Husband plans to kill me Chapter 403

Brett's eyes turned red, and his little nose scrunched up like he was about to cry.

I quickly said, "Brett, don't cry. Your grandma was worried about you today, so she called your teacher. She heard you had a little disagreement with your classmates. Is that true?"

I tried to keep my tone light, but I couldn't help feeling a bit heartbroken when I mentioned the disagreement.

What happened to Brett at school? Why did he look like he was about to cry as soon as I asked him?

Brett sniffled, "Mom..."

"If something's bothering you, just tell me."

I was starting to feel upset too.

Brett looked down, still holding a puzzle piece, and his voice was choked with tears. "Mom, I don't want to make you sad by telling you... I'm really unhappy. They said such mean things..."

Hearing Brett say this made my heart ache even more, but I tried to stay calm. "Brett, we're family. You can tell me anything."

"I..."

"Didn't we agree that we would always share everything with each other? You can tell me, right?"

After a few more questions, Brett finally started to open up. "They... they said Dad is a bad person, that he did a lot of bad things, and that he's in jail... I don't want to hear them say that."

"Who said that? Your classmates?" I asked instinctively.

Brett nodded.

My heart tightened, like something was squeezing it hard.

Even though Brandon's situation had been over for a while, I didn't expect it to affect Brett so much.

When we got divorced, things were calm at Brett's school. I had talked to his teacher about keeping things quiet, and there hadn't been any issues.

But now...

I sighed and quickly hugged Brett. "What else did they say? How did they find out? Did they tell you?"

"No, I don't know how they found out."

I fell silent for a moment, fiddling with the puzzle piece in my hand, feeling frustrated.

"Mom, I know you and Dad are separated, and I know Dad isn't a good person, but I still don't want my classmates to say those things about him, especially when they also say bad things about you and me..."

Brett sniffled, and big tears rolled down his cheeks.

Such a young child, yet he already had to deal with the harshness of the world and clean up the emotional mess left by adults.

Kids could be so cruel because they didn't understand the impact of their words.

I remembered my own school days, seeing those bullies who said awful things. Back then, bullying often focused on one person's flaws and blew them out of proportion.

Was Brett going through something like that?

Thinking about what Brett might have heard at school, or how his classmates might have insulted him, made my heart ache.

I said, "Can you tell me exactly what they said? If it makes you too sad, you don't have to. I just want to understand so I can talk to Grandma and figure out how to handle this..."

Brett blinked. "Mom, I don't want to remember. Telling you will only make you sad. Just know that they keep calling my dad a criminal..."

It was true, but hearing it from his classmates must have been so hurtful.

Especially since Brett was usually such a cheerful and well-liked kid at school.

I suddenly thought of the girl I saw with Brett when I dropped him off at school. "What about that girl you used to play with? Did she stand up for you?"

I knew it wasn't fair to expect kids to take sides, but I hoped someone would be there for Brett when he felt helpless.

Brett blinked. "She did stand up for me and even fought back against those classmates, but I told her not to play with me at school anymore because I didn't want to cause her trouble..."

Brett was so young, yet he was already thinking about others.

Hearing this made me cry even more. I hugged Brett and cried with him. "It's my fault for making you go through this. If I had talked to your teacher sooner, maybe these rumors wouldn't have spread."

"It's not your fault, Mom. I don't know how they found out..."

Brett repeated, clumsily wiping my tears with his little hand.

"But is Dad really that bad? I know if he wasn't, you wouldn't have left him..." Brett said softly.

I hadn't told Brett about Brandon's imprisonment at first. I had promised to keep a good image of him for the kids, but that promise was shattered when he kidnapped Brett.

Brandon had already shown his true colors, and he didn't care about his reputation. Why should I?

But I never thought Brett would hear about it from others.

In this, I felt I had failed Brett.

"Brett, don't be sad. What your dad did has nothing to do with you. You're an amazing kid, and I will always love you."

I held him close, whispering words of comfort.

If others hurt him, I would do my best to lift him up.

Brett leaned against me, crying for a while until he got tired.

I took out a tissue to wipe his tears.

After a while, Brett suddenly said, "Mom, I don't want to go to school anymore... They keep laughing at me."

So that was the main reason for his unhappiness!

The bullying had been somewhat managed by the teacher at first, but now it had made him not want to go to school.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Brett, don't say that... If you stop going to school, the bullying will only get worse. I'll figure something out. Don't worry, okay?"

I said that, but my mind was blank. I didn't know how to solve this.

Brett nodded. Though he still looked a bit sad, he seemed a little calmer.

At least he wasn't as distressed as before.

I held him and talked for a while, reassuring him that I would always be there for him and that he shouldn't be sad.