Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 249

Eric’s school year was about to begin, and two days before classes started, he saw his name on the dorm residency application list in his class group chat.

Millford Ridge High School was right in the center of Millford, only a ten-minute drive from the Hayes family home. Besides, the dorms at Millford Ridge were subpar—cramped eight-person rooms that frequently lost power and water.

“Mom! Did you sign me up for the dorms?!”

Eric came flying down from his second-floor room and into the kitchen.

Karen Hayes was preparing dinner. Without looking up from the vegetables she was chopping, she answered calmly, “What about it? Yes, I signed you up.”

He knew it. Eric had guessed it had to be his mom; he couldn't think of anyone else who would do it.

“Why?! I’m perfectly fine living at home. I won’t be able to get used to the dorms. What if I can’t sleep well and it affects my grades? I’m a senior now!”

Eric rattled off a stream of complaints. When he finally finished, Karen shot a cool glance at her son and said slowly, “Go try it for two weeks. If you really can’t get used to it, you can come back.”

Two weeks?!

Eric didn’t want to stay for even a single day. “Mom! For us seniors, time is money! Making me stay for two weeks before coming back will totally disrupt my study routine.”

“Disrupt?”

Karen snorted, giving her son a humorless smile. “You think I don’t know that you come home from your evening study sessions and play on your phone? You claim you’re using it to study, but you’re actually playing games in your room. Did you really think I didn’t know?!”

He had been a junior before, and since his grades were stable, Karen had never said much about it.

Hearing his mother’s words, Eric froze. His face flushed, and he opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. Defeated, he retreated to his room.

He didn't overthink it at the time or wonder why his mother had suddenly decided to make him stay at the dorm.

He had only instructed Jason to handle the payments and hadn’t asked for details about Thomas’s condition at the hospital.

Melissa, who was sipping her soup, paused with the spoon in her hand. A gentle smile appeared on her face.

She looked at Evan, her eyes full of warmth. “Dad’s been doing well lately. His condition hasn’t worsened or become more serious. The doctor said that for him, that’s already good news.”

“Mm, that’s good.”

Evan nodded and said nothing more.

But to Melissa, this was a sign of Evan’s concern for her father, which indirectly proved her importance in his heart. Why else would a man of his status care about an ordinary employee like her father?

Melissa was delighted and became even more diligent in serving him food.