Chapter 146 It Was All Adeline's Fault
Stella's tears melted Jasper's resolve in an instant.
He sighed and pulled her back into his embrace.
"Don't overthink it," he soothed, "I've just been really busy lately."
After wiping away her tears, Jasper promised, "I won't work late tonight; I'll stay home."
Stella didn't hide the flicker of triumph in her eyes at his words.
She nodded, her head bowed in feigned distress. "But if you're busy, you should go."
"All I need to know is that you don't truly resent me and the kids; that's all that matters," Jasper comforted her with a gentle pat on the back, "How could I?"
He then let go of Stella, crouched down to scoop up Lauren in his arms, and announced cheerfully, "Let's go have dinner!"
"Okay!"
As Jasper walked away with Lauren, Stella finally allowed her head to hang, and she turned to Bennett. "Pretty clever, aren't you? Recording it?"
Bennett looked up with a smile. "All's fair in love and war."
"You'reAdeline's quite the actress, too; we underestimated youher."
With that, the little rascal shrugged and strutted off toward the dining room.
Stella narrowed her eyes.
If it weren't for the fact that she had just gotten back and feared arousing Jasper's suspicion, she would have dealt with those two kids already!
The nerve of them to try to play tricks on her!
"Bennett, Lauren," Jasper said calmly at the dinner table while eating, "In the future, eat when you're hungry; you don't have to wait for me. "
"Children don't need to please adults."
"Okay."
Lauren bowed her head and began to eat earnestly, her enthusiasm hinting at hunger.
Jasper's eyes softened, tinged with heartache. She must've been truly hungry.
He sighed. "If it's not time for a meal, you can always ask mommy or daddy for some fruit or sweets."
"Kids need to eat plenty when they're growing."
"But Adeline said children shouldn't have snacks, not even fruit or sweets. She said it's not good for developing regular meal habits."
Bennett frowned. "So, who do we listen to? Her or Mr. Foster?"
"Since Adeline and Mr. Foster have different views, why don't you two duke it out and let us know what to do?"
Stella rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Obviously, you listen to your daddy; he's the head of the house."
Bennett glanced at her. "So, that means from now on, we just need to listen to Mr. Foster, and we can ignore what you say, right?"
Stella's face turned ghostly pale.
Jasper shot him a look with knitted brows. "You still need to listen to Mommy."
"Oh."
Bennett curled his lip. "Well, I'm not listening to her because she's not my mom anyway."
Stella turned even paler.
"Bennett."
Jasper frowned at him. "Come to my study after dinner."
"Oh."
Bennett gave him a cheeky glance. "Is Mr. Foster going to give me a lesson?"
Jasper glared at him with a stern face before tenderly serving Lauren some food.
"Mr. Foster, just say what you want to say."
After dinner, Bennett swaggered into Jasper's study and, insolently, sprawled out on the couch.
Seeing his son's carefree demeanor, Jasper's brows furrowed. "Sit up straight!"
Bennett rolled his eyes and flipped to lean against the couch.
Sighing at this disrespectful posture, Jasper said, "Adeline has spoiled you rotten."
"What's that got to do with my mom? I'll sit up, okay?"
Not liking any negative talk about Adeline, Bennett quickly adjusted his position and sat up properly. "Go ahead."
"Stella is your mother."
Taking a deep breath, Jasper looked at Bennett with serious eyes. "She carried you and your sister for a whole nine months, and during that time, she even survived a car crash."
"She's had a tough time, and it hasn't been easy."
"I know you have feelings for Adeline and don't want to be separated from her."
"But I believe you're sensible kids who should understand the reason behind this; you can't treat your birth mother like that."
Bennett silently rolled his eyes.
Wasn't it out of respect and care for their birth mother that they were reluctant to call Stella 'Mom'?
"Speak up."
Seeing him silent, Jasper spoke with a cold tone.
Bennett pursed his lips. "But, Mr. Foster, these things take time, right?"
"If you want us to accept Miss Collins, we need to truly feel her affection for us to be able to open up, right?"
"But look at her, she's restricting our snacks, our meals, and expects us to learn how to please the adults."
"If you were a kid, would you like an adult like that?"
The young onester's words slowly deepened the hue in Jasper's eyes.
He, too, disliked being constrained by rules.
As a kid, what he hated most were preachy adults.
Bennett and Lauren did remind him of his childhood self.
With a sigh, the man conceded, "Stella has indeed made mistakes. "
"I'll talk to her."
Bennett gave a wry smile. "Sure. When you manage to persuade her to treat me as well as my mom does, I'll accept her."
He said this because he knew all too well that Stella would never be as kind to him and his sister as Adeline had been.
This woman was like Molly; she wanted to usurp Jasper's place.
In their eyes, Jasper's children were nothing but obstacles on their path to success.
The reason Molly had dared to strike as soon as Lauren arrived was that her position by Jasper's side had been firmly established over many years.
Stella had always been polite to him and Lauren, even willing to strike a deal to release Adeline from prison because she, too, was worried about her secrets being exposed—hence her cautiousness.
Once Stella secured her position with Jasper, it was only a matter of time before she would turn against them.
It caused Jasper to let out an involuntary scoff.
Lifting his gaze, he looked at Bennett coldly. "So, to you, Adeline, is that wonderful?"
"Of course!"
Bennett rolled his eyes. "My mom is the best person in the world!"
"The best person in the world..."
Jasper pondered these words, a vision of Adeline leaving with Sebastian flashing before his eyes.
A chilling smirk appeared on his lips. "The best person in the world who goes home with a man she met the day before?"
Jasper's comment instantly furrowed Bennett's brow.
He stared at Jasper with widened eyes. "What are you talking about?!"
"Am I talking nonsense?"
He had seen Adeline leaving with Sebastian with his own eyes Adeline leaving with Sebastian., and the two of them were heading toward Sebastian's place.
Could there be any mistake?
Confronted with the young boy's earnest gaze, Jasper let out a mocking laugh, "Don't you have a phone?"
"If you don't believe it, call her right now and ask her where she is."
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