Chapter 127 He's Not My Son
Bennett's words sent a sharp pang through Adeline's heart.
She pursed her lips, hugging her son's small frame tightly, wanting to say something but finding herself unable to voice a word.
"But Mama…"
Bennett sniffled weakly and leaned in close to Adeline's ear, "I'm a bit tired…"
"Then sleep, my love."
As the words left her mouth, Bennett's body unexpectedly slumped to the ground!
By the time Adeline reacted and tried to catch him, he was nearly crashing to the floor.
A pair of solid male hands skillfully caught him just in time.
Jasper scooped the unconscious boy into his arms.
Snapping out of her initial shock, Adeline quickly stood up, "Thank you."
She reached out to take Bennett back into her arms.
Jasper frowned faintly, glanced at her, and then started heading out with long strides. "Follow me."
Hesitating for a moment, Adeline silently picked up her pace to keep up.
"Molly! Molly—!"
As they stepped out the door, they nearly collided with Helen, who was rushing into the house like a madwoman.
In that fleeting moment, Helen's shoulder bumped roughly against Adeline's.
But in Helen's eyes, no one else existed.
Without so much as a glance at Adeline, Helen charged hysterically into the room.
"Molly! Are you okay?
"Doctor! Get a doctor! Save my daughter!"
Listening to Helen's heart-wrenching cries from behind, Adeline gently closed her eyes.
She remembered earlier upstairs when she had asked Helen, "Did you cry when you heard Adeline had died?"
The answer was no.
When Adeline had been in trouble, Helen hadn't shed a single tear.
Helen explained that at the time, she thought Adeline indeed wasn't a good child, so she couldn't feel sad about her passing.
Yet just an hour before Molly's incident, Adeline had witnessed Helen's sorrow and harsh words blaming Molly, claiming to have seen through her true colors.
But in the end?
Even knowing the dire acts Molly had committed, even being aware of her multiple attempts to harm and kill, Helen still cried out in agony when Molly was hurt.
Perhaps this was something Adeline could never match in her lifetime.
She followed Jasper into the car.
With a roar, the vehicle sped off toward the hospital.
Adeline gripped the tiny hand of the little one nestled in Jasper's arms and turned her gaze toward the car window.
Her eyes closed tight.
The hysterical scene from the afternoon at the mental hospital flashed before her. Molly's enraged tirade echoed in her mind.
"I'm jealous of Adeline! I've always lived in her shadow!"
"She's so perfect; everyone always compares me to her!"
"I want to steal everything from her. I want to eclipse her!"
A bitter smile briefly crossed the woman's lips.
In Molly's eyes, Adeline's radiance had always overshadowed all of Molly's merits.
Yet, the parental favoritism towards Molly from childhood had never been acknowledged by anyone.
"Adeline, you stay home and study while we take your sister out for some fun."
"Adeline, you are truly remarkable! Your parents are so proud of you! Oh, Molly, why the tears? We didn't say we don't love you..."
Adeline exhaled deeply.
She had always thought that if she became even more exceptional and made her parents proud, they would treat her like they treated Molly.
As she grew older, she realized that favoritism was irrevocable.
So she emulated her parents, doting on Molly, loving her, and closing the distance between them.
During those years of harmony with Molly, her relationship with her parents was at its peak.
Back then, she had married the man she loved and basked in her parents' care.
She'd believed herself to be the happiest person in the world.
In the end, she learned that this so-called happiness was nothing but an illusion.
Everything had been Molly's, including the man by her side.
If he hadn't grown tired of Molly, she would still be the beloved darling.
Soon after, the car pulled into the hospital.
Jasper didn't hesitate; he opened the door and stepped out with Bennett in his arms.
The man strode urgently into the hospital, calling out for a doctor.
At this hour, the dusk had set in, casting a dim glow through the hospital's lobby.
The on-call doctor rushed out to lead the way.
Jasper, with Bennett in his arms, bore the air of a towering tree offering shelter from the storm as they moved through the dimly lit corridors.
Adeline followed behind, gazing at his broad back, his arms taut from holding Bennett, his shoulders moving rhythmically with each stride.
A swirl of emotions churned inside her at that moment.
Her three children had once longed for a father, just as other children do.
Adeline herself had considered finding them a dad.
Her first choice had been Brandon Torres, the one who'd pulled her back from the brink of death and had cared for her devotedly.
But when she told the three kids that she wanted Brandon Torres to be their dad, they all refused.
Blake declared he'd rather have no dad at all than one who wasn't his biological father.
Bennett said it didn't matter to him whether or not they had a dad as long as Mom was happy.
Lauren insisted that she only wanted her real dad.
Back then, they were too young to understand the kind of man Jasper was.
Later, as they grew up, they learned about Jasper's story.
So, the three little ones started playing matchmaker, trying to get her together with Brandon Torres.
Yet Adeline had always known that Bennett, who seemingly didn't care about having a dad, was the one who yearned for a father's love the most.
Even though he had concluded Jasper was no good, he wanted to give him a chance.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have handed over the evidence that Molly had framed Lauren.
But...
This man was such a disappointment.
"It's nothing serious, just a result of high stress and exhaustion," Jasper reassured after laying the faint Bennett on the bed.
The doctor made a quick examination. "A good rest should do. I'll get him an IV drip; he'll wake up once it's done."
Taking another glance at Bennett's bruised little face, the doctor added, "I'll prescribe some ointment for the swelling, too."
Then, with a frown at Jasper, the doctor questioned, "The kid's so young. You can't just hit him like that. What if it scars? Can't you be more careful as a dad?"
The room fell into a long silence.
Finally, Jasper looked up helplessly at the doctor. "He isn't my son, and I'm not his father."
He had only one daughter.
Raising an eyebrow, the doctor retorted, "What? You hit the kid, and now you're afraid of being criticized, so you deny your own son?!"
Pointing between Bennett's face and Jasper's, he said, "You look so much alike; you're saying he's not your son? Who would believe that?"
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