The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Opening a durian with my bare hands?

Charles tensed.

The fruit was covered in thorns. It was close to impossible to open it without using any tools.

Even the smile on Zendaya’s face disappeared. She had initially wanted her brother to just bully Charles a little, but

it seemed like the situation was out of control.

Her brother’s first request was ruthless.

She weakly tugged Benedict’s sleeve and muttered, “Benny, it’s hard to open a durian. If Uncle Charles uses his

bare hands, he’s going to bleed a lot.”

Benedict furrowed his brows, a hint of annoyance manifesting on his face. “If he can’t fulfill my request, then he

can leave immediately and never bother me again.”

“I can. I’ve promised you that I’ll do it, and I won’t go back on my words.”

With that, Charles gave him a gentle smile.

Benedict spotted the smile and huffed. He then clasped his hands together and looked out of the window. “Then

hurry up and do it.”

Charles took out the durian from the bag. He observed it for a while, wondering where he should start.

Every once in a while, he would glance at Benedict, who had a merciless expression on his face.

A quiet laugh escaped his lips. Benedict was so much like Cedrick.

He was surprised that the boy could think of something so heartless at his young age.

If Zendaya was the flower of a rose, then Benedict had to be the thorns of the rose.

As expected of Cedrick’s son… Charles lamented in his mind before trying to open the durian.

Alas, the shell was too tough, and the thorns were too many. There was nowhere he could put his fingers to pull the

fruit apart.

Meanwhile, Zendaya was nervously watching from the side.

“Uncle Charles, is it very hard to open? Just forget about it. I don’t want to eat durian anymore. I’ll think of another

way to get Benny to forgive you.”

Benedict frowned. “Zendaya, I can hear you even though you think that you’re whispering. He was the one who

agreed to the three requests. If he can’t do it as a man, then don’t go anywhere with him anymore. He doesn’t

deserve to be your godfather.”

“Um, but… I don’t think Uncle Charles can actually open it—”

As soon as she said that, a thumping sound rang in the room.

Charles had lifted his hand and struck the durian in one swift movement.

He had decided to endure the momentary pain instead of dragging out the situation. It seemed like he would have

to shed some blood to satisfy Benedict anyway, so after a while of studying the durian, Charles made up his mind to

simply strike it.

As someone who was once trained in the Central Intelligence Agency, his judgment and decision-making skills were

still intact.

The noise attracted the attention of the children, and even Benedict craned his neck to look at the durian.

Zendaya cried out, “Wow! You really opened it! You’re awesome, Uncle Charles! The durian flesh smells, but the

smellier it is, the tastier it is!”

Zendaya smacked her lips, her bright eyes fixed on the yellowish flesh of the durian.

Benedict was expressionless and silent.

I never thought this won’t pose a challenge to him! Darn it!

However, Zendaya soon noticed something amiss with Charles.

“Uncle Charles, why are you so pale? Why is your hand shaking?” Promptly, she grabbed the hand he had used to

strike the durian and flipped it.

The side of Charles’ hand was completely covered in blood, and his fingers were shaking uncontrollably. Even his

veins were visible.

“It’s bleeding so badly! Does it hurt, Uncle Charles? Let me blow the pain away!”

She then huffed and puffed at his wound.

Charles was glad to see Zendaya feeling bad for him. He smiled and gently reassured her, “I’m fine. As long as I get

to fulfill your brother’s request, this is just something trivial.”

Benedict did not speak, but his eyes were fixed on his bleeding wound as well.

He makes it sound like it’s nothing. My body hurts even when I’m not bleeding or vomiting blood because of the

virus. Charles’ hand is already a mangled mess. I’m sure it hurts way more than I’ve hurt. Adults are all liars.

Without filtering his words, Benedict uttered, “I feel much better seeing you in pain after the misery I had to go

through over the years because of you.”

Charles responded with a small smile, “I’m glad you’re happy.”

Enduring the pain in silence, Charles proceeded to pull the split durian into two parts. To avoid his blood dripping

onto the flesh, he took out a pair of disposable gloves and a plate from the drawer.

Then, he took out the flesh of the fruit and placed them on the plate.

The entire time, he was calm and elegant, the look in his eyes peaceful.

“Anything in excess will be bad for your health, so don’t be too greedy. Keep the unfinished flesh in the refrigerator

so that you can have some tomorrow instead.”

Zendaya’s heart raced when she saw Charles’ blood-filled glove and smelled the metallic scent in the air.

“Uncle Charles, maybe you should treat your wound first. Will you die? This looks scary. I’m scared.”

Zendaya’s face was pale, and she had scrunched up her face, an evident sign of her terror.

“You’ve completed my first request. Go to the professor to get your wound treated. I don’t want Zendaya passing

out from fright in my room.”

Charles soon realized the pallor on her face too. “Then enjoy your fruit. I’ll be out for a while.”

Even when he was gone, the fear on Zendaya’s face remained.

Despite that, she went over to take the plate and started stuffing the pieces of durian flesh into her mouth, puffing

up her cheeks in the process.

Benedict did not even touch a single piece. “It doesn’t look like you’re really afraid. Charles is bleeding, yet you still

have the heart to eat your fruit?”

Tears welled up in Zendaya’s eyes.

“Uncle Charles bled for the fruit. He would have suffered for no reason if I don’t eat more of the fruit. I feel bad for

him, and that’s why I have to eat this.”

Benedict was speechless.

Then, when he thought about how he had to forgive Charles after two more requests, he grew frustrated.

Thus, he vented his irritation on Zendaya, who was constantly by Charles’ side.

“I don’t need you to accompany me. You should go to Charles. His hand is badly hurt, so shouldn’t you be by his

side, consoling him?”

“Benny…” Zendaya started sniffling, the pieces of durian still in her mouth. “I want to go to Uncle Charles, but I

want to stay by your side too. Uncle Charles must be hurting a lot right now, but you must have hurt a lot when you

were feeling sick too. You’re just five, but you’re already having to endure so much. I feel bad for you, Benny… Mm,

yummy. Wait, no! I mean, I’m feeling conflicted.”

Benedict mercilessly exposed her lie. “You’re just reluctant to part with your durian.”

“No!”

Zendaya shook her head vigorously before shoving the rest of the durian flesh that was in her hand into her mouth,

looking stumped the entire time.

Benedict gazed at her and said, “You can take two pieces and leave to look for Charles. If you insist on staying here

to annoy me, I’ll keep the durian and stop you from having more.”

“No… All right. I’ll leave you alone.”

With that said, Zendaya grabbed the two biggest pieces and jogged out of the ward.

She guessed that she could still catch up to Charles if she were to run after him.

Once she was out of the room, Benedict turned to make sure that she was genuinely gone before reaching out with

his free hand to grab a piece of durian from the plate.

Then, he took a big bite.

Mm. Yummy!