" No, little Jack. I never said that I didn't want to marry your dad. It's just...complicated." I reasoned
" What does that mean?" he asked
" It means Miss Charlotte doesn't want to marry your daddy,, but she just can't say why she doesn't want to." Old master Evans said with a meaningful smile.
I panicked as Jay Jay looked sad for some weird reason. This was just a little ridiculous, Master Evans was using Jay Jay to blackmail me into the marriage.
"That's not true I-" I started, but Master Evans interrupted me.
"Then marry him." he said
"Yes, marry my dad." Jay Jay echoed.
"Little Jack... I can not." (he will kill me in the future), but I could not say this to Jay Jay or anyone else for that matter.
"Why? I want you to be my new mom." he said, and that earned him sympathy from the crowd.
" Aww, such a sweet boy."
" Why is she rejecting the proposal?"
" Oh, look young master Jack is sad."
"I would give anything to see young master Jack's smile."
"Has she not seen The Duke?"
" Maybe if she saw him, she would change her mind."
" Someone call the Duke."
No one in.the crowd dared to put it the way it was, Jay Jay was basically saying that he wished to have a mother and everyone here knew that his mother passed away in an accident when he was just a few months old. No one knew the specific details behind her death because the Evans household restricted the release of more information surrounding her death.
I equally felt guilty about this, and I did not understand why Jay Jay picked me when I only spent half a day with him. I even had the most bizarre thought that perhaps his soul recognized me from my past life, but that's just pure madness.
Ignoring the murmurs and my mixed feelings, I continued with a conflicted look.
" Little Jack, this is ... Someone with better qualities will come and be the best mom in the world for you, okay?"
" No! I want you! I don't want another lady to be my mom!" he said as he cried, I could not bear to see him this way.
I bit my lip and kept quiet while the crowd started murmuring again.
Master Evans tried to make him stop crying, but he did not want to.
In the end, I subconsciously went to him and asked to take him in my arms and tried to console him.
I walked around the kitchen with him in my arms and sang the song I used to sing for him each time I tucked him in. I even forgot about the crowd when I sang and patted his back to make him stop crying.
When he stopped crying, I gave him back to Master Evans and stepped back. The crowd suddenly clapped and rejoiced.
" That was beautiful. "
" You carried yourself like a mother would."
" Young master Jack deserves a mother like you."
" Miss Charlotte, please do not reject the proposal. You deserve to win it."
I did not respond to the chants, but I did a curtsy to show my appreciation. Little Jack had his head buried on his grandfather's shoulder with his body curled into a tiny ball. How heartbreaking!
Sigh, it would seem that my plan was going to fail because of the soft spot I have for Jay Jay, but if this was the case, how would I ensure my survival ? How can I trust that Ryan won't fall into the trap again and kill me? If this happens a second time, I might not get to live again for the third time, so could I blindly go into this again while I knew how it ended in my last life?
"Little Jack, are you mad at me?" I finally asked when the crowd settled
"..."
" Little Jack?"
"Call me Jay Jay." I was got by surprise. He actually remembered?!
"Okay, Jay Jay, are you mad at me?" I asked again
" Yes." he said in a muffled voice because he still had his heard buried. His answer made Master Evans display a proud smile which he quickly hid and returned to his usual expression.
" Why?" I asked
" Because you don't want to marry my daddy." he said in a sad tone
" Jay Jay, you just met me today. Why would you want a stranger like me to marry your daddy?"
" Because you are not the same. You saved me from mean lady and gave me yummy food."
"That's it?" I asked
" Yes." he said in a small voice. What a simple mind he had! He just had something that made people love him.
"Okay..."
"Okay?" he asked as he turned his head slightly to face me
"Hmm, let me think about it." I said to him with a playful smile.
" Okay." he said brightly, and the room went silent in anticipation.