An impatient frown appeared on Larissa's face. "If you need to vent about his suffering all these years, I suggest you find someone else. If you have any other intentions … Kevan and I are already divorced. Whatever happens to him is none of my business," she scoffed. For a moment, Dylan was tempted to expose Aster's identity. Gritting his teeth, he clamped his mouth shut as Kevan's orders resounded in his mind. "Fine."Larissa stopped Aster from running towards another ride as the sky gradually grew dark. "It's getting late. We should go home."Aster was visibly dejected, but he replied obediently, "Alright."Dylan followed after them. At the exit of the amusement park, he saw an unwelcome visitor. "What are you doing here?" Dylan demanded, a displeased expression on his face. Sharon took two steps forward and stood in front of them.Larissa recognized her at first glance.Compared to their last meeting, her appearance hadn't changed much. Only her hair color had chan
No matter how much Larissa coaxed him, Aster refused to go back to Aldovia without her.After a lengthy discussion with Wendy, they finally decided to let him stay in Caldor. Wendy immediately sent in a withdrawal notice to Aster's school. On the other hand, applying to enter kindergarten in Caldor was more complicated for Larissa. Education resources in Bartham had always been scarce. Spots in the public kindergartens were limited, with strict resident registration requirements.Although Larissa had obtained her green card in Aldovia, she had not migrated there, so her documents were still in Bartham. However, Aster was born in Aldovia. Naturally, he was eligible to obtain citizenship. Thus, he had no chance of getting into public kindergarten as an Aldovian citizen. Larissa could only turn her sights on private kindergartens nearby, especially those with international curriculum so that it would be easier for Aster to adapt.In her break time, Larissa visited several kinde
Aster was an obedient child. He wouldn't even hold another girl's hand if there wasn't any need to do so. That was why he felt very uncomfortable when Bethany kissed him against his will. In the eyes of other adults, childish interactions like these between children might seem harmless, and some might even find it adorable, but Larissa didn't feel the same way. Having said that, she didn't think that Bethany was guilty of sexual harassment either. Based on what she knew about her personality, Bethany was probably a spoiled kid at home.Moreover, her family might not have paid much attention to interactions between boys and girls. Considering the girl's personality, it seemed likely that she had been spoiled by her elders at home, and the family might not have given much importance to this issue."The reason why Bethany kissed you is probably because she likes you. Don't be angry with her, okay?" Larissa explained to Aster patiently, "But in the future, if she tries to kiss you
Larissa made a call to Bethany's mother. Regardless of the outcome, she had to let Bethany's mother know of her dissatisfaction. The phone rang for a long time before someone finally answered."Hello?" The voice on the other end was impatient. It was a high-pitched female voice that sounded somewhat familiar. At that moment, Larissa couldn't seem to pinpoint where she had heard this voice before. "Hello, is this Bethany's mother?" she asked politely.Before she could get a response, the person on the other end hung up abruptly. When Larissa tried calling again, she couldn't get through. It was likely that Bethany's mother had blocked her number.Larissa had met many unreasonable people in her line of work. Due to the nature of her profession, she had trained herself to be calm and collected under most circumstances. It was rare that someone could work her up so badly that she was tempted to smash her phone into bits. Larissa tucked Aster into bed and stayed up all nigh
It was no wonder that the other parents in the class were so afraid of Bethany's family.It also dawned on her why she found the voice on the phone last night so familiar.A chubby girl with twin ponytails ran toward them and threw herself into Violet's arms."Grandma!" she greeted Violet sweetly. When she smiled, her eyes twinkled like stars in the sky. At first glance, Bethany seemed to be a lively and adorable girl, without any trace of having a nasty personality that the homeroom teacher and Aster had described. Violet smiled widely in response, making faint smile lines appear around her eyes.She fixed an affectionate gaze on her granddaughter and patted her lovingly on the head before grabbing her hand. The homeroom teacher called Aster over and handed her to Larissa.Violet glanced at Aster and murmured with a hint of regret, "He looks so much like you. What a beautiful son you have." Larissa smiled politely and spoke to Aster, "You should say thank you to Mrs. Roge
Bethany's bite had traumatized Aster. When Bethany touched Aster's hand, he flinched, instinctively taking a step back.It hurt Larissa to see that. Aster was an outgoing child who got along well with everyone around him. It was extremely rare for him to reject a person. He shook his head ever so slightly and raised his head, casting a pleading look at Larissa.Reading the fear in his eyes, Larissa stepped forward, using her own body to shield him."Ma'am," she began to say, turning to Violet. "Since Bethany has already apologized, let's wrap things up."Ashamed, Violet answered, "I'm sorry, Larissa. I didn't know Bethany would do such a thing ..."Larissa couldn't assure her that it was fine as Aster was far from fine given the injury he had suffered. Hence, she remained silent. However, a parent standing nearby couldn't hold back and brought their child over to complain to Violet, "You seem quite reasonable, so let me tell you this ... Your child must be disciplined! She bul
In Larissa's opinion, Bethany was a piece of work. Although, in her understanding, a five-year-old child shouldn't be capable of scheming. Besides, she was Kevan and Ruby's daughter. Therefore, it wouldn't come as a surprise if she was more intelligent than her peers.Larissa hoped that she was overthinking.As Larissa rarely returned home early, she unexpectedly ran into Dylan downstairs. Since they didn't live in the same building, he shouldn't have been there.Dylan explained, "I came out for a walk."Larissa didn't believe him.Meanwhile, Aster was delighted to see Dylan. He didn't need Larissa to tell him to greet Dylan. Larissa resisted the urge to bring him upstairs immediately.Dylan asked Larissa, "I heard that Aster is attending kindergarten nearby. Aren't you sending him back to Aldovia?""His mother is too busy to take care of him. I heard that the private kindergarten here offers extended hours of childcare, so I decided to let him stay. I initially thought of letti
On the top floor of the inpatient department of Redland Hospital was a VVIP ward where the daily fees amounted to several thousand dollars. Dylan stepped out of the elevator and walked to the end of the corridor, pushing open the door of the ward guarded by several bodyguards clad in black.Once inside, he locked the door behind him, just as he had done every time.The man lying on the hospital bed, who had his eyes closed, quickly removed the various equipment attached to his body and sat up."Take it easy, don't strain your back," Dylan said. He was only half joking.Kevan had spent nearly six years in the hospital. Initially, he was in the military hospital, but he couldn't stay there for an extended time due to the scarcity of beds. Hence, he transferred to Redland Hospital, which was a private hospital for the wealthy. As long as he paid the hospital, he could stay as long as he wanted.Kevan had been confined in a small space for a long time. As such, his muscles gradually d