Chapter 153 You Do Not Deserve to Mention Bennett and Lauren
"It's you?!"
Seeing Jasper, Adeline stopped talking.
She closed the door, leaned casually against it, and regarded him with a chilly gaze, "What are you doing here so late, Mr. Foster? Shouldn't you be home with Mrs. Foster?"
She wasn't surprised Jasper had found her place.
After all, he wielded immense power in Denver, and locating her residence would be as easy for him as eating or drinking.
Jasper sat on the couch, a touch of pleasure in his mood.
He had seen her reaction crystal clear.
At first, when Adeline didn't see his face and thought he was Sebastian, there was a flash of irritation.
But when she saw it was him, the hostility on her face vanished, replaced with a hint of relief.
This behavior of hers proved that, in her heart, he was someone trustworthy.
At least she trusted him more than Sebastian.
"I came to apologize."
Apologize?
Adeline's brow creased, "You mean about your grandmother tearing up my design?"
She took a deep breath, "You've already given me a two-day extension. That settles it."
After a piercing glance at him, she asked coolly, "Anything else?"
Jasper shifted to a more comfortable position on the couch.
He looked at her, his gaze intense, "I've taken care of the news issue. "
"Half an hour ago, not a single report relating to that day could be found online."
Adeline paused, then remembered warning Jasper at the company to handle the situation, or she'd release the surveillance footage.
Realizing this, she let out a self-deprecating laugh, "I was just wondering, leaving Mrs. Foster alone at home so late, if Mrs. Foster wouldshe'd be upset with you for leaving her alone tonight, Mr. Foster."
"Looks like Mrs. Foster won't be mad anymore, considering youMr. Foster stepped out for her sake."
"Don't worry, Mr. Foster., Aas long as you meet my demand, I won't leak the surveillance."
Jasper frowned at her indifferent attitude, "Stella doesn't know I came to see you."
Adeline arched an eyebrow, "Mr. Foster, are you planning to sacrifice for her quietly?"
"Should I inform Mrs. Foster about how committed Mr. Foster is to her?"
"Adeline!"
Her sarcastic tone was too much for Jasper; his patience finally snapped.
He glared at Adeline fiercely, "Do you have to talk to me this way?"
"I thought that even if we aren't what we used to be, we at least have a professional relationship if not a friendship?"
"Do you need to keep speaking to me like this?"
Adeline's eyes, normally clear, now seemed infused with furycenturies of ice.
After a moment, she stared at him down, enunciating every word, "Who said I want to be your friend?"
Did he deserve her friendship?
A man who had never truly cared for her from the start, did he deserve it?
"Get out."
She stepped back, flinging the door open, "Out."
She had been in high spirits about moving today.
But then, Lauren's call came in while she was finishing up – it torpedoed her mood to rock bottom.
Even Sebastian sensed something off and didn't enter to help her with her luggage.
And then Jasper showeds up, criticizing her attitude.?
Did she owe him a pleasant demeanor?
"Adeline!"
Her firm "out" completely enraged Jasper.
He knew Stella was in the wrong, and he came with a sincere apology!
But what about her response?
First, she said he wasn't worthy of her friendship, and then she told him to get out!
Adeline was the first woman bold enough to tell Jasper to "get out" to his face.
He stalked forward and slammed the door with a kick.
In the next second, he gripped her chin, pinning her against the door, "You're getting bolder by the minute."
"It's you who's the bold one!" Adeline glared back, teeth clenched, "Sneaking into my new place when I'm not looking - what right do you have to call me bold?"
Her face was a vivid display of loathing and hostility toward him.
He despised this version of her.
HeShe hated the cold mockery in her eyes.
HeShe was hated that he was absent from her gaze.
He gripped her chin a little tighter than he'd intended. "I had planned on apologizing today to have a serious talk about Bennett and Lauren."
"Seems there's no need anymore."
Bennett and Lauren.
Adeline's heart clenched painfully at hearing Jasper mention those names.
Eyes closed, her voice trembled, "You have no right to bring up Bennett and Lauren."
His grip intensified.
He was strong, strong enough almost to crush her throat.
Wincing through the pain, barely catching her breath, she continued, "Tonight, I got a call from Lauren."
"She was crying, saying her stomach hurt."
Jasper paused, just for a fraction of a second.
The next moment, he released her chin and turned his face away coldly, "She skipped dinner; of course, her stomach's going to hurt."
When he let go, Adeline collapsed against the door, sliding down weakly.
Finally sitting on the floor, back against the door, she mumbled, "Is that so?"
Looking up at him, tears forced by her previous rapid breathing in her eyes, she said coldly, "Lauren was tiny and frail at birth, robbed of nutrients by her twin in the womb."
"The doctors didn't think she'd make it for a month; they said she was too weak."
"It was my constant care that saved her."
"She was always sickly, but in the six years with me, she never fell seriously ill."
"She never had stomach issues before and , never called me crying like she did today."
Her words made Jasper freeze.
The raging fury from earlier slowly faded beneath Adeline's icy questioning.
He gave Adeline a passing glance, "Maybe the kid just missed you and was putting on a show."
"Jasper."
Adeline wiped the tears from her face, "You just can't admit that you and Mrs. Foster failed to take proper care of my daughter, can you?"
"Yesterday, you didn't let them have snacks, milk, or fruit, making them wait for meals like adults."
"No, it wasn't just waiting for meals—it was waiting for you to come home. And when you didn't show up, they went hungry."
Jasper furrowed his brows.
There was a signal blocker in the house. He'd been disregarding Bennett and Lauren calling Adeline.
But he hadn't expected the kids to tell Adeline everything.
"I spoke to Stella about yesterday's incident; it wasn't an issue today, was it?"
"Yes, things are indeed different today than they were yesterday!"
Adeline glared at Jasper with fury, "Today, you let them stuff themselves with snacks that are too heavy for the little ones to digest, only stopping when they couldn't eat another bite!"
"They were so queasy they couldn't even make it downstairs, and yet you had the nerve to scold them for not eating dinner!"
"If I hadn't had Alice secretly prepare some medicine for them in time, they would've ended up in the hospital tonight. Do you realize that?"
As she spoke, tears began to fall from Adeline's eyes.
Six years she had passed.
It had been six years since she'd left Jasper.
Apart from the time Blake was diagnosed with leukemia, today has been the most torturous.
After giving birth, she underwent plastic surgery to erase all signs associated with Adeline.
Those surgical procedures were so painful that she spent nights on end without sleep, yet she didn't shed a single tear.
But even someone as strong as her, upon hearing her children were ill and suffering, would become as vulnerable, regretful, and self-reproachful as any other woman.
She despised herself for not having Jasper's child the last time.
She loathed her inability to protect her children.
They were her little angels; they shouldn't have to endure this!
Jasper stood his ground, looking at Adeline's tears, a rush of complex emotions surging through him.
He took a deep breath and lifted his foot, ready to depart, "I'll go back now to check on them."
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