His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 256: A Reluctant Dinner

If Frank hadn't been there, she definitely wouldn't have let Julian into the apartment. But Frank didn't know they were divorced, and she didn't want to have an argument in front of a kid.

The door opened. Iris walked in, dropped her backpack and keys on the side, and slipped into her slippers. Julian carried Frank inside.

"Let me take that," Iris said quietly, reaching for the bag of groceries he was holding.

"It's heavy. You don't need to carry it. I'll handle it," Julian replied. He placed the groceries on the table, put Frank down, took off Frank's shoes, and got him a pair of adult-sized disposable slippers.

Frank giggled. "These shoes are so huge!"

Iris ruffled his hair. "I'll get you some that fit tomorrow."

"Thanks, Auntie," Frank said, then dashed off to the living room.

Julian changed into his slippers, picked up the bag of groceries, looked at Iris, and said gently, "I'll go make dinner for you two."

Just as he was about to walk past her, Iris grabbed his arm. He stopped, and she stepped in front of him, looking up into his eyes.

They were so close that they could almost feel each other's heartbeats and breaths. Julian's eyes grew a bit hazy. His Adam's apple bobbed as he stared at her without saying a word.

Iris lowered her voice as much as she could. "Why are you here again?"

"To make you dinner," Julian murmured.

Iris frowned. "I can cook for myself."

"You've been working all day. Just relax when you get home. I've gotten a lot better at cooking lately."

"Don't you have work too?"

"Yeah, I came straight here after work."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Not really."

Iris took a deep breath and said weakly, "Don't you get what I'm saying?"

Julian gave her a gentle, affectionate smile. "I get it. You're not happy I'm here, and you don't need me to make you dinner."

"Then why are you still here?"

Julian leaned in close to her ear, which made her jump, her heart suddenly skipping a beat. His deep, husky voice came through. "Because I want to see you. Even if you tell me to leave or get mad at me, I'm still gonna show up and cook you dinner."

Iris felt flustered and stepped back.

Julian curled his lips into a light smile and walked past her. "Go play with Frank. I'll make something nice for you."

He headed into the kitchen.

Iris felt helpless. She let out a long sigh, forced a smile, and went back to the living room. She took Frank to his room, helped him unpack his stuff, and got him ready for a bath.

Forty minutes later, the dining table was set with four courses and a soup: lemon herb baked salmon, roasted garlic chicken, garlic butter prawns, creamy mushroom sirloin, and classic tomato bisque.

Once they sat down, Julian filled Frank's plate with rice, carefully picked some fish, and put it in his plate. "After you eat, Uncle will take you home."

Iris, who was sipping her soup, paused.

Frank shook his head nervously. "Uncle, I'm not going back. I'm gonna live with Auntie from now on. If I go back, Dad will send me to Mom, and Mom will kill me."

Julian paused for a moment, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. Then he smiled warmly and said, "Okay, you're not going back."

Frank nodded happily and picked up his fork to start eating.

Julian put down his fork, looked at Iris' face, and asked softly, "You're so busy with work. How can you take care of Frank?"

"I'll hire a babysitter," Iris said, keeping her head down while eating.

"I can probably guess why Frank is staying with you," Julian said, lowering his voice even more. "But have you thought about the fact that you're just his aunt? Custody belongs to his parents."

Iris got annoyed and looked up at him. "So what?"

Julian sounded really worried. "What he needs are his parents, not you."

Iris put down fork, leaned back in her chair, and said bitterly, word by word, "What right do they have to be parents? One of them can't live without women. He's a fool and a failure, completely wrapped around some woman's finger, can't tell right from wrong, and is willing to give up his own son. The other is lazy, only thinks about money, would do anything for it, and just wants to use her son as a bargaining chip."

Frank's face turned sour, and he slowly looked at Iris.

Seeing that, Julian reached out and ruffled his hair. "Frank, that wasn't about your parents. Just keep eating."

Then he immediately stood up, grabbed Iris' wrist, pulled her into the room, and closed the door.

Iris realized she had said the wrong thing in front of Frank. She yanked her hand away, annoyed. "Don't try to talk me out of this. I've already made up my mind."

Julian held her shoulders, pressed her against the wall, and looked down into her stubborn, determined eyes. "Iris, I trust that Ethan won't hurt you. But what about Emily? If you fight her for the kid, she's capable of anything."

"I'm not afraid of her," Iris said. All she wanted was to protect Frank. She couldn't worry about other things anymore.

"I am," Julian said.

Iris sneered. "You're a grown-up man. What are you afraid of?"

Julian reached out and touched her cheek, his gaze incredibly tender, his voice very soft. "I'm not afraid of her. I'm afraid of you getting hurt."

Iris felt a wave of emotion. Her tone softened. "My mom and my brother are both under Celeste's influence. If even I don't protect Frank, what will happen to him? Emily was already annoyed with Frank when she was okay. She mistreated him. Now, after some guy conned her, took her money and used her, and then sold her into a bad situation, and my brother doesn't want her anymore, her mental state isn't right. If Frank is given to her, nothing good will come of it."