Larissa thought that the ordeal was over. Alas, when they walked out of that store, Lewis turned around and entered another store.The whole process was repeated.Larissa lost count of how many times she was bombarded by eager shop assistants. When Lewis finally said that they could go home, he was weighed down by many paper bags.Larissa had no energy to even respond to him.Shopping was torturous!"I was mistaken. I used to complain that the staff here gave me the cold shoulder. Now, I wish that they would ignore my existence," Larissa said. The shop assistants were hankering to serve her. She couldn't handle their enthusiasm."Ms. Seymour, you are now a VIP customer here. None of the shop assistants would dare give you the cold shoulder now." Lewis gave her a wry smile. He gestured to the shopping bags in his hands.Larissa sighed. "In your opinion, is this one of the troubles that comes with being rich?""Are you already troubled by this?" Lewis found it funny, but after
Before Larissa could stop him, Aster had already run out with his phone on a video call with Kevan. "Daddy! Mommy's bringing me to Disnieland tomorrow!" Aster shouted with glee. He couldn't wait to share the good news with Kevan. "Really?" Although the connection wasn't too good, Kevan's deep voice was still pleasing to the ears. His relaxed tone had a hint of amusement in it. "Why aren't you asleep? It should be past ten right now." "I'm going to sleep in a while!" Aster ran up to Larissa, kicked off his slippers, and climbed on the sofa. He snuggled into her arms and pointed the phone camera in Larissa's face. "Daddy, do you want to talk to Mommy?" Larissa was caught by surprise. When she met Kevan's gaze over the phone, she couldn't help but feel flustered. After a long pause, she greeted him awkwardly. "Hello!" "Hi," Kevan replied. He seemed to be surprised as well. His expression stiffened for a few seconds before returning to his usual smile. "Why aren't you asleep as
Kevan's face was calm and emotionless. "It's not worth it for you to make the trip. It's too far." Without hesitation, Larissa shot him down. Gary had invited his network of close friends in Aldovia. Kevan wasn't close to any of them. Thus, it would only be awkward for him. Besides, he had his own job to take care of. "Alright," Kevan replied, pursing his lips. He did not confirm whether he would attend or not. "You guys should have an early night. Aren't you going to Disnieland tomorrow? You won't have enough energy to play if you don't go to sleep now." "Yeah." Larissa nodded, suppressing her reluctance to hang up. Avoiding Kevan's gaze, she lowered her voice and spoke to Aster. "Say goodbye to Daddy." "Bye, Daddy!" Because of his excitement to go to Disnieland, Aster bid Kevan goodbye immediately. Usually, he would try to prolong the call for as long as possible. Kevan's eyes shone with amusement. With a wide grin, he ended the call in a cheerful tone, "Bye, goodnight!"
"Of course, I missed you! Larissa pinched his chubby cheeks fondly and straightened up. She asked Allen, "Shall we leave now?" "Wait a minute!" Allen turned around and entered the house. In less than two minutes, he appeared with a brown paper bag and passed the bag to Larissa. "I made some sandwiches. Both of you must have left home very early. Have you had any breakfast?"Coincidentally, they had left in a hurry. Larissa didn't have time to prepare breakfast for themselves. She handed the paper bag to Aster and reminded him, "Say thank you to Uncle Allen!" On the contrary, Aster didn't seem to be in a good mood. He appeared dejected and his excitement from yesterday had completely disappeared. Holding on to a corner of the paper bag, Aster's arm hung limply at his side. For some reason, he didn't make any move to retrieve the sandwiches from the bag. "Thank you, Uncle Allen," Aster said with a forced smile. He quickly diverted his gaze from Allen and hung his head, staring
Freddy opened the door from inside. When Aster got in, Freddy quickly shut the door, as if he was afraid that Larissa would change her mind. Chuckling, Larissa got into the front seat. She turned around and asked Freddy, "What game are you going to play with Aster?" Like magic, Freddy produced an iPad and started a game with colorful visuals. Sounds of cheerful music echoed in the car. Freddy and Aster were around the same age, so they had common interests. After a while, Aster's attention was focused on the game and both of them played together happily. Larissa's worry eased slightly. Diverting his attention from the boys in the rearview mirror, Allen glanced at the paper bag Larissa placed at her feet. "Do you not like sandwiches?" "Oh, no." Larissa laughed awkwardly and opened the bag. She took out a stuffed sandwich that was wrapped in paper. "It wasn't convenient to eat just now." She asked Aster, "Do you want some sandwiches? There's bacon and ham!" Aster was stil
Allen did not stop the car, but he didn't drive to Disnieland either. Turning the car around, he drove in the direction of Larissa's home. "I'll send you back home. I won't feel comfortable letting you go back on your own," Allen said out of consideration for her. His tone was firm, leaving no room for Larissa to refuse. Freddy cried for almost half the journey there, but no one in the car paid him any attention. Even Larissa, who usually treated him kindly, maintained a stern expression throughout and ignored his crying. Freddy was truly afraid. Choking back his sobs, he huddled in a corner of the backseat for the latter half of the journey. He shot glances at Aster, who was sitting beside him, and at Larissa, who was sitting in the passenger seat. After venting his anger, Aster gazed out of the car window, lost in thought. Larissa stared ahead in a daze, unaware of Allen's frequent glances. In half an hour, the car stopped at the ground floor of Larissa's home. As soon as
Aster was ticklish, especially around his waist. He couldn't stand anyone touching him there. As expected, he squirmed under her touch and tried to escape. Larissa took the chance to pull the blanket off. She enveloped Aster in her embrace. Aster's tear-streaked face was exposed. Larissa's heart felt like it was being stabbed with a knife. Her chest ached, and she felt suffocated by the pain. Tightening her arms around him, she lowered her head and kissed his forehead. "Don't cry." Her voice trembled as scorching tears rolled down her cheeks as well. Aster released his clenched teeth and buried his face in Larissa's chest. He was crying his heart out. He had never cried like this before. His cries were heartrending and loud. It was as if he wanted to vent all the bitterness and grievances he bore for years. Holding him, Larissa's tears flowed. Words of comfort were stuck in her throat. She could only utter the same words repeatedly, "Aster, don't cry …"Wendy had been
Kevan replied calmly, "Yes, I'm on a business trip." "This late?" Larissa checked the clock on her phone again. It was indeed 1 am in Caldor. People of Kevan's status didn't need to consider costs on their business trips. It was impossible for Kevan to take a red-eye flight to save money. Moreover, he was sitting in a regular waiting area at the departure hall, not in a VIP lounge that befitted his status. All these details seemed strange. "The weather over there is bad, so planes are unable to take off." Kevan smiled helplessly and changed the subject. "Do you need something from me?" "Not me, Aster." Larissa pointed the camera at Aster. Seeing Kevan, Aster finally stopped crying. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and sniffled hard. Kevan's expression changed immediately. "What's wrong? Who hurt you?" he asked anxiously. Shaking his head, Aster tried to catch his breath and stammered, "No … No one hurt me."He was a pitiable sight. His eyes and nose were com