The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 371

Julian never imagined he could be so thoroughly devastated by his own son. He didn't know it yet, but Zane no longer carried the Nicholson name. He was Zane Prescott now. When Winona had changed his legal records, she had initially planned to give him her own surname, Perkins. But when she asked Zane for his opinion, he had insisted on Prescott.

His reason was simple: "Dad Prescott is a real man. When I grow up, I want to be a real man too. I want to be a Prescott."

The logic of a child, pure and straightforward. Winona had agreed. The name didn't matter. As long as Zane had a healthy, happy, and supportive environment to grow up in, what difference did it make if he was a Prescott or a Perkins? All that mattered was that he was no longer a Nicholson.

And now, Julian had called him Zane Nicholson. How was the boy supposed to respond?

In the past, when Zane had desperately craved a hug from Julian, Julian had not only refused but had visibly flinched whenever Zane called him "Daddy," terrified of displeasing him. The boy had lived in constant fear around his own father. A six-year-old, deprived of paternal love—the mental anguish must have been immense. Winona had often blamed herself for adopting Zane, only to subject him to such cold emotional abuse.

But now, things were different. Yves Prescott had filled the void of fatherly love in Zane's life.

Seeing Zane nestled in Yves's arms, looking at Julian with such detached indifference, felt like a dull knife twisting in Julian's gut. The pain was sharp and real. His expression darkened as he turned to Winona. "Winona, Zane is *my* son! How could you let him take the Prescott name? Not only that, but you've turned him against me. He won't even call me Daddy anymore!"

Winona's brow furrowed. In a cool, measured tone, she asked, "Julian, are you perhaps misremembering things?"

He remembered the small boy holding a messy, handmade mask, a birthday gift for him. He hadn't accepted it. He hadn't even glanced at it, hadn't offered a word of thanks. He had simply left with Tiana and Felicity to celebrate at the old manor. After that, every time Zane saw him, the boy would hesitate, wanting to call him "Daddy" but afraid to, which only made Julian's aversion grow. It became easier and easier to pretend the child didn't exist.

Six years had passed just like that.

Now, faced with Winona's scathing question, Julian realized he had indeed been deluding himself. For six years, he had ignored Zane's existence, had refused to let the boy call him father. So why did it hurt so much now to hear him call someone else by that name? He deserved Winona's scorn.

Looking at Zane curled up in Yves's arms, his eyes fixed obediently on his mother, Julian was struck by how perfectly the three of them fit together. They looked like a real family.