Jasmine crossed her chubby little arms and gave it some serious thought. “Hmm… if it’s a baby you and Mommy have together, I can accept that. Otherwise, no way!”
She spoke in her crisp little voice, then stared at Conrad with her big, blinking eyes. Suddenly, her gaze widened. “Daddy, you didn’t have a baby with another woman, did you?!”
Conrad lowered his head and glanced at her. Seeing her eyes turn red, he had no choice but to pull her onto his lap. “What nonsense are you thinking? Daddy spends all day taking care of you-where would I even find the time for another woman?”
Ridiculous.
“Really?!”
“Really. Who’s been letting you look at their phone?”
Every day, she was spouting new words she shouldn’t even know.
The housekeepers immediately pretended to be busy.
Jasmine cupped Conrad’s face with her chubby little hands, scrutinizing him up and down.
“But, Daddy, you are so handsome, and so many women love you. You never know! That’s how it always happens in TV dramas.”
“This isn’t a TV drama, so stop thinking about nonsense.”
“Then what about last night? Why didn’t you come home?!”
Looking into his daughter’s clear eyes, Conrad couldn’t bring himself to explain.
He thought of how he had spent the entire night downstairs, desperate and restless, waiting until morning.
“Daddy was waiting for Mommy.”
“Did you find her?”
“I did.”
Even though it hadn’t been a pleasant encounter, at least he had seen her. He had touched her.
His Lillian.
As for that fiance of hers…
Conrad ground his teeth discreetly.
There were ways to deal with him.
Jasmine’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Then why didn’t Mommy come back? You really messed things up, didn’t you?”
Conrad didn’t want to hurt her. “Mommy is busy right now. Once she’s done, she’ll come back to spend time with you.”
“Really?”
“Really. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast, then get to school. Otherwise, Mommy will be upset.”
“Then I’ll eat right away!”
The little girl scrambled off his lap and dashed to the dining table, trying to climb onto a chair.
Conrad picked her up effortlessly and placed her in her seat. Watching her eat so earnestly, his gaze softened.
“Slow down. No one’s going to take it from you.”
Her little cheeks puffed up as she chewed.
Just then, Ford walked in. “Mr. Conrad, I’ll take Miss Jasmine to school today. You should rest.”
With the way things were going, if Conrad didn’t rest properly, his condition could relapse. Ford was worried he’d spiral back into how he was before Jasmine came into his life.
“Okay.” Conrad tapped his fingers on the table. “Get me a full report on that man-every single detail.”
“Yes, Mr. Conrad.”
Jasmine strapped on her little backpack before Ford carried her to the car. “Bye-bye, Daddy!”
“Be good.” Leaning against the doorframe, Conrad looked relaxed.
Time hadn’t left many marks on him.
He was still as eye-catching and handsome as ever.
But everyone knew-inside, he was riddled with scars.
For a woman named Lillian, he had lost his mind.
As soon as Jasmine left for school, Gordon and his crew arrived.
Seeing that Conrad looked fine, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, they tossed a thick stack of documents onto the table.
“Ethan’s background. There isn’t much personal information on Ethan. He kept a low profile, so we couldn’t dig up much. But his family background is clean, he has a mild temperament, and everyone who knows him speaks highly of him. Even people in the business world have nothing negative to say about him.”
“During school, he worked part-time to support himself and never got involved in any messy relationships. Both his professors and classmates had nothing but praise for him.”
“If he has any shortcomings, it’s that he comes from a small town. His parents were both local teachers, and he has an older sister with a significant age gap. He was a late-born child, and he’s now 35 years old.”
“Thirty-five? That old, and he still wants to marry Lillian?” Conrad stared at Ethan’s graduation photos and pictures from school events, feeling an unreasonable surge of jealousy.
There was nothing remarkable about him from head to toe.
And this was Lillian’s type?!
“These are his family members. His sister’s name is Jennifer, and she has a son named Oliver.
There’s even a bit of history here-your senior sister Michelle’s company, MI International Group, handed over the later stages of its development to a design company called OL Group, and Oliver is one of the shareholders of OL Group. His wife, Winnie, is a rising star in the design industry. Jennifer and her husband left their previous careers to go into business, and they’re now full-fledged entrepreneurs. Honestly… he’s a stable, financially secure, and upright man.”
Conrad’s sharp gaze swept over, making Hogan quickly try to smooth things over. “But we did find something big-his son’s name is Quincy. I checked his records from an overseas kindergarten, and in the section for the biological mother, the name listed wasn’t Lillian.”
Conrad didn’t know how to feel about that.
It was a mix of disappointment and relief.
He thought that if the little boy had been his son, then Lillian leaving him a daughter would have been a sign of her lingering feelings for him. But if the little boy wasn’t their child, did that mean Lillian’s relationship with Ethan wasn’t as strong as it seemed?
His mind was a mess.
“Where did you follow Lillian to last night?”
Conrad didn’t want to answer.
“She’s in this situation now. What are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do?” Conrad’s lips curled into a cold, mocking smile. “She abandoned her husband and daughter. You think I’ll just let that slide?”
At the end of the day, he hadn’t changed. He had just adjusted his approach to one she could tolerate.
Watching Lillian spend the rest of her life with another man?
That would be worse than death.
“When will you let Jasmine see her?”
“I’ll think about it.”
He needed time. He was afraid Lillian wouldn’t accept their daughter. And he was afraid Jasmine wouldn’t, either.
******
Meanwhile, on the way to school, Jasmine threw a tantrum about wanting ice cream.
Ford sighed. “It’s too early for that. You can have two licks, and then I’m throwing it away.”
“Okay~” Jasmine agreed in her sweet little voice.
The moment Ford got out of the car, she leaned forward and peered at the driver. “Sir.”
The driver turned to her with a grin. “Yes, Miss?”
“Where did you guys go last night?” When she spoke, two perfect dimples appeared, making her look absolutely adorable.
With those big, blinking eyes staring up at him, it was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
“Miss, I can’t say.”
Jasmine immediately pouted, on the verge of tears.
“Alright, alright! I’ll tell you, but don’t tell Mr. Conrad.” He gave her an address.
Jasmine memorized it instantly, her face lighting up. “Thank you, Sir! I just wanted to check if Daddy behaved last night.”
Ford returned quickly, and Jasmine obediently took two small licks of her ice cream before they continued on their way.
When Ford dropped her off at kindergarten, Jasmine’s eyes darted around. She made an excuse to go to the bathroom, then slipped out through another exit and ran off.