Chapter 145 Winning Over the Adults Like a Child
"How did you know I was working late?"
Adeline asked indifferently as she ate the takeout Sebastian had brought while sitting in the office chair.
Sebastian chuckled softly, "What if I told you that I've been waiting outside for over three hours since just after five?"
Adeline nearly choked.
"Really?"
"Of course not."
Sebastian stretched leisurely back in his chair, "I swung by your friend's place this morning and snagged your number. She mentioned you hadn't come home, so I took a chance and came to your office."
Relieved, Adeline quickly polished off her meal, "Let's go."
With another light laugh, Sebastian helped her tidy up the takeout containers, "The landlord is already waiting for us."
Adeline nodded, and they both left the office with purposeful strides.
Lurking in the shadows, Jasper watched the retreating backs of the two figures with a calm and deep gaze.
Was it a coincidence? Sebastian turned around as he stepped onto the elevator, stealing a glance in Jasper's direction.
The moment they were both on the elevator, Jasper's phone rang again.
It was Stella urging him to come home.
The man, slightly irritated, silenced his phone and stepped onto the elevator.
Exiting the building, Jasper spotted Sebastian's car.
The vehicle sped off in the opposite direction of Violet's house.
Could Adeline have really gone to Sebastian's place?
Jasper's eyes narrowed, his fists clenched tighter.
Did that woman have any sense of decency at all?
His pocket vibrated with another call; it was Lauren.
"Daddy, when are you coming home? "
"Mrs. Collins says we can't start dinner without you. "
"MeLauren and my brother are so hungry!"
Jasper's grip on the phone tightened for a moment.
"Why won’t Stella won't let you eat?"
"Yeah, she says my brother and I need to learn some manners!"
The little girl's voice took on a disappointed tone as she added, "SheMrs. Collins won't even let us have snacks, claiming they're bad for us!"
"The last thing I ate was a small apple from the kindergarten teacher this afternoon, and it's been over six hours—I’mLauren's starving!"
"I'll be right there."
After hanging up, Jasper glanced once more in the direction of Sebastian's departing car, but ultimately, he got in his own.
Adeline was, after all, just one of his subordinates.
If she felt degraded and chose to leave with that man, what could he do?
Half an hour later, Jasper pulled up to the entrance of Blue Bay.
"Jasper, you're back!"
Stella came out excitedly, a warm and tender smile on her face. "The kids and I have been waiting for so long."
He gave her a fleeting look, then turned to peer inside the villa.
At a second-story window, two fluffy little heads were squeezed together, peeking out cautiously.
After a moment's thought, Jasper draped an arm around Stella's shoulders and strolled towards the house. "I don't have set hours at work; sometimes I'll be early, sometimes late. "
"If you're hungry, go ahead and eat with the kids. Don't wait for me."
"How could we possibly start without you?"
Stella pursed her lips with a smile and took Jasper's hand, "Manners and etiquette need to be cultivated from a young age. They should start learning now so they won't embarrass you later on."
After speaking, she couldn't help but reflect, "Even though Adeline is really attentive to them, it seems like she never taught Bennett and Lauren these things. "
"But I can't really blame her; she might have never known which courtesies are expected among prestigious families.…"
Her words made Jasper furrow his brow deeply.
As someone born into a so-called prominent family, he had despised these arbitrary rules and formalities since childhood.
He had discussed this issue with Adeline when they were together.
He wanted his children to live an ordinary life, free from these constraints.
The Adeline of the past had taken his desires to heart, promising him sincerely, "If we have children, I'll teach them to follow their hearts, to be a bit restrained in public, and to be more relaxed at home."
Obviously.
The Stella of now had wholly forgotten his past words.
Six years was indeed enough to change a person completely.
He sighed and led Stella into the mansion.
"Hi, Daddy!"
"Hard day at work? Welcome home, Daddy!"
As they entered, Bennett and Lauren greeted Jasper with a bow, standing to the left and right of the doorway.
Jasper's frown deepened.
The children in front of him, Lauren with tears in her eyes and a flushed face, and Bennett with a look of impatience, were clearly coerced.
He let go of Stella's hand and gave her an icy glance, "Is this the kind of manners you're teaching them?"
Stella paused, immediately reading the displeasure in his eyes.
She narrowed hers slightly.
Yes, she had told them to say something nice when Jasper returned.
But she hadn't instructed them to chant slogans at the door.
The strained expressions on the children's faces were all too clear—they were signaling to Jasper that she was being mean to them!
So Stella laughed softly, "Not at all. "
"They probably watched too much TV and thought you'd like being welcomed this way."
After her comment, she looked helplessly at Bennett and Lauren, "Daddy is greeted like this at work every day. Don't do it at home—that will make him unhappy."
Hearing Stella's words, Jasper's brow finally relaxed a little.
He was about to speak when Bennett in front of him smirked and said, "But hey, you're the one who said that Mr. Foster needs a little warmth and attention to cheer up."
"What's got Mr. Foster down now?"
Stella shot Bennett a frosty glance. "Don't put words in my mouth. When did I say that?"
"This afternoon," Lauren chimed in, batting her eyes innocently. "You even said we children need to learn how to win over adults, that it makes them like us more!"
Stella's brows knitted together. "That's not true!"
"Ha! I knew you'd deny it!"
Glancing at Bennett, Lauren urged, "Brother, play it for Daddy!"
Bennett nodded and pulled a voice recorder from his pocket.
He turned the recorder on.
Stella's voice slowly filled the room:
"When your dad gets home tonight, make sure you take good care of him. Be attentive, kids."
"How can you make adults like you if you don't learn to win their affection?"
...
The words were identical to what Lauren had just recounted.
Stella's face turned deathly pale.
She had thought a simple denial would bury the truth.
But how could she have anticipated that these two kids had been carrying a voice recorder?
The content of the recording made Jasper's brow furrowed in anger.
Turning to Stella coldly, he asked, "They are so young, and you're already teaching them such notions?"
Stella clenched her lips tightly.
The damning evidence left her no room to argue.
After a long silence, she couldn't help but start sobbing.
"Jasper, don't be mad at me. …"
"Since I got back, you've been working late every day. You don't come home at night nor during the day."
"Leaving early, coming back late, leaving me and the kids alone at home, I thought..."
She couldn't stop her tears., "I thought you found us annoying, that's why..."
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