Chapter 54: What Kind of Fate is This?

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: What Kind of Fate is This?

Half an hour later, Zachery sat at the dining table in Rosalind Garden.

Nathaniel Sloan asked Zane Grant in a deep voice, "What happened? Why did you come looking for me before even eating breakfast?" Originally, he was just worried about Christian and had routinely checked in with Zane, their family doctor. He hadn’t expected Zane to show up in front of him with Christian just fifteen minutes later.

Hearing this, Zane couldn’t help but twitch his lips. What kind of biological father was he? His son missed him and wanted to see him—was that a crime?

"You’ll have to ask Christian about that," Zane said. "I have to say, you’re way too irresponsible as a father. You’ve only been out for a day, and he’s already saying how much he misses you, begging me to bring him here to find you." Zane grew increasingly indignant the more he spoke. "Do you often stay away from home and neglect Christian?"

Nathaniel was stunned for two seconds before a surge of pleasant surprise washed over him. "Christian, you missed Daddy?"

Zachery shifted guiltily in his seat. Considering himself a cool, upright kid, he really wasn’t good at lying. So he replied dryly, "Yeah, I guess."

Nathaniel didn’t sense anything amiss, only feeling slightly curious. "Christian is a bit more lively today."

Zachery muttered under his breath, "Heh." He thought, "He can’t even recognize his own son. What a scumbag father!"

Zane didn’t think much of it. "It’s probably because he finally gets to see his daddy and is happy. Isn’t that right, Christian?"

Zachery curled his lips. "Yeah. Daddy, I’m hungry. Let’s eat." After saying that, he reached for one of the plates of dumplings.

"Christian, did you not sleep well last night? There are shiitake mushrooms in these dumplings. You’re allergic," Zane said, hurriedly pulling the plate away.

Zachery choked back his words and turned to pick up a pastry instead.

Zane quickly interjected again, "Your stomach isn’t doing well. You can’t have glutinous rice products in the morning. They’re hard to digest.

"Christian, darling, this milk is too cold. You can’t drink it.

"Wait, I remember you didn’t like this dish. Why has your taste changed...

"Careful not to choke. The last time I came to treat you, it was because you choked on a peanut..."

After Zane finished his nagging, he noticed ’Christian’ had gone quiet. "What’s wrong?"

For the first time in his life, Zachery experienced the feeling of having a table full of food but not knowing where to start. He looked at Nathaniel with a resentful gaze. How on earth had the young master survived to the age of five without starving to death? Setting aside the allergens—anything too cold, too hard, too soft, too hard to digest, spicy, sweet, or salty was completely off-limits. No wonder he was so frail and sickly. He wondered if Young Mr. Sloan had grown up drinking morning dew.

"I can’t eat any of this?"

"That’s right." Zane didn’t think there was anything wrong with this. Whether Christian could eat these things was one thing, but more importantly, he didn’t like them anyway.

Nathaniel stroked his hair. "I didn’t know you were coming, so Luke White prepared things you can’t eat. I’ve already asked him to prepare something new."

Zachery said gloomily, "Daddy, I don’t know if you’ve heard of an idiom?"

Nathaniel paused, wondering why Christian’s mind was racing so fast. "What idiom?"

"It’s called giving up eating for fear of choking. It means being so afraid of choking to death that you just stop eating altogether." Zachery’s tone grew even more resentful, yet tinged with a hint of righteousness. "I’m still growing. If I can’t eat anything, how will I grow taller? How will I develop? I bet my health is so poor precisely because I’m not allowed to eat anything."

Nathaniel was taken aback. Because of Christian’s special physical condition, every piece of food he consumed had to be carefully screened before being served. He had never voiced any complaints about it before. Was this how he had felt all along?

As Zachery spoke, he furrowed his brows. He wondered if a normal person really had so many dietary restrictions. This scumbag father didn’t look like someone who would abuse a child. Could Noelle Lockwood intentionally be starving the young master? His heart ached at his own imagination. "Defending the young master’s right to eat starts with me!" he decided.

So, Zachery immediately picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth. "Who knows what I can or cannot eat better than myself? I—"

As the shiitake mushroom slid down his throat, Zachery instantly felt a fine, prickling itch and began coughing violently!

Nathaniel’s expression changed. He quickly picked him up. "Spit it out, hurry!"

Zane was also shocked, his face turning pale. "You clearly know you’re allergic to shiitake mushrooms! You’ve tried it so many times, and you’re allergic every time, yet you just won’t give up. Every time you see them, you have to eat them. Christian, darling, I really don’t know what to say... I’ll go get your medicine!"

Zachery was speechless. He was completely dumbfounded, doubting his entire existence. He thought, "Damn it, I’m allergic to shiitake mushrooms? Why didn’t I know?"

But it seemed to be true. Mommy had never let him eat shiitake mushrooms. He wondered what kind of bizarre connection he had with the young master. He also thought Zane’s words were very strange. What did he mean by "every time you see shiitake mushrooms, you have to try them, and every time you try them, you’re allergic, but you still won’t give up"? Did Young Mr. Sloan have a rebellious streak too? They were quite alike in that regard.

With these thoughts swirling in his head, Zachery drifted off to sleep.

"According to past situations, he should wake up after a short nap," Zane said helplessly. "Who did he get this stubbornness from, hitting a brick wall and still refusing to turn back?"

Nathaniel placed Zachery on the bed, his face completely expressionless. "He takes after his mother."

Zane instantly fell silent. He had to admit, Estelle Lockwood from five years ago really had that kind of personality. The Lockwood family disliked her, despised her, and belittled her, yet she tried to get close to them time and time again. With no foundation in perfumery, rejected by all her teachers, and shunned by the Lockwood Group, she never gave up. Estelle was the type of person who wouldn’t turn back even after hitting a brick wall. Even if her head was bleeding, she would walk down that dark path until the very end.

The only thing she gave up on five years ago... was Nathaniel.

Nathaniel let out a light chuckle and changed the subject. "I haven’t seen Christian this lively in a long time."

Christian used to be very lively too, but at some point, he had become increasingly withdrawn and silent.

Zane was about to speak when Luke White knocked on the door. "Mr. Sloan, it’s time."

They had scheduled an inspection of raw material quality at Rosalind Farm this morning, and they couldn’t be delayed. Zane nodded. "Leave Christian to me, you just go. If you’re really worried, I’ll report his condition to you every half hour."

At nine in the morning, Estelle Lockwood and Nathaniel Sloan arrived at Rosalind Plantation.

This land was dedicated to cultivating perfume-grade roses. The planting, harvesting, and extraction processes all utilized the world’s most advanced methods to preserve the purest rose scent.

Everyone from Star Group was very satisfied. After the inspection, one of the managers said, "President Lockwood, Mr. Sloan, it’s just about noon. Would you like to grab lunch together? Today’s meal features wild mushrooms flown in fresh—they’re only available this season."

Another manager, who was very familiar with Estelle, immediately shook his head. "That won’t work. Yara is allergic to mushrooms and can’t eat them, and her two little cubs are allergic as well."

"That’s a shame... Then how about you, Mr. Sloan? I heard Young Mr. Christian came along too. Does Young Mr. Christian like them?"

Nathaniel paused upon hearing this, his gaze falling on Estelle. He wondered how she could be allergic when she used to love shiitake mushrooms.

Nathaniel asked in a hoarse voice, "I didn’t realize Miss Lockwood couldn’t eat mushrooms."

Estelle thought of something, and her smile deepened, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "There are plenty of people allergic to mushrooms, what’s so strange about that? Seeing how surprised you are, Mr. Sloan... could it be that you remembered a certain event from the past and feel a guilty conscience?"