Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 85

"Does your nose still hurt from swallowing that water?"

Jasmine shook her head.

A moment later, Julian returned, placing a plate in front of his daughter and handing her a fork.

Jasmine sat quietly, taking small, polite bites of her food. Julian glanced at Madeline, then said to his daughter, "This is the lady who saved you earlier. Tell her thank you."

"Thank you."

So he had brought the child over specifically to show her gratitude.

Hearing this, Madeline replied warmly, "You're very welcome."

The silence stretched a bit awkwardly, so Madeline tried to make conversation. "Jasmine is pretty tall. Is she seven?"

"No," Julian answered. "She's only five. Her mother is an athlete, so she inherited her height."

Madeline hadn't expected Jasmine to be the exact same age as Leo.

If she hadn't known firsthand that Leo only adored Liliana and despised her, she probably would have had plenty of parenting stories to share. But right now, she had zero desire to dredge up that pathetic chapter of her life.

Madeline wanted to drop the subject, and Julian seemed hesitant to speak as well.

He wanted to clarify that they had divorced because his ex-wife had cheated; otherwise, he never would have wanted his daughter to lose her mother.

Right then, a familiar voice called out, "Madeline!"

Madeline looked up and saw Silas Hayden. She immediately waved back, seizing the perfect excuse to leave. "Mr. Jaxon, I'm going to eat with my business partner. Let's catch up later."

Julian had sensed Madeline's unnatural stiffness around him.

He could roughly guess the reason. He was working directly with Lucius to facilitate the Photon Tech IPO, meaning his primary client was the Whitman Group.

Naturally, Madeline assumed he was firmly on Lucius's side.

Plus, his proactive offer to give Lucius and Liliana a separate room might have rubbed her the wrong way.

Seeing her eagerly trying to leave, he didn't press the issue.

Lucius froze upon hearing this. "She saved a drowning child?"

The revelation triggered a deeply buried memory.

When he was ten years old, a scandalous video of his father, Alastair Whitman, with a young model had been exposed. His mother had suffered a mental breakdown, and he had gotten into a violent altercation with Alastair's mistress.

In a fit of despair, he had thrown himself into the river to end his life.

Just as he was slipping away, someone had pulled him out. He only remembered a pair of small, soft hands. He hadn't seen his savior's face, but he vividly remembered the car she had been riding in—there was only one of its kind in the entire city.

Years later, Liliana had been driven to school in that exact same car.

He had never explicitly asked her about it; he had simply devoted his life to repaying her, living entirely for her sake.

Hearing that Madeline was capable of such selflessness left him momentarily stunned.

But he quickly dismissed it as a mere coincidence. His tone flattened as he asked, "Why? Are you looking to pursue her?"