Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Fred looked at the figure of Max carrying Jason, utterly confused. He asked worriedly, “Lady Mary, Sir wouldn’t hurt Max, would he?”
Mary smiled and said, “I’ll go in to have a look.”
She could roughly guess why Max had suddenly carried Jason and left.
Ever since he knew that his father had died, Jason’s greatest wish had been to find a new husband for Mary.
The wish that Jason had made for his past two birthdays was for a new father who would take care of his mother.
Mary felt very guilty when she thought about that. She had let Jason down in that regard.
In the living room.
Jason put his hands on his waist and stared at Max the moment he was let down, “Uncle, why did you carry me away? I’m a strong man. Please don’t carry me and go as you please in the future, got it?”
Jason had wanted to skip the ‘please’.
However, he changed his mind when he saw the darkened expression on Max’s face. Furthermore, Max was his uncle after all.
Jason somehow felt a little intimidated.
Max pointed to the sofa. Jason pouted and obediently climbed onto it. He then looked at Max and said, “Uncle.”
“What were your intentions when you asked Fred Gaston whether he’s married?” Max asked.
The expression on Max’s face was still dark. His voice was low, authoritative, and very scary.
Jason replied nonchalantly, “I want to find a good man to be my father and protect Mom.”
Max could feel his head throb. He remembered what Mary said about forbidding him to tell Jason about who he really was. He took a deep breath, then said, “Next time, you are not to ask people if they are married or not. You are not to allow them to woo your mother.”
Jason knitted his brows, displeased, “Why?”
“Because those men are not worthy of your mother,” Max responded.
Max paused after he said that. In the end, he could not bear to be that stern toward Jason.
His expression relaxed as he crouched down to Jason’s height. He enunciated every syllable in a low, yet gentle voice, “Jason, in the future, I will take care of you and your mother. There’s no need for anyone else.”
“But I know that you’re about to get married,” Jason said.
Jason remembered the publicity about Max on the Internet and rolled his eyes unhappily. He had only chosen not to expose Max when Max told him that he was not married back then.
Max replied, “Those are all rumors.”
“What?” Jason exclaimed, not fully believing Max. He continued, “Are those really rumors? Uncle, you’re not going to marry a woman called Sandra White?”
Jason did not like that woman. He had not liked her from the first time he saw her.
Max’s expression did not change, “No.”
“Then, you will be with me and Mom forever?” Jason asked.
“Yes,” Max replied.
At the porch.
Mary, who had just walked in, happened to catch the last two sentences of their conversation.
Then, she heard Jason say, “Uncle Paul doesn’t even video call us much anymore after he got married. You’ll forget about us too if you get married. Don’t worry, I won’t let you remain unmarried all your life. You may get married after I grow up and am able to protect Mom.”
Jason pursed his lips after he said that. There was a pitiful tone in his innocent voice when he continued, “Mom has it too hard. She has to work and take care of me— Those brats say that I’m an illegitimate child. Mom would also be harassed by men from time to time.”
Children from single-parent families often matured at a young age. However, Jason lost his usual suaveness and charisma when he thought about his mother’s hardships. He now looked more like his age.
Max looked at Jason, his eyes a little red. He felt like his heart had been wrenched. He held Jason’s arms, then said softly, “In the future, I’ll not let you and your mother suffer any insult at all.”
He pressed Jason’s head into his embrace, then looked to the side and called for Mary, who was standing at the porch, to come in.
Mary bit her lips into a tight line under the warm light. Complicated emotions reflected in her watery eyes.
Priscilla Johnson had brought over Mary and Jason’s luggage.
Jason asked Max to stay for dinner.
Max had barely eaten when his phone, which was placed on the dinner table, rang. It was his mother.
He put down his chopsticks and excused himself, then grabbed his phone and left the dining hall. He took the call at the balcony.
“Max, come home early tonight,” Sofia Garcia’s voice came from the other end of the line.
Max turned his head and looked toward the dining hall, then lowered his voice and asked, “Mother, did something happen?”
His mother replied, “Max, I went to visit Sandra at the hospital in the afternoon and brought her back to our home. Don’t stay out too late at night. Come back early and accompany her. She’s injured and she needs you.”
Max smiled coldly. His eyes darkened as he said, “Mother, I’ve told her that I’m going to postpone the wedding. I’ll hold a press conference tomorrow—”
“What? Postpone the wedding?” Sofia Garcia’s voice grew shrill as she exclaimed, “No, Max, you can’t do that. Sandra is a famous actress. What would the media write about her if you postponed the wedding? What will the fans say?”
“The media wouldn’t dare to write nonsense,” Max said, knitting his brows. His voice was cold, not allowing for any rebuttal.
“That still won’t do. Sandra has waited for you for five years. Your wedding with her must not be postponed. Max, you must not be irresponsible. Back then, you were a willing party when you got engaged to Sandra. Sandra gave you her body back then. You are no different from a scumbag if you do not marry Sandra now!” Sofia demanded. Her voice got higher as she went on.
At the dining table, Jason looked outside as he was eating. He asked, “Mom, why is Uncle taking so long on the phone?”
“Uncle has business to settle. Just eat your food and stop looking,” Mary said.
“Uncle said that the news on the Internet are rumors. He said that he will not get married. Mom, Uncle will be able to be with us if he does not get married,” Jason said.
Max seemed to have completely brought Jason over to his side. Now, Jason’s eyes would be filled with adoration whenever he mentioned Max.
Mary felt that Jason’s adoration for Max was rather strange. She said without much emotion, “Jason, Uncle has his own life to live. Your mindset is not good—”
“He’s the one who brought it up. He said that he will take care of you and protect you. He said that he will not let any harm come to you. As long as he can do that, I will want him around,” Jason rebutted. He paused for a moment, then asked, “Mom, may I go look for him when I go to the office with you next time?”
“Sure,” Mary agreed. She looked down, feeling a little conflicted.
Their biological bond was something she could not change. Perhaps Jason liking Max was a good thing. Max would treat Jason well if she one day could not be by his side as he was growing up.
—
After dinner, Max played with Jason for a little while longer, then brought him to shower, told him a story, and coaxed him to sleep.
Max did not leave immediately after Jason fell asleep. Instead, he found Mary at the altar of her parents. He stood beside her and said without much emotion, “Jason is asleep.”
Mary slowly turned her head. The warm light accentuated the man’s handsome appearance and noble disposition. She looked into Max’s eyes and asked casually, “Back then, my mother had you look after me, and asked me to listen to you. Say, how could she be so sure that you’d take me in and not leave me to starve and die on the streets?”
Max knitted his handsome brows and looked into Mary’s eyes. He said in a cold, deep voice after a momentary silence, “Because I promised her, that I would take care of you.”
“…”
It sounded reasonable.. But was that really all there was to it?