Candace woke up quite early in the morning. Cristelle helped her go to the bathroom and made sure she lay comfortably on the bed.
Cristelle wanted to get her daughter something to eat. But a knock on the door brought her to stand up again.
“Who is it? Get in, please.”
The door was pushed open gently. Jasper came in, holding a bouquet of lollipops in his arms, “Candace, I’m here to visit you.”
A big smile appeared on the girl’s face when she realized it was Jasper.
Cristelle frowned a bit. She told him not to come. Why did he still come?
Jasper unwrapped a strawberry lollipop and put it in Candace’s mouth, smiling warmly, “Do you like it?”
Candace smiled sweetly. She loved it.
Jasper put the bouquet of lollipops on the nightstand, “I’ll take you to have a big meal after you get better, okay?”
Candace nodded eagerly. She also wanted to get better.
“Why are you here?” Cristelle asked, “I thought the studio was busy.”
“It is… But I still need to visit Candace,” Jasper frowned as he looked at the girl’s leg, “Poor thing. Who did you leave her to? How could that person be so neglectful?”
“She left her to me. Any problem?” The door was pushed open as Linford walked in, looking pissed off, “I don’t think it has anything to do with you, Mr. Johnson.”
Cristelle’s hands clenched at the hem of her shirt.
Jasper smiled politely, “I’m just worried. I’m not being shady, pal. You’re thinking too much.”
“I don’t want to waste my time thinking about your dirty tricks, Johnson. It’s not worth it,” Linford said sharply.
Cristelle cleared her throat, “Jasper, you haven’t had breakfast, right? So let’s go out and grab something to eat.”
“Sounds perfect,” Jasper smiled warmly, giving Linford a challenging look. Linford looked away resentfully, pretending he didn’t see that.
“I heard there’s an Italian restaurant around. And the food is pretty good. Do you want to go there?” Jasper said enthusiastically in the elevator.
Cristelle went silent for a second, “I… I’m actually not that hungry.”
“Hmm?” Jasper arched an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
Cristelle bit her bottom lip, “You’ve seen what they said on the internet, right?”
Jasper didn’t seem to care, “Those journalists made up those things. Do you really mind it?”
“I don’t mind it,” Cristelle frowned, “But you can’t let them see what they’ve been waiting to see. Besides, this is a vital moment, if anything happens, it will be difficult for both of us to handle. You also don’t want any trouble, do you? I think we should probably keep our distance before all this passes. You know… The Bradley house also doesn’t want their reputation to be dragged away.”
Jasper’s eyes darkened for a fleeting second. He soon regained his gentle and caring bearing, “I’m being too neglecting. You’re right. I shouldn’t have shown up in a moment like this.”
Cristelle went a bit embarrassed, “I know you care about Candace. It’s just… I failed to take care of my own business, and I brought you so much trouble.”
“What are you talking about, Cristelle? You know I will always help you no matter what. I don’t want you to blame yourself.” The elevator stopped with a “Ding”. Jasper walked out of it, smiling at Cristelle as he turned around, “Go back and take care of Candace. If those journalists see us together, they’re gonna make things up again.”
Cristelle was so grateful, “Okay, take care. See you around.”
“See you,” Jasper nodded.
When the doors of the elevator slid close, his face instantly changed.
Cristelle hadn’t even married Linford Bradley yet! Why did she have to worry about what those journalists said? Jasper thought bitterly as he walked out of the door.
Was it because of her babies again?
If the babies disappeared, would she finally be free?
Jasper sat in his car with a dark look on his face. An idea suddenly generated in his mind as he told his driver to go to Diego’s company.
****
When Cristelle went back to Candace’s ward, Linford was drinking a can of beer, looking extremely gloomy. He faltered as he saw Cristelle standing by the door, “Why are you back? I thought you were gonna have some Italian meal with your crush.”
Crush?
Seriously? Cristelle rolled her eyes.
“Why are you drinking? Candace is still here,” Cristelle frowned.
Linford put down his can of beer, “She doesn’t know what this is.”
Cristelle sighed and sat down, “I’ve booked a meal from a hotel nearby. Do you wanna stay and have a meal with us?”
“Okay,” Linford nodded gingerly, pretending he wasn’t that happy.
When they sent the meal, Linford noticed that Cristelle had ordered his favorite dishes. And that little detail made him extremely happy. But had she planned all this at the beginning? Did she want to have lunch with him at this time?
Linford focused on his food, avoiding making any eye contact with Cristelle. Cristelle was surprised that he became so quiet when he ate.
Linford didn’t leave the ward all day. Cristelle didn’t know why he suddenly became so clingy, but she felt it would be a little embarrassing if she asked. So she didn’t say anything.
He was the baby’s father. Of course, he had every right to stay as long as he wanted to.
However, Linford still showed no sign of leaving at night. Cristelle thus started to get a bit nervous.
After taking a shower in the bathroom, Cristelle lay on the same bed with Linford again. Cristelle couldn’t get used to this, no matter how many times they had shared a bed, staying as far from him as possible, “Why don’t you send another bed here tomorrow?”
Linford turned around, “This place is pretty small. I don’t think it can fit three beds.”
Cristelle faltered, “But we can’t just… Well, I’ll move my couch here tomorrow.”
“You hate sharing a bed with me that much? Am I that unbearable?” Linford meant to tease, but his tone somehow sounded hurtful.
Cristelle frowned, “It’s not like we’re a legal couple. I really don’t think this is appropriate.”
A legal couple?
Linford smiled, “One day, we will be.”