Chapter 118
To be honest, Cleo had always had complicated feelings about Brian.
Back when she saw how much Maxine went through to bring Brian into the world, Cleo felt both sorry for her and a little scared. Just getting through the recovery took everything Maxine had.
But as Brian grew up and turned out to be so adorable, Cleo started to think that, with Sebastian always busy at work, maybe having this little guy around to keep Maxine company wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
However, she could’ve not imagined that later on, Brian would treat Maxine that way over another woman, even saying he wanted Kathleen to be his
mom.
Cleo had always thought the Mason family didn’t care about Maxine at all, so when Mona came to make trouble, she didn’t even consider asking them for help. She never expected Brian to show up on his own.
Cleo walked over, took the suitcase from the two kids, and was shocked by how heavy it was. “Wow, I didn’t realize you two were this strong.”
Most kids would be lucky just to keep it from slipping, but they actually managed to haul it all this way.
Brian was out of breath, but still managed an awkward, “Hi, Cleo.”
Cleo responded, opened the door, motioned for Maxine to come in, then turned to Brian. “Who brought you here? Your mom just moved in yesterday. How did you even know she was at my place?”
Brian snuck a glance at Maxine, saw she wasn’t paying attention, then frowned and muttered, “Dad brought me. He said some bad people bullied Mom, so we had to come see her. So I just tagged along.”
Cleo dragged out her words, “So, when are you planning to leave?”
Her question made Maxine a little curious about why Brian was here today, but before she could say anything, he answered seriously, “I’m staying here to keep her company.”
Maxine couldn’t help but freeze for a second, caught off guard and not sure how to respond. Cleo glanced at her, then asked, “Didn’t you say before that you wanted Kathleen to be your mom?”
The moment Kathleen’s name came up, Cleo’s tone turned a bit harsh. Maxine knew it wasn’t really fair to bring this up to Brian, but remembering how badly he’d acted before, she held her tongue and didn’t step in.
Before Brian could say anything, Jessica puffed up her cheeks and huffed, “This boy is way too mean! I don’t want to play with you! Maxine is the best in
the whole world!”
Normally, Brian would have snapped back and argued until Jessica gave up, but this time, he just stood there, looking lost and a little embarrassed. It was something he had never done before.
After a moment, he mumbled quietly, “I do have a mom. I only said that stuff because I was upset.”
Cleo grinned, ready to tease him some more, but by then they’d already reached the front door. She opened it and switched gears. “Alright, you can stay here. I’m fine with it, but you need to talk to your mom first and see if she’s willing to forgive you.”
She set down the suitcase and took Jessica to wash their hands, leaving Brian in the living room with his head down while Maxine watched him.
Brian pressed his lips together, clearly not wanting to speak. Maxine just looked at him for a while before letting out a quiet sigh.
That sigh landed like a heavy blow on Brian’s heart, making him tremble a little, But Maxine didn’t say anything to blame him. Instead, she spoke softly, “You can stay here if you want, but you’re the big brother. You need to look after Jessica.”
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UZU
Chapter 119
