Chapter 8

Thaddeus did not expect to see the little girl again after meeting her at the hospital yesterday. He squatted down and explained patiently, “This is a vending machine. You have to put coins or notes inside to get the candy.” Millie’s eyes glistened. She reached toward the bunny purse in her pocket. “Mister, I have money! Mommy makes a lot of money for me!” The girl’s adorable voice instantly cheered him up, putting a smile on his face. Her facial features resembled Mona, especially when she smiled. Millie reached into her purse and grabbed two one-dollar coins. “Mister, how many candies do you think I can get with this?” Thaddeus looked at the vending machine. “You can get two lollipops with two dollars.” “Great. I’ll get one for Bobby and one for myself.” Then, Millie turned around and tried to put the coin into the slot. However, she was too short to reach it, even when she tiptoed and stretched her arm. She got so anxious that her eyes started to water. Thaddeus’s heart melted at the girl’s adorable action. “Do you need some help?” Millie wiped the tears from her eyes with the bag of her hand and grinned widely. “Yay, Mister. Thank you!” With Thaddeus's help, Millie got two lollipops from the vending machine. Millie looked at the lollipops in her hands. She switched her gaze from one to another repeatedly as if she had to make the toughest decision in her life. A few moments later, she decided to give one to Thaddeus. “Mister, I’ll give Bobby’s lollipop to you.” Thaddeus smiled and took the lollipop. When he reached out to take the lollipop, his hawk-like eyes spotted the bruise on the girl’s arm. Feeling odd, he rolled up her sleeve to take a better look. Her fair and tiny arm had multiple bruises, a shocking image to the eye of an adult. Thaddeus’s heart clenched when he saw the bruises. He asked in a worrisome tone, “What happened? Did someone hit you?” Millie was sucking on her lollipop when Thaddeus rolled her sleeve up. She smiled and calmed the man down by saying, “I’m fine, Mister. I’m sick. That’s why I have to get an injection every day.” Thaddeus was about to ask what kind of illness the girl faced when a handsome boy came running over, interrupting them by hugging the girl tightly. “Millie!” “Bobby!” She quickly put the lollipop behind her back, but Bobby spotted it. Bobby narrowed his eyes. “Millie, what’s that behind your back?” Millie pouted and reluctantly put her hand out. Bobby was furious when he saw the lollipop. Even though his sister could not take candies because of her diabetes, she never once tried to control herself. If she continued to take sugar, not even the insulin shots could help her anymore. “I’ll be taking that.” Bobby tried to take the lollipop away, but Millie held on tightly to the stick. She pulled as hard as she could, causing her puffy face to tremble lightly. “Aaaah! I want the lollipop!” Millie sat on the ground and started crying. She had lost the lollipop to her brother. Thaddeus watched from the side. It seemed the girl could not take candies due to her condition. Just when he wanted to carry the girl up, Bobby whispered something into the girl’s ear, and she immediately stopped crying. “Really? You’re going to give me a big present if you win the piano competition?” “Uh-huh.” Millie snorted and got up from the ground. She hugged her brother and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best, Bobby.” After coaxing his sister, Bobby went over to Thaddeus. Due to his height, he had to look up to the man, but it did not diminish his imposing manner. “I’m warning you. Don’t give my sister candies, or you will suffer the consequences.” Thaddeus scoffed coldly. The boy was probably the first person to ever threaten him in such a tone. “Kid, where are your parents?” This was the second time he ran into the twins without their parents. What careless parents they were. How could they allow two adorable kids to wander around unchecked? They might get kidnapped or worse. Bobby protected his sister well by hugging her tightly. He refused to reveal any information to Thaddeus and simply left with his sister. “Mr. Fontaine, thank you for the clothes!” a pampered voice sounded all of a sudden. Thaddeus turned to the origin of the voice and saw Marianne strutting over in her twelve-inch heels and shopping bags in her hands. “You said you wanted to try my cooking. Are you free tonight? Your wife won’t mind, right?” Bobby turned around and sneaked a glance at the two. He felt nothing but disdain for the man. A playboy! Thaddeus glanced coldly over Marianne’s beautiful face with delicate makeup. “Shut up!” Mariane’s smile froze. She immediately put on an aggrieved look and said, “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean it…” Thaddeus had never brought his so-called wife out to any event, so Marianne simply assumed she was someone of zero importance to him. The thought delighted her. She looked at the man who won countless women’s hearts with his looks, and he… was looking at some other woman! Marianne looked in the same direction as his gaze. “Go wait for me in the car,” Thaddeus said coldly before leaving her for the restaurant ahead of him. Marianne wanted to follow, but the man’s warning echoed in her head. She bit the bullet and decided to do as told. In the restaurant, Mona chuckled and laughed with a man over soups and steaks. She unintentionally glanced outside the window. When she saw Thaddeus and Marianne, she froze. While she was not afraid to run into Thaddeus at the mall, she was worried that Thaddeus would find out about her hidden twins. The man was striding towards the restaurant, and Mona decided to leave before he could come in. “Peter, I’m sorry. I think I saw my boss. I have to go say hi.” After leaving a hurried message, she strode out of the restaurant and accidentally bumped into the man’s broad chest. Thaddeus held her hands to prevent her from falling. He frowned and said, “Be mindful of where you are going. You can’t just run into people like that.” “Mr. Fontaine, what a coincidence.” Mona put on a sweet smile, but her heart was pounding wildly. “You’re not busy today? I saw you shopping with your girlfriend.” Thaddeus stared emotionlessly at Peter, who was still sitting at the table. “Who is he?” “An acquaintance. He gave me a gift, but I refused it. So I asked him out to return it to him.” “The one who gave you the ring?” “Yes.” Thaddeus suddenly emanated a frosty and dangerous aura.