His Kid Favors Me

I was convinced my husbands son hated my guts.
He would always watch me from a distance, his gaze a dark, unnerving stare from the shadows.
Then, I stumbled upon a trending post on a local forum.
[If my parents get divorced, how do I get my mom to take me?]
[Shes not my birth mom, but I like her.]
[The kitten wasnt born from her either, but the kitten gets to stay with her. Why cant I?]
[Can a person turn into a kitten?]
Sensing the poster was just a kid, some users decided to tease him.
[Why dont you try forging a paternity test?]
A few days later, six-year-old Leo Hayes, holding a DNA test report, knocked on my bedroom door.

1
Just before I saw that post, I was instructing the staff on organizing the seasonal wardrobe change. Not too far away, Leo was hiding behind a wall, half of his little head peeking out, his dark eyes fixed on me.
I sighed. I honestly had no idea how to connect with my stepson.
His father, Joe Hayes, and I were in a marriage of convenience. He was consumed by his work and worried the staff would mistreat his son. My familys business was on the brink of collapse, desperate for a lifeline. It was a perfect match.
Before the wedding, Joe warned me that his son was unique. Quiet. He asked me to be patient and just make sure the staff didnt bully him. So, on my first day as lady of the house, I had security cameras installed in all the common areas. I tried to talk to Leo, to draw him out, but he remained cold and distant.
That all changed the day I fired the nanny who had raised him since he was a baby.
He cried his eyes out.
And from that day on, he was always there, in the distance, staring at me from the shadows.
I was racking my brain for a way to bridge the gap between us when the algorithm blessed me with that post.
At first, the title seemed like a call for help.
[Evil stepmom has moved in. How does a smart kid fight back and not get bullied?]
It was clearly from a childs perspective. I clicked on it out of curiosity. The posters mix of childish innocence and adult-like phrasing was oddly charming. He described his family as wealthy, a single dad with a young son who had just remarried.
But the more I read, the more a strange feeling crept over me. The details were uncannily similar to my own situation with Leo. The only difference was the posters reaction.
Take the nanny incident, for example.
The poster wrote: [Battle report: That woman fired the nanny whos taken care of me my whole life. I cried.]
The comments exploded.
[WTF, I thought this was a joke post, but this is a real evil stepmom! Its only been a few days and she already got rid of his childhood nanny?!]
[Dude, slow down. But a lifelong nanny? This kid is definitely rich. The new wife is probably a gold digger. Shell have her own kid, push this one out, and turn him into a useless brat to secure the inheritance.]
[Poster, youre in danger!]
[Ive got a whole library of novels about evil stepmom schemes. Want me to send you some for research?]
[Poor baby. You must be so heartbroken right now.]
The poster replied: [Im not heartbroken.]
[I cried because I was so happy.]
[That horrible nanny is finally gone!]
[She never let me dress myself. She even insisted on spoon-feeding me, going on about how I was a precious little prince born to be pampered. Before that woman arrived, the nanny kept bad-mouthing her and telling me how much better her own niece was, how shed be a much better fit to take care of me.]
[It was so annoying. I told her to stop, but she never listened, so I gave up.]
[Im so glad that woman got rid of her.]
Someone asked why he didnt just tell his dad.
The poster: [Dad is really busy. I dont want to be a burden. I have to be considerate.]
Reading that, my heart ached a little. The other users were flooded with sympathy.
Then, one user commented: [This sounds a bit off. Is it possible the stepmom saw what was happening and fired the nanny to help you?]
[So the stepmom is actually a good person?]
[Lets not get ahead of ourselves. It could have been a villainous plot that backfired and accidentally did some good.]
The poster: [I dont know if shes a good person. She makes me dress and feed myself now]
[She doesnt even care that Im a picky eater. My old nanny would always force me to eat my celery. Today, she just watched me pick it out and didnt say a word.]
A user replied: [Youre too innocent, kid. This is probably a classic move to make you weak and dependent.]
[I have an idea. A test to see if your stepmom is truly good.]
[You seem smart and articulate for your age, so heres the plan. If shes really after the inheritance, she wont want you to be successful. So, you need to show a deep, passionate love for learning. See if she tries to sabotage you.]
The thread was full of praise for this users genius plan.
The original poster didnt reply.
At this point, I wasnt so sure anymore. Leo hadnt exactly been acting like a budding scholar around me. Was it all just a coincidence?
Just then, my phone rang.

2
It was Joe. His voice was laced with exhaustion, but still gentle.
How are you settling in? Is Leo giving you any trouble?
I glanced toward the corner. The little head had vanished.
No, hes been an angel.
Thats good, Joe paused. I saw you let Mrs. Gable go. Good call.
I was surprised. Mrs. Gable was a fixture in the Hayes household, having been with the family since Joe was a boy.
Shes been getting more and more out of line over the years, he explained. Using her seniority to meddle in family affairs. She was the one who kept trying to set you up with other people before we met, acting on her own.
Ive been wanting to fire her for a while, but I was worried about how Leo would take it. You solved a real problem for me.
I finally understood. Firing the nanny had been an unintentional favor to him.
Leo cried, I said. I thought he was going to miss her terribly.
A soft chuckle came from the other end of the line. Oh, he was crying with joy. Dont let him fool you. That kid he keeps everything bottled up inside.
After we hung up, I was almost certain. The poster was Leo. All this time, his dark, gloomy stares werent because he hated me.
He was observing me.
I refreshed the page and saw a new update.
[Dad called me tonight. He praised that woman.]
[Im even happier now.]
[Tomorrow, Im going to test her. Ill find out if shes really on my side.]
[If shes a good person, then its time for the next phase of my plan!]
The comments section went wild again.
[What plan? Tell us more!]
[Im guessing its a plan to secure the inheritance!]
[Dude, hes six. What does he know about inheritance? He probably just wants his stepmom to genuinely care about him.]
[Yeah, totally! This is gonna be good. You got this, kid! Were all behind you!]
I couldnt help but smile at the screen.
Alright, Leo Hayes.
Lets see what kind of test you have in store for me tomorrow.
The next morning, I came downstairs to find Leo sitting on the living room sofa, a complete departure from his usual lurking. He was dressed in a sharp little suit, his hair neatly combed. Cradled in his arms was a book bigger than his face.
The title read, An Introduction to Quantum Physics.
I bit back a laugh. A bit much, dont you think?
The moment he saw me, he sat up ramrod straight, held the book up to his face, and pretended to be engrossed in reading. But his eyes kept darting in my direction.
I suppressed my amusement and sat down beside him. Reading, Leo?
He flinched, then gave a tiny nod, his voice as quiet as a mosquito. Yeah.
Do you understand it?
His face turned bright red. He clutched the book tighter and said nothing.
I leaned in for a closer look.
Oh, for goodness sake. The book was upside down.
I was fighting a losing battle against laughter. So this was his master plan to show a deep, passionate love for learning?
It was ridiculously adorable.
I cleared my throat, deciding to play along with his little act.

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "306032" to read the entire book.