Elias’ Crimes and Punishments of Romance

Chapter 537 To Eat or Not To Eat

Dulcie nodded and said, “Yeah, because if Miss Amanda becomes my mommy, I can play with Aiden every day.”

Upon hearing this response, Casey breathed a sigh of relief. So, it was for this reason. She had thought Dulcie had genuinely taken a liking to Amanda, liking her as a mother.

Suddenly, Dulcie seemed to spot something and instinctively hid beside Casey, her happy expression disappearing.

Casey followed Dulcie’s gaze and was startled to find Symeon standing at the front of the dining table.

“You… What are you doing back?”

Symeon looked at the harmonious scene in front of him and said sarcastically, “If I didn’t come back, how would I know you’re here corrupting my daughter every day.”

“When did I corrupt Dulcie?” Casey retorted defensively. This man was incredibly hurtful; she hadn’t taught Dulcie anything bad.

Symeon removed his suit jacket and hung it over the back of a chair before sitting down.

At that moment, the nanny approached. “Mr. Lawrence, you’re back. Would you like me to set another place at the table?”

Symeon responded with a simple nod. The nanny quickly brought over another set of tableware, along with a plate of pasta.

At that, he turned his attention to Dulcie and tried to sound gentle. “Dulcie, come sit next to Daddy. I’ll feed you.”

“Daddy, I don’t want to. Casey can feed me.”

Symeon turned grim at once, and he huffed, “Eat if you want to; I don’t care.”

So, he began eating on his own.

The atmosphere at the dining table turned extremely cold. Dulcie didn’t dare to eat and just stared straight at her father. Symeon acted as if Casey and Dulcie didn’t exist, focusing on his meal and even taking a phone call in the midst of it.

Casey couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up. “The way you’re behaving, how can Dulcie eat? Can’t you be a bit gender with her?”

“Gentle?” Symeon repeated, finding it rather amusing.

He thought he had been gentle enough with this little thing-gentle in a way that no one had ever seen. Yet, this little one treated him like a stranger.

“Yes, gentle. Children need to be treated gently, especially little girls.”

Symeon put down his chopsticks and stared at Casey. “So, you want to use this as an excuse to take custody of Dulcie?”

“I… I didn’t mean that, but I really want to have Dulcie with me. You don’t seem to take good care of her, and you don’t even like kids. Why do you insist on taking her from me?”

Casey knew she couldn’t win a legal battle against this man. Her heart sank.

Symeon laughed, a mocking tone in his voice. “You denied the existence of this child from the beginning, abandoned her after birth. Now you’re pretending to be a good mother. Are you qualified?

You’re not. I won’t give you custody unless my future partner mistreats Dulcie. But I won’t choose a woman like that in the first place. So, there’s no chance for Dulcie to be with you.”

Casey’s heart felt like it had been nailed shut. Unless the stepmother didn’t want Dulcie, Symeon wouldn’t give her custody.

“Whatever, you two go ahead and eat. I’m not hungry.”

With that, Symeon got up and left the dining room, heading upstairs to his room.

Once Symeon was gone, Dulcie breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Casey, “Casey, let me tell

you, when Daddy gets angry, don’t talk to him. He’ll scold you. Just wait until he’s not. angry anymore.”

Seeing how sensible Dulcie was, tears welled up in Casey’s eyes as she tightly hugged the little girl.

“Why are you crying, Casey? Is it because you’re so scared from Daddy’s scolding?”

Casey held onto Dulcie, her voice trembling. “It’s nothing. I got some dust in my eyes. Also, from now on, don’t call me Casey. Call me Miss Casey, or… you can call me Mom.”

She had never heard Dulcie call her Mom before, and she wondered what that would feel

like.

Dulcie blinked her big, watery eyes. “But Daddy said I can’t call anyone Mom.”

Casey paused for a moment and smiled. “Well, you’re right. You can’t just call anyone Mom. Now, let’s eat. You need to grow up big and strong.”

After finishing her lunch, Dulcie went to take a nap. Casey had initially planned to rest for a while because playing with the child was quite exhausting, and she felt like she could hardly straighten her© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

back.

However, she suddenly remembered that Symeon was still in his room. So, she gathered her

and walked to his room’s door. She was about to knock when the door swung open from inside.

courage

Symeon looked at the woman standing outside. “What are you doing here? Trying to eavesdrop?”

“Now, why would I do that? I have no such obsession. I came to talk to you.”

Symeon stepped out of the room, standing tall in the corridor, his imposing figure casting an intangible sense of oppression over Casey’s frail form.

“Speak up. What do you want? I’m about to go out, so make it quick. I don’t have time to waste with you.”

The disgust in Symeon’s eyes toward Casey was evident.

Casey was well aware of the image she held in this man’s eyes, so she didn’t bother hiding anything.

“What’s your relationship with Amanda? Have you known each other before? How long have you liked her? When you started liking her, did you know she was someone else’s wife?”

This string of questions furrowed Symeon’s brow. “Why are you asking all this? What does it have to do with you? I’m single, not married. I’m free to like whomever I want. Don’t think you can tie me down with a child, especially a child you obtained through such underhanded

means.”

Symeon had always believed that the night four years ago was premeditated. At that time, he had been drugged and not in his right mind, desperately needing a woman to relieve his discomfort. Casey had conveniently shown up and, subsequently, Dulcie was born.

However, what he didn’t understand was why Casey had abandoned the child she had worked so hard to obtain. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to know now. He had no intention of being responsible for Casey, and there was no way he would let Dulcie be taken away from him.

Casey stuttered, “I just want to clarify whether you have unrequited love for Amanda or if you both have feelings for each other. If you admire each other, isn’t Elias Winters pitiable, kept in the dark, not knowing anything?”