The Day I Kissed An Older Man
Chapter 1603

Sophia grabbed Bryan and pulled the painting from behind him. She then pushed him away and examined the painting. As she laid eyes on the artwork, she came to realize that it was just an ordinary landscape painting.

Bryan was infuriated after his painting was snatched away. He attempted to jump up and reclaim it, but Sophia's taller stature made it impossible for him to reach it. He yelled, "Give it back! Give that painting back to me!"

Sophia turned the painting over to see if there was anything out of the ordinary on the back, but the painting was rather normal like before. However, the irate expression on Corinne's child delighted her greatly and she deliberately withheld the painting from him to revel in his misery.

Their commotion eventually caught the attention of Adam, Melinda, and Lilin.

"What's happening, Sophia? Why is the boy making such a fuss?" Adam asked sternly as he came out of the room with his hands behind his back.

Sophia smiled at her father and explained, "Don't worry about it. He insisted on running out on his own, and he got upset when I tried to stop him."

Melinda looked sympathetically at the profusely sweating 'Benjamin' and waved to him. "Come here, Benjamin. You shouldn't run off on your own. I'll put on some cartoons for you, okay?"

Bryan never took kindly to Sophia, and he was never going to consider Adam and Melinda as his grandparents. He ignored Melinda's invitation and continued to jump and reach for the painting in Sophia's hand, demanding, "I don't want to watch cartoons! I want my painting back; give it back to me!"

Melinda was not angry at him-just helpless.

Adam, however, was peeved by what he perceived as the child's lack of respect. He grumbled, "Is this how Zachary spoils his children? Not even an ounce of manners! Does he usually behave like this with you?"

Sophia sighed a little dejectedly. "I'm used to it, Dad, but he's not acting out because of Zachary. Zachary is very strict with him, but I wonder just where he inherited this rebellious streak from." Adam immediately recalled the child's origin from Sophia's last sentence and had a newfound repulsion for him. There was nothing likable about someone who was clearly not of his blood.

At that moment, Lilin came forward and defended her nephew, "I think Benjamin is a very good boy. He's not as stubborn as you say he is."

Sophia glanced at Lilin in disdain and retorted, "How well do you know him, anyway? You've barely even spent any time with him. Have you seen how bad his attitude is usually?"

"I might not know what his attitude is like most of the time," Lilin began, "but I know that he's upset right now because you took away the painting that I gave him. Of course he'll throw a tantrum if you don't return his belongings!"

Adam and Melinda were immediately drawn to the rolled-up painting in Sophia's hand. Sophia was holding it high to keep it out of 'Benjamin's' reach, and 'Benjamin' was jumping desperately to try and take it back.

Sophia looked at Lilin and said with a smile, "See, this is another one of our misunderstandings. I'm not keeping it from Benjamin. I'm just worried he might've taken it secretly. I took it from him because I wanted to return it to you!"

Lilin frowned as her dislike for Sophia grew deeper. No mother would immediately jump to the conclusion that her child was a thief. She once thought that Sophia would love Benjamin in the same way she loved the man whom she had used all sorts of nefarious means to keep to herself, but it appeared that she had underestimated Sophia's evilness. Sophia's selfishness was an inextricable part of her that did not change, even toward an innocent child.