Upon seeing Dylan, Robin immediately shrank back into Elise’s arms.

"I’m not going back! I want to live here with Mommy!"

Dylan walked over and stopped a few paces away from them, surrounded by a suffocatingly tense aura. "Robin, who allowed you to run off like this? What if you had gotten lost?"

"I wanted to find Mommy! None of you would let me, so I looked for her myself!"

The usually well-behaved Robin buried himself deeper into Elise’s embrace, a stubborn edge straining through his tearful voice.

Dylan’s face darkened. "You are coming back with me right now."

"No!" Robin clung to Elise even tighter. "I’m not going back! I’m staying right here!"

Dylan stared down at him, his expression grim. He couldn’t seem to comprehend why his usually obedient son was throwing such a willful, unruly tantrum today.

Watching the standoff between the father and son, Elise’s feelings turned tangled.

She had witnessed firsthand just how dependent Robin used to be on Dylan. She truly hadn’t expected that one day, the boy would cling to her more than his own father.

It seemed that in his rush to comfort Fleur, Dylan had completely neglected Robin’s feelings.

Children were pure and intuitive; the boy must have felt that Dylan was no longer as patient or loving with him as before. Or perhaps Dylan’s overly protective attitude toward Fleur had put too much pressure on Robin.

After all, the boy had just mentioned that Dylan scolded him simply because Fleur cried.

To him, Fleur was a stranger who had suddenly materialized out of nowhere. Within his limited understanding, he would only follow his memories and lean on the mother he actually remembered.

In other words, Fleur’s sudden appearance was a shock and a source of pressure for the boy. At a time like this, when his emotions were so tightly strung, he would naturally seek solace from the familiar faces in his life.

Right now, she and Dylan were the two people Robin trusted and relied on most.

When she wasn’t around, Robin had reached out to his father, but Dylan had clearly failed to soothe his anxieties in time. Because of that, Robin felt insecure. He felt no sense of belonging at Orchard Residence, which was why he had resorted to slipping away on his own.

Looking down at the boy in her arms, Elise felt a strange sensation. Even though she had no experience raising children and Robin wasn’t hers by blood, she realized that through their recent time together, an indescribable bond had formed between them. It took only a glance for her to easily read his mind.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she gently patted Robin’s back to soothe him.

"Be a good boy, Robin. I have something to say to your father. Why don’t you go play in the back garden with Mrs. Lander for a little while?"

Robin looked up at her. He didn’t really want to leave, but he didn’t want to disappoint her either.

He could only nod obediently. "Okay."

Mrs. Lander immediately stepped forward and took his hand. "Come along, Robin. Let’s go play in the back garden."

As he was led away, Robin kept looking back over his shoulder at Elise with every few steps until they disappeared into the garden.

Once they were gone, Elise finally turned her gaze to Dylan.

Dylan was looking back at her, his eyes dark and unreadable.

As their eyes met, Dylan spoke first, his voice deep and low. "Robin slipped out while Fleur and Melissa were cooking. Fleur couldn’t find him and called me. I only received Mrs. Lander’s call when I was almost at the neighborhood."

Listening to his explanation, Elise’s expression remained indifferent.

At this point, she didn’t care where he had come from. She simply looked at the man she had once loved so passionately and asked coolly, "Is Fleur cured of her depression?"

Dylan caught his breath slightly; he hadn’t expected her to ask that.

After a moment of silence, he answered honestly, "There is no such thing as being completely cured of depression. However, Fleur’s condition has been much more stable over the past two years, and she successfully got off her medication over a year ago."

Hearing this, Elise gave a faint nod. "So, she came back this time because she felt prepared and believed she could properly care for and accompany Robin."

"Yes. She has been constantly worried about Robin all these years. Her caretakers would regularly send her photos and videos of him. He was the only reason she held on; you could say Robin was her psychological motivation to stay alive."

Elise didn’t dispute his words. She would never question a mother’s love for her child.

However, that didn’t mean she approved of Fleur’s actions since returning to the country.

She pursed her lips and said, "I can understand that it wasn’t easy for Fleur to lose her husband and give birth alone, and I know how difficult her journey with depression has been. But from the first time I met her, to what Robin just told me, I think she is still noticeably emotional."

"She has only just reunited with Robin, so her emotions are bound to fluctuate wildly," Dylan explained.

"Dylan, my point is that I don’t think she is in a fit state to take care of Robin. At the very least, before Robin recovers his memory, I don’t think she has the ability to convince him to accept her."

"Her return this time was also for work. I didn’t plan on having her acknowledge Robin so soon either." Dylan looked at Elise and explained further, "But the night she arrived, she dreamed of my elder brother questioning her about why she hadn’t visited Robin all these years. She felt that Brother would blame her."

Listening to the man’s justifications, Elise’s eyes remained flat, though a faint, mocking smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"So, just to cater to her emotions, you completely disregarded Robin’s feelings?"

Dylan froze, catching the accusatory tone in her voice.

"I did not disregard Robin’s feelings," he said coldly. "That day, Fleur and I only intended to drop by and see Robin. You were the one who brought up her identity directly without asking anything first."

Elise let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Oh, so now it’s my fault things turned out this way?"

Dylan paused, his brow furrowing deeply. "Elise, that’s not what I meant."

"Dylan, I looked after a child for your Bennett family, and somehow I’m the one in the wrong?" Elise looked at him with a cold sneer. "Let me ask you this: you went abroad for half a month, and during that time, did you ever once ask about Robin? Did you tell me in advance that you were bringing Fleur to my house? You two presented me with a fait accompli, so by what right do you blame me for ruining your plans?"