Chapter 107 She Wouldn't Compromise
Andy didn't say he missed his father, nor did he say he didn't. He just said, "Dad works."
He was brought up by Leila and Teresa. To him, father was a kind of creature that he could only see on weekends. Usually, when he woke up, his father had long gone to work, and when he fell asleep at night, his father had not yet returned.
Andy didn't have feelings for his dad.
Even if Patrick was at home, he didn't accompany Andy. He always immersed himself in his phone.
"Leila, look. After a few days of not seeing Patrick, Andy's feelings for him have faded. This won't be good for his growth. A boy can't grow up without his father's love. He has his dad to teach him how to do a lot of things."
Penny originally thought Andy would say he missed his dad. That way, she could use Andy as an excuse to get Leila to compromise. But she didn't expect Andy to say so.
Luckily, she was smart enough to pick up Andy's words.
Leila took a few glances at Penny and said in a cold tone, "When Patrick was home, have you ever seen him take care of Andy? The child is mine and his too. But I'm the only one who takes care of him all the time. Fine, he doesn't want to take care of the child. But he doesn't even spend time playing with him."
"On weekends, he's at home chatting with someone on his phone or watching those short videos. He would rather laugh like a fool, but he is not willing to accompany Andy. He is such a father. How much would Andy like him?"
The relationship needed to be built. Even if they were biological fathers and sons, their relationship wouldn't be good if they didn't spend time with each other.
Penny opened her mouth and wanted to say something. But she had nothing to say.
Then, Priscila took over and said, "Patrick is busy at work. He wants to relax at home on weekends. You don't have to work and take care of the kid at home every day. Don't say that there is a lot of housework. In the past, your sister lived here. She did a lot of the housework for you. You didn't do much either. What you do most is eat. Look what you've become."
Not to mention that Patrick, and even Priscila despised Leila for becoming fat and ugly. How did Leila allow herself to become so fat?
"After you feed Andy, come with us to pick up Patrick and take him home. He can go to work on Monday. And you two should live a good life. No more quarrels. That's not good for Andy's growth."
After that, Priscila muttered, "If you keep doing like this, you'll regret it one day."
Patrick had another woman already.
In the few days that Patrick took off to recuperate at home, his mistress named Isabelle came to take care of Patrick every day after work. The two were so in love that they couldn't even be separated from each other for one second.
Priscila had a lot of dissatisfaction with Leila and would like Patrick to abandon her. But if Patrick and Leila got divorced, the Cerone family would definitely fight for Andy's custody. For her parents, Andy was the only grandchild of the Cerone family. But Andy was just two years old, which was a very naughty age for kids.
So, it would take her parents a lot of effort to take care of Andy. As a result, they would not be able to help her with her third child.
Priscila would say a plausible reminder for her own sake, not for Leila's sake at all.
"This is Patrick's home. Why doesn't he come back himself? Did he break his leg or forget the way home? He won't come back unless my sister goes to invite him back? Who gave him the guts?"
Teresa couldn't bear to listen any longer and cut in.
She brought Gwendolyn with her.
Both of them were carrying big bags.
When Penny and Priscila saw Teresa, their expressions became awkward.
They went to Teresa's store to complain about Leila. But Teresa kicked them out of her bookshop.
"Auntie."
As soon as Andy saw Teresa, he stood up and trotted over with a smile on his little face.
He was not old enough to know what his grandmother and aunt meant by what they said to his mother. It did not affect his mood.
Teresa put the bags on the coffee table. Then she picked up Andy and tenderly asked, "Andy, are you having cereal?"
Andy nodded, "I'm having cereal."
"So, are you full?"
Andy touched his little tummy, thought about it, and shook his head. He felt he hadn't had enough yet. He was still a little hungry.
Teresa smiled, sat down on the sofa, and took the half bowl of cereal from Leila. "How about Auntie Teresa feeding you?"
"Yeah."
Gwendolyn said hello to Leila and put the bags on the coffee table. Then she nodded to Penny and Priscila as a greeting.
After Teresa took over feeding her son, Leila turned her head and said to Penny and Priscila, "I am not going to ask Patrick back. If he wants to come back, he can come back by himself. If he doesn't want to come back, I will have to ask you to continue to take care of him."
Patrick even asked her to return his half of the food expenses. Since they had become a couple of splits so explicitly, what else could she say?
Leila knew she had faults too.
She simply trusted Patrick too much.
Priscila wanted to say something else, but Penny stopped her.
Penny forced out a smile and said, "Okay, I'll go back and ask Patrick to come back. Leila, when Patrick comes back, don't quarrel and don't fight anymore. Patrick has a decent job. He can't let others look down on him. You beat him up like that. He can't go to work like that. And his salary will be less if he can't go to work. It's your own family that suffers."
Leila sneered, "He used to give me only $600 a month for living expenses. And he wouldn't give a penny more. Now he's asking to go halves on our bills. He's only giving me $300. But it's just to support Andy. It really doesn't matter to me if he gets paid more or less."
It's not like she hasn't worked before.
Before she got married, she and Patrick were in the same company.
Patrick should be earning $10,000 a month from his current position. And, he could also have extra money sometimes. And his income would be even higher. So, he could be earning at least $15,000 a month.
He was indeed paid for the mortgage and car. But together they add up to only $1,000 a month. Even plus the $600 he used to give to his family, he spent less than $2,000 for this family.
He had fifteen thousand dollars of income per month. But he spent less than two thousand dollars on their home, leaving nearly ten thousand dollars that she would not even see. Who knew if he was spending it elsewhere or saving it? Oh, and he also gave his parents a monthly living allowance, which must have been higher than what he gave her.
So, how many did Patrick earn really had nothing to do with her, his wife.
Leila didn't know how her marriage had become after three years? She actually put up with it for so long!
Was it because of her love for him?
Maybe it was.
It wasn't until recently when she was completely disappointed in Patrick, did she realize how miserable she had been. This was not at all the married life she wanted before.
If Teresa hadn't given her a thousand dollars a month for the past few years, she would have been even worse off.
Teresa had the foresight to let her save half of the $1,000.
Otherwise...
Leila regretted it a little.
She regretted that she had let her life get out of control after she got married and lived her life like this.