The Florist's Dominance

Chapter 6

"Do you have to call me Daddy? Don't you have a Daddy?"

Ansel shook his head slowly, his face suddenly gloomy.

"I don't have one. Mommy Evelina said my Daddy and my Mommy already went to heaven when I was a baby."

Adrian fell silent. His chest felt tight. This little boy, with all the luxury surrounding his life, turned out to have grown up without ever feeling the embrace of his own biological parents.

Ansel was silent for a moment, staring at the remaining bread in his hand. Then, as if looking for another topic, he asked in a small voice, "D-Daddy, I don't like this bread. Can I eat something else?"

Adrian sighed softly. Ansel did look like he was from a wealthy family, his tongue must be rebelling when eating cheap bread that was coarse with artificial chocolate flavor.

Even so, Adrian smiled. Ansel looked polite by not criticizing the bread he was given at all. Adrian thought for a moment. "How about fried eggs? Do you like them?"

Ansel nodded eagerly. "Yes, I like fried eggs!"

Then Adrian went to his small kitchen and fried two eggs. Not long after, he returned with two plates of toast topped with fried eggs. "Here's yours."

Ansel accepted his plate. "Thank you." Then he tasted it. "It's good, Daddy."

Adrian nodded. "I'm glad you like it." The two of them ate together while chatting. Ansel appeared to eat heartily, showing that his escape had drained quite a bit of energy.

The cheerful atmosphere during that lunch seemed unexpected considering how tense the situation had been just minutes ago.

Between bites, sometimes Ansel asked the names of various plants in the shop. Adrian answered Ansel's curiosity patiently.

Right after they finished eating, a red Maserati Ghibli stopped in front of the shop. Behind it followed a black Range Rover Sport.

A beautiful woman with wavy black hair and square black sunglasses got out of the red car gracefully. Then she headed to the front of the shop and pressed the bell.

Meanwhile, several men in black suits appeared to be standing behind her in an alert stance.

The sound of the bell ringing made Ansel turn his head. He saw the familiar red car silhouette. His previously cheerful face faded, replaced by a pale face and eyes that suddenly became teary.

"T-That's Mommy Evelina's car."

He whispered with eyebrows curving upward. "She must have come to pick me up."

His hand holding the spoon began to tremble lightly. "I miss Mommy. But I don't want to go home. Later Grandpa and Grandma will definitely force me to take that medicine again. I don't want nightmares, Daddy."

Adrian saw the pure fear in Ansel's eyes. This wasn't just a child throwing a tantrum. But a deep fear that made the five-year-old boy tremble just from hearing the bell sound.

Adrian patted Ansel's shoulder gently. "Relax, you stay here. Let me talk to her."

Then Adrian peeked from the display window.

The woman outside was still young, looked around his age with an undeniable elegant aura. Her brown dress was simple but looked expensive combined with a smooth leather handbag.

However, behind her black sunglasses, her expression looked more worried than angry.

Adrian opened the door, then asked flatly, "Can I help you?"

The woman lowered her sunglasses and revealed a pair of beautiful green eyes.

"I'm Evelina Harvey, Ansel's aunt. I heard someone brought my nephew here."

Adrian nodded. "Yes, Ansel is here. He's safe."

Adrian continued his words, "But before I allow you to meet him, I need an explanation. He's very frightened. He said he doesn't want to go home because he'll be forced to take medicine that gives him nightmares."

Briefly, there was a flicker of pain and guilt in Evelina's eyes. "That's medicine for his condition, he has a rare disease."

"That medicine has severe side effects, but it's the only option according to our best doctors. His Grandpa and Grandma just want him to get better."

Adrian saw sincerity in the woman's face. Even so, sincerity on the wrong path was still the same as torture.

"I don't want to sound presumptuous. But according to my brief observation, Ansel is experiencing a misdiagnosis."

"All this time he hasn't been getting the right treatment, which has resulted in an increase in extreme nightmares."

"Ansel's reaction is too specific for ordinary side effects. That's a severe level paradoxical reaction symptom. His nervous system is responding to that medicine like poison, not a cure."

Evelina narrowed her eyes, then observed Adrian from head to toe. Then she turned back to read the sign "Reid Flower Shop" not a children's health clinic.

The woman sneered, "Are you a doctor?"

Adrian wasn't offended, but then answered casually, "Not a licensed doctor, but I can see what their machines and laboratories missed."

He added, "In short, I have the ability to treat various kinds of diseases."

Evelina raised her face to see Adrian's face more clearly, "Then there's no guarantee you won't commit malpractice!"

Adrian answered again, "Indeed there isn't."

"But the doctor treating Ansel has clearly committed malpractice."

Evelina fell silent for a moment with a furrowed brow.

Adrian had touched her own buried doubts. All this time, behind her trust in those expensive doctors, there had always been a small whisper. Why had Ansel never gotten better? Why had his screams at night actually gotten worse?

But ego and the habit of living in a world where everything had to have certificates and legitimacy made it difficult for her to accept a florist as an alternative.

Both of Evelina's hands clenched tightly. This time she was no longer formal, with a low, pressing voice she said, "How dare you blame doctors whose portfolios are longer than your age!"

Adrian answered indifferently, "I'm just stating facts. How much money have you spent to treat Ansel? But the result is he ran away and is terrified!"

Adrian sneered. "Certificates are just paper. Not everyone with certificates truly has matching expertise!"

Evelina took a long breath. This debate would have no end. But that didn't mean she would give in to a know-it-all florist.

Evelina raised her hand slightly, giving a signal to stop debating. "Enough! I'm sick of all your baseless nonsense!"