As an extra precaution, Ste Grace bought pepper spray and a stun gun and put them in her bag on her way to Frederick’s vi.


    It took her an hour to get there. She entered the password, which was still Felicia Chuck’s birthday.


    Ironic, wasn’t it?


    The door opened and Ste walked in.


    Frederick Addington and the little fellow were sitting on the sofa watching cartoons.


    Ste was shocked when she saw the child. He looked like a mini version of her. He looked just like her when she was small.


    Frederick suddenly smiled deviously at Ste. “Why are you still standing there? The groceries are all in the kitchen. We’re waiting for you to cook. Titus and I haven’t eaten yet.”


    Titus looked at Ste with a pair of stunning ck eyes.“Are you my mommy?” he asked in a squeaky voice.


    Ste walked toward the little fellow in a daze and squatted down in front of him. She was too shocked, and her mind was nk. She studied his face.


    Titus did the same. As he looked at her, his eyes turned red and tears flowed down his cheek. “Mommy, why didn’t youe for me?” he sobbed.


    Ste’s heart broke, and tears flowed from her eyes.


    Her child had been taken away within a week of his birth.


    From the very beginning, she had only wanted to protect him.


    Ste rubbed the little fellow’s head and said, “I’m sorry. Mommy couldn’t find you.”


    Titus threw himself into Ste’s arms and held her tightly in his tiny arms. “Mommy, you’ve finally found me. You won’t abandon me anymore, will you?”


    “Of course not. Mommy will take good care of you,” Ste said determinedly.


    The little fellow cried even more. “Mommy, it’s been so hard!”


    Hearing the little fellow’s words, Ste’s heart ached even more.


    She brought him into this world but failed to protect him.


    “All right, you guys should have a good talk. I’ll be in the kitchen.” Frederick suddenly got up and went to the kitchen with a malicious look in his eyes.


    Things had spiraled far beyond his control. This was not good.


    He turned around and looked at Ste, who was smiling gently.


    This woman used to be his wife. She would have given birth to lively, lovely children for him. They would have been a happy family.


    Frederick knitted his brows in an ugly frown. He wanted to return to the old days,


    back to when she still loved him.


    As long as she gave him another chance, there was still time, wasn’t there?


    Frederick entered the kitchen.


    “Tell Mommy, how did Uncle find you?” Ste asked softly.


    Titus pursed his lips and cried again.


    Ste wiped the tears from his eyes. “You’ve suffered a lot in the past. Now you have me. Mommy won’t let you suffer any more.”


    “My adopted parents took me in. I had a little brother when I was three. They treated me badly and sold me to a human trafficker. They wanted to open my belly and poison me. I managed to escape and wandered the streets. I was always hungry, and I couldn’t fall asleep. I was afraid of getting caught again,” Titus said sadly.


    Only then did Ste realize that Titus was so thin, so very thin.His face did not have the luster of a six-year-old child. The fine clothes Frederick provided masked much of his emaciation.


    Ste could only imagine how the little guy got through winter without any money.


    “Where did you sleep?” Ste asked worriedly.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “I’m very smart. I slept at a KFC shop. They are open 24 hours. In winter, there’s heating, and in summer, there’s air conditioning. I’ll walk to another ce every day so they won’t get tired of me. I’ll beg for food in the daytime and sleep there at night.”


    The more Ste listened, the sadder she felt. Tears streamed down her cheeks.


    She thought her own childhood at the orphanage was rough. But after her mother came out of the sanatorium, she took her away. Before her mother fell ill, Ste had enjoyed maternal love. When she was in the orphanage, she didn’t have to worry about clothes, food and sleep.


    “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I didn’t protect you well,but I won’t let it happen again,” Ste cried.


    “Come here. Let’s have dinner,” Frederick called.


    Ste turned around in surprise. “Didn’t you say that you didn’t cook?”


    Frederick gave her a smile, his voice gentle and maic. “Juste and eat. I was just kidding, I ordered takeouts. We were waiting for you to eat together.”


    Ste frowned.“You shouldn’t have let the child go hungry,” she admonished.


    Frederick’s smile widened. “How could I have let your sweetheart starve?He ate a cake while waiting for you.”


    Ste was relieved. She took Titus’ hand and walked to the dining table. When he saw the food on the table, his eyes lit up. “Thank you, Father Addington, for preparing so much delicious food. It would be awesome if we could eat like this everyday.”


    Children’s wishes were ever so simple.


    Ste felt bad listening to him.


    So many children took such things for granted while her child could only wish for it.


    Frederick smiled and picked out a chicken thigh for Titus. “From now on, you’ll be with your father and mother every day, okay?”


    “Okay.” Titus was moved to tears.


    Ste looked at the child lovingly, she could not stop the deluge of tears from her eyes.


    Frederick handed a napkin to Ste.


    Ste took it and wiped the tears from Titus’ face before moving on to her own.


    Frederick held her hand. “Ste, I know this is the life you’re dreaming of. A child, a husband, and aplete family. I can give you a warm home. You can see the change in me, right? I’ve been waiting for you, and I won’t make the same mistakes again in the future. We’ll be very happy together. If you’re willing, we’ll have another child. We’ll still love Titus very much. If you don’t want a child, we won’t have one. I’ll take care of Titus as my own.”


    Ste lowered her eyes and calmed down. She was a little anxious and did not want the child to see her. She got up and went to the bathroom.


    Frederick followed her and hugged her from behind.


    “I love you, you know that.I can give up everything for you.I can give up everything I have, as long as you are with me,” Frederick confessed.


    Ste looked at him.“The child belongs to Jasper. Can’t you free me?”


    Frederick’s eyes grew teary. “Ste, I gave up my career and forgave my enemy for you. Aren’t you being too cruel to me? If I gave the child to you and Jasper, what would I have left? Wouldn’t I be alone? I can’t live without you.”


    “But if I leave with the child, wouldn’t Jasper be lonely?” Ste contended.