Chapter 467
Grace's face tightened. "You're leaving your daughter for that woman?"
Caleb sighed. "I could never do that. But you're right, I'm not a good dad. Candy's better off with you."
"Stop making excuses, Caleb. You're ditching her because you have that illegitimate son now, right? Sons are more important, huh? Your parents think so too." Grace was desperate. Her daughter was her only leverage. If he didn't want their daughter, she had no control over him.
"Grace, you have one week to decide. Two options: One, we divorce, and Candy stays with you, and I'll pay child support. Two, we divorce, and Candy stays with me. Think it over."
Caleb walked back to the kids' room.
Grace's face twisted with anger. Caleb, I won't let you get rid of me, no way!
Oliver woke up in Susan's arms and saw her mom still awake, looking worried.
"Mommy, why aren't you sleeping?"
Susan was too worried to sleep, always fearing someone from the Eilish family would come and take her son.
Feeling unsafe in her own home was unbearable.
Susan kissed Oliver's forehead and forced a smile.
"Oliver... how about we go back to Novaria?"
Back to Novaria? That meant rarely seeing Grandpa and Grandma.
But Oliver knew Daddy would find them no matter where they went.
Not wanting to make Susan sad, he nodded. "Okay. If Mommy wants to go back to Novaria, we'll go. I'll always be with you."
Susan felt both touched and sad. She felt so helpless, needing her son to comfort her.
She knew running away wouldn't solve anything. It was just self-deception.
"I was just saying. Go to sleep now."
"Mommy, you should sleep too, or you'll have dark circles tomorrow."
"Okay, goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mommy."
They hugged, and Susan finally fell asleep.
In the morning, Oliver said he missed the burgers from downstairs, so Susan took him to get one.
Holding hands, Oliver jumped around, charming passersby.
"Look, that kid is so cute."
"Yeah, good genes. His mom is pretty too."
"His dad must be handsome."
"Of course. They say sons look like their dads. He doesn't look much like his mom, so he must look like his dad."
While waiting in line for burgers, two girls in front of them whispered.
"Oh my God, he abused his own daughter. Mr. Eilish is such a jerk."
"Domestic violence is bad enough, but sending his three-year-old to the hospital? That's cruel."
"Is he even a man?"
"Not just not a man, he's not even human."
"So what if he's rich? Men who beat their wives and kids should be in jail! No, they should be beaten to death!"
"That mistress must have poisoned him. I'd love to see how beautiful she is to turn a Mr. Right into such a scumbag."
"I'd call her a homewrecker to her face and slap her."
"She should be stripped naked in public and beaten up so she knows the consequences of being a mistress!"
Caleb? Hitting Candy? No way.
Susan quickly checked the news. As she suspected, Grace had blamed Caleb for Candy's accidental fall down the stairs, even taking photos of their injured daughter to frame him.
Caleb would never hit his wife or daughter.
Despite her issues with Caleb, Susan was furious at the false accusations.
Oliver listened quietly, understanding everything. He trusted Caleb completely. "How dare they lie like that? Uncle Caleb would never hit Candy."
"Mommy, I don't want a burger anymore. Let's get porridge instead."
"Come on, Mommy, let's go before it's sold out." Oliver pulled Susan away.
At another store, there were finally no more gossiping people.
Oliver gulped down his porridge, trying to distract Susan, but she still looked worried, her mind on the news.
Should she contact Caleb?
He probably already knew, so there was no need for her to do anything.
Besides, the Eilish family was full of crazies. No one forced Caleb to marry Grace; that was his choice.
Susan was the real victim here.
She kept reminding herself of this, but her heart remained unsettled.
Meanwhile, Aidan saw the news and was almost furious enough to have another heart attack.
"They're all nuts. Grace has lost it, making up such lies!"
Mia, seeing all the online comments criticizing Caleb, was also on the verge of a breakdown. She argued with a few commenters but was quickly overwhelmed, making her even angrier. She decided to turn off her phone and ignore them.
"I get Caleb. He likes Susan, and Grace is so extreme. Who could stand that? We initially suggested Grace take Oliver. Now, it's clear we can't let her have our grandson, and Candy can't stay with Grace either. Aidan, maybe we should just let them divorce. You shouldn't interfere anymore."
"No matter how bad Susan is, she definitely loves Oliver. Grace is different. If Oliver ends up with her, he might be abused. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache. We can't let Oliver stay with her."
Aidan hated Grace, and Oliver's well-being was his top priority.
"Aidan..."
"Let them divorce, but Susan can't come into our family. We'll raise Oliver ourselves."
"How much longer can we live? We need to find a mother for Oliver. He's already suffered from a lack of fatherly love; do you want him to lack motherly love too?"
"There are plenty of women out there, any of them better than those two."
"But Oliver understands everything. No one can replace his biological mother." Mia sighed deeply. "I'm getting old. I just want to be happy with Oliver. As for the Eilish Group's stocks, money, and reputation, I can't care about those anymore."
Mia resignedly waved her hand. "As long as Caleb is happy and Oliver is happy, I don't care who my daughter-in-law is. You should stop holding on so stubbornly."
Aidan's mind was in turmoil. "Stop talking, let me think."
At five in the morning, after a sleepless night, Caleb was working out to vent his frustration, trying to sweat out all his irritability.
After two hours of intense exercise, Caleb stopped just as Candy was about to wake up. He picked up his phone and saw the news about him "abusing his daughter."