Chapter 802
802:
Collin accepted a clean towel from his assistant and, instead of using it himself, he offered it to Zenia, speaking softly.
“Would you like to clean up a little? It seems your lovely dress has gotten dirty.”
Zenia stopped to look at her stained dress, her distress evident as tears began to pool in her eyes.
“My dress… It’s my favorite one!”
The assistant braced for another bout of tears from Zenia.
Yet, Collin continued to show unexpected kindness, gently dabbing the stains on her dress with the towel.
At the same time, he said soothingly, “We’re near a mall. How about we go and pick out a new dress for you?”
Zenia looked up at Collin’s earnest face, feeling a surprising sense of comfort.
Hearing his suggestion, Zenia frowned deeply and said, “Mommy told me never to take things from strangers!”
Collin hesitated at her reaction, then began to ask tentatively, “Is your mother…”
He cut himself off, a wry smile briefly crossing his face as he realized the pointlessness of his question.
Regardless of whether Zenia’s mother was Linsey, Linsey’s dislike for him remained unchanged.
𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝙙𝗶𝙨𝗰𝗼𝙫𝗲𝗿𝙮 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻: gⱯ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⩷⪻𝖼𝗈𝗺
Moreover, Zenia was unaware of any past conflicts between him and Linsey.
Collin concluded that it was neither appropriate nor useful to seek such answers from a child.
“Okay, we don’t have to go to the mall. I’m going to take you to the police station now, where they can help you find your mom so you can go home,” Collin said gently.
Zenia looked up at him, taken aback for a moment.
Being so young, she inadvertently revealed her thoughts as she asked, “Are you taking me to the police station for them to punish me?”
Caught off guard by her question, Collin responded with a puzzled expression, “Why would I want the police to punish you?”
Zenia hesitated, then wisely avoided mentioning that she had deliberately run into him. Instead, she said, “Because you were angry!”
With a light chuckle, Collin said, “If we make peace, there will be no punishment from the police.”
Confused, Zenia asked, “What’s ‘make peace’?”
“It means that I forgive you, and you forgive me,” Collin explained.
Zenia’s cheeks ballooned with frustration as she retorted, “But I’m not ready to forgive you yet, you villain.”
Collin lifted his brows at her and lightly tapped the tip of Zenia’s nose with one finger. “You keep calling me a villain. I’m curious—what exactly did I do that makes me so terrible?”
.
.
.