Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 199

Jasper had been sticking close to Lance lately. Ever since they’d made up, they seemed tighter than ever. Today, Lance brought Jasper along to pick up Camilla. Jasper leaned comfortably against Lance’s shoulder, talking nonstop and eagerly telling Camilla about all sorts of things he’d seen and done.

Camilla noticed right away how much more lively Jasper seemed. It made her quietly grateful. She smiled and asked, “What brings you here today, Jasper? Wasn’t expecting you to come find me.”

Jasper grinned at her. “You promised you’d spend time with me every day, but you didn’t show up today. Since Lance and I were running errands nearby, we decided to stop by and find you.”

“Errands? What kind of errands?” Camilla pressed, glancing at Lance.

Lance just shrugged. “Nothing big. Just some business stuff.”

Camilla looked at him in surprise. “You took Jasper along to a meeting? He’s a good kid, really, and it’s not like he causes trouble. But you could’ve left him with the butler, or one of the staff. You don’t always have to take him everywhere.”

Sure, she had let Jasper stay temporarily with Lance, but that was only because of their private relationship. Business was another world. Even though Jasper was a child, as far as the Charles family was concerned, he was still an outsider. It didn’t seem right to bring him along on business.

Lance didn’t look bothered at all. “What’s the harm in it? Who knows, maybe someday Jasper will be my son. It won’t hurt for him to get used to the Charles family’s business early on.”

Camilla was caught off guard. Somehow, no matter how long she’d known Lance, he could always leave her speechless with just a few words. She cleared her throat, her tone going serious. “Lance, the Charles family isn’t your own private playground. I finally got Jasper away from the drama of the Carter family, and I don’t want him getting dragged into anything else. If you keep taking him to business meetings, then I’ll just have to take him back myself.”

Years of living with Barnard had made Camilla see things clearly. In this world, families cared so much about status and bloodlines. Lance might care about Jasper, but the rest of the Charles family probably didn’t see him the same way. Just dealing with the Carter family nearly wore her down. She couldn’t even imagine what the Charleses, a true old-money clan, might put her and Jasper through. The thought of the elders finding out that Jasper had been anywhere near their business almost made her panic.

Lance finally softened. “Camilla, don’t be so serious. I was just joking. I didn’t actually bring Jasper into the meeting room. Abelard took him out to play while I went in.”

Jasper had always loved these kinds of family activities at preschool. Camilla knew that, but lately she’d been too busy, and with all her worries about the Carter family, she hadn’t sent Jasper back, even though his leg had healed. Thinking about it, Jasper must have felt lonely at home, with nobody to play with.

This was the perfect chance, and Camilla was more than happy to go along with him. While she was still thinking about it, Jasper tugged eagerly at her hand, pulling her toward the entrance. She looked down at him, a little confused. “Don’t we need to wait for Lance?”

After all, it was Lance who brought them here, and Camilla figured he’d join in.

“Not this time. The rules say the moms and dads have to be on different teams. You’ll understand once we get inside.” Jasper spoke quickly, his excitement barely contained.

She knew he was just talking about the activity, that the “dad” he mentioned was just for the event. Still, the word caught her by surprise, making her heart skip a beat.