Ruby's vehement kicks to his body were still fresh in her mind. Larissa kissed Aster's tears, asking him softly, "Does it hurt bad?"Aster shook his head minutely. She was not sure if he really was not in pain, or if he was only doing that to comfort her.When they got to the first floor, Larissa raced out of the hotel as fast as she could and hailed a cab. They went to the closest hospital, which was the military hospital. Aster was heavily bruised from Ruby's kicks, but the fortunate thing was that he did not suffer any grievous injuries.The doctor asked Larissa, "How did this happen?" His stare was filled with condemnation and suspicion. Larissa did not say much—for the truth was too complicated to explain in just a couple of sentences.When they left, the doctor said pointedly, "Child abuse—even if it's your own biological child, is illegal."Larissa halted for a moment, but she still made no arguments to defend herself.…The image of Larissa rushing out of the hotel with

This was the best excuse Kevan could think of. It gave him a justifiable reason to be concerned about them as well as removing the risk of the people watching over them getting exposed.It only took Larissa a few seconds to figure out the reason why they came."You've bailed her out?" Her heart felt like it was being choked from fear.She knew that she had no right to demand him to do anything, and she also knew his relationship with Ruby. Bailing her out was totally a normal thing, but she could not help but blame him for that. If Ruby could come out of this unscathed without needing to bear any legal responsibility, Larissa would definitely request headquarters to transfer her back to Westonia at once—no part of her career or future was worth her son's life."No." Kevan's answer gave Larissa reason to feel relieved. "I will not interfere in this matter," he promised her. "The police will have full power over this matter."If he left it alone, the chances of Ruby getting convicte

Larissa found it a little difficult to carry him in her arms.Kevan hurriedly got up from the sofa and took the child from her."Aster …" He looked down at the boy, his heart aching greatly for him, and his voice unconsciously became hoarse too."Uncle Kevan." Aster greeted him politely, like the good boy he was, though the nasal twang in his voice was rather noticeable.Kevan gritted his teeth, doing everything he could to conceal the harsh anger in his eyes. How dare Ruby touch his son? She must have been having it too good these few years.Sitting down again, Kevan got Aster to sit on his lap."Does it still hurt?" He wiped Aster's tears away as he asked gently.Dylan pursed his lips discreetly as he thought to himself, "Jeez, father and son have great rapport for sure." Only Aster could get Kevan to get over his extreme clean freakishness by making him willingly touch something that was absolutely disgusting in his eyes.Aster nodded once.Because of this simple act, the t

Larissa invited Kevan and Dylan to stay for dinner, but they surprisingly rejected her offer."We still have work to do. Maybe next time," Kevan said, before bending down to ruffle Aster's hair with a faint smile on his face. His eyes were filled with gentleness too."Goodbye, Aster." His deep voice was light and unexpectedly energizing.Larissa's heart felt like something had slammed right into it. She hurriedly looked down to hide the panic on her face.Dylan noticed her actions and tilted his head slightly to one side in pensive thought as he looked at her.Aster waved at Kevan and said reluctantly, "Goodbye, Uncle Kevan!"…Aster had no appetite, and he only ate a little bit of pasta before putting his spoon down."Mommy, I'm full." He watched Larissa timidly and emphasized, "Really, really full."Although Larissa and Wendy treated him generously, they never allowed him to waste food. He always did well usually, so Larissa naturally did not blame him for today's exception—

Larissa's heart ached at that, but she forced herself to show a stern expression as she said coldly, "Aster, tell me the truth.""I …" Aster opened his mouth and had barely gotten a word out when his tears spilled over. "I want a daddy too ..." he sobbed, his voice incoherent, but Larissa heard him.She suddenly remembered that the cartoon she played for him involved an orphan character, who unexpectedly met his biological father before deciding to recognize him as his dad. This was also the movie's biggest tear-jerking point. Wendy would be bawling whenever she watched it.Larissa herself felt nothing for it, probably due to never experiencing what fatherly love was like. She also held no hope of ever finding her biological dad. She was just worried that Aster would think too much after watching it.However, Aster never had a reaction whenever he watched this back then, so she thought that he was just like her in that he did not crave the existence of a father.Clearly, the truth

If Larissa herself had not necessarily met Aster's biological father, who said Wendy would even know about him? Aster's question made her a little frantic, and she asked him in return, "Why are you asking about this?""I want to find my daddy," Aster said seriously, and Wendy was shocked. Her first reaction was to inform Larissa, but she still had to deal with Aster for now."Why are you suddenly thinking about finding your daddy?"This kid, having grown up to his current age, had never asked for his father before today. So … what on earth has happened now?"Because I want to." Aster bit his lip, some stubbornness shining through his forlornness. He had never spoken to Wendy like this before. If it were not for the fact that he was only five, Wendy would have thought that he was already at his rebellious stage."Well … you gotta have a reason for wanting to do something?" She tried to communicate properly with him.Aster was quiet for a while before he mumbled, "I … don't want Mo

Aster became angry. "You're lying to me again, Godma!""I'm not! I promise." Wendy raised her hand as a way of swearing while tossing the ball into Larissa's court. "Your mommy never told me!"She could not tell Aster the truth, so she could only come up with an excuse like this. Because she knew all too well that Aster would not dare ask Larissa who his father really was.Suspicion was written all over Aster's face."When my mommy and daddy got married, you really didn't see him before?"He had seen various TV shows and movies in which the moment someone got married, friends and family would go over to congratulate the newlywed couple. His mother had no family but only a good friend in his godmother. It was impossible for her to not be present at such an important event.However, Wendy nodded guiltily. "I was in Aldovia at that time. Your mommy was in Caldor. My schoolwork was pretty heavy then, and her work was not easy, so we rarely contacted each other. She never informed me

Wendy tapped into the picture Aster sent. When she saw exactly who was in the picture, her eyes widened with shock.She had once needled Larissa to let her see a picture of Kevan. Although he was definitely thinner than before, she could recognize him at once. Like, who else could it be if not Kevan?!But … How was it that Aster had Kevan's picture?She had not figured out the answer to this question when Aster's new message came through. "How's the uncle on the left, Godma? Handsome enough?"Wendy did not know how to answer. Aster's goal was obvious—he wanted to match up Larissa and Kevan. However, she had already heard the rough story of Larissa and Kevan from Larissa herself.She knew that Kevan had a dream gal in his heart, and she knew that he chose to divorce Larissa in the end for the sake of marrying said dream gal.Wendy could not be certain of Larissa's attitude towards Kevan, but getting back together was not a possibility for Larissa."This uncle is handsome for sure

"Really?" The hope in Aster's heart was lit up by him once more."Of course, it's true!" Kevan answered seriously, and Aster rolled about in bed with joy.Uncle Kevan was not married, which meant that his godmother was wrong. It also meant that when she said that Uncle Kevan was not Mommy's type, it might not be true either. So, there was a chance that Mommy might like Uncle Kevan!Having gained this conclusion, Aster felt a strong drive to match his mommy and Uncle Kevan together at once.But no!He had to be calm and carry on his plan very, very carefully, and he could not let anyone know either.…The bodyguard sent by headquarters arrived early in the morning the next day and was already waiting on the lowest floor of Larissa's home. The driver who had originally been sending her to and from work was replaced by another bodyguard too.The unease in Larissa's heart lessened some. But as long as Ruby was not convicted, she would not be able to relax entirely.When Ruby was t

Aster's bruises not only showed no signs of fading but had darkened even further after a full day had passed. The two police officers were taken aback when they saw the bruises, revealing a mix of surprise and sympathy in their eyes."You gotta take his shirt off, so that we can snap some pictures," one of the police officers said to Larissa as he pulled out his phone.Larissa helped Aster in removing his T-shirt and made him stand upright. The police officer circled around Aster, and the sound of the camera shutter clicking away could be heard."Yesterday, when I entered the room, I saw Ruby really going at it. She was kicking my son with all her might, trying to do him serious harm. I rushed over and pinned her down on the bed to stop her from putting up a fight. I never laid a hand on her throughout the whole ordeal. Obviously, I don't have any proof of that, though," Larissa explained. There was a hint of regret in her voice; she wished she had recorded everything. But her focus wa