with Norman. His gaze darted between the shattered frame on the floor and Nydia, whose face was pale with pain. Frozen in fear, he stood still as Norman punched him several times.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Nydia extended her hand to separate them. Just as she reached out, Norman was pushed back several steps. If not for Nydia catching him, he might have collided with the nearby wall.

Only then did she realize who had pushed him—Mona, her arm in a cast.

Mona used her good arm to pull Ted close, fussing over him as she checked for any injuries. Then she turned a cold, scolding gaze toward Nydia. "Are you insane? This is your biological son, and you're siding with someone else?"

Nydia's face darkened. The bodyguards had already dispersed the onlookers, which emboldened Mona to speak more freely. Otherwise, her words would have exposed her relationship with Mick to the public.

Before Nydia could respond, Mona continued, her voice dripping with disapproval. "And Ted is just a kid. Do you really expect him to aim perfectly? Couldn't you have dodged that frame earlier?

"You can't be using this divorce as an excuse to make your son carry the blame for hurting his mother, can you? Do you have any idea how many people are watching Ted? If word of this gets out, do you understand the impact it'll have on his reputation?"

Ted, slowly snapping out of his initial panic and guilt, found his emotions twisting into anger and resentment. His glare at Nydia sent a chill down her spine.

Looking into his accusatory eyes, she felt an unfamiliar ache. She struggled to remember the sweet boy Ted had once been.

When he was little, he had clung to her so tightly, loving her fiercely. He would cry inconsolably if he saw her hurt, even by something as small as a needle prick.

Sometimes, Ted's innocent words still echoed in her mind. "I don't want Mom to get hurt. I don't want Mom to be in pain. Just poke me, I'm not afraid of pain."

She wondered when that sweet, earnest boy had turned into someone so unrecognizable.

She remembered the day he first mentioned Mona. His face lit up as he described her as knowledgeable and worldly, a renowned doctor from overseas. After that, he grew distant, less inclined to be close to her.

She had tried to reason with him. "Mom is amazing too, Ted. I worked so hard to get into medical school from the countryside…"

But he dismissed her. "You're nothing compared to Ms. Poole."

Later, after being influenced by others, Ted accused her of taking advantage of the situation and stealing Mick.

He had cried and screamed, "It's all your fault! You took Dad away! If it weren't for you, I'd be Ms. Poole's son, and nobody would make fun of me anymore."

That was the first time she found herself utterly speechless in front of her son, unable to defend herself. It felt much the same now.

Taking a deep breath, Nydia steadied herself. "Ted, the situation earlier was urgent. If I hadn't stopped just now, would you understand the consequences?"

Eddie's wrath wasn't something even the entire Wilcher family could bear, let alone her. But her explanation only fanned Ted's anger.

"My dad is so powerful! I'm not afraid of any consequences. You just don't want to stand by me. You want to help that bastard! You're my mom. How could you do that? Why would you do that?"

Nydia almost laughed in disbelief at his outburst.

"It seems you've forgotten everything I've taught you. Norman is my son. He is not a bastard. Ted, you owe him an apology!"

Nydia's words left Ted momentarily stunned. Mona was also surprised.

"Nydia, are you going to abandon your biological son and rush to be someone else's stepmother?"

The moment those words were spoken, Ted's eyes welled up with tears.

"You really betrayed Dad! You're the worst! How could I have such a despicable mother?"

Norman was about to step forward to say something, but Nydia quickly pulled him back, shielding him behind her. Nydia looked at her biological son with a deep sadness in her heart.

"I'll step back, and you can have the mother you think you deserve." Her voice was cold, as though it had no warmth.

Ted's eyes welled up with tears that froze at the corners. 

"Have you had enough of this?" A familiar, cold voice interrupted them from the crowd.

Even without looking, Nydia knew who it was. She had expected to run into him once she returned, but she hadn't anticipated it happening so soon.

"It's still the cooling-off period. Are you already planning to find someone e

Chapter 13