Chapter 94 Actually, I Wasn't Hurt at All
Adeline sharply inhaled.
She had guessed right.
Lauren really was enrolled in Bennett's preschool.
"Mr. Foster, I think you've misunderstood," she said.
"Lauren wanting to attend the same preschool as Bennett might just mean that the kids get along well. It has nothing to do with me. I've never even mentioned them attending together."
With that, she laughed mockingly, "Maybe you should spend more time understanding Lauren's real wishes instead of making presumptuous accusations whenever she makes a decision, Mr. Foster."
"It's a good thing if the kids enjoy each other's company and want to go to school together."
Jasper narrowed his eyes.
This woman.
Ever since quitting her job at Blue Bay, her attitude towards him had gotten worse, and her tongue, sharper.
Noticing he was silent, Adeline frowned and lifted her leg, intending to bypass him and wait in a different corner.
But as she stepped left, he moved left.
She stepped right, he followed suit.
Eventually, she was forced to look up at him helplessly, "Mr. Foster, you're in my way."
Jasper's eyes narrowed even more, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here."
"Is it really that unacceptable to block your path while picking up my daughter from a place like this?"
Clearly, he was both annoyed and helpless about Lauren attending such an ordinary preschool.
So, he took out his resentment on Adeline.
Adeline glanced at him in resignation.
Why did she fail to notice how petty this man could be?
She decided not to avoid him anymore and simply stepped back to her original spot, quietly leaning against the wall and waiting.
Jasper stood in front of her, cold and silent, and pulled out a cigarette to light up.
"Miss Wilson, your income from abroad isn't bad. Why not send Bennett to a better preschool?"
"Why choose one in such a bustling, run-of-the-mill area?"
Adeline rolled her eyes at him, "I don't think this place is bad."
This was the preschool Violet had carefully chosen for Bennett.
It wasn't expensive, but it wasn't bad either.
The kids here were just regular, everyday children - no snobbery, no overbearing manners or stiff protocols.
The teachers were warm and approachable. They weren’t teaching aristocratic skills like horseback riding, archery, or piano, but simply playing patiently alongside the kids.
Adeline thought that was more than enough.
Bennett was already a sharp kid; he didn't need some highfalutin preschool stifling his nature. What he needed was a place to make friends and enjoy himself.
Then there was Lauren...
She hadn't expected Lauren to show up here.
Maybe it wasn't quite the right fit for someone as delicate as Lauren had always been, but it wasn't bad, not like how Jasper made it out to be.
"If Bennett were my son, I'd never let him attend a school like this." Jasper's comment earned him a snort from the woman, and she furrowed her brow, "Good thing Bennett isn't your son."
For some reason, her words made Jasper surprisingly uncomfortable.
He fixed his gaze on her, about to retort, but the school bell for dismissal cut him off.
Parents swarmed the entrance.
Adeline didn't like the crush of the crowd and with Jasper in her way, she opted to stand back and wait peacefully.
One by one, the kids marched out.
The first, the second...
By the twentieth, there was still no sign of Bennett or Lauren.
Panic started to set in.
After all, this preschool's biggest class had only twenty-five kids!
When the twenty-fourth child came out and it wasn't Bennett, Adeline bit her lip and sidestepped Jasper, charging through, "Teacher, where are Bennett and Lauren?"
The teacher, startled by Adeline's urgency, paused before pointing towards the nurse's office, "Little Lauren got hurt, and Bennett is with her."
Before Adeline could ask for directions, Jasper bolted past her.
Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to follow behind him.
They both rushed into the nurse's office, gasping for air.
"What flavor do you like?"
On the small cot in the nurse's office, Bennett gnawed on a chicken leg while asking Lauren beside him.
Lauren's mouth was stuffed full of fried chicken, "I like them all!"
Bennett, with a greasy little hand, tenderly rubbed his sister's cheek, "Tomorrow, let's make up an excuse that I'm hurt and you need to stay with me, okay?"
"Okay!"
Lauren nodded vigorously, "Bennett."
"Mommy never lets us have fried chicken; she says it's junk food," the kids lamented together.
Lauren had her first taste and couldn't believe how delicious the forbidden flavor was. "I had no idea junk food could taste so good!"
With a smug grin and a raised eyebrow, Bennett replied, "Yeah, I love it too!"
"But Blake says that fried chicken isn't very good for us, so we can only have a little bit once in a while!" And with that, the little rascal touched the necklace around his neck and called out, "Right, Blake?"
From the pendant came Blake's stern voice, "Mom's coming."
Bennett's eyes widened in panic, and he hopped off the little bed, quickly stashing the chicken away, "Lauren, Lauren!"
"Pretend you're sick!"
Bam! The door to the nurse's office flew open just as Lauren lay down on the cot.
Jasper rushed in first, eyes wide with concern. Behind him were an anxious Adeline and an even more fretful school nurse.
"Please, parents, calm down..."
"Lauren!" Jasper took long strides directly to Lauren's bedside. "What happened, sweetheart?"
"Daddy..." The little girl looked up at Jasper with feigned distress, holding out her bandaged hand, "I cut myself with a craft knife in class..."
"It hurts so much!"
Jasper's eyes filled with worry at the sight of his daughter's bandaged hand. Lifting her into his arms, he shot a fierce glance at the embarrassed teacher, "Is this how you take care of your students?"
The teacher's face fell with guilt, "It was just a tiny nick, really..."
"A tiny nick?" Jasper's voice was icy. "Her hand is wrapped up like this for a tiny nick?"
"My daughter has never been hurt since she came back to me, and in just half a day at your preschool, she ends up like this!"
Turning his gaze sharply towards Adeline, he accused, "This is the preschool you chose?"
"We're going to the hospital for an X-ray now. If there's any damage to her bones, Adeline, you'll be held responsible. This preschool should be shut down."
As Jasper angrily prepared to leave, the little girl panicked at the thought of her father's retribution and the threat to shut down the preschool.
"Daddy... Daddy!" She blurted out. "I'm fine!"
In her haste, Lauren ripped off the bandage to reveal her unscathed hand. "Look, I'm not hurt at all!"
Jasper's brow furrowed as he examined her hand, finding not so much as a scratch.
His face darkened, "What's going on here?"
Seeing Lauren's confession, Bennett sighed and pulled a bucket of fried chicken from under the bed, "We faked being sick because we wanted to eat this. We tricked the teacher away and then ordered delivery using the teacher's name."
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