Larissa had the exact same thought. She assumed Dylan had returned to Covenford. "I'm in Bartham for a business trip, so I will be leaving in a few days," Larissa said with a polite smile as she discreetly pulled her hand out of his grasp. The hope that ignited a flame in Dylan's eyes faded quickly. "I see …"Trailing off, he shifted his gaze onto Aster, who was sitting in the shopping cart. Although he was still little and not yet fully grown, his facial features strongly resembled Larissa's. A sudden thought popped into Dylan's head. His eyes widened, and Dylan pointed at Aster incredulously. "Is he your son?"Larissa made up a lie unflinchingly. "He's the son of my best friend and also my godson. His mom is on a month-long business trip and entrusted him into my care. However, I suddenly received an order to go on a business trip as well on short notice; that's why I had to bring him along." Dylan had his doubts about her explanation. It was impossible for her best fri

Startled, Larissa almost dropped the shopping bag she was holding. "Why are you following us?" she demanded, her eyes wide. Larissa raised her voice intentionally to mask the guilt she felt with anger. "Huh?" In response to her question, Dylan expressed an appropriate amount of astonishment. Aggrieved, he explained himself, "I'm not following you. I have a friend who lives in this apartment complex, and I'm going to his place for dinner." Larissa exposed his lie with a straight face. "Aren't you cooking steak for dinner tonight?" Dylan shrugged and pulled out his hands from his pockets. Showing her his empty palms, he continued, "Can't you see that I haven't bought anything? There's nothing to eat at home, so I have to have dinner at my friend's place."Larissa certainly didn't believe him.She turned around with Aster in tow and tried to leave. "I just remembered that I forgot to buy something.""Perfect timing," Dylan grinned. "I'll go buy the ingredients I need for di

Their enthusiastic greetings startled Larissa, causing her to develop a splitting headache. Aster clung to Larissa's clothes, shrinking back into the car behind her. With a polite smile, Larissa nodded to them in acknowledgment."Hello, everyone." Maintaining her aloof demeanor, she helped Aster out of the car and entered the hotel amidst the onlookers' curious gazes. "Do we have a play area for children in the hotel?" she asked the assistant manager beside her."Yes, we do." He nodded and turned to Aster. "Shall I have someone escort the young man to the children's play area?"Larissa didn't hesitate. "Yes, please."The assistant manager called over a lobby attendant. "Take the general manager's son to the children's play area and take good care of him. Make sure he doesn't get hurt, understand?" The attendant replied nervously, "Yes, I understand."Larissa handed Aster over to the attendant and squatted down to his level. "Have a good time playing in the children's pla

Aster held the bottle of water with both hands. As he was about to drink from the opening, he froze on the spot when he heard Dylan's question. The sparkle in his eyes disappeared for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "I don't have a dad," he said calmly with a nonchalant expression. There was no hint of sadness or regret in his voice. "Instead, I have two moms. I have a very happy family." He intentionally emphasized the last sentence.Dylan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in his heart when he heard this. "I see." Dylan patted Aster's hair affectionately and discreetly plucked a strand from his head. While Aster was distracted, he put the strand of hair into a small sealed bag and carefully tucked it into the hidden pocket of his suit.The two of them played together for the entire morning. As lunchtime approached, Dylan knew Larissa would soon come looking for Aster, so he quickly bid farewell. "I have to leave now, but we'll definitely have the

"Mommy, I want to play this!" Aster exclaimed, pointing at a ride."Mommy, that looks really fun!" he said, pointing at another attraction."Mommy, let's go wait in line!" he shouted excitedly. Aster was a fearless child who was willing to try out all the rides. Unfortunately, Larissa did not have the courage and physical stamina to keep up with him. After accompanying him on a rollercoaster ride, Larissa felt dizzy and nauseous even after taking a long break. Aster was bothered by Larissa's discomfort and refused to go on any more rides. Seeing his worried expression, Larissa felt even more guilty for ruining the mood for Aster. She forced herself to stand up and said, "Aster, what else do you want to play? I will keep you company!" However, Aster shook his head. He pulled Larissa down on a seat to rest. "I don't want to play anymore. I just want to sit here for a while."Although Aster said he wanted to sit down, Larissa knew very well that he was doing it for her sake

The restaurant at the amusement park wasn't crowded. They ordered a steak combo each, and it took less than half an hour for all the dishes to be served.The quality of the food was average, and the taste was bland, only slightly better than a regular fast food joint. Dylan took a few bites before setting his knife and fork aside. He rinsed his mouth with some tea and quietly observed Aster, who was deftly cutting up his steak. Perhaps it was because he already knew the truth. Initially, he could only see a resemblance to Larissa in Aster's face. However, as he scrutinized Aster more closely, he also noticed similarities between Aster's features to Kevan's. He had long eyelashes, a straight nose, and rosy pink lips like Kevan's. At that moment, Larissa looked up and noticed that Dylan had left more than half of the steak untouched on his plate. She questioned, "Aren't you eating anymore?"Dylan nodded. "It's tasteless."Upon hearing this, Aster looked up solemnly and chi

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