In the car.
The light from the street lamps filtered through the window and lit up one side of Jasper’s face, hiding the other half of his face in the darkness.
Dante Milton leaned against Natalie Wheeler and said, “Auntie Natalie, didn’t you say that you would tell me a story?”
“Once upon a time, there was a little lion. When he was born, his father was killed by a hunter, and his mother was also taken away by the hunter. He and his sister were adopted by an elephant mother.
When he was young, he was often bullied by tigers, hungry wolves, and wild dogs.
Every time after being bullied, he told himself that he had to become stronger so that he would not be bullied.
He ran faster than any animal, and his claws grew sharper than other animals. He also trained to avoid the trap of hunters. Finally, one day, he became the King of the Forest. He married a beautiful wife, gave birth to two children, and had his own family. From then on, they were happy together.” Natalie said softly.
By the time she finished, Dante had already fallen asleep. Natalie held him in her arms and stared at him gently.
She hoped that even if he didn’t have a mother, even if he ran into obstacles, he wouldn’t back down from them, but instead become stronger to overcome them.
Jasper looked at Natalie in the mirror. He glanced at her repeatedly. He then said in a low voice, “Has Dante fallen asleep?”
“Yes, when you are driving back, put him in the child safety chair and drive slowly. Be careful on the road.” Natalie said worriedly.
Jasper took a deep look at her, and her visage was reflected in his eyes.
Natalie was a little flustered. She lowered her eyes from his gaze and held Dante in her arms tightly.
Jasper looked away and said softly, “I am always on business trips. Sometimes I am away for more than half a month. They didn’t have to go to school when they were younger, so I’d usually take them with me. Now I can’t take them with me. I think you know what kind of person Bettany is. Remember, don’t leave Dante alone with her.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes with a trace of confusion. She looked at Jasper and said, “Mr. Milton, don’t you plan on remarrying?”
“That’s none of your business,” Jasper said coldly.
Natalie lowered her head and said, “Sorry, I misspoke.”
Jasper clenched the steering wheel and said in a deeper voice, “I believe that Dante’s mother is not dead.”
Natalie’s eyelashes trembled slightly and she did not speak. She looked out of the window and her tears could not help flowing out. Fortunately, she deliberately hid in the darkness, so that no one would notice that she was crying.
“Where do you live?” Jasper suddenly asked.
Natalie came to her senses and cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound like usual. “Oasis Hotel. You can just stop at the entrance.”
Jasper frowned and said in a reproachful tone, “How will you get medicine for your waist injury?”
“Heh,” Natalie laughed dryly. “It’s just a small matter. I’ll be fine. When I was in the orphanage, the children were naughty and often ran around, so I was often knocked down too. This bruise is nothing.”
Jasper remained silent as he continued to drive. When they were about to arrive at the Oasis Hotel, he stopped by the roadside and said, “Give me a moment.”
“Okay?” Natalie responded. Seeing Jasper walk to a small pharmacy, she had a strange feeling in her heart… He was still so caring, hiding under his cold appearance. He would still care for others.
God, please give him a good woman, who would care about him and take care of him so that he wouldn’t be lonely any longer.
Ten minutes later, Jasper returned. He handed a plastic bag to Natalie. His voice was indifferent and distant, as if he didn’t want other people to misunderstand.
“You didn’t take the ointment with you, so I bought you a new one. I also bought you some medicine that will help improve blood circulation. Remember to use them in the hotel. It’s Ralph who hurt you. As his father, I should take responsibility.”
It was because Ralph hurt you. As a father, he should be responsible for it. This sentence was said so that she would not misunderstand his intention.
Natalie smiled wryly and did not refuse. She took the plastic bag from Jasper’s hand and said, “Thank you, Mr. Milton. I will definitely work hard and strive for my monthly salary to be 100, 000 dollars.”
“Okay.” Jasper drove Natalie to Oasis Hotel.
Natalie got off the car and watched Jasper leave before she went in.
Jasper’s car slowly drove over. He closed the door and walked to the front desk. He glanced at the list and found that the price for one night was 1080 dollars.
“Hello, I am a friend of Natalie Wheeler. Which room does she stay in?” Jasper asked politely.
“Natalie Wheeler?” The receptionist checked for Natalie’s name. “She lives in room No. 108.”
“Room No. 108, right? She won’t be staying here anymore starting from Sunday. I’ll pay for her stay. How much is it?”
The receptionist looked at Jasper and her face turned red. Inputting some numbers into her calculator, she said, “The guest has stayed here for six days including today. If we include tomorrow as well, it will be a total of seven days. We are currently running a promotion, for every five days’ stay, there will be one free day. So, I will charge you for six days. The total is 12480 dollars.”
Jasper glanced at the list again. It was 2080 dollars a night, which was the price of the suite.
He swiped the card and went out of the hotel. He called his assistant and asked, “How’s your investigation going?”
“Director Milton, I am now in C City. Natalie was indeed from the orphanage. She grew up there. A few years ago, after she graduated from university, she returned to the orphanage to teach. Before that, she had a boyfriend. It is said that the man’s family was rich, but the man’s family disliked her upbringing and education background. He only broke up with her after he got married. She was hurt, so she left the orphanage.” The assistant reported.
“How much was her salary at the orphanage?” Jasper asked suspiciously.
“I asked about this too. It’s 2, 500 dollars a month. She got a bonus of 5, 000 to 10, 000 dollars at the end of the year.”
Jasper’s eyes became darker. “Elvis, if you’re living in such conditions and drawing such meager salary, will you stay in a hotel suite that cost 2, 000 dollars a night, let alone stay for a week?”
“Of course I won’t, but a heartbroken person might think differently. She may feel that she’s been suffering for many years. It’s normal to want to spend money to enjoy the life of a rich person.” Elvis Zachary said without any suspicion.
“Okay, go to the orphanage tomorrow and send me the photos of her in the orphanage. Get me at least six photos of her from her childhood,” Jasper ordered.
“Understood,” Elvis answered.
Jasper hung up the phone and looked at Dante meaningfully.
He had hired Natalie to take care of his children. He would often go on business trips. Therefore, he must investigate her background properly. Only then he could rest assured to hand over the child to her…