“ I’m not mad. ” Catherine shook her head. “I was just thinking about the relationship between us.
Shaunny, who am I to you?”
Feeling dazed, Shaun thought it over for a while before he stammered, “You’re my aunt… The person I
love…”
Catherine forced a smile. “Shaun, I’m not your aunt. Fine, you won’t understand even if I explain to you.
Let’s sleep.”
She tilted her body to face the window.
Deep down, she grumbled at herself for asking that question. She clearly knew that he was just a child
who could not possibly love her. At most, he only liked her.
At the sight of her slender silhouette, Shaun felt as though something was clenching his heart and
causing him pain. At the same time, he felt anxious.
Somehow, he felt that Catherine was feeling bitter. Was it because he had said something wrong?
Shaun found himself losing sleep for the first time.
When he woke up the next morning, he seemed listless with two dark circles under his eyes.
After Catherine was done helping Lucas and Suzie wash up, he silently came to her. “Cathy, help me
too.”
“Brush your teeth on your own.” Catherine kindly squeezed the toothpaste for him before saying with a
somber voice, “You can’t possibly rely on me forever. You need to learn to do it yourself.”
At the sight of her grave expression, Shaun reluctantly took the toothbrush from her.
After Lucas and Suzie finished their breakfasts, they headed to preschool. Shaun looked glum while
clumsily eating the food in his bowl.
Catherine said, “ I’ve hired three teachers to teach you. After you finish your breakfast, you’ll learn
some vocabulary and attend an English class. Then, you’ll learn about financial management in the
afternoon.”
Lea was dumbfounded. “That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”
“Aunty Lea, he can absorb knowledge much better than any other ordinary person. I’m guessing that
the knowledge is still in his mind. The teachers might be able to awaken his acquired knowledge. I think
that it’s worth a try. If it doesn’t work, we can change to another method.”
Catherine was serious. “He can’t possibly learn everything bit by bit like Lucas. If he learns at that kind
of pace, he’ll be in his 4o or 5os by then.”
Lea instantly went silent. Indeed, what Catherine said made sense.
“I don’t want to.” Shaun suddenly furrowed his brows deeply, signaling his resistance. “I don’t want
strangers to teach me. I want Cathy to be my teacher.”
“I don’ t know some of the topics. Plus, I’m not a professional, ” Catherine said, “Lucas and Suzie have
gone to preschool and made friends. I think you need to interact with more people. It can’t be just me
and you all the time.”
“I don’t want to learn, then. I don’t want other people to teach me.” Shaun’s eyes turned red all of a
sudden. “Don’t think I don’t know that you’re angry with me and you hate me. You’re just trying to get
rid of me as soon as you can.”
With that, he tossed the spoon and headed upstairs in a rage.
Complete silence descended upon the dining room.
Lea and Brennan looked at Catherine in embarrassment. Brennan had been staying here these few
days because of Shaun’s illness. However, it was plain to see that his son did not need him at all.
“Ahem.” Brennan coughed softly while clenching his fist. With a mature voice, he said, “Cathy, if you’re
busy, go ahead with your work. After all, you’re not married to Shaun. Although he has ended up in this
state, it’s not reasonable to have you take full responsibility for him. Conversely, I think you’ve done a
wonderful job.”
“Yeah.” Lea agreed with Brennan. “You’re not obligated to take care of him.”
Catherine tightened her grasp on the fork, knowing that Lea and Brennan had misunderstood her.
Perhaps they thought that she had started to lose patience with him.
“Uncle Brennan, Aunty Lea, I actually hardly slept last night because I was contemplating my future
with Shaun.”
Catherine’s voice was slightly hoarse. “All babies cling to the people who look after them the most, so
it’s normal that Shaun is clinging to me now. His intellect is slowly developing. Given that he has
forgotten about what happened between us, he might be different from how we remember him.
“At this point, he’s like a blank slate. Little by little, there’ll be people stepping into his life. Although he
used to love me, what about in the future? Are his feelings for me mainly affection, love, or reliance?
You’re both right. We’ re not married, so he’s not obligated to take full responsibility for me. I don’t wish
for him to assume responsibility for what had happened in the past either.”
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