The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Called a bastard
The little children sat in their classroom, their small heads focused on the teacher who was lecturing them. The teacher had drawn a tree on the board, and beneath it, she wrote the word family. She was teaching them about the importance of family.

Later, the teacher smiled and called on the students.

“Children, last time we talked about mothers, and each of you told me what you love about your mother. Today, we will talk about fathers. I will call on each of you—especially those who think they are the smartest—and you will tell us what you love most about your father.”

When she finished speaking, she started calling students from the last row, asking each of them to step forward and share what they loved most about their fathers.

Little Tobi sat at his desk with a small smile, listening to the teacher. But his mind was elsewhere—he was busy talking to Darius in his head.

“Darius, she’s talking about fathers… do I have a father?” Tobi asked.

“I don’t know,” Darius replied, “but I feel like we do… we just don’t know who he is.”

While Tobi was lost in thought, the teacher suddenly called his name.

“Tobi, it’s your turn. Come and tell us what you love about your father.”

He stood up and looked at his teacher. What did he like about his father? But… what could he say when he didn’t even have one?

**

Rose sat at her office desk, flipping through some papers.

“The number of actors and actresses in the company has increased by 50%. I now have 82 actors and actresses in my company… not bad for a startup,” Rose muttered, sighing as she folded her hands together.

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in. Who is it?” Rose asked.

A young woman in a beautiful purple dress walked in, holding a stack of documents.

“Madam, the new candidates for the Squid Game have arrived, and I’ve made all the arrangements,” the woman said, handing the documents to Rose.

“Good job.”

She acted calm and composed, like a professional boss, but inside, she was grinning. The more candidates that enter the Squid Game, the more money I make. It was just business. People joined the game in hopes of earning a fortune, but in the end, most of them forfeited their participation money. Rose had already recovered the prize money before the game had even begun.

After finishing her task, the girl left the room. Rose stared at the documents for a long time, but her phone suddenly buzzed, interrupting her thoughts. She frowned and picked it up.

[Rolan]

She hesitated, unsure whether to reply or not.

Her mind drifted back to her nightmares—memories tied to Rolan. She didn’t know how to feel. Should she talk to him? Ignore him? The only thing she was certain of was that she wanted peace.

Turning her phone face down on the desk, she mumbled to herself, “Rolan, you should stop disturbing me. I just want to live my life in peace.”

It was almost time for Tobi’s school to end. She needed to pick him up.

Rose sighed, debating whether to leave now or wait. It’s better to be early than late, she decided. She didn’t want her baby throwing a tantrum because she arrived late—he could be quite bossy when he wanted to be.

Tobi hesitated, thinking for a moment before finally answering, “What I love about my father is that… I don’t have one.”

Gasps filled the classroom.

Tobi turned his head, confused. Why were his classmates reacting like that?

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?” he asked, trying to understand their reaction.

“You’re a bastard,” one of his classmates sneered.

Tobi’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what bastard meant, but he could tell from the way it was said that it wasn’t a good word.

“Why… why are you calling me that? I don’t think bastard is a nice word! Stop calling me that!” Tobi cried, pointing at his classmates, demanding they stop. He wasn’t ready to know the meaning of the word, but deep down, he already felt it was something bad.

Laughter erupted around him. Another child smirked and said, “You’re fatherless. You don’t have a dad.”

Tobi blinked, his vision blurring as tears welled up in his eyes.

“I am not a bastard! I have a father!” he insisted, but his trembling voice betrayed his doubt.

His classmates were being mean—they were bullying him. Desperate for help, he turned to his teacher.

“Auntie, won’t you punish them? They’re insulting me!” Tobi pleaded.

But the teacher simply folded her arms and sighed.

“Sorry, Tobi.” That was all she said.

Tobi’s chest tightened. He didn’t understand his teacher’s attitude. She always treated him differently—distant, uninterested. Was it because the other children had fathers and he didn’t?

**

At Tobi’s School

“Honey, good afternoon! How was school? Did your teacher teach you well? Did you have fun?” Rose asked the moment she saw him, unable to resist squeezing his cheeks affectionately.

Tobi didn’t respond. He simply looked down, his small face expressionless.

Rose paused, her hands still. Something was off. He wasn’t usually like this.

“Honey, are you okay?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Tobi just nodded, but Rose wasn’t convinced.

She wanted to tell him that he could talk to her about anything—that she was his mother, and she would always listen. But she couldn’t find the right words.

Let’s get home first, she decided.

Once they were home, she would sit him down and gently ask what was wrong. No matter what, she was going to make sure he told her.

“Honey, do you want ice cream or cake? Just tell me which one, and I’ll get it for you,” Rose said, hoping to cheer Tobi up before they got home.

At the mention of ice cream, Tobi lifted his head and looked at her.

“Ice cream, Mommy! I want ice cream!” he said, finally smiling.

“Yes! Ice cream it is! I’ll get you whatever flavor you want—vanilla, chocolate, anything you like. Come on, let’s go buy some right now,” Rose said, feeling relieved the moment Tobi responded.