Robin’s voice grew lower and lower, to the point where only Elise heard his final words: "You also force me."

But before Elise could say anything, Fleur spoke up first.

"Robin, you’ve misunderstood Mommy." Fleur’s voice carried a hint of anxiety, and a faint tremor of tears could be detected.

Robin had already developed a bit of a trauma response to Fleur’s crying voice. Because every time Fleur cried, Dylan’s face would turn cold. Robin ducked his head even lower and fell completely silent.

Noticing Robin’s emotional state, Elise reached out and gently stroked his back. "Robin, the drumstick is getting cold. Eat up."

Robin nodded, put on his children’s plastic gloves, and lowered his head to munch on the chicken leg.

Elise lifted her eyes to look at Fleur’s tear-rimmed eyes, her voice completely detached. "Miss Bonnaire, didn’t Dylan make things clear to you before you came over?"

Fleur blanked for a moment, then seemed to suddenly snap out of it. She quickly took a deep breath and forced the corners of her mouth upward.

"He did, he did. Elise, don’t worry, I’ll do exactly as requested. I... I’ll go take off my apron. You all go ahead and eat first."

With that, Fleur quickly turned around and walked away at a brisk pace, lifting a hand to wipe the corner of her eye as she went. She looked every bit the picture of someone who had been deeply wronged but didn’t dare show it.

Elise withdrew her gaze, unable to be bothered to watch her performance. Dylan stared at her, the crease between his brows deepening further.

During the rest of the meal, the atmosphere among the adults was suffocatingly tense, forcing young Robin to eat with extreme caution. After lunch, Elise felt rather drowsy and wanted to go upstairs for a nap, but Robin clung to her. Sensing his insecurity, she brought him along to nap with her.

She took Robin to the children’s room. As they lay on the bed together, Elise asked him, "When we were downstairs just now, you mentioned that your mother forces you to do things too. What was that about?"

"She just always likes to make me eat certain things..." Robin said. "I don’t want to eat them, but she always says they’re nutritious and good for me. I hate nutmeg—I’m just really scared of that flavor. But she said it’s bad for kids to be picky eaters. I took a bite, couldn’t help but throw it up, and then she started crying. She even called Daddy on the phone while crying..."

Hearing this, Elise’s delicate brows knitted together.

"Godmom, I thought only kids were forced by adults to eat things they don’t like. I didn’t know adults had to deal with that too." Robin paused, then added, "But Godmom, you did an amazing job. I thought you looked so cool just now!"

Elise let out a soft laugh. Seeing the little stars twinkling in the boy’s eyes, her heart softened completely.

At the same time, however, she felt a swell of worry. Fleur had too many hidden motives and carried too much emotional baggage; she worried that over time, Robin would be negatively affected by her.

She was never one to lightly question a mother’s feelings for her own child, but the human heart was the most complex thing in the world.

Elise looked at Robin and said softly, "Whether someone is an adult or a child, everyone has the right to choose for themselves. Everyone has the right to decide whether they want to eat something or not.

Robin, remember this: if it’s a food you don’t like, or something you don’t want to do, you can bravely speak up about it. Even if that person is me, you still have to know how to voice your feelings. Learning to say no to others is the most important part of protecting yourself, understand?"

"Uh-huh!"

"I will talk to your father and mother on your behalf. Now close your eyes and go to sleep. When we wake up, I’m going to go see Lily. Do you want to come along?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, then let’s take a nap first before we go."

"Okay!"

Under Elise’s soothing comfort, Robin quickly drifted off to sleep. Elise looked at the little figure beside her, but she couldn’t find a shred of sleepiness herself.

Finally, she rolled over, sat up, and let out a heavy sigh. For Robin’s sake, she felt it was necessary to have a formal conversation with Fleur.

As Elise walked downstairs, Melissa’s voice drifted over from the living room:

"Mr. Bennett, Miss Bonnaire didn’t want to make things difficult for you, so she forbade me from speaking up. But I honestly think Madam went way too far today. Just to cook a meal for Madam, Miss Bonnaire accidentally cut her finger.

In the end, it was bad enough that Madam refused to eat it, but she even humiliated Miss Bonnaire right in front of Robin! And now she’s intentionally taken Robin upstairs so he’ll become even more distant from his birth mother. Doing this is just heartbreaking for her!"

Standing on the final step of the staircase, Elise listened to Melissa’s words with a perfectly calm expression.

Her every single word was completely skewed toward Fleur now. How many days had it even been? It seemed Fleur was quite a master at winning people over.

"Miss Bonnaire is sitting alone in the kitchen wiping away her tears right now. I simply couldn’t bear to watch it anymore, which is why I came to tell you this. If you feel I’ve overstepped my bounds, Sir, you can dismiss me. But everything I said today comes strictly from my conscience."

Dylan stood next to the French windows, his back turned to Melissa this whole time. The rain outside was still falling. His dark, heavy eyes gazed out at the autumn rain, his expression unreadable.

Behind him, Melissa looked at his tall, slender silhouette and continued to ramble on,

"Sir, Miss Bonnaire is still out in the back garden right now. She already suffers from depression. If this keeps up, I’m truly worried her illness will relapse. Please reason with Madam. She’s about to become a mother herself now, so she should show some empathy for Miss Bonnaire, shouldn’t she?"

"I had no idea that simply having a meal in my own home according to my own preferences could turn me into such an atrocious person."

Elise’s voice suddenly rang out, causing Melissa to stiffen. She spun around and saw Elise walking toward the living room.

All the color drained from Melissa’s face instantly. "M-Madam..." She hung her head, cold sweat breaking out across her back.

She had intended to flatter Fleur because, seeing Dylan’s tolerance and regard for her, she felt that following Fleur offered a much better ’financial future’ than following Elise. But that didn’t mean she actually possessed the courage to openly defy Elise.

After all, Elise was still the mistress of the household. Even if she wasn’t in the future, she was still the CEO of a jewelry company; no matter which identity she held, she was not someone Melissa could afford to offend.

"Things were a bit too rushed before, so I didn’t have the time to settle certain accounts with you clearly." Elise walked over, took a seat in a single-seater armchair, and looked at Melissa with a frosty expression. "Since you were hired by Dylan using his money from the very beginning, please return all the wages that were previously paid out by me."

Melissa’s face froze. "This..." She had spent that money ages ago!

"If I remember correctly, when I was planning to go abroad, I had Zoey advance you three months’ worth of wages in a lump sum."

Melissa’s eyes darted around anxiously. "I... I always intended to return your money... It’s just that a family member of mine had surgery a while ago, so I don’t have that much cash on hand right now..."

"Transfer it to me before midnight tonight. If you miss the deadline, I will have my lawyer file a lawsuit." Looking at the thoroughly panicked maid, Elise’s lips curved into a chilly smirk. "After all, I am an atrocious person. Playing the pity card won’t work on me."

Melissa stared at Elise, her face as pale as ash. "Madam, why must you be so aggressive? I was only speaking a fair word..."

Elise raised a delicate eyebrow. "You speak your words, and I pursue my debts. The two don’t conflict."

Sister Cai was left utterly speechless.

"Enough! Melissa, don’t say another word!"

Fleur suddenly rushed over, shielding Melissa behind her. She looked at Elise, tears streaming down her face like rain.

"Elise, I know I’m useless. I know my emotions constantly affect Robin. I can see that you love Robin very much, and since he is of Bennett blood anyway and loves you too... I can rest easy leaving him with you.

Robin... I’ll let you raise Robin from now on. I won’t come to disturb him anymore. If you still mind my presence, I can even go abroad again and never return. I only beg of you, please stop making things difficult for everyone else just because of me, alright?"

"Fine. You can leave right now, then." Elise looked at the tear-soaked Fleur, her face completely expressionless. "Since I’ve already taken Robin on as my godson, I will treat him wonderfully as his godmom. You can leave with peace of mind."

Dylan spun around, his dark, furious gaze snapping squarely onto Elise.

"Elise, have you thrown enough of a tantrum yet?!"