Madeline Crawford and Jeremy Whitman
Chapter 1780

"Fabian, are you forcing me to call the cops?" Madeline turned around and looked at him. "Do you want me to inform the police of your crimes of kidnapping my daughter and threatening her safety?" As Madeline walked toward Fabian who had his back against her, her sharp eyes betrayed a look of remorse.

"Fabian, could it be that you want to walk the same path that your brother and sister had taken? Are you going to keep testing the limit that shouldn't be tested?"

As Madeline's voice fell, Fabian turned around abruptly.

He stared straight at Madeline, and at this moment, his eyes no longer showed the friendliness and gentleness from back then. Madeline caught sight of a flash of enmity, rage, and conflict in Fabian's eyes.

Conflict. He was conflicted.

The look in Fabian's eyes only calmed down seconds later.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly into a soft smiley.

"Since you have flown all the way here to replace me, I couldn't very well dismiss you, Mrs. Whitman.

There's a decent cafe nearby, would you do me the honour of having a drink together?"

Fabian was Madeline's most direct and only way in replaceing Lillian, so of course, Madeline agreed.

There were not a lot of people in the café during the work hours.

Fabian ordered a cup of black tea latte for Madeline.

"If I recall correctly, you like black tea, Mrs. Whitman." Fabian addressed Madeline in an unfamiliar and distant manner.

Back then, he always had a frivolous smile and would Madeline's name affectionately and intimately.

However, it seemed that there was no returning to those times.

Madeline did not drink the steaming coffee in front of her. She went straight to the point, resuming the original conversation topic from earlier.

"Fabian, you should know I didn't come all the way here to F Country to have tea with you. I only want my daughter."

Resentment appeared on Madeline's delicate and small face.

"If you're unhappy with me or Jeremy, just say it. Lily is just a child, and ever since you knew her, that kid has innocently looked to you as her big brother. A good big brother. Please don't hurt a five-year- old child's pure heart."

Fabian finished listening to Madeline with a calm expression and picked up his cup of coffee for a sip.

"I can't hurt a five-year-old's heart, but you can recklessly hurt my heart, tearing it into pieces? Do I still deserve it then?"

Madeline's furrowed slightly. "Why do you say that? Who hurt you?"

"Someone I used to trust. However, in the end, they were just using me this whole time."

As Fabian spoke, he gazed knowingly at Madeline.

Madeline felt that the person Fabian was referring to was her.

"Are you saying that I used you? That I lied to you?" Madeline was baffled. She was very curious why Fabian would think that and simultaneously found this pathetic.

"Fabian, I don't know where you've heard this or how you've got this weird idea. Could you tell me, when did I, Eveline, have used you? How could I have benefited from using you?"

Madeline looked steadily into Fabian's cold, questioning eyes.

After a while, Fabian then spoke.

"It's not you who are benefitting from this, but it's your husband, Jeremy Whitman."