“Dante, come here.” Jasper Milton called out.
Dante Milton stopped and smiled uncomfortably, but his hands were twisted together from nervousness. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
“Ralph’s mother is living here today. You can sleep with me tonight.” Jasper said softly.
“Oh, then I’ll go eat some meatballs first.” After Dante finished speaking, he ran to the kitchen without waiting for Jasper to speak.
Jasper sighed helplessly.
In the kitchen.
Natalie Wheeler scooped up some meatballs for Dante and put in a couple more on the skillet.
Dante looked at the meatballs with sparkling eyes and licked his lips. “Natalie, can I eat now?”
“You can, but be careful not to burn yourself. Do you want some ketchup with it?” Natalie asked softly.
“Yes, please.”
Natalie gave some ketchup to Dante, which he then dipped the meatball into it and took a big bite happily. His cheeks were bulging. “It’s delicious. It’s so good. This is the best meatball I’ve ever eaten. I think I’d rather eat only meatballs for the next few hundred years!”
Natalie was amused by Dante.
This child was very cute.
She smiled, and there was warm liquid on her face. She felt tears and turned around.
“Natalie, are you crying? Why?” Dante’s eyes were sharp as he said, “Did my father bully you?”
“No, my waist was scalded earlier and it hurts a little.” Natalie casually found an excuse.
“I’ll help you apply the medicine.” Dante put down the plate picked up the ointment on the table, and pulled Natalie’s clothes up. “Natalie, your waist is purple.”
“It’s okay. It will be fine in two days.” Natalie comforted him.
Jasper stood at the door and saw the bruise on Natalie’s waist. He frowned and said in a deep voice, “It seems like the injury is quite serious. You should go to the hospital.”
“No, no, it’s really not necessary. It’s just a small bump. It’s a small matter, don’t worry,” she refused.
“Then you should put some medicine on it. It will recover faster,” Jasper said in a low voice as he came in.
Natalie nodded respectfully. “Okay, I’ll use it when I go back.”
“The other two are not eating, by the way. Just make some for me and you,” Jasper ordered and looked at Dante. Then he picked up his plate, “Let’s eat outside. Be careful not to get burned.”
“Okay.” Dante followed Jasper out.
Jasper put the plate on the table.
Dante sat in front of the table and ate sullenly.
Jasper stared at him in a daze. Dante’s eyes were filled with gloominess as if the light was flickering within them.
If Stella was here, she would definitely be better at getting along with children than him. He was indifferent and a man of few words. He didn’t know how to make the children happy or how to close the distance between them.
Natalie put the ketchup in front of Dante.
Jasper looked at her.
“The meatballs are almost ready. How many do you want, Mr. Milton?” she asked respectfully.
“Ten of them. Feel free to sit here and eat too,” Jasper ordered.
Natalie turned and went to the kitchen. She divided the meatballs into two plates and brought them to Jasper. She put one plate in front of him, and the other on the other side of the table. Then she sat down and ate them.
Dante looked at Jasper and then at Natalie.
The three of them looked like a family now.
Daddy, Mommy, and he were having dinner at the table together.
He felt happy as he smiled with his mouth closed. He lowered his head in fear of being discovered by others.
Ralph Milton came out of the room and saw the three of them sitting together, eating meatballs. His face soured, and he scolded, “Who allowed you to sit at the dining table? You are just a servant hired by my father. How can you be qualified to sit there?”
“Ralph, don’t be rude. Auntie Wheeler is the tutor I hired to look after you two. She’s not a servant,” Jasper said sternly.
“I already have a mother, and I don’t need other women to take care of me. Dad, if you want this woman to be my tutor, then I won’t go to school starting from tomorrow. I don’t want her to teach me. I won’t do anything and just lie in bed!” Ralph shouted.
“Are you threatening me?” Jasper’s anger rose. He looked sharply at Ralph as if a storm was coming.
“That’s not what Ralph meant!” Bettany Hadley rushed out of the room, hugged Ralph, and begged Jasper, “The child is still young, so it’s inevitable that he is a little stubborn. I’ll talk to him.”
Bettany took Ralph away.
Jasper frowned and put the fork down irritably. He didn’t feel like eating anymore as he walked to Ralph’s room.
Dante felt his father’s anger and trembled with fear.
Natalie glanced at Dante and ran toward Jasper. “Mr. Milton, I have something to tell you.”
Jasper stopped at the door of Ralph’s room and clenched his fists. He suppressed his anger and looked at her.
“Ralph is your child, so you should know your child’s temper. If you beat him, he will only think that his mother is better, and then he will be even more rebellious.
This child isn’t bad at heart. He shed tears when he saw his mother get hurt. He was willing to hurt himself for his mother. He’s very goal-oriented and has plans, strategies, and ideas. He is a very smart child.
The way to teach this child is to guide him by giving him the reward he wants.
He said that he didn’t want to go to school and wouldn’t listen to you. Don’t worry. You just need to tell him that I will evaluate them here. If he gets a good evaluation, you will allow his mother to live here for two days. He will definitely not make trouble.
I’ll let you know more details on Sunday,” she finished.
Hearing her voice, Jasper gradually calmed down. He thought what she said was reasonable. “You seem to have a way with children.”
Seeing that his anger had faded away, Natalie smirked and said, “There were many naughty children in the orphanage before. Some of them had bad temperaments. In the end, they all turned out fine. There were no bad children, only bad education methods.”
“Right. Well, let’s have dinner. After that, I’ll send you back,” Jasper said in a low voice and returned to the table.
Three minutes later, Bettany came out with Ralph and stood next to Jasper.
“Tell your father,” Bettany said to Ralph.
“Sorry,” Ralph said reluctantly.
“Apologize properly.” Bettany frowned.
Ralph clenched his fists, lowered his head and said again, “I’m sorry.”
Jasper turned to Ralph and said, “It’s getting late. Go to sleep with your mother. I’ll send Miss Wheeler back.”
Dante immediately raised his hand and said, “And me.”
“Dante, Auntie will take you to bed together. It’s getting late now,” Bettany said softly to Dante.
Natalie remembered that Bettany said that Dante liked spicy food and that Ralph liked eating apples and prawn nuggets. A sense of unease crept over her.
She was worried about leaving Dante to Bettany.
“You’re in poor health and you are injured. You need someone else to take care of you, so how are you going to take care of someone else? I’ll take Dante with me. Go and rest,” Jasper rejected her in a deep voice.
Natalie breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Jasper. Could it be that he was thinking the same as she was?