Chapter 98 Are you being silly, man?
"Look at the delicious fried chicken!" Lauren exclaimed with glee.
Ten minutes later, the fried chicken was served.
Lauren was over the moon, almost dancing around the table with joy.
Bennett could barely contain his excitement, but he glanced at Adeline with restraint. "Mommy?"
"Go ahead, eat up," Adeline said, seating gracefully with a soft smile playing on her lips.
"Here, gentlemen, try some juice," offered Alice warmly, passing out the glasses of freshly made juice Adeline had prepared. "Miss Wilson thought you might want something to cut through the richness of the fried chicken. She made it herself!"
Ethan lifted his glass with polite appreciation and took a sip. "Nice touch."
Jasper sat with detached coolness, his inscrutable eyes fixed on Adeline's right hand, which lay beneath the table. "What happened to your hand?"
Adeline gave him a calm glance. "Nothing, I'm just not hungry."
"Is it that you're not hungry, or did you hurt your hand?" he pressed, his gaze piercing, as if seeing through to the truth. "Lift it."
Adeline frowned in annoyance, not wanting to draw attention to it, but she felt the stares of everyone at the table.
With a resigned sigh, she raised her right hand, revealing the bandaged back of it.
Lauren gasped, the piece of fried chicken in her hand tumbling to the floor. "What happened?"
Bennett leaped from his chair and rushed to grasp Adeline's wrist. "Are you hurt?"
The reactions from the kids brought a slight warmth to Adeline's heart.
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
"It was just a little accident. It got splashed with oil."
"An accident?" Jasper's icy glance swept over her, then Alice.
"It's not like it's your first time in the kitchen; you are quite skilled cooks. How could such a mistake happen?"
His intense scrutiny made Alice shrink back guiltily.
She bowed her head, not daring to meet Jasper's eyes.
A cold smirk curved on the man's lips as he demanded, "What happened?"
Alice nearly crumbled under the weight of his voice.
"I... I..."
"It was my fault," Adeline interjected serenely, placing her injured hand on the table and picking up her juice with the other. "I was making the juice and got my hands wet. I forgot about it."
"I saw Alice was swamped, so I went to help. Some water dripped from my hand into the fryer, and the oil splashed out, scalding me."
Finishing her explanation, she cast a glance at Alice. "This girl is timid and keeps thinking it's her fault that she let me help."
"Don't frighten her."
The woman's words jolted Alice upright, her eyes widening in astonished silence.
Nearby, Ethan took Adeline's response at face value. "Better to be safe than sorry," he cautioned.
"Miss Wilson, since you're no longer employed at Blue Bay," someone else added, "it's probably best to steer clear of staff matters going forward."
Adeline nodded with a smile. "It won't happen again."
Jasper didn't voice trust or distrust regarding Adeline's promise. With a detached glance at Alice, he merely bowed his head and resumed eating.
Injured in her right hand, Adeline had managed only to navigate her meal awkwardly with her left. Thankfully, when Bennett finished eating, the little guy nestled beside her, gingerly feeding her.
"Mom, you used to take care of me; now let me help you."
Adeline chuckled softly. "How does it feel to feed mommy?"
Bennett continued feeding her with a light laugh. "It feels good."
"I want to try, too!"
Lauren bit her lip, starting to rush over, but then hesitated. Turning to Jasper with hopeful eyes, she asked, "Daddy, can I feed you?"
The man furrowed his brows, his voice firm, "Maybe another time."
"Oh."
The disappointment was evident, as the little girl's head drooped.
Unable to bear the sight, Ethan intervened, "Lauren, come feed me instead. I insist!"
With sparkling eyes, Lauren eagerly brought her bowl over to Ethan. "Say ah, Grandpa!"
Ethan chuckled and obliged her.
Shortly after, Adeline was full.
Lauren and Bennett excitedly teamed up to feed Ethan. Despite his initial reluctance and seeing his granddaughter's pleading look, he indulged the children like a good grandfather.
After dinner, Adeline settled on the sofa, intending to catch up on the day's news, when suddenly the couch dipped beside her.
A tall figure planted himself next to her.
"Your hand."
The man's deep, stern voice commanded attention.
Almost reflexively, Adeline reached out with her right hand. As her palm brushed his larger, dry one, she instinctively tried to retract it but found herself firmly clasped.
"Stay still," he ordered with authority.
He held her hand gently with his large, deft hand and opened a first-aid kit. He began unwrapping the bandage on her hand.
Her swollen, reddened hand was revealed.
The skin where the blister had been was still seeping traces of blood.
The man frowned slightly and took out an ointment, gently applying it to the back of her hand.
The cool touch of the ointment finally eased some of the pain on Adeline's hand.
"Thank you."
It took her a moment to find her voice again, and she thanked him hesitantly.
"Why don't you punish her if it hurts so much, and why do you speak up for her?"
He kept his gaze lowered, applying the medicine, and asked in a calm voice.
Adeline paused before realizing he was talking about Alice.
"You figured it out?"
"What do you think?"
He let out a cold chuckle. "You're not the type to make such basic mistakes."
At least, since her arrival at the Blue Bay, she had rarely erred.
Adeline shrugged. "She didn't mean any harm."
Alice was upset that she hadn't contacted Brandon Torres often enough.
"Just because she meant no harm, mistakes should be forgiven?"
"How do you know if her intentions were genuine or just a facade?"
His voice was stern, cold, yet concerned. "You would rather endure the pain yourself than make someone who hurt you pay?"
"Foolish woman."
His low voice struck Adeline's heart deeply.
After a moment, she looked up. "Mr. Foster."
"There's something I wanted to ask you."
Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes with determination. "Does it hurt you to see Lauren injured?"
Jasper nodded. "Of course."
"So..."
Adeline let out a wry smile. "Then why would you choose to bear that pain instead of holding the woman who almost hurt Lauren accountable?"
"If you call me a foolish woman, I admit, I am indeed foolish."
She lifted her gaze, her spirited eyes reflecting Jasper's stunned face. "What about you, Mr. Foster?"
"Are you a foolish man?"
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