Chapter 598 Do You Not Like Me
James threw himself fully into the matter of rescuing Spencer. At the same time, Oscar had also arranged for an investigation to look into who was behind poisoning Spencer. Kurt and his men followed the leads and found out that it was done by a foreigner who had entered Chanaea using a fake ID card and had left the country immediately after completing his mission. His departure had effectively cut off all leads that might reveal what his true identity was.
“Carry on with the investigation,” Oscar commanded.
“But Boss, he was traveling on a fake ID card and has already left Chanaea. There are so many countries in the world that he can choose to go to. Even if we expend a huge amount of financial and human resources, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to track him down,” one of the guards said boldly.
Oscar seemed to be in deep thought.
“Keep an eye on that man named June. I want his every move to be reported to me,” he instructed.
The same guard spoke up. “Boss, unfortunately, that man named June has flown back to his home country yesterday. We have no idea why he left.”
Oscar narrowed his eyes. June seemed to be acting fast. He probably had a hand in this matter, but it would be hard to pin him down now that he was out of the country. He had returned to his own territory where the Adertons were an old and powerful family with connections in every stratum of the society. Even the government was deferential toward them. If the Clintons were the local tyrants of this city, the Adertons could be considered the local tyrants over there.
There was no way he could just send his men over to capture June and bring him back.
Even if June were to return to Chanaea, he would have been fully prepared. It would not be easy to catch him. “You may go now.”
“Yes, Boss.”
As soon as everyone else had left, Amelia entered the room holding a cup of hot milk.
As Oscar looked at her, his previously hardened expression instantly started to appear softer and more tender.
“Have some milk,” Amelia said gently while offering the cup to him.
Oscar took the cup and drank a big gulp. It was not too cloyingly sweet, which was just the way he liked it.
He put down the cup and pulled Amelia into his arms, rubbing his chin on the top of her head.
Feeling tickled, Amelia tried to struggle free but gave in after a few seconds and settled into his embrace like a little kitten. “What’s the matter? Is something bothering you?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t manage to capture the person who harmed Spencer,” Oscar said in a low voice while licking her earlobe.
Amelia patted his chest lightly. “You’re feeling vexed because of this? This doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“It pains my heart to see you toss and turn in bed and lose sleep over this every night. I want to capture the mastermind so that your mind can be set at ease.”
“You noticed?” Amelia lifted her head and saw the dark rings below his eyes. Her heart ached as she thought about how much her problem was bothering him.
“You are my woman. If I’m not on top of your every move, am I fit to be your man?” Oscar lowered his head and looked straight into Amelia’s eyes. When their eyes met, he could not resist kissing her on the lips. Then, he released her and said tenderly, “Try not to think too much. I’ll take care of everything. If you want to find out who’s responsible for the state that Spencer is in today, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“There’s no need to,” Amelia said without hesitation. “James has asked for help from his trainer. If the two of them were able to pull me back from the brink of death, I’m sure they’ll be able to save my brother too. This will be considered as my repayment to the Winters family for taking me in and providing for me all these years. When it’s all over, I’ll sever all ties with them. Our paths in life are different. There’s no happiness in forcing ourselves to be a family.”
“Do you really think so?”
Amelia nodded.
“No regrets?”
Amelia laughed in resignation.
“What’s there to regret? My ties with the Winters family should have ended a decade ago. It’s just that I still had a tiny glimmer of hope that they’d treat me like their real daughter. But now I’ve seen through them. After Spencer recovers, I don’t think we’ll ever meet each other again,” Amelia said with a sense of acceptance.
Oscar kissed her on her lips again, his heart aching for her silent suffering. “Do you want to take Tony to visit them?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“They’re your family after all. I suppose they have the right to see their grandchild?”
“They don’t even want to recognize me as their daughter. Do you really think they’ll want to meet Tony?”
Oscar was silent.
Amelia put one arm around his waist and patted him on his chest contentedly with the other hand. “I know you want what’s best for me, but please trust me on this. Tony is a sensitive child, and he’s very sharp at sensing whether a person has kind or malicious intentions. Mom doesn’t like me, so I doubt she’ll like Tony either. There’s no need to force them to like each other.”
“All right,” Oscar said as they walked out of the study with their arms still around each other. “It’s getting late, you’d better go to bed.”
Amelia nodded.
She soon settled into a rare good night’s sleep.
The next morning, she woke up when Oscar was still sleeping and joined Molly in the kitchen after washing up.
As they were preparing breakfast together, Tony ran into the kitchen and greeted them politely. “Good morning, Molly,” he said before putting his arms around Amelia’s leg from behind her and clinging to her like a koala clinging to a tree. “Mummy, I’ve missed you so much. It’s been a long time since we’ve played together. I don’t want to go to Grandma’s house today. I just want to stay home with you.”
Amelia washed her hands, turned around, and scooped Tony into her arms. “Molly, I’m taking Tony out to play for a while.”
“Go ahead, I can manage on my own.”
Amelia carried Tony out of the kitchen and set him down on the sofa. She looked at Tony and said with a tender smile, “Did you really miss me?”
Tony nodded. “Mommy, it’s the weekend today. I want to go to the playground with you. I want to ride on the Ferris wheel.”
Amelia touched his face and said apologetically, “Remember I told you that I need to go to the hospital today? Uncle Spencer is unwell. I need to take care of him because Granddad and Granny are getting on in years, and they don’t have the energy to tend to him. So I need you to be a good boy and go play with Grandma first. As soon as I’m done with my chores, I’ll pick you up, all right? We can even go on a holiday with Daddy when all this is over.”
Tony cocked his head to the side as he listened. Unlike other children his age, he was sensible and not prone to throwing tantrums to get his way.
He only had one question. “Mommy, I know from watching television that Granddad and Granny are your parents, but how come I’ve never met them? Do they dislike me?”
Amelia felt a stab in her heart when she heard that.
She stroked Tony’s cheeks lovingly and said with a chuckle, “You’re such an adorable boy. Which grown-up wouldn’t like you once they’ve met you?”
“Then why won’t Granddad and Granny meet me?”
“That’s because Uncle Spencer is unwell, and that’s keeping them too busy to come meet you.”
“Mommy, you’re lying. They obviously don’t like me,” Tony said with a pout. He had seen through her lie.
Amelia was stunned. She had almost forgotten that Tony was more mature and perceptive than other children his age. She had to approach the matter from another angle. “Tony, don’t you believe your own Mommy anymore?”
“No, I’ll always believe you, Mommy. However I’ve decided to follow you to the hospital today to visit Uncle Spencer, Granddad, and Granny,” Tony said with a solemn expression.
After a moment’s consideration, Amelia decided it was better to just go along with Tony’s wish. “Do you really want to meet Granddad and Granny?”
“Aren’t they the most important people in your life?” Tony asked directly. Because they’re so important to you, I’ll do whatever I can to please them.
Amelia naturally understood what Tony meant.
She pulled him into her arms and said, “All right, I’ll take you to meet them. But you must be on your best behaviour because Uncle Spencer is not well, and that’s making everyone sad and worried. So if they’re not as warm to you as you expect, you must try to understand that it’s not because they don’t like you. It’s just like whenever you’re sick, I find it very hard to cheer myself up too. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
Tony nodded his head solemnly.
When Oscar woke up and went downstairs, he was informed immediately by Amelia about her plans to take Tony to the hospital.
He paused for a moment before asking, “You’ve made up your mind?”
“Tony really wants to meet them. I shouldn’t stand in the way of him fulfilling his desire to get to know his grandparents,” Amelia said with a wry smile. She was not against Tony getting to know the Winters family. In fact, she felt closer to them compared to the Hutton family whom she had not contacted for more than twenty years. Perhaps the years of cold treatment she had received had filled her heart with an inexplicable sense of hope and longing.
Perhaps this was a case of wanting what one could not get the most.
“All right,” Oscar agreed without further hesitation.
After breakfast, the three of them proceeded to the hospital together.
When Dominic and Melanie saw Tony, whose face was as exquisite as a porcelain doll, they did not break down in tears of joy. Instead, they appeared awkward and restrained. Compared to the good-looking and well-groomed Tony, the two elderly folks looked ordinary and old, like two peasants from the countryside. Amelia had bought them nice clothes before, but they were all vehemently rejected by Melanie.
“Amelia, is this your son?” Dominic asked in a tight voice.
Amelia could not help feeling a tinge of disappointment.
Her family did not seem enthusiastic about meeting her son at all.
However, she kept her emotions in check very quickly.
“Dad, his name is Anthony. We nicknamed him Tony, which means priceless. We want him to know how much we cherish him,” Amelia said.
Dominic only smiled upon hearing her introduction and made no move to step forward and give Tony a hug.
Tony cocked his head to the side and said, “Granddad, you can call me Tony too.”
Dominic and Melanie looked at each other, not knowing how to react. They did, however, seem to finally detect a sense of awkwardness in each other’s eyes.
“Granddad, Granny, do you not like me?” Tony asked in confusion. Their reaction was completely different from the way his Grandpa and Grandma reacted when they first met him. He could even sense that they seemed to be trying to keep a distance from him. But why is that so? Am I not likable?
“Of course we do, Tony. You’re so handsome and cute,” Dominic explained with a wave of his hand.
