Chapter 346

"Mr. Rodriguez, you're back! Sidney and I were just eating. Let me serve you."

But Lawrence's gaze was focused on his son. "Sidney, what's wrong?"

"My throat doesn't feel good," the little guy spoke with difficulty.

The man's head snapped toward Darcy. "What did you feed him?" His tone was icy.

Darcy hesitated, pointing at the table with a sense of grievance. "It's just fish. Sidney likes to eat it."

Lawrence glanced at the dish and then at the empty fish bone plate next to Sidney's bowl. His lips tightened slightly; displeasure evident as he glanced at Darcy. "You didn't remove the fish bones? Sidney could have easily choked on them!"

Sidney felt increasingly uncomfortable, coughing with his hand covering his neck.

Darcy paused, staring at the little guy's reaction, and immediately explained, "But this type of fish doesn't have bones. I picked out a whole piece of boneless fish meat for Sidney, Mr. Rodriguez."

"Just because there are fewer fish bones doesn't mean there are none. Why aren't you more careful? Moreover, the fish belly meat is more suitable for children." Lawrence furrowed his brows while speaking, recalling the night at Winnie's house when she prepared the same dish. That woman had carefully selected fish belly meat and painstakingly removing every tiny bone. She even went as far as to taste it herself before feeding it to the child, ensuring he wouldn't swallow any bones.

In contrast, Darcy seemed to lack the same patience and tenderness for their child. In the past, when he fed the child fish meat, he carefully selected it. After three years, it appeared she hadn't learned anything at all. He had never thought of Darcy as careless before, but when compared to Winnie, it was clear who the child's biological mother was.

Seeing the man's cold expression, Darcy silently gritted her teeth and weakly explained, "Mr. Rodriguez, it was just a lapse in my attention. Admittedly, I didn't pick out the best meat for Sidney. I've been cooking for a long time and I'm a bit tired." She hoped the man could show her some understanding.

At this moment, Sidney snitched to his father. "Yes, she's tired, so she ate all the fish belly meat herself." Darcy's face turned beet red as she cursed inwardly at Sidney.

Lawrence's brows furrowed even further. "Enough, Darcy. From now on, don't cook for the child anymore. You're too careless. This time, it caused him to choke on a fish bone. What about next time?"

With teary eyes, Darcy explained, "I really didn't mean to. Let me cook a few more times and take care of Sidney for a few days, and I'll get used to it."

"However, a child is not a tool for you to practice on. Many dangers often lie in small details. It's quite evident that you're not his birth mother after all, judging by how careless you're being," Lawrence's tone sank, his words particularly harsh and completely disregarded her emotions. He then picked Sidney up and strode out as he called out to Bryan, "Bryan, prepare the car to go to the children's hospital."

Resting on the man's shoulder, Sidney coldly stuck out his tongue toward Darcy. She stared at him, instantly understanding that a fish bone incident was trivial. Once again, she had been instigated and driven apart by that little bastard.

She stood there, looking at the table full of carefully prepared dishes. The man hadn't even sat down before leaving again, leaving her fuming and stamping her feet.

The car arrived at the children's hospital and Lawrence promptly exited the car, carrying Sidney into the emergency room.

There was indeed a fish bone lodged in the child's throat and the doctor successfully removed it. "Fortunately, it didn't penetrate very deeply into the flesh. I'll spray some medicine in the little one's throat to facilitate with the healing."

Lawrence let out a sigh of relief, but noticed his son using his smartwatch to capture a picture of the small fish bone. He furrowed his brows deeply and asked him, "Don't you usually dislike her cooking? Why were you willing to eat today?"

Sidney paused for a moment before innocently replied, "She personally cooked a fish dish, obviously trying to please me and get closer to you. I had planned to indulge her, but who knew an unpleasant incident would occur."

Lawrence glanced at him with a scrutinizing gaze but remained silent. However, not long after, his phone received a text notification. The man reached out for his phone and was surprised to see that it was Winnie's number.

He opened the text message and was immediately bombarded with questions. "How did you let the child get a fish bone stuck in his throat? Can't you take care of him properly? Is he in serious condition now?" Lawrence was stunned, his face turning dark as he glanced at Sidney.

Sidney leaned closer with his little head, seeing his mother directly scolding his father through text. He shrunk his neck and said resentfully, "I've been wronged. Don't I have the right to tell my biological mother?"

"It's not like I made you choke on a fish bone, but she's blaming me now." The man's expression soured with displeasure but he quickly typed a reply with his nimble fingers: "It's quite serious."

In the next moment, his phone was bombarded with incoming calls from Winnie. Lawrence sighed deeply as he casually threw the phone onto his son's bedside table. "Since you reported it, you answer the phone!"

Sidney held the phone and answered, but before he could speak, he heard his mother's furious and anxious voice, "Lawrence, what exactly happened to Sidney? If you can't take care of the child, give him to me! If Sidney is in life-threatening danger, I will never let you off."

"Mommy, it's Sidney." Sidney felt a little guilty for making his mother anxious.

...

The woman's voice trembled slightly, then she coughed before asking, "Sidney, what's happening? Which hospital are you in? Mommy will come to find you, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. Please, come quickly. I miss you so much. I haven't eaten enough yet. Oh, by the way, I'm at the children's hospital."

"Baby, don't worry. Wait for me, Mommy will take care of you."

At this point, the man sounded critical and reprimanded his son, "Why are you asking her to come? I didn't allow you to do so."

Winnie overheard his comments through the phone and retorted, "Lawrence, are you even human? Our son got a fishbone stuck and you won't let me see him?" The woman's voice carried anger and an indescribable hint of coquettishness, causing him to feel a slight itch and avert his gaze.

After she finished lamenting, Winnie told her son what time she would be going to the hospital and quickly hung up the phone.

Sidney held his phone reluctantly, his icy face shining with happiness.

Lawrence let out a cold hum, picked up his phone and retorted, "Happy?"

Sidney rolled his eyes and raised his head. "What are you pretending for? Don't you want Mommy here too? Why else would you send a pretty serious message?"

Lawrence was slightly taken aback, wondering to himself, 'He couldn't have seen it, right?'

"Be careful, I'll tell Mommy that you lied!"

Lawrence just shook his head at his son and strode out directly.

Ten minutes later, Sidney witnessed his father's return. The tall and sturdy man had switched into a suit, retaining a crisp white shirt without a single wrinkle. His narrow-cut trousers accentuated his perfectly long legs. What stood out the most was his washed hair and cleanly shaved five o'clock shadow. He appeared entirely transformed from his work attire, radiating depth and sharpness. Sidney was in shock, his mouth twitching violently.

At that moment, Winnie rushed in, completely ignoring the man and went straight to her son. "Sidney, how are you doing?"