Chapter 6
Actually, I wasn’t quite sure if Abbott would choose me over his father.
When he was three, I found out he had an excellent memory.
He started learning to play chess at five. And when he turned seven, he earned the title of “Chess Prodigy“.
Since he was little, he was different from his peers. He hardly ever cried or acted spoiled.
Although I took care of him, he wasn’t particularly attached to
- me.
I majored in psychology and looked it up.
In some cases, kids like him were often very smart, but they were not as intelligent as others in terms of expressing their
emotions.
To him, there seemed to be no essential difference between me, Winston, and the nanny.
He didn’t seem to be missing me much after I sent him to his chess teacher’s place. Every time I visited him, he was always concentrating on his chess practice.
On the competition day, after dropping him off, I went to school
Chapter 6
to handle some work.
By the time I rushed back, Abbott had already defeated his opponent and was being interviewed by the media.
In the crowd, I saw Winston and my mother–in–law.
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My mother–in–law held Abbott’s hand, grinning from car to car.
Meanwhile, Winston was speaking confidently in front of the
camera.
He got to handle that famous divorce case because the client recognized him as the dad of Abbott, the chess prodigy, and believed in his ability..
Since then, Winston had become Abbott’s spokesperson, and that connection kept bringing him lots of clients.
After the interview, Winston turned to say something to my mother–in–law, then walked toward me.
“Esther, I made my compromise, giving you the house and the money. We’ve been a couple for years, after all. The money should be a lot for you, but I’ll gain as much a year. Abbott will be so much better with me.”
I clenched my back teeth and forced a cold smile.
“Did Abbott say he wants to stay with you?”
He let out a light snort, stepping aside so I could see clearly that
Chapter 6
my mother–in–law was leading Abbott to a car.
“What do you think?”
My blood froze, and my nails nearly dug into my palms.
Suddenly, the car door popped open, and Abbott jumped out with his backpack, followed by my mother–in–law’s panicked
calls.
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He walked straight over with a maturity beyond his age, looked up at me, and said, “I just went to Dad’s car to get my backpack. Mom, you’re late.”
Forcing myself to calm down, I slowly squatted to meet his gaze.
“Sorry, honey. I’m late. I didn’t expect you to be so amazing and win the competition so quickly.”
Winston, with a grim face, lowered his voice.
“Abbott, come with me. I hired a national champion to coach. you.”
Abbott’s expression remained calm as the words left his mouth.
“But aren’t you divorcing Mom? After the divorce, I can’t live with you and Grandma.”
With that, he held my slightly trembling hand, whispering, “Let’s go, Mom. We need to hurry back and prepare for tomorrow’s competition.”
Chapter 6 “Alright, son!”
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In the rearview mirror, Winston’s stiff figure gradually shrank, his face ugly.
In the car, I pushed aside the shock and thrill, hesitating for a moment before softly asking, “Abbott, do you really understand what divorce means?”
“I understand,” He answered, his voice childlike yet firm.
“Are you… sad about it?”
“The teacher taught us to never cry over the spaces lost on the chessboard.”
Tears instantly welled up in my eyes.
I thought he didn’t understand what love meant.
I was wrong.
Abbott was not much of a talker, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant.
He was a genius. Naturally, he only cared about what mattered the most to him.
When the surroundings were stable and friendly, he wouldn’t be bothered to make the best of it.
Chapter 6
But when they changed, he’d come up with the best solution.
My son Abbott was born to be a genius.
