Elise stood frozen for several heartbeats.

Then she snapped out of her daze, irritation flashing in her eyes. "You could have told me that from the start!"

She had genuinely frightened herself, thinking that was the unavoidable outcome. Did he get some kind of pleasure from toying with her emotions like this?

"You never allowed me the opportunity to explain," William stated matter-of-factly.

Elise was furious—he had literally delivered a whole monologue, going on and on about his academic accomplishments! For once, she controlled her temper and simply left after finishing her dessert.

As was his habit, William followed her all the way back to her apartment in his luxury car.

Two more days slipped by. Elise was in James's room, once again patiently teaching the boy pronunciation by breaking down syllables. She thought she heard something from outside, but the walls were so well insulated she decided it must be her imagination.

"Lee-id. Lid."

Elise continued instructing James calmly, having grown much more patient after learning about his IQ score. She had done some research and discovered that child prodigies often display intense focus on specific subjects.

In essence, while they could score 120 on a test where 100 was perfect, they could also completely fail in other areas.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be little room for improvement in their weaker subjects.

For James, his greatest challenge appeared to be language acquisition.

"Lee-id, lid," James repeated after her, then suddenly pronounced another word. "'Ree-id. Rid.'"

Elise started, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her again. "What was that? Can you say that again for me, James?"

"Rid," James responded immediately.

She pressed on eagerly, "How about this one?"

"Tiger."

"This one?"

"Water."

"And this?"

"Bread."

Elise was overjoyed—she had chosen simple words, and he had pronounced every single one correctly! This wasn't just a lucky guess. He had genuinely learned them! She immediately cupped his little face and planted a big kiss on his cheek. This moment felt more rewarding than closing a billion-dollar business deal!

"Mommy, did I say them right?"

James brightened noticeably when he saw how happy Elise was.

"Yes! My sweet boy is absolutely amazing!" Elise praised him lavishly.

"I need to talk with your daddy. Keep practicing for now, okay?"

"Okay!"

Elise opened the door, her heart swelling with happiness. It felt like a treasure chest had fallen from the sky directly into her lap; she wanted to share this wonderful news with everyone.

However, her joy evaporated in the very next instant—the sensation was like having a bucket of icy water thrown over her.

Two people stood in her living room; she stared at them fixedly, completely stunned.

William was sitting at his usual spot at the kitchen island working on his laptop, while Victoria leaned against the counter, engaged in animated conversation with him.

As Elise stepped out, she saw Victoria pick up the coffee mug beside William's hand and take a quick sip from it.

Elise knew perfectly well that was William's mug, since she saw him use it every single evening.