Jasper furrowed his brows and escorted Lauren outside.
"Ryan, take her for dessert."
Closing the door, he stepped into the bathroom. Even though he said he wanted Lauren to choose her own maid, she was still just a child, not as discerning as adults. Jasper couldn't help but worry, so he came back to the villa to take a look.
Inside the bathroom, after Adeline finished arranging the sink, she turned around and noticed that there were only white towels on the towel rack. She then opened a cabinet and took out a pink towel and hung it up. Lauren liked the color pink.
The bathroom was filled with steam as the slender woman skillfully moved around inside. That figure and those actions made Jasper momentarily feel like he was dreaming.
"Adeline..." the man unconsciously uttered these two words. Adeline's body trembled violently. After a moment, she turned around, smiling as she looked at Jasper.
"Mr. Foster, hello."
The unfamiliar face and voice of the woman brought Jasper back to reality.
"It's you? The woman from the shopping mall last night?"
The man furrowed his brow tightly and suspiciously stared at her face, "What's your name?"
"My name is Adeline."
"Adeline?" he squinted his eyes. In the next second, the man grabbed Adeline's wrist, "Are you trying to say that your last name is Collins, and you're called Adeline?"
He stared at her with cold eyes and a sinister voice, "Yesterday, you deliberately ran into me and struck up a conversation, and today you come to apply for a job to take care of my daughter, using my wife's name? Do you think you're worthy?"
Adeline couldn't speak as he tightened his grip on her hand.
She struggled while coldly laughing inwardly.
It's surprising that he still remembers her being called Adeline!
She thought that he would have forgotten about his ex-wife after all these years of being with Molly!
"Daddy!" The bathroom door swung open, and Lauren rushed in, frantically reaching out her small arms to grab Jasper's leg. "Let her go! You're hurting Auntie! If Auntie gets hurt, I'll be heartbroken!"
Although the little girl's strength was weak, her voice was full of worry and anger.
Jasper paused and let go.
Adeline's wrist, finally released, was now red.
"Are you okay?"
Lauren ran over, anxiously looking at Adeline, "Are you in a lot of pain? Lauren will call a doctor for you!"
She turned her head, glaring at Jasper discontentedly, "Go call a doctor!"
Ryan broke out in a cold sweat on the side.
In Denver, Jasper was an untouchable presence. Even the elders of the Foster family didn't dare to speak to him like that!
This little girl dared to speak to the boss in such a servant-like tone just because she was his daughter!
Jasper furrowed his brow slightly, then glanced at Ryan, "Call a doctor."
"No thanks."
Adeline took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm not that fragile that I’d need a doctor for something like this."
After speaking, she looked at Jasper and explained, "Mr. Foster, my name is indeed Adeline. I'm also very helpless about sharing the same name as your ex-wife. It was indeed my fault yesterday at the mall when I accidentally bumped into you. As for coming here to apply..."
She looked at him, her gaze indifferent. "I just wanted to do a job that I'm good at, and I happened to feel a connection with Lauren. I don't have any ulterior motives. Please don't read too much into it, Mr. Foster."
After finishing speaking, Adeline lowered her head, speaking gently. "Let’s go downstairs to have dessert?"
Upon mentioning this, the little girl's face immediately wrinkled, "The desserts here are too sweet! I don't like them!"
"Do you want to eat cookies then?"
"Yes!"
"I'll make some for you."
"Okay!"
Lauren held Adeline's pinky finger and proudly pulled her away.
When they reached the door, Lauren turned around and looked at Jasper with a serious expression, "Daddy, if you dare to lay a hand on Auntie again... Not only will I run away from home, but I'll also report you for having violent tendencies!"
Jasper furrowed his brow, deep in thought, watching as the two women, one big and one small, walked away.
"Retrieve Adeline's information for me."
"Yes!" Ryan nodded nervously, about to leave, but Jasper called him back.
"My recent behavior..." Jasper paused. "Will it make Lauren think poorly of me?"
The sudden appearance of a daughter had indeed been both a surprise and a challenge for him.
He was pleasantly surprised that Adeline was alive and that he now had a daughter.
But he was also at a loss as he had no idea how to interact with a young girl.
Just now, he had been so focused on figuring out the woman's identity that he forgot to leave a good impression on Lauren.
"It's a bit disturbing but she’ll come around," Ryan wiped the sweat off his forehead. "That maid was carefully chosen by Lauren. It's obvious that she likes Adeline..."
Jasper's brows furrowed deeper.
He frustratingly got up and went downstairs.
In the small restaurant downstairs, a little girl in a pink princess dress sat there quietly, staring in the direction of the kitchen.
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at the little cookies."
Lauren licked her lips, her voice soft and tender, "Auntie said the cookies can only be taken out of the oven in half an hour."
When Lauren mentioned Adeline, Jasper looked around and asked, "Where is she?"
"Who?"
Lauren tilted her head, her big watery eyes fixed on him, "You mean Auntie?"
Her adorable appearance made the man unable to resist reaching out and ruffling her head. "Yes."
"Auntie..." The little girl's mouth turned downwards, her nose started sniffing and she burst into tears, "Auntie left!"
When the little girl cried, tears fell like an opened floodgate, "She said, Daddy, you hate her. Although she needed a job, she didn't want to live under suspicion and humiliation. So, she went home!"
Jasper's gaze faltered for a moment.
That woman... she actually left just like that?
He lowered his head and silently glanced at Lauren, "Do you want her to come back?"
"I want to!" The little girl sniffled. "But Auntie said unless you apologize to her and say you misunderstood her, she won't come back."
After speaking, she pursed her lips very sensibly, "Although Lauren likes Auntie, Daddy's dignity is more important. So, Daddy, can you make me lunch today? I don't like eating meals made by servants, I only eat food made by people I like. Right now, the only person I like in this household is Daddy."
The veins on Jasper's forehead pulsed.
He had to cook for her himself?
"Daddy, you're so handsome and smart. Cooking should be a breeze for you, right?"
The little one blinked her eyes, earnestly staring at him.
After a long while, the man rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen.
Leaning on the small table, Lauren secretly took a picture of the man busy in the kitchen with her phone and sent it to Adeline.