“You’re right. But I’m doing this for my family. Is it something peculiar for a man to take care of his family?” Mr. Wayne said dryly.
Linford smiled, “You don’t think it’s peculiar, Mr. Wayne? It surely looked weird in my eyes. If you want your family to rise again, why did you decline all the help from the White House? You own your whole company now, right? The share-holding of your company has been completely changed. You’ve started your secret plan since the day you got to know what Zoe had done. You gave me a signal by visiting Zoe in jail. You wanted me to know there’s a secret, but you won’t tell me what it is no matter how long I spend here today. That secret is dangerous. You don’t want to be the one who unveils it. So you chose me to do it, didn’t you?”
The smile on Mr. Wayne’s face disappeared. He shook his head, “Franco’s lucky to have a successor like you. I’m not as lucky as him. Zoe is stupid and impulsive. If I didn’t visit her, she would probably have said those things she shouldn’t say already. Now that you know my plan, what are you going to do?”
Mr. Wayne seemed keen to know Linford’s plan.
Linford’s face grew cold, “You don’t really need to know, Mr. Wayne. Pardon me,” With that, he stood up from his chair and left the room.
This Linford Bradley was probably the most fierce one among his peers. None of his sons or grandsons could hold a candle to him.
****
It seemed like everyone was trying to wipe out his memories so he wouldn’t recall what had happened years ago.
Linford was in his car as he grabbed the wheel, picking up the speed on the highway.
Before he could go back to the hospital, however, his phone suddenly started to buzz. He picked it up and heard Alfred’s voice.
“Mr. Bradley… Cody just took Cristelle out of the hospital.” Alfred’s voice was trembling.
Linford frowned deeply, “Where are they right now?”
“Well…”
“Where?” Linford roared.
Alfred cleared his throat, “They… They went to a restaurant nearby.”
Cristelle wore a white dress, and her hair was pulled up into a French twist. She even put some makeup on. However, she was still a bit awkward as she looked in Jasper’s direction. It took her a while to adjust to the atmosphere.
Cody had said he’d like to take her to meet a mysterious friend. The boy even had taken her to an expensive style studio before coming here. She thought she would meet some big figure here. When she saw Jasper sitting by the table, she almost turned around and left.
“The steak is nice here, isn’t it?” Cody tried to make it less awkward for both of them.
Candace nodded heartily, enjoying her food. After their Mom fell into a coma, she had barely eaten anything good for days.
Jasper smiled at Cody, “We can come here often if you like this place.”
“Sounds great!” Cody answered without any hesitation. He’d love to create more opportunities for both of them.
On the other hand, Cristelle was a bit hesitant, “I’m going to work soon, and I need to take care of the babies. So I don’t think I have much time for dinner dates.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait until you have time,” Jasper smiled at Cristelle gently, “You just recovered. Don’t exhaust yourself from work. Just call me if you need anyone to take care of Cody and Candace.”
Cristelle forced out a smile. Jasper had been pretty weird since he came back. He was the eldest son of his house. She’d never thought of being with him.
Cody acted like he didn’t notice how uneasy Cristelle was, “You’re right, Jasper. Mom, you should probably take a couple of days’ rest. It’s still too soon to go to work.”
Candace nodded. Summer vacation was gonna begin. She’d like to spend every day with her Mom.
Cristelle shook her head, “No, honey. I really need to go to work, or who will pay our rent.”
Cody wanted to say that she could ask Linford to pay their rent. He would probably be glad to do that. But he managed to swallow those words back, “Mom, I’m full. I want to go outside and play a little. Candace, would you come with me?”
Cody wanted to give them some space alone. Candace wiped her mouth with a napkin and jumped off her chair.
The babies left the hall holding hands.
Cristelle sighed, “Cody’s just a boy. Don’t take what he said too seriously.”
Jasper dropped his gaze and poured them both some wine, “To be honest, I like Cody. Candace is also such a little lady. If I can spend the rest of my life with you and your babies, I would be overjoyed.”
Cristelle looked away, “I’ve found their father.”
A hurtful look showed up on Jasper’s face fleetingly, but he still managed to let out a smile in the end.
Cody brought Candace another piece of cake in the lobby, “Candace, what do you think about Jasper?” Cody asked.
Candace nodded. He was okay.
“Who’s better? Jasper and Dad?” Cody asked again.
Candace hesitated. Both of them were great.
“But you need to choose only one between them,” Cody was determined to force her to make a choice.
Dad, of course. Candace gestured.
Linford happened to walk into the building through the sliding doors at the moment. Cody was completely unaware of that.
“You need to keep your distance with Dad, Candace. I mean it. The Bradley house is a big family. They won’t truly like us. Mom and I are the only people who truly care about you in this world. Do you understand?”
Candace blinked. She couldn’t understand why Cody said that. Dad loved her.
She looked up and saw their Dad approaching Cody from behind, pulling a face.
“You need to learn to get along with Jasper. He’s a great person, and…Ow!” Before Cody could finish the sentence, he was taken by the scruff and lifted up in the air.
“Where’s your mom?” Linford asked darkly.
Cody rolled his eyes when he saw the man, not saying a thing.
Linford noticed how well the babies dressed up. He frowned as he asked, “Where did you get the money?”