Chapter 354 Blackmail
Aurelia declined Patrick's dinner invitation, packed her things, and went downstairs early with her bag.
She couldn't sit still in the office anymore.
Nathaniel's Bentley pulled up and stopped right in front of Aurelia. Ignoring Nathaniel, Aurelia went straight to the back door to check on the kids.
Seeing that Jacoba and Dorothy were in good spirits, Aurelia finally felt her tense heart relax.
Aurelia didn't sit in the front seat but got into the back.
Jacoba, seeing Aurelia, didn't care about maintaining any "manly" image. He quickly moved over to sit next to her, clutching her arm and starting to act out again.
"Mommy."
Aurelia's expression tightened. She knew her child best, and Jacoba wasn't usually like this. The way he was clinging to her arm now made it clear that he had been mistreated.
The anger that had just subsided flared up again.
"Nathaniel, did you hit my son?"
Nathaniel glanced through the rearview mirror and saw Aurelia's questioning expression, firmly believing he had hit their son.
In his memory, she had never spoken so harshly.
Nathaniel shrugged helplessly while holding the steering wheel.
"You make it sound like I'm some kind of evil stepfather."
Nathaniel thought to himself, 'It's a good thing he's my biological son; otherwise, today's situation would be hard to explain.' He chuckled lightly, his voice tinged with the grievance of being wronged.
"Aurelia, aren't you going to ask your son about the whole story?"
Aurelia, protective of her child and knowing Nathaniel's cold and bad-tempered nature, immediately assumed he had been harsh with the kids upon hearing their complaints.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Aurelia gently took Jacoba's small hand and asked, "Jacob, can you tell Mommy what happened at Daddy's company today?"
Jacoba pouted and hesitated, his eyes darting around as he thought about how to explain.
The car fell silent, and the atmosphere grew tense.
Nathaniel glanced at Jacoba through the rearview mirror again, thinking that the boy was probably figuring out how to frame his own father for hitting him so that Aurelia would stand up for him.
"Jacoba, tell the truth, or you'll turn into Pinocchio."
Aurelia shot a glare at the driver's seat.
"Don't scare him. He doesn't lie; he doesn't need your reminder."
After scolding Nathaniel, Aurelia turned to Jacoba with a gentle expression.
"Jacob, speak up. With Mommy here, no one will dare to do anything to you."
Nathaniel fell silent.
Fine, nothing he said would make a difference.
Jacoba stammered, afraid to speak, but Dorothy, having heard her father's words, asked, "Mommy, will lying really turn me into Pinocchio?"
Aurelia followed Dorothy's lead.
"If you admit it right away, it won't."
Dorothy patted her chest with relief, glad there was a way to make up for it.
"Mommy, I told a lie today. I don't know if I can still make up for it."
Before Aurelia could ask, Dorothy confessed, "Daddy and Jacob didn't fight. Jacob used Daddy's computer without permission."
After that, the car fell silent again.
Aurelia felt a bit embarrassed, realizing she had wronged Nathaniel.
She looked up at the driver's seat, where Nathaniel was focused on driving, not defending himself, as if resigned to his fate. His demeanor made her feel even more guilty.
After a while, Aurelia asked Jacoba, "Jacob, Daddy's computer has important work files. You can't just use it without permission. Do you understand?"
Jacoba, knowing he was in the wrong, nodded obediently.
"I understand."
"Why did you lie to Mommy?"
Jacoba, feeling guilty, pouted and didn't dare to speak. If Mommy found out what he had done, she might never let Joe return the computer to him.
As they spoke, Nathaniel parked the car outside a large shopping mall. "Jacoba, be a man. If you have the courage to do it, don't be afraid to admit it. Tell Mom the truth. Are you going to tell her, or should I?"
Jacoba was really in a dilemma this time. After weighing his options, he decided that confessing himself might earn Mommy's forgiveness.
"Mommy, I used Daddy's computer to go online."
Nathaniel, sitting in the driver's seat with his seatbelt unbuckled, turned to look at the three in the back. Hearing Jacoba's words, he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
He had asked the boy to confess, and the boy had skillfully downplayed his actions by simply saying he went online.
"How did you go online? Explain in detail," Nathaniel pressed.
Jacoba shook his little head, still avoiding the main issue. "I just watched a cartoon."
Nathaniel felt speechless. Fine, his son was quick-witted. But thinking about how a child under five could do such an impressive thing, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
He was his biological son, after all.
Aurelia, seeing the father and son playing coy, couldn't help but ask Nathaniel, "Did Jacob mess something up and lose your important files?"
Nathaniel's eyes were fixed on Jacoba, and the next second, he chuckled. "No, he just watched a cartoon."
Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief and warned Jacoba again. "Daddy's computer has important work files. You can't use it without permission next time, understand?"
Jacoba, hearing Nathaniel's words, knew he had dodged a bullet and grinned.
"I understand."
Nathaniel got out of the car and opened the door for them.
"Let's go to the supermarket and buy some groceries to cook dinner."
He had become a bit addicted to cooking. Although they could have gone to a family-friendly restaurant, he felt that eating at home made them feel more like a family. He loved the cozy, homely atmosphere of their own kitchen.
Aurelia had no objections, and the family got out of the car.
In the supermarket, each of them pushed a small cart, placing the two kids inside. It wasn't that they couldn't walk, but this way, they could shop faster without worrying about the kids running around.
Nathaniel naturally took the cart with Jacoba in it and led the way to the fresh produce section.
This was a high-end membership-only supermarket, where the prices were several times higher than those in regular supermarkets, but the quality control was excellent, and the products were fresh.
This supermarket only catered to the wealthy, so the high prices meant it wasn't crowded. Even during rush hour, it was relatively empty.
Nathaniel, tall and long-legged, walked quickly. In fact, he deliberately walked a few steps ahead to leave Aurelia and Dorothy behind, ensuring they couldn't hear him before speaking. "Jacoba, come on, call me Daddy!"
Then he threatened, "Call me Daddy, and I'll keep your secret."
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