Chapter 215 Meeting Quinton
On the way, Amelia felt inexplicably nervous.
She had been kidnapped at a tender age, and couldn't remember anything from her childhood.
As for Quinton, she had only seen him in the photo album Natalie had given her.
He was a man with a kind smile.
Beyond that, she had no other impression of him.
"Ms. Richardson, you have half an hour." The man leading her stopped in front of a cell.
Amelia thanked him and pushed the door open.
She saw only a middle-aged man in prison uniform, sitting quietly. His hands were in shackles, so he could only lock them and rest them on the table.
He looked much older than he appeared in the photos, with obvious gray hair at his temples.
For some reason, even though this was their "first" meeting, Amelia felt an indescribable sadness.
She felt like crying for no reason.
"Dad, I'm Amelia." She introduced herself.
She had expected that when Quinton saw her, he would be like Natalie—crying tears of joy, then asking if she had suffered any hardships before. But unexpectedly, the first thing Quinton said was, "How is your mother doing?"
Amelia was stunned, but she smiled with understanding.
"She's doing well. I know some medicine, and I've used it to improve her health."
Only then did Quinton's expression relax considerably.
"I was really afraid she couldn't handle it out there. I don't really matter—my body is still pretty strong—I just worry about her."
Quinton went on and on, talking entirely about Natalie.
Amelia began to understand why, even though childbirth was a risk for women, Natalie had willingly had so many children for Quinton.
—These children weren't what Quinton wanted.
It was Natalie herself who loved children.
Quinton felt sorry for Natalie's body and was reluctant to have her bear so many children.
So when he saw Amelia, though he was happy she had been found, most of what he talked about was the mother of his children.
Of course, later, after confirming that Natalie had been in good health and spirits recently, he finally talked about Amelia.
"People on the outside have passed me a lot of information, all about you."
"You didn't grow up by my side, but you've become the best version of yourself. I'm very proud of you." he added.
Amelia smiled slightly.
"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you."
"How could I be disappointed? I'm the one who failed you. As your father, I couldn't be there to protect you, and I'm very ashamed. Sometimes I often think, your mother and I were too happy, and that brought you misfortune. If that's true, then now that I'm in prison and have suffered, fate should return the good fortune to you."
Amelia quickly said, "Please don't think that way."
Quinton nodded, finally asking about her childhood.
She gave a brief account, leaving out the worst parts.
Quinton's brow furrowed deeply.
"Those bastards! How could they treat you like that!"
"They've already gotten what they deserved." Amelia told him about Isaac and Piper's fate.
Quinton looked at her with eyes full of admiration.
"Decisive and ruthless, just like me when I was young! I knew it—a child born to me and Natalie, even if raised by others, would never be worthless."
"By the way, how did you get in here? I'm not allowed to see any visitors."
Amelia answered him, "It was Samuel."
Then added, "I'm together with him now."
Quinton's eyes widened.
He seemed to disapprove, but then, as if recalling something, he moved his lips and asked her, "Does your mother approve?"
"Yes."
"She likes Samuel too?"
"Yes."
"Alright, then you can be with him."
"When you're out there, listen to your mother more. I'm not a smart man. The only reason I've made it this far in life is because your mother has been the strategist. She's very smart. Whatever she says, you listen to, and you'll never go wrong. That's how I've lived my whole life. Your mother is our whole family's lucky star."
"Okay."
"Also."
"What?"
"Micah can be trusted."
"Okay."
After that, Quinton discussed the situation outside with her. After understanding the general state of things, he said, "Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. Leave the food and you can go. Remember to tell your mother that I have enough to eat and wear in here, and she shouldn't worry about me."
"Okay."
Amelia got up and left. When she saw Samuel, she was still a bit dazed.
Quinton had been a blank page in her mind, but after actually meeting him, that page was now filled with a colorful figure.
He was a man who loved his wife very much.
And also, somewhat simple, somewhat childlike.
She probably understood now why Felix had that kind of personality.
The other children's personalities more or less took after Natalie, except for Felix.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Samuel studied her expression, unable to tell what Amelia was feeling at the moment.
Amelia didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I don't know how to describe it. It feels like a dream."
"What do you mean?"
"My dad, he... never mind, I don't know how to put it. But you can rest assured, he's accepted you."
Samuel's eyes lit up.
"What good things did you say about me?"
"I didn't say anything. He only asked if my mother liked you, and after getting a positive answer, he directly agreed to us being together."
She then recounted their general conversation.
Samuel fell silent.
He could probably guess why Amelia found it so hard to describe.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you a bit disappointed?"
"Disappointed about what?"
"That he cares more about your mother than you."
Amelia smiled.
"That's how families should be. Children are the fruit of their parents' love. Parents can love their children, but they shouldn't put them above each other as a couple. Children will also have their own partners, their true love in this life. That's the healthy cycle. So I'm not disappointed, just very surprised that he has this kind of personality."
Samuel said, "There's a saying: great wisdom appears foolish."
Amelia completely agreed.
"I think he's quite adorable that way."
"Am I not adorable?"
"You're even jealous of my dad?"
"The law doesn't say I can't be jealous of my father-in-law."
"Who's your father-in-law? We're not even married yet."
"He's already accepted me."
"That's only because of my mother."
"That still counts as accepting me."
She couldn't out-argue him, so she simply stopped talking.
Samuel smiled, intertwining his fingers with hers, as they got in the car together.
Once in the car, Amelia remembered something and asked Samuel, "Next week is Tessa's engagement party. Do you plan to attend?"
"No."
After a pause, Samuel asked, "Do you want me to ?"
Amelia nodded.
"I need to pave the way for Liam, but I alone am not enough. I need you too."
"Okay."
Tessa's engagement wasn't important enough for him to attend personally.
But since it was to build momentum for Liam, he was very willing.
"Then it's settled." he said.
...
Back home, Amelia told Natalie that Samuel had taken her to see Quinton.
Natalie was surprised and quickly asked about Quinton's condition.
"Has he lost weight? No, you haven't seen what he looked like before he went in. Is he in good spirits?"
"Everything's fine. He's just very worried about you and wants you not to worry about him."
Natalie nodded, then asked about her impression of Quinton.
"Dad is a very adorable person," she said.
"Adorable" was a neutral word. Natalie smiled and said, "He sometimes seems unreliable, but when it comes to serious matters, he never gets confused."
"Dad said he just follows your lead. As long as he follows you, he won't go wrong."
Hearing this, Natalie's eyes reddened with emotions.
"You might not believe it, but your father has come this far all for me. He originally didn't have much ambition."
"I can tell."
"Back then, my mother didn't approve of us being together. She thought he had no ambition and couldn't give me a good life. But I knew then that if I was with him, he would never let me suffer. There are many people in the world, but it's still very hard to meet the right person."
"I knew your father was that right person. So even if it meant falling out with my family, I still resolutely married him. It's the same for you, Amelia. I can see it in Samuel's eyes—he's like your father, the kind of man who will do everything to love and protect his woman."
"You two must be good to each other. Since you're together, when things come up, you two need to discuss and consult with each other. Don't have one person not speaking while the other guesses wildly. Communication is always the best way to solve problems."
Amelia nodded solemnly.
"I'll remember that, Mom."
Amelia had already heard about Natalie and Quinton's story from Natalie and her brothers .
At that time, the Wood family had wanted to marry Natalie off to a wealthy young man from Thornfield.
But Natalie refused.
Despite her family's opposition, she married Quinton, who at the time only owned a small company.
The Wood family cut ties with her from then on.
But later events proved that Natalie's choice was right.
The man the Wood family had chosen for her soon married another woman.
After marriage, that woman discovered that her husband already had a mistress outside, and that woman had even borne him a son.
The two went straight to court.
A few years later, that man married yet another wife, but divorced her within a year.
Again, because of another woman.
One can imagine what kind of life Natalie would have had if she had followed the Wood family's arrangement and married that man.
Amelia carefully recalled what Quinton had talked about when they met today.
She found that Quinton was truly full of thoughts only about Natalie.
Usually, after couples have children, they care more about the children, but Quinton always cared most about Natalie.
Such a man could indeed be called "the right person" by Natalie.
She couldn't help but wonder, if she really married Samuel in the future - would Samuel be like Quinton, always carrying her most in his heart from beginning to end?
This question was destined to have no answer for now.
After all, they weren't married yet.
Soon, a week passed, and Amelia brought up Tessa's matter to Natalie the day before.