If she were to pick her son up, then they would have to meet again!
Arabella paused. Ashton left the company to pick Adrian up. Was it appropriate for her to go as well? Would he take this as her trick again?
Arabella had a headache. But when thinking of her son's expectant eyes, she gritted her teeth and agreed.
she was destined not to be a good rich lady, but she wanted to make use of her value and be a good mother.
Besides, no matter how she tried to hide away, she would not escape the fate of meeting Ashton today. It was better to discuss with him in advance and pretend to be intimate in front of her grandmother. She did not want the old woman to be worried.
Adrian was her son, but for some reason, Arabella felt the same way ever since she was here. It was as if there was no discord between her and their son.
"grandmother, I'll go up and change my clothes."
Arabella lowered her head and looked at her customized dress with a darkened face. This dress had some stitched lace edges, which showed too much skin. The problem was that her figure was not good, and all of her flaws were exposed.
"Isn't that pretty good?"
Margaret was puzzled, but thinking that Arabella was about to dress up to meet her grandson, she smiled and narrowed her eyes. If Arabella was willing to get dressed for Ashton, it would be a good sign.
Otherwise, when they came into contact, they would stay so far away from each other like when a rat saw a cat and would not act like a couple.
"I look too fat with this."
Arabella looked at her muffin top and could not bear it. The first thing she would do after getting out of the hospital was lose weight in order to have a good shape.
This was her first time going to Adrian's kindergarten. She must at least leave a good impression on the teacher and not embarrass her son.
"Arabella, plumpness is a blessing. Look at those stars, they're all like refugees. It's not like they can't afford to eat."
Margaret had traditional views and he was still nagging. "Chubbiness is a blessing, what is so good about being skinny? When you go out at night, you will freak people out. They will probably think you are a walking skeleton."
Arabella was so amused by the old woman that she felt wry. Stars chose to be skinny for the sake of their career. Audiences preferred slim people. To some extent, it was a manifestation of their professionalism.
But she was different. She was born fat.
Plumpness meant blessing. After she looked in the mirror, she could no longer comfort herself with that.
Thinking about it, Arabella decided to not wear clothes that would show her shape. She rummaged through the wardrobe and only found three sets.
She had a large room as a cloakroom. Among hundreds or thousands of sets of new clothes, almost all of them were tight. It was so difficult for her to find the three sets...
When Arabella finally put on a set of loose casual clothes, she realized that there were no proper shoes.
She used to be crazy about high heels. There was not a single pair of flat shoes in the shoe cabinet.
Arabella covered her face and found that she couldn't go out. She couldn't wear high heels with casual clothes. On the one hand, they didn't match, and on the other, she had a sprained ankle. The doctor told her not to wear high heels for two months.
"Madam, are you done?"
Arabella was troubled when Lucy knocked on the door to deliver her shoes.
Since the doctor had instructed, the servants must obey. Lucy went to the mall and bought a pair of ordinary but comfy sneakers.
She thought that madam would definitely lose her temper and scold her.
However...
"Lucy, you're so considerate. I'm troubled that I don't have shoes to match my clothes. Thank you!"
Arabella changed her shoes and happily went downstairs, leaving Lucy, who had an astounded look, on the spot. Did she mishear? Not only did Madam put them on, but she thanked her.
After Arabella changed her clothes, she made herself a ponytail. She instantly looked several years younger.
She used cosmetics of famous brands all year round. There were only several pimples on her face caused by endocrine disorders. Overall, her complexion looked pretty good.
She informed her grandmother and took the car to the kindergarten.
"Vance, please pull over."
It was early. Arabella saw a large chain store mainly selling toys on the roadside. She wanted to go in and have a look.
In her memories, she had never bought anything for her son. The five-year-old child never cried for his parents. He was so mature that one would feel so heartbroken.
Adrian's birthday had passed. On that day, she left his son at home, went to a party, and came back drunk.
Adrian was very disappointed to see his birthday ruined though he didn't say anything.
"Madam, are you going to the Kid Mall?"
Vance was the son of Joe, the driver of Ashton. Both of them worked for the Harts.
He looked at Arabella through the rearview mirror with wariness. Madam had been very suspicious since she was discharged from the hospital and changed her outfit.
"Yeah, I want to buy Adrian a present."
Arabella smiled and replied without blaming Vance. Though other people wouldn't understand, she didn't care. She just wanted to be herself.
"Alright."
After stopping, Vance wanted to follow her.
"Vance, I'll be out in a moment. Just wait in the car."
Arabella glanced at the place where the car was parked. Their car was close to another one, so if it was to be driven away, they had to move aside to make room.
It was more comfortable to shop alone than being followed by a man.
Hearing that, Vance nodded. After Arabella entered the mall, he picked up his cell phone and blabbed, "Hey, Dad, Madam went to the Kid Mall..."
There was a spy beside her, but Arabella didn't know that. Now, she was at the toy area on the first floor.
The shopping mall was very big and was divided into dozens of areas with toys for all age groups.
Arabella looked at a girls' toy area. The rack was full of Barbies and beautiful dresses for them.
Arabella was excited about these little clothes and skirts. This was once her childhood dream. There were more styles now than before. They looked really nice.
Unfortunately, she was not in the age of having fun with Barbies. If possible, she wanted to give birth to a cute daughter and buy her lovely dolls.
"Lady, what can I do for you?"
The shop assistant greeted Arabella warmly when seeing that she was staring at Barbies.
"No, thank you."
Arabella looked away reluctantly. She wished to buy all these dolls home, but she couldn't give them to Adrian.
On the one hand, Adrian did not like them, and on the other hand, she did not want to make her son effeminate. Boys could be naughty, but they shouldn't be as shy and sensitive as girls.
The toys in the store were dazzling and varied. Arabella's time was limited, so she couldn't hang out for too long. She took the initiative to ask the shoppers who had the same needs as her.
"Lady, my friends like Lego bricks!"
A little boy about the same age of Adrian pointed at one of the building blocks. It was the latest model. It could be assembled into cars, airplanes, and tanks. It was fun.
"Thank you. In order to thank you, how about I buy you this?"
Arabella caressed the little boy's head and bought him two sets.
The little boy's parents were embarrassed. Their son got such a reward for nothing.
Arabella waved her hand. It was worth it. She asked what the little boy liked.
She had never been a mother, nor had she ever interacted with a little boy. The answers given on the Internet were very general, so it was better to find a boy who was about the same age to inquire.
Arabella held the toy and was instantly in high spirits. At the exit of the mall, there was a food area.
In her memory, Adrian didn't seem to have eaten any snacks.
Arabella carefully looked at the date of delivery, picked some jelly beans, chocolate and jelly that all children liked, and returned to the car with two bags.
"Madam, it's almost time."
Vance urged. Ashton was very strict about time. He had just called his father and knew that Ashton was on his way to the kindergarten.
Ashton would directly pick Adrian up when the classes were over. If Arabella was late, the trip would be in vain because Ashton would never wait.
"Alright."
Arabella sat in the back seat and agreed. Just as she finished speaking, she leaned forward and hit her head on the front seat.
"My apologies, Madam."
Vance apologized embarrassedly. He was too anxious, so he drove faster. The result was that Madam would get the goods on him and scold him for this.
Actually, compared to being scolded, Vance found it harder to tolerate Arabella's commanding attitude. The feudal society was over! Did she think that she was an empress?
He worked hard for the Harts for money. He wasn't Arabella's slave.
"Eyes on the road."
Arabella rubbed her forehead. Why was she always the injured one?
Vance was slack-jawed without hearing Arabella's scolding. Only when he reached the entrance of the kindergarten did he shut his mouth with his hand.
The time was just right.
The school was just over and the teacher led the children out in a queue. At the entrance were parents who came to pick up their children.
Adrian was in a kindergarten for silver spoon children. Kids here were born in either rich or powerful families.
Ashton was sitting in the car with closed eyes.
"Mr. Ashton, Madam is here."
The driver, Joe, saw his son, Vance, gesturing and recognized that it was Arabella who came out of the car and waited at the entrance.
Madam was in casual clothes and flat shoes. This was his first time seeing this and he almost missed her.
"I see."
Ashton's voice was cold. The woman was just discharged from the hospital yet she came to the kindergarten to pick Adrian up. Her tricks were getting more and more.
Looks like he had to urge the lawyer to drive her away. Out of sight, out of mind.
Although they had long since become strangers, as long as he returned home, his grandmother would chatter and improve the woman's sense of existence, which annoyed Ashton.
At the entrance, when Adrian saw Arabella coming to pick him up, he cheered and jumped into Arabella's embrace with his short legs.
Arabella picked up her son and kissed him on the cheek. Then, she greeted his teacher and thanked her for taking care of him.
"So you're Mrs. Hart."
This was the first time the teacher had seen Adrian's parents.
Most of the children here had extraordinary backgrounds, but no matter how busy their parents were, they would actively participate in parent-child activities organized by the kindergarten.
Only Adrian's parents never showed up.
"Ms. Lily, my mommy is busy, but she's here to pick me up!"
Adrian's eyes became like a crescent moon from smiling and he introduced his mommy to his friends. They were wrong. Mommy loved him.
"Ms. Lily, may I have your number? If anything happens to Adrian in kindergarten, or you have an activity, please let me know."
She was absent from her son's life for five years, but Arabella didn't want to miss anything.
Lily was surprised. Though the children's parents were polite to her, they looked down on her as a teacher and spoke the same way as they did to a maid.
This was the first time she and Mrs. Hart had seen each other, and she had never expected her respect. Lily immediately had a good impression of Arabella and agreed.
"Come here, Adrian, say goodbye to Ms. Lily."
Arabella put away her phone and waved her hand while hugging Adrian.