Chapter 8: Him as a Child

When Vivienne returned to her dorm room, her roommate Julian was still awake. Seeing her friend's pale face, Julian asked with concern, "What's wrong? You look terrible."

"Maybe it's because of the cool night breeze when I came back," she casually made up an excuse, placing her bag down and walking into the bathroom.

The mirror in the bathroom reflected her pale complexion, even her lips had lost their color. The words Asher had said to her when he walked her back echoed in her ears.

"Vivi, I want you to like me, only me!"

Could she possibly like someone like him? Even Vivienne herself couldn't explain what her feelings for Asher really were.

Sympathy? Pity? Dislike or fear?

Vivienne would always remember the first time she saw Asher when she was eight years old. At that time, Asher resembled a quiet Barbie doll, following her all the way from the small park near her house to the doorstep, and shamelessly entering her home with her.

When she tried to make him leave, he simply clung onto her skirt, silent, with his pitch-black eyes glistening, resembling some pitiable little creature.

He didn't like to speak, and his pretty little face showed no extra expressions, as if he were an inanimate doll. But for some reason, he held her hand the whole time, looking at her with empty eyes that made people uncomfortable.

That gaze showed no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. When she attempted to shake off his hand, he held on even tighter, not even Vivienne's mother could pull him away.

Unable to extract any information from him, Vivienne's mother had no choice but to take Vivienne and Asher to the nearby police station to report the incident.

It turned out that the situation had already caused a stir at the police station. The moment the police officers saw Vivienne's mother with Asher, their expressions were as if they had seen a ghost.

The police station chief personally received Vivienne's mother, and fifteen minutes later, a luxurious car parked at the entrance of the police station, and an outstanding-looking couple hastily rushed in.

That was the first time Vivienne saw Asher's parents. But even when he saw his parents, Asher's expression remained unchanged. It wasn't until his parents were about to take him away that his expression finally changed.

When he tightly clung to Vivienne's arm, refusing to let go and even starting to cry and wail like an ordinary child, his parents looked at him dumbfounded, full of disbelief.

Vivienne felt her arm throbbing in pain. He clung onto her like a drowning person, desperately seeking a lifeline. And his tears kept falling onto her arm, strangely making her feel a burning sensation.

"No crying!" In the end, she scolded him, and only then did he obediently stop crying.

His nose was red and twitching, his wet eyes fixed on her.

Finally, it was Asher's father, Sebastian Montgo, who made the decision to let Asher stay at the Xia family's house for the night, and they would discuss the other matters the next day.

It wasn't until a long time later that Vivienne learned that this man was the governor of another state, and their family was the well-known Montgo family in the political and military circles.

That night, Asher and Vivienne slept on a small bed together. His tiny body curled up into a ball, like a shrimp, and squeezed into her embrace.

Unable to shake him off or push him away, she could only hold him like a stuffed bear and fall asleep.

The next day, he transferred to the kindergarten where she was, and they were even in the same class. It was as if she had gained a little tail behind her, as he only wanted to play with her. When she built blocks, he would hand her the pieces; when she looked at picture books with unfamiliar words, he would speak in a childish tone and tell her what the word meant; even during nap time, he insisted on sleeping next to her.