The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 370

Keen spoke in a low voice. "It's no use telling Mom. When those men tripped me, no one stood up for her either. All they did was laugh at her—and not a single person defended her."

He hesitated, bitterness tightening his small features. "A mom like that... she just isn't strong enough to help me with any of this."

He went on quietly, "And earlier, when Sheldon's mom found out mine was Marvin's guardian, she made that mean boy get on his knees and apologize. She wasn't afraid of my mom at all."

His voice wavered. "If I'd been the one who broke the rules today, would I have had to kneel and apologize too?"

A heavy silence settled over the room. Haynes and Neville both turned to look at Mrs. Ayers.

Caught in their gaze, Mrs. Ayers went pale as a sheet. Her knees threatened to give out beneath her.

Keen's voice carried on, clear and unwavering. "And Grandma said I'm the future heir to the O'Brien Group, so I should handle these things myself—instead of always running to the grown-ups for help."

eyes glittered with a complex,

in love are different from those who grow up without it. That much was obvious. The O'Brien family had invested a great deal in Keen's education, and it showed no

just five years old. Faced with something like this, even he couldn't

that Keen's stubbornness-his boldness with Stella-came from the deep well of love he'd received from her. Love was rare for him, and that

granted. But not for Marvin. He'd learned early that anything

room, a silence so deep it felt like

a mother is mocked and looked down on, the real reason-at the root-comes down

gaze linger on Mrs. Ayers, whose face was now ghostly

of courtesy. "Mr. O'Brien, have you ever heard this saying? Only a weak man lets his wife be

mistaken, you still have no idea why Star divorced you. You probably thought she was making a big deal out of nothing, right? Never even

Neville's lips, but every word was