Ch. 321..330
A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 321
“Get me another copy of the info on that quack doctor’s apprentice.”
Rickard was looking down, trying to compile the documents. After a long pause without hearing a response from Benji, he furrowed his brows.
“Benji?”
Benji stayed silent for a while before finally answering, “Mr. Duval, it seems we have a more pressing matter at hand… We just received news that Ms. Lane is missing.”
By the break of dawn, Matthew’s plane had arrived in Genecity.
The person who realized Hesper had gone missing was Renfrew -Hesper had promised to buy. him chicken noodles from the shop down the street that evening, but it was past dinner time and Hesper was still nowhere to be seen.
He had thought that maybe his mommy got held back at work again and forgot to inform him, so Renfrew decided to send her a text message instead. When she did not reply, he realized that something was wrong.
Ms. Myriade had taught him to use the location tracker in the past. Hesper’s phone had been secretly tagged by Ms. Myriade so that he could see his mommy’s exact location.
But when he turned on the tracking app, he found that the geotag on her phone had been erased.
His mommy would never erase the geotag by herself because Renfrew had created a special feature back then. If Hesper had really spotted the geotag, a prompt would pop up saying that it was a gift made with love by Renfrew himself.
And besides, phones were a very personal possession. It was highly unlikely that she would pass her phone to any random person.
As the realization dawned on Renfrew, he immediately started to panic.
His dad was away abroad, and even if he did return after knowing that Hesper had gone missing, it would be too late. Turning to his dad was not the answer. Fortunately, Renfrew had Isaac’s number saved on his phone, so he quickly called him and told him about Hesper’s disappearance.
Isaac immediately sent someone to look for her, and then contacted Matthew.
This was the first time that Matthew would meet Renfrew in person. In fact, Renfrew resembled Hesper a lot. He couldn’t tell how exactly, but just by looking at the boy, he knew that this must be Hesper’s son. S
“Are you Uncle Matt?”
Renfrew was not shy with strangers, but it was past midnight and he should have gone to bed by now. However, he fought his urge to sleep and waited for Matthew’s arrival.
It was a 90-minute flight. During those 90 minutes, Isaac and his men searched all the places Hesper frequented, but there was still no sign of her.
212
In the end, no one knew where Hesper had gone. Scouring the big Genecity was like looking for a needle in a haystack. |
“The last location shown of Mommy’s phone was not far from the outskirts of Genecity.”
Renfrew handed the computer to Matthew, “The person who took Mommy probably discovered the tracking system on her phone and wiped it. Judging from the direction he headed, they should still be in Genecity.”
With a jumble of codes running through the monitor screen, Renfrew explained what he had deciphered to Matthew in a clear and concise manner. The technician following alongside him was stunned-this rugrat standing before him barely reached the height of his knees. How could he possibly know so much at his age?
Not only was he able to parse computerized codes, but he was actually doing it like a pro!
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Hesper opened her eyes in the darkness.
Time passed in a blur in the dimness. Laying on the ground, Hesper forced her eyes to open, but she could barely see a thing. All she could remember was showing up in front of Seth Tucker’s
restaurant.
The snowflakes were still falling calmly in the night, melting into tiny water droplets as they landed on Hesper’s eyelashes, further blurring her already hazy vision and turning the pitch black into a thick layer of fuzz.
“Ough…”
Hesper softly coughed twice. A rustling sound came from beside her, and a beam of light shone. on Hesper’s face. A moment later, the light moved closer. Hesper turned her head and saw a pair of white sneakers.
“Ms. Lane, it’s been a while.”
All the strength in her body seemed to have escaped her. Hesper struggled with all her might to lift her head just to catch a glimpse of the person in front of her. Having always been sensitive to harsh lights, she could barely keep her eyes open. The figure leaned over, with a voice that was only inches away.
“Did you miss me?”
The man laughed. Just then, Hesper finally felt a morsel of her strength recovering and she reached out and clenched the corner of the man’s shirt tightly. With another hand, she knocked out the flashlight from the man’s palm.
Seemingly taken by surprise by the fact Hesper still had the strength to struggle, the flashlight fell
to the ground without resistance. Finally able to open her eyes, Hesper saw the man’s eyes… and the mole beneath.
黃黃★
After catching the next available flight, Rickard sat on the plane and felt powerless for the first time ever.
Benji had already sent someone to track down Hesper, but the several-hour flight meant that he was unable to receive any news, be it good news… or bad news.
Hesper did not have many enemies. She was just an ordinary orphan girl in the past. Although she had done a lot after returning to the Lane Manor, they were all just business dealings. It did not make sense for her to be targeted and kidnapped.
So, who could have possibly taken Hesper?
A person suddenly appeared in Rickard’s mind. Hesper did behave a little strangely at the auction earlier, so he had Benji go through the surveillance footage and found that a suspicious person had knocked out a waiter and snuck into the venue.
Hesper was chasing this person at the time.
And this was also the same person whom Juniper sent out to Salt City to take down Hesper.
There were five minutes left before the plane took off, so Rickard quickly forwarded the intel to Benji and Instructed him to bring Juniper back to Duvals’ residence where she would be locked whilst he monitored all her communications. If anyone reached out to Juniper, he should away Immediately track their location.
“Got it.”
Benji hung up the phone. After a deep sigh, he sent someone to capture Juniper.
If something really did happen to Hesper this time, things would not look good for dear old
Juniper.
During the last five minutes of waiting for takeoff, a girl with pigtails walked by.
Since Rickard needed to catch the soonest flight available, the first-class cabin had been filled, so he had to settle for economy class instead. The girl took out her plane ticket from her windbreaker pocket and asked Rickard to let her through.
Rickard stood up. The girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with only a small schoolbag on
her back. He could tell she was part Halwanese but had no idea what the other part was. The girl had greyish-blue eyes and was absolutely stunning.
“Thanks.”
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The girl thanked him politely, and Rickard sat back down without giving her a second thought.
Myriade’s fingers touched a lollipop in her pocket as she looked out the window of the plane. Although Riley was no one exceptional or remarkable, at the very least, he was not stingy when it came to gifts. She still had a bag full of candy from him. If she ate one a day, it could probably last her till the day she returned to the organization.
“You seem nervous.”
Rickard turned around and realized the girl was staring straight at him. There was no emotion in those deadpan eyes, unlike the eyes of a typical child.
The plane had already taken off. Myriade took out a lollipop from her pocket and handed it to Rickard. “We’ll be arriving in Genecity soon. Worrying ain’t gonna make the journey any shorter, you know.”
Rickard took the lollipop from the girl’s hand-the kind of cheap fruit-flavored lollipop that cost but a dime. It might have been enough to coax a child, but the girl was staring longingly at the lollipop in his hand as though she was almost reluctant to part with it.
“What would you know?”
Although, the teenage girl portrayed a calm composure unbefitting of her age, which did take Rickard by surprise at first. Then he figured she must be a kid from “Daybreak”.
There were many children just like her that Daybreak had taken in.
Myriade wanted to tell him that she knew everything, but her running away meant she had gone against Big T-the very person who saved her life. Even if she knew that what that man was doing was wrong, she could never betray him.
“I know who took Hesper. She’s in danger now because of that psycho… He hates Hesper with his guts.”
Myriade took out a laptop from her schoolbag, and Rickard realized it was not of a make he recognized. It looked like she had assembled the device herself.
“But you don’t have to worry too much,” Myriade said. “Before getting on the plane, I sent the real- time location of that psycho to Renfrew. Although this may sound ridiculous to adults, I believe that Renfrew is now the only one who can trace the system.”
Hearing Renfrew’s name, Rickard frowned. “Who are you?”
The girl turned her head when she heard Rickard’s voice. As her fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard, an endless stream of codes sprung up on the screen. It was like a scene straight out of
a movie.
“Who am I? I’m someone who would never hurt Renfrew.”
Meanwhile, Renfrew suddenly received a string of codes sent over by Ms. Myriade. They were a
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could smell the distinct scent on his body.
He smelled like oranges.
“You do make a fair point. Although you are just a fake, Matthew does seem to care about you a
lot.”
The man had bluntly exposed her falsified background. Hesper flinched and her heart skipped a beat, yet she maintained her calm composure, “So, what good would it do if you killed me? Why not use the opportunity to make bank instead?”
Watching Hesper struggle, 013 responded sarcastically, “Ah. How much money are willing to give? All your money belongs to the Lanes after all. Do you really have the pride to offer a ransom for your own life? Haven’t you always felt indebted to Rachael Lane?”
Hesper was taken aback.
She knew that this man had dirt on her, but how could he possibly know how she felt inside? She had never talked about this to anyone, and it was not like there were many people she could confide in anyway.
Seeing as how Hesper’s perfect disguise was starting to crack under pressure, 013 felt cocky. “I know everything, Ms. Lane. There is no need for you to act calm in front of me. Even if you’re trying to stall for time, it doesn’t matter. No one knows where we are, so nobody is coming to coming to your rescue.
“Despite your son having some sort of connection to that little traitor…” Thinking of Myriade, and recalling how she used to call him a psycho, his patience was running thin. “She may be a traitor, but she would never have the guts to betray her savior.”
unique string of codes he had learned from her in the past. And because he had been studying these codes for a very long time, he knew them like the back of his hand.
After parsing the codes, they turned out to be a GPS locator.
“Uncle Matt, stop the car.”
Renfrew who was sitting on the child seat at the back climbed his way to the front and tugged on Matthew’s sleeve who was riding shotgun. “My friend sent me a location. This is probably where Mommy is now.”
The driver kept his foot on the pedal. Although Renfrew had demonstrated exceptional abilities, it was still Matthew who called the shots.
Matthew took Renfrew’s phone and saw that they were heading in a completely opposite.
direction to what was shown on the screen. He hesitated before saying, “Ren, I believe you, but… your friend? Why would someone suddenly send you this location? Are you sure that she’s actually trying to help you?”
Renfrew paused briefly before saying, “I trust her.”
Matthew, assumed that the “friend” Renfrew mentioned was most certainly not a friend from his kindergarten, but rather an existence far more mysterious than they could possibly imagine- someone who had way more knowledge.
But what was their intent?
“Alright, then. Renfrew and I will lead a team to this new location. Isaac, you and the others are to continue searching in the same direction.
Although the accuracy of the intel was unconfirmed, since Renfrew said he trusted this “friend”, Matthew did not want to risk giving up on the new lead they had.
“Thank you, Uncle Matt.”
Renfrew was starting to like this uncle whom he had never met before that day. Anyhow, his top priority now was to find Mommy.
Why did Ms. Myriade send him this location with an encrypted password, and how did Ms. Myriade even have this information? Renfrew looked back down at his phone. He sent a bunch of messages to Ms. Myriade, but none of them went through.
Renfrew sighed deeply and got into another car with Matthew. Clutching his phone with a heavy heart, hoping that Ms. Myriade-the friend who had been by his side since he could remember would not lie to him.
The moment Hesper saw the mole, she knew.
She had no enemies, nor was she worth any real value to be kidnapped. Thus, this person who targeted her out of nowhere could only be none other than the assassin hired by Juniper.
The man was wearing a mask and a baseball cap. Even with the lack of vision in the dark, the man still made sure to keep his face concealed. At first, Hesper only guessed that the man did not want anyone to recognize his face, but now she was sure that was the case.
“I know you.”
Hesper spoke with resoluteness. Although her voice quivered as she had not fully regained her strength, the words were uttered with unyielding tenacity.
013 smiled, neither acknowledging nor denying. “Does it matter if you know who I am? Perhaps you do, or perhaps we’ve never met. Either way… you’re gonna die in my hands today, Ms. Lane.”
He picked up the flashlight from the ground. Without giving Hesper the chance to look further, he turned off the last ray of light in the darkness.
“Unfortunately for you, I have impeccable night vision. I brought the flashlight for you, but since, you don’t want it, I’ll put it away.” 013 came closer, studying Hesper’s face carefully. He
murmured, “What makes you so special, Hesper? I’ve been trying to figure it out for a long time. and I still have no clue.”
Suspecting that she had been shot with a dose of strength suppressant by the man before her, Hesper knew that she would not have the power to fight back any time soon. And even if she did, she was certainly no match against a trained killer
“You were employed by Juniper. I can offer you a higher price.” Hesper tried to make her voice. sound as calm as possible. “As you probably know, the Lanes are looking for me. If I die here, what do you think will happen to you?”
clicked his tongue twice then sat down very closely next to Hesper. So close that Hesper
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Hearing 013 mention her son, Hesper suddenly panicked. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on Renfrew,”
“Don’t worry, I have no interest in that at all. All I want is to kill you.”
There were a couple of clicking sounds in the darkness. Even though she had never seen it in real life, Hesper could tell it was the sound of bullets being loaded.
The man had a gun…
Hesper had been sure that this man was sent by Juniper, but the conversation in this dark night left her feeling stumped. This man was certainly not just taking orders; he knew her a little too well.
“As for the rest of the questions, God will answer them for you.”
Hesper subconsciously closed her eyes, falling from one darkness into another. However, the awaited gunshot was never heard. Hesper had her eyes tightly shut, and it seemed as though a decade had passed before the realization finally dawned on her.
It seemed she had been rescued.
The noises heard in the darkness were a blur and Hesper had no idea what had just happened. When she finally opened her eyes again, she no longer felt the presence of anyone next to her.
“…Is anyone there?”
No reply.
Gradually regaining a morsel of strength, Hesper propped her upper body up with her arms. Her phone had been disposed of, but luckily for her, the flashlight from earlier was left on the ground. Hesper picked up the flashlight, instantly illuminating her surroundings.
She was in a forest with no landmarks around, except endless rows of trees.
“Is anybody here? Matt? Isaac? Ren?”
“…Rickard?”
Hesper randomly called out the names of people who might appear, but no one replied, Hesper finally managed to stand up. Leaning against a tree trunk, she waved the flashlight around her.
No one else seemed to be there except her.
Everything she had experienced felt like a horrible nightmare, but the existence of the flashlight proved that everything had been real.
She was kidnapped and almost lost her life. Maybe, just maybe, she was secretly rescued by a mysterious person.
Without leaving much time for Hesper to ponder, Renfrew and Matthew-who had arrived in the given location-followed the light and found her. Seeing Hesper standing alone in the woods with a flashlight in her hand, they anxiously called out to her.
“Mommy!”
“Hesper!”
Finally hearing familiar voices, Hesper looked at the two people running toward her and felt her eyes swell up.
“Matt, Ren…”
Matthew took a big stride forward and caught Hesper right before her knees gave way. “Before you say anything else, are you hurt anywhere? We can go to the hospital right now-”
“I’m okay. Everything’s fine.” Hesper held onto Matthew’s arm. “I was just shot with some sort of strength suppressant, but my strength is slowly coming back to me now. The man didn’t do anything to me. He just… suddenly vanished.”
“Vanished?”
What Hesper described was extremely peculiar that it made Matthew pause for a moment, bu now was not the time to delve into it. Carrying Hesper in his arms, Matthew said, “Nonetheless you’ve been shot with an unknown drug, so you should have it checked. Let’s head back to the city.”
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Renfrew kept clutching the corner of Hesper’s clothes anxiously. His eyes were swollen red, but he did not want his mommy to worry about him at this moment and instead held his breath.
“Ren, Mommy is fine. Don’t worry.”
Noticing Renfrew’s silence, Hesper knew that he must be frightened sick, but being his sensible self, he tried not to show it. She reached out and held Renfrew’s hand.
Renfrew let out a muffled hum.
“I thought it might take you guys a lot longer to get here. There aren’t even any landmarks to refer to in these woods. I was just wondering about how I would get out of here.”
Matthew was speechless as well. He had not thought much on his way over, but the location sent by Renfrew’s friend was shockingly accurate. Even in the woods, they still managed to find Hesper’s exact location.
“Renfrew. was the one who found out where you were. It was all thanks to him. He was the one who realized you were missing too.”
Hesper was impressed, yet not entirely surprised. Because deep down in her heart, Renfrew was the most brilliant kid in the world, now more so than she ever imagined.
After reaching the hospital, Hesper did a comprehensive health examination. As it turned out, the drug in Hesper’s body did not have any other side effects besides making her body temporarily lose its strength.
There were no other signs of injury on her body either, except that she had been frightened and caught a cold from laying in the snow for too long. Nothing that couldn’t be treated with some simple medication.
“I hadn’t had the chance to ask the details earlier. What did you mean when you said that the person vanished… Vanished, how?”
Laying on the hospital bed, Hesper hesitantly shook her head as she heard those words. “He had a gun in his hand and wouldn’t allow me the chance to redeem myself. No matter what I offered, he. insisted he wanted nothing but to kill me.
“It was so dark out there. I closed my eyes after I heard the bullets being loaded, and when I opened them again, there was no one around. There weren’t even any sounds of a fight or quarrel.”
What Hesper said was clearly very contradicting. If that person had only wanted Hesper’s life, he certainly would not have left by himself, yet there was no sound of resistance when the man carried a gun in his hand.
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
“Or maybe there were sounds, and I just didn’t hear them. But what I can be sure of is that it was barely a moment. I’m certain ! only had my eyes shut for less than a minute.”
The events did not add up. Matthew did not know what to say in the moment. Hesper was the only one around when they arrived.
It was the middle of the night and, not to mention, it was snowing. Even if they managed to return to the exact location in the woods the next morning, there would be no traces left.
Hesper looked down and sighed. “Besides, this man knows me too well-he knows our family, my background, and even my thoughts. He’s probably someone I know, but I didn’t get to see his entire face, and the upper half of his face didn’t match up to anyone I can recall.”
Matthew looked at Hesper as she struggled to remember and reached out to pat her hand ever so gently with comforting warmth.
“Don’t worry. You’re safe now. We have plenty of time to slowly figure it out. There’s no rush.”
Matthew’s eyes caught Hesper’s gaze and she nibbled the inside of her cheeks. The subtle pain. calmed her down slightly, and she nodded. “I know… I’m still jittery.”
The door to the ward swung open. Hesper and Matthew turned their heads and saw Nathaniel
walk in.
“What are you doing here at this hour?” Matthew stood up abruptly. Nathaniel saw Hesper laying unhurt on the hospital bed and seemingly breathed a sigh of relief.
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Seeing as Nathaniel had hurried over, Matthew said calmly, “I didn’t call you to have you rush over. I already told you, Hesper is fine.”
“How could I not?”
Looking at Hesper’s questioning gaze, Nathaniel walked over with his brows still furrowed. “Have you caught the culprit?”
“We haven’t caught him, and we don’t have any leads either,” Hesper voluntarily replied, then pointed out, “Your tie is crooked.”
Nathaniel lowered his gaze when he heard those words. Sure enough, he saw that his tie was messy. He smiled helplessly. “Nobody has time to worry about stuff like that right now. How are you feeling? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Seeing everyone worrying about her, Hesper shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’m completely fine.” Matthew patted Nathaniel’s shoulder. “Let Hesper have some rest. She’s had a long night, Ren…” When Renfrew heard Matthew say his name, he immediately clung onto Hesper’s hand. “I wanna be with Mommy tonight. I’m not going home.”
“Ren.”
The hospital was hardly a fun place to be, and he certainly would not rest as well there compared to his own bed at home. Hesper was just about to disagree when she suddenly felt Renfrew’s grip on her hand tighten.
“I’m not going home.”
Seeing the determination in Renfrew, Hesper had no choice but to nod. “Okay… Matt, Nathaniel, you two should probably get going. I really am fine. Having Ren here with me is enough.”
Matthew nodded without further protest. “Have a good night’s rest. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”
“Will do.”
After the two of them stepped out of the ward, Hesper turned to her side, leaving half the bed empty for Renfrew.
“Come on up. You can sleep with Mommy.”
“Okay!” Renfrew climbed onto the bed and buried himself in Hesper’s arms. His sudden embrace surprised Hesper. She patted him on the back to comfort him. “It’s okay, sweetheart… Mommy’s here now.”
Renfrew sobbed softly. “I was so scared…”
He was truly terrified. He was afraid that the mommy he had finally found would disappear for good and never return… He had endured that fear for far too long. He never wanted to lose her again.
“Don’t be scared, Mommy’s here.”
Renfrew’s sobs eventually subsided. Hesper sighed softly and tightly enveloped Renfrew in her arms. Feeling the warmth of his body made her finally feel like she was back in the real world.
One moment late and she would have been gone forever.
Although, what had happened that night left her in a bout of confusion. Hesper still recalled a couple of important details of the night, such as the orange scent on that man’s body. It was a scent vividly seared into Hesper’s mind. If she ever got a whiff of that scent again, she would certainly recognize it.
Apart from that, the man likely did not attack her simply because Juniper had hired him to do so. Juniper may have been nothing but a cover for him. She was naively used while thinking she called the shots.
The man knew her far too well. Regardless of whether he had left of his own volition or because of a sudden mishap, Hesper believed this would not be his last strike.
As long as she was still alive, that man was bound to come after her again. That psycho would not rest until her body turned cold.
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Hesper slept all the way until the next afternoon. When she finally opened her eyes, Renfrew was no longer in her arms.
“Take a look at these codes again! Do the math and…”
“Keep it down. Hesper is still asleep.”
“Sorry, Mr. Lane. I got carried away…”
”
Hesper opened her eyes, feeling muddled, only to find that a bunch of people were circling around a small table nearby. Renfrew was right in the center, frowning at the computer, looking very
grownup.
Since no one realized that she had woken up, Hesper turned her body sideways and quietly watched what they were up to. The clacking of the keyboard was especially loud in the quiet space. Hesper raised her eyebrows at the sight.
According to what she just heard, it seemed Renfrew had an amazing talent.
“Amazing! I can’t believe you know how to do that too! Is this kid really just three years old?”
“Hush.”
Hesper wanted to break into laughter, but she held back and listened to Renfrew’s solemn reply instead. “I’ve had my fourth birthday. I’m no longer a three-year-old.”
That definitely did it for Hesper. She burst out laughing.
“You’re awake?”
Matthew came over and looked at Hesper who was trying to hide her smile with her body turned sideways. With a helpless look on his face, he said, “Did we wake you? I should have asked those two to stay outside.”
Hesper smiled and shook her head. As she sat up, she could feel that she had fully recovered.
“I woke up on my own. It’s not because of them.”
Removing his attention from the laptop, Renfrew ran over and hugged Hesper’s waist.
“Mommy!”
“My sweet boy.” Hesper ruffled his hair, and then said with a tone of surprise, “My dear Ren knows how to use computers?…If that’s the case, sending you to a kindergarten now seems a little unnecessary.”
Renfrew shook his head. “I like going to kindergarten.”
Despite what Renfrew said, Hesper couldn’t help but think to herself, ‘Although it isn’t such a bad idea to let Ren interact with his peers more, the kindergarten teacher said that Renfrew’s loneliness didn’t stem from his lack of peers but that he was too intelligent to communicate normally with kids of his age.’
At first, Hesper could not fully understand it, but now she could see that it was like having
someone who had gone to college be friends with elementary school kids. It was not a normal relationship to have with peers of his age.
Renfrew should be allowed to interact with people who were on the same page as him.
“You’ll have another checkup in a while to ensure that you’re physically well, then you can be discharged from the hospital,” Matthew said. “And about that place yesterday… Nathaniel and Isaac went by this morning, but the snow from last night had melted into slush, covering all possible traces.”
“I see.”
Hesper had expected as much. Not too disappointed, she said, “You shouldn’t have told Nathaniel about me being kidnaped last night.”
They were just friends after all, and nothing else. Making him rush over hundreds of miles in the middle of the night all because of a phone call seemed a bit much.
Sensing that Mr. Lane and Ms. Lane might want to discuss more personal matters, the hackers took Renfrew along with them and stepped out of the ward.
Matthew looked at Hesper and sighed gently. “Do you really not understand Nathaniel’s
intentions? I have to say, I was misled by you before and agreed that Nathaniel had no feelings for you, but now, that doesn’t seem like the case at all.”
Here we go again…
Hesper refused to budge. “Matt…”
“What’s there not to like about Nathaniel? We grew up together, so I know him inside out. Plus, he treats you really well.”
“If you could just take your eyes off Rickard, you’ll see that there are much better options out there…
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“Matt.”
Hesper interrupted him and stared calmly into Matthew’s eyes.
“You know very well that I’m not the type to obsess about love. I’m simply doing what must be done.”
Since he could not get through to her, Matthew decided to stop confronting her about the subject. No matter how many times he tried to persuade her, it was still Hesper’s decision. Even if he were to go on and on about it, it would be pointless.
“Rickard sent his men to look for you throughout Genecity last night as well. What you wish to accomplish may just come true soon enough.” Matthew turned around. “I know I can’t convince you, Hesper. Our time is brief, and so are our lives. I just want to see you spend each day happily.”
Without giving Hesper time to respond, Matthew walked out of the ward.
Meanwhile, Rickard’s flight had just landed.
Myriade followed behind Rickard. She had no luggage with her. All she carried on her was one backpack that consisted of lollipops, a laptop, and her ID. Nothing else, not even a winter coat. When Benji received a call from Rickard asking him to purchase children’s clothes, he was a little puzzled, until he saw the girl next to Rickard at the airport.
“Mr. Duval, did you bring your illegitimate daughter on a business trip?”
Rickard gave Benji a cold glare, making him immediately shut up.
After getting off the plane, Rickard received news that Hesper had been found safe. Thinking about it, it happened not long after the girl beside him informed him.
Although he could not be certain that it had anything to do with her, Rickard was not letting her get away that easily.
Even if she had not helped Daybreak, she was still one of their members, and maybe she could help him find that mysterious doctor.
Myriade put on the down jacket that Benji had just bought. As she sat in the car, her curious eyes took in all the glory of Halwanest. Her mother was from Halwanest; although she had been living on the grounds of Daybreak for as long as she could remember, her yearning for this place was incomparable.
“Do you know anyone here?”
Hearing Rickard’s words, Myriade looked at him and nodded. “I know Renfrew.”
An absurd idea emerged in Rickard’s mind which somehow clicked.
“Are you the friend whose name Renfrew could never mention?”
Myriade remained silent-which was something Rickard had gotten familiar with by now. She was
the same when they were on the plane. If it were something she was allowed to talk about, the girl would ramble on endlessly.
Yet when it came to certain questions, not a single word came out of her.
“What’s your name?”
When Benji saw that Mr. Duval had not managed to ask the girl’s name earlier, he studied the little girl’s beautiful blue eyes and thought to himself, ‘That’s a question she should be able to answer, right?’
Sure enough, the girl stayed silent for a while, and then finally said, “My name is Myriade, that’s what everyone calls me.”
“Rico Taylor,” Rickard said.
Hearing the two words come out of his mouth, Myriade unconsciously frowned. “You saw my ID? No one has ever called me by the name Rico Taylor before. I was just too lazy to have it changed.”
Delicately wrapped in the down jacket, with only her tiny little head exposed, the girl was stunning. Benji walked to the front of the car to drive. He could not wrap his head around the idea that this harmless girl was part of the mysterious organization called “Daybreak”.
“I want to see Renfrew. I’ll leave once I’ve met him.”
A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 330
Meanwhile, Hesper had completed her physical examination, confirming that she was now safe and healthy. Hesper was ready to be discharged from the hospital and go home with Renfrew.
There was still no news from Rickard yet, and Hesper had no idea when he would return. If he never did, maybe it’d be for the best. That way, she could continue living with Renfrew for just a while longer.
As she was about to head out, Hesper found herself barricaded at the ward exit by a couple of hackers who worked for the Lanes. They had a glow of excitement in their eyes which Hesper could not comprehend.
“Ms. Lane… the young master is truly talented. Could you leave him with us so we could teach him… ah, no, I mean…” The bunch of men who had been studying scientific principles all their lives were racking their brains for the right words to say. “We just… we’re fond of the young master.” Renfrew looked at the big men in front of him with slight disdain. Hesper could pretty much guess that they were curious about Renfrew because of his genius talent, but she had to respect Renfrew’s opinion.
“I already have a mentor, and she’s got quite a temper. If I suddenly become your mentee, she’ll throw a huge fit.”
Recalling Ms. Myriade’s prideful face, Renfrew had a feeling that if he became a mentee to someone else, she would no doubt be furious at him, so he sternly declined. “I’m really sorry!”
“Ah, you already have a mentor. That makes sense.
“And here I thought you mastered algorithms as a fetus. Turns out someone has been guiding you all along…Sniffle.”
The corners of Hesper’s mouth twitched. ‘A fetus mastering algorithms? That’s ridiculous! These tech guys… Sometimes I really don’t understand how their minds work.”
Matthew had completed the discharge procedures for Hesper, while Isaac and Nathaniel had also returned from the outskirts. Watching Renfrew standing there amongst his crowd of worshippers, Hesper seemed a little helpless.
“Stop pestering Hesper and Ren.”
With just a glance, Matthew knew right away that his subordinates had been up to no good again. He marched forward and pulled Hesper away from them. “Pay them no mind. Go on home and rest well, and don’t fret about work. I’ll make sure Renee keeps an eye on you.”
“Alright, I got it.”
Sneakily making a grimace, Hesper glanced down and met Renfrew’s teasing eyes.
Seeing as Hesper and Matthew had finished talking, Nathaniel made his way over. Since he had rushed over in the middle of the night without having proper rest and then followed Isaac to check for traces in the woods this morning, he looked rather haggard.
Hesper had intended to have a word with Nathaniel. When she saw him coming their way, she patted Renfrew on the back and said, “Go play with Uncle Matt for a while. Mommy has something to discuss with Uncle Nathaniel.”
Normally, Renfrew would step away sensibly when he saw that Mommy had matters to attend to, but this time, he clung onto Hesper’s hand and eyed Nathaniel suspiciously.
“Mommy, are you going to marry Uncle Nathaniel?” Renfrew muttered softly.
His words left Hesper baffled. “Where did you hear that from?”
“Does that mean it’s true? Are you really going to abandon Daddy for him?!” Renfrew took a step back and hid himself behind Hesper. Sounding aggrieved, he whined, “Don’t marry this man. I don’t want a new daddy.”
Nathaniel was getting closer. Although Renfrew voice was considerably soft, Hesper could not help but feel a little embarrassed. She lowered her head and explained, “I’m not going to marry this man. There may be something… special between us, but Mommy has no plans of getting married right now, so there’s nothing to worry about, Ren.”
Renfrew said hesitantly, “Really?”