Chapter 567 Completely Convinced
Hillside villa.
Damian looked at his phone screen, his brows furrowing bit by bit.
Why did Ashley specifically tell Samantha those things?
Did she want him to hear it?
Did she really reject that kiss so much?
Damian trusted his own feelings. Although he had only kissed one woman, he could tell if she was resisting or willing.
Ashley indeed resisted, her heartbeat didn't lie.
At this moment, Natalia came wobbling over with a thick encyclopedia, looking up, "Uncle, can you read to me?"
Damian put down his phone, picked up Natalia with both hands and placed her on his lap, opening the book, "What does Natalia want to hear today?"
Natalia, small and thin, sat in his lap like a large doll, "I want to hear about marine animals!"
"Alright, today we will learn about the animals in the ocean."
After listening for a while, Natalia tilted her little head and asked, "Uncle, when will Auntie come back? I miss her."
Damian said, "Shall we call Ashley in a bit?"
"Okay! Auntie went to Sylvania, so she could see grandpa, grandma, mom, dad, and Happy. I miss them so much!"
Damian raised an eyebrow, "Happy?"
Could it be that the Astor family had a little pet?
Natalia covered her mouth with her hand, shook her head, pretending she didn't say anything, and turned a page in the book, "Uncle, what is the largest marine animal in the world?"
Damian said, "Among the known animals, the blue whale is the largest."
"Then what is the longest-living animal?"
Damian said, "It should be the turtle. It's said that turtles can live for ten thousand years."
Natalia didn't know how long ten thousand years was, but knowing that turtles could live for a long time made her smile brightly, "Uncle, I want a turtle!"
"Why?"
Natalia's eyes sparkled, "Because turtles can live for a long, long time. Even if I'm not here, they will still be there, so they can continue to accompany my family. They won't be lonely or sad."
Damian, a man almost thirty years old, felt his nose tingle because of Natalia. He rubbed her little head, "Natalia can also live for a long, long time. No number of turtles can replace your place in their hearts. You are a unique treasure, so Natalia needs to be strong, take your medicine, eat well, and grow up healthily."
Natalia lowered her head, "The medicine is so bitter, and the blood transfusions hurt. I don't want to take medicine. I'm so scared of going to the hospital."
She had never said these things to adults before, only daring to tell Damian.
This was their secret.
Damian felt a warm surge in his eyes and smiled slightly, "We can ask Mr. Collins to make sweet medicine, so it won't be bitter for Natalia."
"Okay! Sweet medicine, I like it!"
After chatting for a while, Damian handed the phone to Natalia, "Do you want to call Ashley?"
"Okay!"
Natalia pressed the number, holding the phone with her small hand, her five little fingers looking short and cute.
Damian's heart softened.
Ashley returned home, and Happy toddled over, looking up and calling, "Mommy!"
With a round, chubby baby face and big, watery eyes, he was incredibly cute.
Ashley bent down to pick up Happy, kissing him several times on both cheeks, "Happy, I missed you so much! My Happy has grown a lot!"
Children grow fast, and a few days apart can make a big difference.
So parenting experts say that children should be with their parents before the age of three, not missing the details of their growth.
Happy touched Ashley's face with his little hand, wiping away her tears, "Mommy, don't cry, Mommy don't cry."
Ashley smiled, looking at the miniature version of Damian, and couldn't help but think of that snowy day and that deep kiss.
"Happy, were you naughty with grandpa and grandma?"
Scarlett quickly said, "Not naughty! Happy is cuter than all the kids in the early education class combined, steady like a little adult, unlike you when you were little, always causing trouble when we turned our backs."
Ashley hugged Happy, thinking he must have inherited it from Damian.
Unintentionally, she seemed to glimpse Damian as a child. Was he like this back then?
Crazy, she was thousands of miles away in Sylvania, why was she still thinking of him!
Todd knew she was back in the country for a case and didn't ask much, hinting, "Mr. Collins is still there?"
There, at Damian's house.
Ashley didn't hide it, "Yes, he probably won't leave for a while, but Natalia's condition is gradually improving. Optimistically, she might recover in three to five years."
Three to five years, though not short, was not unreachable compared to the past five years.
Scarlett felt heartbroken, "Poor Natalia, going through so much suffering, she must be happy when she grows up, otherwise, how can she repay her efforts."
As they were talking, Dorian and his wife arrived.
Blair saw Ashley and happily gave her a hug, "Ashley! How are you?"
"Pretty good, haven't I been sending you WhatsApp messages every day to let you know I'm safe? Eating well, sleeping well! Look, I've even gained weight."
Dorian also hugged Ashley. Many things didn't need to be said, he just solemnly said, "Thank you, Ashley, I owe you."
"Yes, you owe me, so pay me back well in the future!"
Blair agreed without hesitation, "If it comes to it, I'll mortgage Dorian to you, you can use him as you like."
Ashley patted Dorian's shoulder, "Dorian, did you hear that?"
Dorian didn't argue, "Alright, I'll do whatever Blair says."
His tone was full of indulgence, Blair was always right.
While eating, Ashley asked, "Can your financing continue?"
"Otis woke up and asked me to sign as soon as possible, but I always felt something was off. Usually, in such cases, the investors wouldn't want to cooperate anymore, but Otis seemed more eager than me."
When Dorian mentioned this, her first reaction was to Damian.
Could Otis be arranged by him?
Dorian's company wasn't the best among many startups. Why was Otis so eager to invest?
Ashley asked, "Did you do a background check on Otis?"
"Yes, all Sylvania capital, he's the legal representative, nothing special, we haven't had much contact, but he's a businessman worth appreciating."
Ashley nodded.
Her phone rang.
She took it out and saw the prominent name, Damian.
Blair, sitting close, naturally saw it too, "Ashley."
Ashley put down Happy, "I'll take this."
As soon as she swiped the screen, a cheer came from the other side, "Auntie!!"
Ashley felt relieved, "Natalia, what are you doing?"
"Uncle is telling me a story about whales. I miss you. Where are you?"
Ashley returned, turned on the speaker, "It's Natalia calling."
Todd was surprised, "How come Natalia and..."
Ashley signaled that the speaker was on, and Todd swallowed the rest of his words, exchanging a look with Scarlett.
Blair was the first to react, smiling, "Natalia, it's Mommy."
"Mommy! I've been eating well, I ate a lot and grew taller!"
Blair's eyes welled up, and she leaned on Dorian's shoulder to compose herself, "Our Natalia is the best, I'm so happy."
"Mommy, I have a super big playground, it's so beautiful and fun, Uncle gave it to me!"
Ashley covered her forehead, smiling foolishly.
Natalia excitedly talked about many things, mentioning "Uncle" in almost every sentence.
In her eyes, Damian was almost a superhero.
The Astor family members looked at each other, wondering why Ashley had never mentioned these things.
What exactly had Damian done over there?
He had managed to win Natalia over completely.
Ashley, afraid that Natalia might say something more shocking, was about to hang up when Damian's deep voice suddenly came through, "Are you having dinner?"
At this question, everyone looked at each other again, falling silent.
A few seconds later, Dorian broke the silence, "Yes, we're having dinner, it's evening here because of the time difference. Mr. Hearst, thank you for taking care of Natalia."
"It's not hard, it's my duty."
As for "duty," Dorian understood it as Damian doing it for Ashley's sake, while Damian meant that taking care of his own daughter was no hardship.
Ashley cleared her throat, "We need to finish dinner, let's leave it at that."
Happy, who had been quietly eating with a small spoon, blinked and looked up at Ashley, "Daddy?"
Time suddenly stood still.
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