Delete My Love for You novel Chapter 273

Darren’s question slipped out before he could stop himself, and it left little Noah completely at a loss.

At only five, Noah had never even thought about such things.

Darren didn’t press the subject. Instead, he asked gently, “Is there anything you really want? Dad’s been away so long—I owe you.”

Noah hesitated, then whispered, “I want to have dinner with Mom.”

Darren fell silent.

Noah knew just how to make things difficult for him. But Darren had precious little time left, and for his son’s sake, he was willing to try anything.

He called Charlotte while she was in her lab, scanning through data.

“Dinner? With the three of us?” she repeated, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

Her first instinct was to refuse. But her eyes fell on the monitor displaying the results of the artificial heart trials—a success rate of only 48%. The words caught in her throat.

The initial round of trials had to be completed. Only by moving forward could she find the flaws, push that number from fifty to eighty percent and beyond…

Perhaps it was this thought that made her relent. In the end, she agreed.

—

That evening, Darren and Noah arrived early at a quiet, elegant bistro.

When Charlotte’s wheelchair appeared at the entrance, Darren strode forward, his tall frame cutting a path through the crowd.

“Charlotte, you made it,” he said, his voice gentle and careful as he steadied her chair.

She answered with a subdued, “Yeah.”

Noah trailed behind, his voice barely more than a whisper, “Hi, Mom…”

Charlotte said nothing.

Charlotte looked down.

The picture was a burst of color: blue sky, green grass, a cozy house with smoke curling from its chimney. In front of the house stood three figures holding hands—two tall, one small—all with enormous, smiling faces. In the corner, a round, orange-red sun was setting, casting a warm glow over everything.

The crayon lines were clumsy, but it was unmistakably the three of them.

Charlotte stared at the drawing—the “family portrait” so bright it almost hurt to look at. She saw those three exaggerated, hand-in-hand smiles beneath the golden sunset, and her fingers tightened imperceptibly on her fork.

She was silent for a long moment.

Darren’s heart was in his throat, terrified she’d say something cold and crush Noah.

At last, Charlotte reached out, folded the drawing with careful precision, and slipped it into her pocket.

She didn’t meet Noah’s shining eyes, nor did she look at Darren, whose relief was palpable. Instead, she lowered her gaze and said softly, “Let’s eat.”