Chapter 1168: Chapter 1172

Quinton was locked up inside, but a gap had been left underneath so food could be given to him easily.

Earlier, Carmen had gone down to the basement and asked him to stick his feet out of the gap so she could paint his nails.

Pulling his feet in, he asked, “Why are you here? Are you inviting me to eat dinner with you guys?”

“Nice try,” Michael answered.

If he were to show up now, Cooper would tear him into pieces right away. Moreover, Sophia was not too keen to see him either. But Quinton was not expecting to receive her forgiveness; his main priority in returning this time was to check up on Celine.

The people who had used those stimulants at the same time were all exhibiting side effects, but each person had different symptoms, and he wanted to see the state that Celine was in. Another reason he had returned was that he wanted to give Cooper the thing he had on hand. For some reason, he was very interested in Cooper even though the latter was not his own father. It’s probably because he’s her father.

On the other hand, Michael also had conflicting feelings toward Quinton. Looking at the carbon copy of Theo, he realized that even the lines and edges on Quinton’s face were exactly the same as the Theo in Michael’s memories. Michael’s eyes filled with pain as he let out yet another sigh. How great would things have been if Quinton had been born into the Fletcher Family?

After taking a good, long look at Quinton, Michael eventually got up to leave. Before he left, he asserted, “In two days, I will send you to Michel Town in Africa.”

Once Michael was gone, the small space returned to being dead silent. Looking down at his feet while still in his seat, Quinton stared blankly at the pink on his toes.

Meanwhile, the whole family had dinner together in the dining room. They were having salamander soup again tonight. Celine was excitedly scooping out some soup to give to Quinton. Carmen also handed Justin some jelly and chocolate to give to him.

On the other hand, Sophia kept acting as though she did not know Quinton was locked up in their basement. After dinner, she simply went to pet the new dog.

Once Michael was done with his meal, he saw that Sophia was still in the living room with the dog and went to join her. While petting the dog, he also petted her. Even though she did not talk, he knew that she was not happy. In fact, she had not been happy ever since Quinton returned.

Grasping her shoulder, he murmured, “What’s wrong? You don’t look happy.”

She shook her head. Ever since Quinton returned, she kept having this premonition that something had gone wrong, but she did not know what.

Michael continued, “Why don’t we go to the spa on the weekend?”

She nodded. The spa sounded pleasant. Her period had also ended just in time. Looking up, she kissed the corner of his mouth while her arms were wrapped around him tightly. Although she did not know what was going to happen, she just wanted to hold him tightly in her arms now and in the future.

In the basement, the moment Justin left after giving Quinton his food, Carmen came in. While Quinton was eating inside that confined space, Carmen sat outside and drank her milk. Watching her drinking her milk made Quinton feel like he could easily eat two more bowls of rice.

When she was halfway through her milk bottle, she asked, “Uncle Quinton, why did Daddy lock you up in here?”

Quinton drank every last drop of the salamander soup. As the thought of how delicious the food was crossed his mind, he answered, “Because I didn’t listen to him and did something bad. That’s why I got locked up in here. You can’t be like me, Carmen. You have to listen to your dad, mom, and grandpa.”

Carmen nodded as if she understood his words. After that, she asked him to watch ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ with her again. Before they reached the end of one episode, however, Sophia came down to look for Carmen.

“That’s enough. You can continue tomorrow. It’s time for bed now. You still have to go to school tomorrow.” Taking Carmen’s small hand in hers, Sophia walked out of the basement as though she did not see Quinton locked up right next to her.

Carmen waved at him. “Bye, Uncle Quinton.” She left the tablet behind and said, “I want to leave this for Uncle Quinton to watch.”

Sophia did not say no. Besides, the tablet was not connected to the internet, and it only contained some of Carmen’s films.

From the moment Sophia stepped in until she brought Carmen out with her, she did not utter a single word to Quinton. There was nothing left to be said between them. She got a divorce because of him, and she also lost her sight because of him. Any animosity between them had been settled, so they were better off as strangers.

Quinton did not speak to her either. Indeed, there was nothing more they could say to each other. They were practically strangers now. He knew that she was not his and that he was always just being forceful.

The fruit that he attained by force was not only tasteless, but it was also bitter—so bitter that it was hard to swallow and even filled him with regret.

He could not face her anymore. Even though Sophia was oblivious, the truth would come out one day, and she was going to find out about everything. When the time comes, she might just kill me.

In the living room, Michael was playing with the new dog while Cooper and Linus were watching television on the couch. The second season of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ concluded last week. From this week onward, they would not get to see their adorable Carmen on television anymore. Cooper, in particular, was a bit disappointed.

Linus picked up the dog that looked like a loaf of bread from Michael’s embrace and commented, “This dog looks rather familiar…”

Suddenly, Maria rushed in. “Mrs. Yard is at the gate. She says her dog is here and has come to pick it up. She also wanted to drop in to pay her greetings to Mr. Cooper.”

Dog? They all turned to look at the corgi.

Sophia had just placed Carmen down to sleep when she heard that Anna had come to their front gate. In a fit of anger, she called Callum right away. “Wow, you ratted on me just because I stole your dog?”

Callum retorted, “Sophia, maybe look before you steal next time? That was my mom’s dog! It was a gift from the Queen of the United Kingdom.”

Sophia hung up the phone. She looked at the surveillance footage and saw Anna’s car parked at their entrance. Her bodyguard was currently having a talk with their security guard.

When Cooper heard about Anna’s arrival, he started heading up the stairs. “I’m going to sleep.”

Sophia did not want Cooper to have any more to do with Anna, either. Turning to Maria, she instructed, “I didn’t see a dog. Tell her to go look somewhere else.”

After the security guard passed on the message, the surveillance camera showed Anna’s car driving away. Once Anna was gone, Sophia let out a sigh of relief but she also felt rather guilty. Thinking about it, however, Callum had stolen all their pets while she only took one of their dogs. It’s give and take. Yes, that’s how it’s gonna be.

…

Anna left in low spirits. As the car drove off, she kept looking back in the direction of The Imperial’s Villa No. 8. There were two reasons she came by today. The first was to get her dog, and the second was to see Cooper.

She did not know why she wanted to see him. Was it because of his influence? If she got to work with him, he could help her get out from under Jordan’s control sooner. For some reason, his image kept surfacing in her mind.

On the third floor of the villa, Cooper only closed the curtains after watching Anna’s car leave. Sitting back down at this table, he tried his best to erase Anna’s shadow in his mind before turning on his computer. His mailbox showed that he had received a new email. It was from Linus and read, ‘Dad, this is very important. You have to look through all of it.’