Jasper's hand holding the spoon paused slightly.
He raised his head, his black eyes coldly staring at Adeline's face, "I let her move in so that I can have a break from all the women who want to have a relationship with me."
His words made Adeline squint slightly.
After a while, she smiled, "I always thought that the relationship between Mr. Foster and Miss Collins was solid enough, it seems I was wrong."
Jasper faintly smirked, "Even so, those who approached me with ulterior motives don't have a chance."
Adeline retorted, "So you are really a faithful and affectionate man. It seems I misunderstood you before."
As the atmosphere at the dining table became increasingly tense, Lauren quickly reached out and intervened between the two with her small hand, "Stop arguing!"
"We're not arguing."
The anxious voice of their daughter brought Adeline back to her senses.
She quickly reined in her emotions and calmly glanced at Jasper, "Mr. Foster, please don't get the wrong idea. I just feel that it's not suitable for me to continue living here if the future mistress of Blue Bay holds animosity towards me."
Jasper furrowed his dark brows tightly, "This is my house. Whether you live here or not, it's my decision. Also, you're just a servant, don't get too involved in the affairs of the master. Molly is not the owner of this house."
With that, he lowered his head and gently wiped the soup from the corner of Lauren's mouth, "This villa has always had its mistress."
Adeline sneered inwardly.
Could the mistress of this villa that Jasper mentioned be her?
Adeline found it amusing.
When she was with Jasper back then, this man never showed her a hint of tenderness. In the end, he even brought himself to the brink of death for Molly. And now, he was pretending to be affectionate.
Was this all a show for Lauren?
Did he finally realize that his past actions were despicable?
Thinking about this, Adeline lightly curled her lips and smiled, "But, didn't the previous mistress of this house die?"
"She didn't die!" Jasper frowned, forcefully slamming the spoon onto the table, "My wife is still alive and well."
The man's gaze was fierce and sharp, "Stop talking nonsense or you'll regret it!"
Fearlessly, Adeline met his gaze, "But I saw in the news before that your ex-wife had already passed away. If Mr. Foster says she's alive, then where is she now?"
The man glared at her, his deep eyes burning with rage.
The two locked eyes, and the atmosphere at the dining table grew colder and increasingly suffocating.
"Enough!" Lauren shouted.
Her eyes were red as she placed her spoon and bowl down, her delicate voice laced with a hint of tears, "Do we have to argue on our first meal together?"
After speaking, the little girl turned and ran upstairs.
Jasper furrowed his brows, got up, coldly glanced at Adeline, and quickly went after her.
Adeline sat on the chair, watching the man chase after Lauren as she left, and silently closed her eyes.
She shouldn't have argued with Jasper in front of Lauren.
But in these six years, she had endured too much pain and torment.
Every midnight, when she dreamt, she wanted to fly back to Denver and carve open Jasper's heart to see if it was really black inside!
...
"Lauren?"
Upstairs, Jasper pushed open the door to the children's room and cautiously approached the little girl.
She covered herself with the blanket, her frail body lying on the bed, a small, pitiful bundle.
The man gently sat beside her bed, reaching out to lightly stroke her trembling back, "Don't cry."
He didn't know how to comfort such a young girl, so all he could do was stroke her gently and try to make his voice as soft as possible.
After a while, Lauren's trembling back finally stopped.
She emerged from the blanket, her eyes red as she looked at him, "Daddy, don't blame Auntie."
Jasper paused for a moment.
He thought that once she stopped crying, the first thing she would do was lean on him and complain to him.
But instead, the first thing this little girl did after holding back her tears was to plead for Adeline?
His heart instantly softened.
He lifted her up, "You like her that much?"
"Yeah," Lauren sniffled, resting her small head on the man's shoulder. "I really like her, Daddy, please don't blame her for this, okay?"
Jasper pursed his lips, though somewhat unwilling, but since his precious daughter said so, he couldn't really dismiss Adeline.
He sighed, gently nodding his head.
After a moment, he reached out to stroke her back gently, "What were you crying for? Missing Mommy?"
Lauren pursed her lips, silently nodding.
"Do you know where Mommy is?"
He lowered his voice, coaxing her gently, "Should daddy take you to find her?"
"No," Lauren shook her head vigorously, her head bobbing side by side. "Mommy said that when the time is right for daddy and her to meet, they will naturally meet. Just treat me well, Daddy."
Jasper looked at the little face that resembled Adeline's so closely, tightly pressing his thin lips.
"Daddy!" Lauren nestled in his arms and sniffled, "I heard Auntie say that you are going to marry that bad woman from yesterday."
After speaking, she raised her watery eyes and looked at him, "Is it true?"
Jasper didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"Sure, it's not your concern," he frowned and grunted.
"Why is it not my concern?" Lauren bit her lip. "Daddy, why are you marrying someone else? Don't you love Mommy anymore?"
Does he not love Adeline anymore?
Jasper let out a heavy sigh at this question. If he could stop loving Adeline, he would have done so long ago.
She had been gone for six years, but that feeling had been engraved into his bones.
However, back when they were together, he had never realized his feelings for her.
The man's silence made Lauren sigh deeply, "You definitely don't love Mommy."
Lauren pursed her lips, "There are no pictures of you and Mommy at home."
Ever since Lauren could remember, Adeline had the face she currently possessed.
Blake Bennett said Mommy's face was artificial and that she didn't look like this before.
She actually wanted to know what Mommy looked like before.
But after searching the whole house, she couldn't find a single photo of the woman.
The man sighed and made a sincere promise, "Go to sleep, be a good girl. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll see pictures of me and your mommy."
Lauren nodded, "Okay."
...
Early in the next morning, Molly pushed past the security at the entrance and as soon as she entered, she saw the wedding photo hanging in the center of the living room.
In the photo, Adeline was wearing a pristine white wedding dress, standing by the seaside while Jasper held flowers and walked toward her.
Staring at that photo, Molly's anger began to surge!
She remembered that when Adeline announced her death, she had burned all of Adeline's photos, using the excuse of not wanting Jasper to be hurt by the memories!
Why did that illegitimate child of Lauren's come back just two days ago, and this photo was hanging so blatantly in the center of Blue Bay?
Molly walked over angrily and directly took down the photo, letting it fall to the ground with a loud bang.
Bitch!
They're all bitches!
Adeline is a bitch, and her illegitimate child is a bitch too!