Chapter 9 Wanting All the Benefits

Andy and Noah shared a look, sighed, and turned away, but their pinkies stayed linked with Emma's.

For the rest of the day, Emma stuck to Andy and Noah like glue.

Even with the drama involving James, Andy and Noah genuinely liked Emma.

Especially after seeing her left out today, they made sure to include her in their games, and the three of them had a blast.

Time flew by, and soon it was time for kindergarten to end. James came to pick up Emma himself.

"Emma, it's time to go home." He reached out to hug her, but she dodged him and barely acknowledged his presence.

Instead, she stayed close to Andy and Noah, her face showing clear reluctance.

Andy and Noah knew James as their jerk of a dad. They shot him looks of pure disdain, remembering what he had done to Charlotte.

James followed Emma's gaze and saw Andy and Noah. They looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out why.

A weird feeling of joy sparked in his heart, like an electric shock, making him want to get closer to Andy and Noah.

But seeing the disdain in their eyes, James felt a bit humiliated and chose to ignore them, though his mood soured.

Andy had been playing with a water gun. He spotted James, and an idea popped into his head. He sprayed water all over James's face, making him look utterly foolish.

Blinking his big innocent eyes, Andy apologized insincerely, "Oops, sorry. I didn't mean to. You wouldn't hold a grudge against a kid, would you?"

James's anger flared up, but just then, Emma burst out laughing.

It was rare to see Emma show such obvious emotion, and James's anger vanished instantly.

Moreover, since Andy had already apologized, James had no choice but to let it go.

In reality, looking at Andy and Noah, James didn't want to punish them. More than anything, their overt hostility made him uncomfortable.

Seeing Emma so happy, James decided to stick around a bit longer.

When Charlotte arrived, she saw the scene.

Her heart tightened as she hurried over, standing protectively in front of Andy and Noah. "Are you okay? Sorry, I'm late. Let's head home now," she said, her eyes sharp as they warily studied James.

In fact, she couldn't really be blamed for being so anxious. It was just that Andy and Noah looked way too much like James when he was a kid.

James hadn't noticed, but if someone who knew him as a child saw them, Andy and Noah's identities would be exposed.

At that point, the Martin family would definitely try to take the kids back.

Charlotte couldn't let that happen.

James didn't know what was going on, but seeing Charlotte's tense expression made him even more upset.

She had lived freely all these years, leaving him and Emma behind.

Now she had other kids and was so protective of them.

He looked at Emma, who remained silent, and felt a pang of heartache. His gaze at Charlotte hardened with anger.

But with the kids present, he had to keep his emotions in check.

As they walked out of the school, she completely ignored James. When they reached the door, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She said to Andy and Noah, "Alright, it's time to say goodbye to Emma."

Andy and Noah obediently said goodbye to Emma.

As they were about to leave, James couldn't hold back his anger and questioned Charlotte. "Charlotte, you're cold-hearted. Have you been living comfortably all these years?"

Charlotte didn't understand what James meant and thought he was being ridiculous.

Ignoring James, she got back into the car.

As she drove, she pushed down her sadness and focused on the road ahead.

Andy and Noah exchanged glances, their disdain for James growing stronger.Clearly, the little lesson they gave James wasn't enough. Next time, they'd make sure to get back at him even harder.

On the way home, Charlotte suggested a way to avoid future troubles. "Sweethearts, how about I transfer you to another kindergarten?"

But Andy and Noah immediately thought of Emma. If they left, she'd be sad and continue to get bullied.

Plus, they still had plans to get back at James. They couldn't just leave it at that.

So they both firmly rejected Charlotte's suggestion.

Andy said, "Mom, we really like this kindergarten. We don't want to transfer. Don't worry about what Emma's dad said. Don't be sad. That jerk isn't worth it."

Charlotte respected their opinions, so when they didn't agree, she quietly replied, "Okay, your happiness is what matters most."

Charlotte agreed, but as she reflected on James's questioning, her anger began to simmer.

James had kids with another woman, so what right did he have to question Charlotte?

Charlotte thought, 'He's such a jerk, wanting all the benefits! Dream on!'

Back home, Charlotte still had to deal with equipment suppliers and medicinal herb suppliers.

The new project and research required a ton of equipment and herbs, which were way different from Veritas Institute for Medical Innovation's previous research direction. The original supply channels just couldn't keep up, especially for herbs.

Veritas Institute for Medical Innovation's original supplier only provided medicinal herb extracts. They had to source raw herbs from other manufacturers.

Alex had negotiated with them before, but the quality of the herbs was too poor for their research.

Charlotte took out her laptop and started working.

For herb suppliers, Eldoria's top choice was the Lynn Group, Daisy's family business.

But thinking about past events, Charlotte instinctively rejected the idea. She didn't want to work with the Lynn Group.

Charlotte didn't want to compromise, so she started looking for alternatives, not limiting herself to Eldoria.

The Lynn Group was dominant in the city, but better suppliers were needed outside Eldoria.

Besides, Charlotte had her own channels for equipment. After all, Andy and Noah were very skilled in this area.

They had shown great talent in this field from a young age, and they had already gained support from some major international medical equipment manufacturers.

As Charlotte carefully selected herb suppliers, her phone rang.

Without looking, she answered it instinctively. "Hello, this is Charlotte. Who's calling?"

There was silence on the other end, with no response.

Charlotte found it strange and looked at her phone. The call was still connected.

Just as she was about to ask again, her eyes locked on the number.

Even after six years, she still remembered this number clearly.

It was James's number.

She hadn't expected that after six years, he still had the same number.

Noticing Charlotte's prolonged silence, James guessed she knew who it was.

He let out a cold laugh, his voice sounding sinister. "Charlotte, who do you think I am?"

He actually called her.

A fleeting sense of sadness washed over her, only to be quickly replaced by sarcasm.

Charlotte said, "James, there's something you should have heard before."

Before the divorce, she had called him countless times, and he never answered, let alone called her.

Now the tables had turned, and she didn't have to cater to James.

That logic simply didn’t make any sense!

"Exes should be treated as though they’re dead, so, James..." Charlotte spoke each word clearly, showing she didn't care about James.

"To me, you're already dead. Dead people shouldn't crawl out of their graves!" With that, she hung up the phone.