Chapter 19: I Submit

Felix Ford stared at the devilishly handsome man, his eyes widening in shock at his words. He instinctively glanced over at Amanda Vance.

Amanda Vance shot him a glare. "Knock it off. If you dare be a bad influence on my son again, you’ll have me to answer to."

Hayden Grant shook his head with a hint of disappointment. He looked down at Felix Ford and asked, "Your mom’s pretty heartless, isn’t she?"

"Of course not!" Felix Ford glared at him, hugging Amanda Vance’s leg and watching him with wary eyes.

Amanda Vance stroked his head, then looked up at Hayden Grant, her tone sharp. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw Jean log into The Hacker Alliance. When I checked the IP address, I saw it was domestic, so I knew you were back. Seriously, you didn’t even tell me you were returning. And you have the nerve to say *you’re* not the heartless one?"

Amanda Vance ignored him, glancing down at Felix Ford. ’When did Jean log into The Hacker Alliance?’

Felix Ford looked back at her, blinking. He had no idea what they were talking about.

Seeing his clear, innocent eyes, Amanda Vance chuckled. ’I must have just missed it.’ Jean used to spend all his time on The Hacker Alliance; he was incredibly talented in that area.

Taking her son’s hand, Amanda Vance turned to Hayden Grant. Seeing his sulky expression, she paused before explaining, "It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. I just planned on waiting a little longer before reaching out."

Hayden Grant’s sulky expression vanished in an instant. A smile spread across his lips, making his already refined features even more dazzling. Felix Ford stared, his eyes wide. ’He’s so handsome.’

’It’s over, it’s over. He’d seen his own dad smile, and it wasn’t a pretty sight at all. In fact, it always made people tremble in fear. How could his dad possibly compete with this man?’

His brow furrowed, his little face filled with worry.

Amused, Amanda Vance squeezed his hand. "Jean? What are you thinking about? Call him ’uncle’."

’Uncle?’ Felix Ford’s eyes lit up. ’That must mean Mommy isn’t interested in him!’ His mood instantly brightened, and he said cheerfully, "Uncle!"

Hayden Grant gave him a sidelong glance. "Little guy."

He looked at Amanda Vance with fond exasperation. He was utterly powerless against her. "So, what are the plans for today? I’ll keep you company."

Amanda Vance lowered her gaze. "We just had breakfast nearby, so we thought we’d stop by the old school."

It was common enough to revisit one’s alma mater after graduating.

"What’s so great to see here?" Hayden Grant scoffed. His eyes swept over to the honor roll and noticed a blank space. The year listed was the same one she had graduated. He remembered she had been the top student, the valedictorian. Yet, the spot where her photo should have been was empty, removed by someone, leaving nothing but a white void.

A dark look flashed in his eyes. He said in a low voice, "How about I have this school flattened for you? That should make you feel better."

"That won’t be necessary." Amanda Vance gave him a weary look. ’Why is he still so extreme?’

Hayden Grant draped an arm over her shoulder and gave her a flirtatious wink. "Don’t be a stranger. We’re family, after all. My family’s basically a demolition crew—it’s what we do. Tearing this place down would be a piece of cake."

Grant Properties had become a "demolition crew" in his mouth. Amanda Vance pushed his arm off and retorted, "If Harrison heard you say that, you’d be in for another lecture."

Harrison Grant was the CEO of Grant Properties and Hayden’s older brother. Their parents had Hayden when Harrison was already eighteen. Harrison had always treated his much younger brother more like a son, and it was clear he’d chosen the path of a strict father.

Hayden Grant feared neither heaven nor earth, but he was terrified of his brother. It wasn’t a fear of being hit—that would have been far simpler. Harrison Grant never laid a hand on him; he only used his words. Once he started, he could lecture Hayden for three or four hours straight without ever repeating himself. Hayden dreaded his nagging more than anything.

Just hearing her mention him made his head ache. "Way to touch a sore spot."

Perhaps because she’d brought up Harrison Grant, his playful mood evaporated. "So, are we going to keep walking around here, or head somewhere else?"

Amanda Vance didn’t answer, instead looking down at Felix Ford.

Felix Ford had gathered from their conversation that his mother hadn’t had a good time here in the past, and he felt a little guilty for suggesting they come. So when he heard the question, he immediately piped up, "Mommy, Uncle, let’s go to the amusement park!"

Hayden Grant shot him a look that was half-smile, half-smirk. "That ’uncle’ sure rolls off the tongue easily."

Felix Ford blinked innocently. ’Mommy was the one who told me to call him that.’

"Alright, stop picking on my son," Amanda Vance said, shielding Felix. "Let’s stick to the original plan and go to the amusement park."

"Okay."

Felix had just been here yesterday, so he knew his way around. He snuck a glance at Hayden Grant, stroking his chin in thought. ’Uncle looks so delicate. He must get scared easily.’ His eyes darted around, a plan forming. He suddenly grabbed Hayden’s hand, flashing a sweet and harmless smile. "Uncle, I want to ride that one!"

Hayden Grant followed his pointing finger, seeing right through the boy’s little scheme. He idly twirled the car keys in his hand. "You sure about that?"

’He *is* scared!’

Felix Ford nodded emphatically. "Positive."

Just as Amanda Vance was about to speak, Hayden Grant scooped the boy into his arms. He grinned at her. "Megan, my dear nephew has made a request. As his uncle, how could I possibly refuse? Right?"

Amanda Vance looked at her son, who was grinning, completely oblivious. With a sigh of resignation, she nodded. "Alright. Go on, but don’t get too wild."

Felix Ford assumed she was talking to him and nodded earnestly. "Don’t worry, Mommy! I’ll just take Uncle for one little ride, and then we’ll stop. I know when to quit."

He already had it all planned out. The moment his uncle got scared and started to cry, he’d let them stop.

’As for him, he wasn’t afraid of these rides at all. They just looked intimidating; they were actually super fun.’

Looking at his determined little face, Amanda was at a loss for words. She didn’t know whether to admire his youthful fearlessness or lament how little he truly understood Hayden Grant.

Knowing what she wanted to say, Hayden wasn’t about to let her. He just carried Felix away. "Well, thank you for being so considerate of me."

Felix replied earnestly, "You’re welcome."

’Uncle is Mommy’s friend,’ he thought magnanimously. ’I shouldn’t bully him *too* much.’

Amanda facepalmed. Seeing her son’s eager little face, she silently offered up a prayer for him.

’I hope he’s still able to smile in a little while.’

She found a bench and sat down, cupping her chin in her hand as she watched the roller coaster go around, and around, and around. The two of them never got off.

Felix was starting to find it strange. ’Why isn’t he scared yet?’

By the fifth loop, he was getting bored. ’Maybe this one isn’t thrilling enough. Time to try something else.’

Hayden was happy to oblige, buying tickets for the pirate ship next.

The Giant Pendulum, the Sky Screamer, the Space Shot...

When she saw the two of them heading for the bungee jump, Amanda hurried over to stop them. "Okay, that’s enough."

Felix’s little face was as white as a sheet. ’That was terrifying.’

Hayden Grant set him down on the ground. Felix’s legs immediately went soft, and he plopped right onto his butt. He used to think he was so brave for daring to ride a roller coaster, but what the hell was that Space Shot? He never, ever wanted to experience that feeling of weightlessness again.

Amanda Vance picked him up, dusted off his clothes, and felt his forehead. "Scared silly?"

The familiar scent of his mother helped Felix slowly come back to his senses. He shook his head and looked stubbornly at Hayden Grant. "I’m fine. I can go again."

As he spoke, he started to struggle to get down from Amanda’s arms.

Amanda didn’t loosen her grip, giving his bottom a light pat. "Be good. Don’t try to act tough." She glanced at Hayden, who was standing nearby completely unfazed, and said with a laugh, "When it comes to thrill-seeking, there’s no way you can outdo him. He used to fly his own plane to the most extreme places just for fun. He’s bungee-jumped off The Sovereign’s Canyon Bridge—that’s a drop of over three hundred meters. When he came back up, he wasn’t even out of breath, and he walked a perfectly straight line. To him, these little amusement park rides are like being tickled. You can’t scare him with this stuff."

Over three hundred meters!

Felix didn’t have a great grasp of big numbers, but he knew the ride he’d just been on was fifty meters high. He tried to count on his fingers but couldn’t figure it out. He hadn’t learned multiplication yet, so he looked to Amanda for help.

"That’s six fifty-meter drops."

Six!

’He couldn’t even handle one, and this guy could do *six* of them?’

Felix stared at him in horror. ’Is he even human?’

Sensing his stare, Hayden glanced over, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Still want to play?"

Felix whipped his head around, buried his face in Amanda’s shoulder, and burst into tears.

’He’s terrifying! Waaaah!’