Repairing A Broken Home With My Patriarch System

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. She clearly didn’t believe him. However, she also didn’t think he had done anything bad.

Perhaps he had simply reasoned with the boss of the gambling den.

Ethan patted her head and said, ”Don’t overthink it. We have customers.”

His words immediately turned their attention back to the approaching customers, and they began to sell.

After Ethan’s stunt on the first day, the shop had become popular, and people were buying from them faster than before. It was to the point where they didn’t need to put up discounts before selling all the fruits they had in stock.

A familiar young woman approached the shop, flanked by two men who seemed to be working for her.

”Hello, remember me?” She smiled at the couple.

Ethan remembered instantly. She was the woman who had asked him for a healthy smoothie idea days ago.

He smiled at her and nodded. ”I do remember. Are you here for another suggestion?”

The woman chuckled and shook her head. ”Not really. I’m here to buy in bulk. I added the smoothie idea you gave me to my sister’s restaurant, and now her restaurant is in high demand for those ingredients.”

”Oh? That’s amazing! Do they like it?” Evelyn chipped in, shifting closer to Ethan.

The young woman smiled and turned to her. ”Yes. They love it. That’s why I’m here today.”

She didn’t notice anything wrong, but Ethan noticed that Evelyn was being assertive when she stepped closer to him.

It was like she was making a ’he’s mine’ declaration.

He almost laughed, but he held back and asked the woman. ”Then... how many would you like?”

She answered calmly. ”One basket each—mangoes, oranges, and grapes.”

Ethan nodded and immediately began packaging them. In a few minutes, he was done and he handed them over to the men standing beside her.

After she paid, he saw them off with a wave of his hand, then looked at his wife.

”Well, looks like we made it big today, didn’t we?”

Evelyn smiled. ”Of course, we did! And it’s all thanks to you.”

She paused, then lowered her head. ’It’s unbelievable how fast he changed. And somehow... I trust him now.’

Ethan didn’t interrupt her thoughts and just hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her head.

She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning against his chest. They were forced to separate soon, though, as another customer was already approaching.

A while later, Cassie returned with Nora. The little girl had a small, forced smile on her face while Cassie was beaming.

Her wide smile froze when she spotted Ethan, then dimmed.

”You...”

She wanted to say something but decided to let it go and fell silent.

”Evelyn, how’s it going? Did you have good sales?” She asked her friend.

Evelyn nodded and smiled back. ”Yes! Come see the ledger.”

Meanwhile, Ethan went over to Nora and carried her in his arms.

”What’s wrong? Why aren’t you smiling?” He asked in concern.

Nora’s forced smile disappeared, and she shook her head. ”Nothing.”

Ethan frowned but didn’t press for the truth. Instead, he carried her into the shop and showed her the gift.

”Do you like it?”

Nora froze, her eyes widening. ”What... you really bought it?”

Ethan nodded, a little puzzled. ”You asked, right? So yeah, I bought it.”

Nora remained silent, staring at the teddy bear with a blank look.

After a while, she said, ”Thank you, dad.”

Ethan smiled warmly and said, ”Anything you need, just tell me, okay?”

She nodded, taking the fluffy bear in her arms. He set her down on the ground and turned back to look at Evelyn and Cassie.

They were still discussing, with Cassie casting weird looks in his direction.

Ethan ignored her and walked back to the front of the shop to sell. Customers kept approaching the shop and by evening, they had sold all the fruits Evelyn purchased in the morning.

With nothing left to do, the family packed their bags and returned home. Cassie also bid them goodbye and left.

When they returned to their neighborhood, they were surprised to hear people gossiping about the shutdown of Joe’s illegal gambling den.

Well, at least Evelyn and Nora were surprised. Ethan wasn’t.

”Why would they suddenly shut down?” Evelyn wondered aloud, bewildered.

She turned to Ethan for answers. After all, he had once been a regular at the place. Besides, he still went there this morning.

’Could it be related to him?’

Seeing her eyes narrow as she looked at him, Ethan knew she was misunderstanding it.

He laughed lightly and said, ”I heard Joe has a criminal record and the FBI busted him today. Too bad, it’s a real loss for the den.”

’And for me...’ He added internally.

”Ah? I hope it won’t affect you, right? You went to see him this morning, after all...”

The woman panicked, her eyelashes fluttering in worry.

Ethan shook his head and reassured her. ”No, I’m fine. I’m not a member of their club anyway.”

Evelyn nodded and fell silent as they got back to the house. Ethan helped Nora to the room since she was feeling sleepy. He laid her on the bed and watched as she hugged the teddy bear tightly.

Smiling, he left the room and returned to the living room. Evelyn was also resting on the couch, a little tired.

Ethan sat beside her and offered her a lap pillow. She gladly accepted, curling on the couch as she comfortably rested her head.

Sighing, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

The call was answered almost immediately.

”Ethan?” A deep voice echoed from the phone, tinged with disbelief.

”Good afternoon, dad,” Ethan smiled. ”It has been a while.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the deep voice came again—harsher.

”You’re not my son. Who are you?”

Ethan froze for a moment before forcing a laugh.

”What do you mean? You’re not going senile, are you?”

He could almost imagine the man’s eyes narrowing with skepticism.

”Old man, suddenly calling you by your title scares you that much? Save me the shame and call mom over too.”

Again, there was a moment of silence before his father responded.

”... It’s really you.”