Chapter 168 Allergy
Sophie's brow furrowed immediately, the pity in her eyes deepening as her tone turned soft and full of heartache.
"Oh my God, that poor child. To be so frightened at such a young age. Which friend of yours is it? How come I've never heard about this before?"
Sophie's eyes were full of confusion.
She acted as if she had no idea from start to finish that he already had a son named Jasper, as if the incident at the amusement park had nothing to do with her whatsoever.
This pretense was so deliberate it was almost clumsy.
Arthur looked down at her, his eyes churning with intense coldness and disgust, yet he still suppressed the anger in his heart, his tone cooling a bit. "Yeah, you wouldn't remember that friend."
His gaze was heavy as it fell on her face.
But Sophie acted as if she hadn't caught the deeper meaning in his words at all. "I see. Well, did they catch the person?"
"They did."
"That's good then."
She continued, trying to change the subject. "Don't think too much about it. Go take a shower first, you must be exhausted today."
Sophie put on a caring expression, reaching out to take his hand. "Should I run you a bath?"
Arthur turned his head to avoid her hand. His test had already given him his answer.
The more she pretended to know nothing, the more she acted like she didn't know he had a child, the more it confirmed his suspicions.
He raised his hand to rub his temples, his tone clearly impatient as he stood up and headed for the stairs. "No need. I'll do it myself. You should get some rest too."
With that, he walked upstairs without giving Sophie another glance, his back rigid and distant, keeping everyone at arm's length.
Watching Arthur's figure disappear around the staircase corner, Sophie's gentle smile instantly vanished completely, her eyes churning with intense resentment and malice.
She clenched her fingers tightly, her nails digging into her palms, leaving several deep red marks, yet she felt no pain.
She naturally heard Arthur's probing and knew he must suspect her.
The incident at the amusement park—she thought she'd done it flawlessly. The person she hired only pretended to bump into them, didn't actually hurt the child, and ran off into the crowd. She never expected Arthur would still notice something was off.
Fortunately, she was prepared. By acting completely ignorant, even pretending she'd never heard he had a child, she should be able to get away with it for now.
But that woman Aria, and her bastard child Jasper, were still thorns in her side.
The more Arthur protected them, the more determined she was to get rid of them!
Upstairs in the master bedroom, Arthur stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, thinking about Sophie's reaction just now, the coldness in his eyes almost freezing into ice.
His earlier probing seemed to yield nothing, but in fact, he was now certain.
Sophie's disguise was too fake, too deliberate.
What did it matter if there was no evidence?
He took out his phone, his fingertips rapidly tapping on the screen, sending a message to his people.
[Assign more personnel. Watch Sophie 24/7. Every move she makes, everyone she meets, everything she says, everything she does—report it all immediately, word for word.]
He would never let anyone hurt Aria and Jasper again.
After being frightened by the amusement park incident, Jasper stayed home for two days. Once Aria was sure he was no longer anxious and scared, she sent him back to kindergarten, following his usual schedule.
The morning sunlight was warm as Aria held her son's little hand and walked to the kindergarten entrance.
She carefully briefed the teacher about the child's recent condition, then crouched down to ruffle Jasper's hair, watching him walk into the kindergarten holding the teacher's hand before turning to leave. But the worry in her heart never quite faded.
The security Arthur arranged stayed hidden in the background, following at a distance.
There were also people he'd contacted at the kindergarten to watch over Jasper. Aria knew all this.
She knew Arthur just wanted to keep Jasper safe, so she let him.
But no one expected the accident would come in a different form.
That afternoon, the kindergarten suddenly called Aria's phone. The teacher's voice was panicked. "Ms. Hall, please come right away! Jasper suddenly broke out in red rashes all over. He keeps saying it itches, and he has a slight fever. It looks like an allergic reaction. We've already done a simple cold compress!"
Aria's water glass crashed against the edge of the table, spilling most of its contents.
She didn't bother wiping it up, grabbed her bag and rushed toward the door, her fingers shaking so badly she couldn't remember where she'd put her car keys.
In her panic, the first person she thought to call was Lance, but before she could dial, a message from Arthur popped up: "What happened to Jasper? The kindergarten contacted me. I'm on my way there now."
The people he'd stationed at the kindergarten had reported first.
Aria looked at that line of text. Her heart was frantic with worry about her child. She dug her fingertips hard into her palm, but ultimately didn't reply, driving straight to the kindergarten.
Arthur's car arrived a step ahead of hers. When Aria reached the nurse's office, she saw Arthur half-crouching by the bed, his hand hovering in mid-air, wanting to touch Jasper but not daring to.
The little guy was curled up on the small bed, his face flushed red, his neck and arms covered in patches of red rashes. His eyes were red, and when he saw Aria, his mouth immediately turned down as he cried out, "Mommy... itchy... it hurts so much..."
"Jasper!"
Aria rushed over and pulled the child into her arms, carefully avoiding his rashes, her voice trembling with heartache. She turned to look at the teacher. "How could he suddenly have an allergic reaction? This has never happened before."
"Today's craft class used wool felt and dried flower materials with pollen, and a student brought a pet rabbit to share. He probably came into contact with allergens. We didn't expect Jasper would be allergic to these things."
The teacher looked guilty, explaining repeatedly.
Arthur stood to the side, watching Aria hold the child, at a loss, watching Jasper's tear-stained little face. The anxiety in his eyes was almost overflowing. He said in a low voice, "Don't waste time here. I've contacted the children's hospital emergency room. The express lane is already open. Let's go now."
As he spoke, he reached out to take Jasper, wanting to make it easier for her, but Aria dodged sharply.
"No need. I can hold him."
Arthur's hand froze in mid-air, his fingers curling. Bitterness and helplessness surged in his heart. He knew she was still angry with him, but now wasn't the time to be stubborn. He suppressed the emotions in his heart, his voice low and urgent. "Aria, don't be difficult. Jasper is suffering right now. We can't afford to delay. My car is right outside. The driver is waiting. It's faster than you driving."
The atmosphere in the nurse's office instantly froze. The teacher stood to the side, not even daring to breathe loudly.
In Aria's arms, Jasper had cried himself tired and was just whimpering softly about the itching, his little body trembling slightly—a sight that tugged at everyone's heart.
Aria looked at her son's reddened eyes, felt his feverish little body, and finally relented, no longer pulling away from Arthur's hand. "Let's go."
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, immediately took Jasper from her arms, and strode ahead.