Chapter 137 - Pumpkin

While Jackson was investigating Everett Pang, Halia went to meet with Sean for lunch. Sean had found a nice hidden little teahouse in the old town and sent the address to Halia. As usual, this man loved his tea.

As he sat there waiting for Halia, he began to think about the events of the previous night inside the little Italian restaurant.

Even though it was a weekday night, the restaurant was still buzzing with life. As Sean, Natalie, and Pumpkin waited patiently for their food, Natalie turned to Sean awkwardly and asked, "Aren't you curious about anything?"

The man looked at the little boy and shook his head. "We're both a.d.u.l.ts. As long as you're not doing anything wrong or unfaithful, I will understand," he smiled.

Natalie relaxed and took a big breath.

"Remember how I told you that I experienced a death?" Natalie asked.

Sean looked up and stared into the woman's eyes. Judging by the pain she exhibited, he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say and his heart suddenly ached for the woman.

"It was my husband. He died 5 years ago," Natalie revealed with a shaky voice. "That's why I told you that I could understand how you felt when you lost Sara."

"We had only gotten married not long ago and I was still pregnant at the time, but I had to stay strong for Pumpkin's sake. To be honest, I considered taking my own life or picking up a random man off the street to help me father the child, but they were all silly thoughts due to grief," she explained. 

"The first few months of being a single mother were difficult. I was young, inexperienced and I had only just graduated university so I had no job. I didn't know how I was supposed to bring up a child on my own. It was all thanks to my parents and Haili's family that I managed to pull through. Haili heard about my situation and got me a job with her father, and her father was trustful enough to make me his secretary," Natalie explained.

She then looked lovingly at the little boy as she patted his head. "I'm really lucky that he left behind this precious angel for me to remember him by. But, he will forever remain as a beautiful memory. I hope we can both treasure our beautiful memories and open our hearts up to new ones together," the woman smiled.

At that moment, their food arrived. They had ordered 2 pizzas to share. One was the pumpkin, spinach and ricotta pizza that Pumpkin picked, and the other was a Margherita.

The little boy immediately put down his book and glanced at his mother. "Mommy, is it OK to eat now?" 

Natalie nodded her head. The poor little thing must have been starving. She was extremely lucky to have such a smart and understanding child. Perhaps, God knew she already had a tough life, so he gave her a little angel to make things easier.

The little boy then turned to Sean. "Uncle Sean, is it OK for me to eat?" he asked.

Sean nodded his head and grabbed a slice of the pumpkin pizza for the boy.

The little boy placed the pizza up to his mouth and chomped down happily. "This is the best pizza ever!" he cheered.

Sean and Natalie looked at each other and smiled.

Inside the teahouse, Sean took a sip of his tea as he thought about the mother and child. Natalie warmed his heart and the child warmed his soul. He could definitely get used to a life with them.

...

Not too far from the casino, Jackson and Amelie had just arrived outside a hot pot restaurant for lunch. This was where Everett Pang organized for them to meet with Rawson Zhang.

That's right, Rawson loved hot pot. Back in Shanghai, he used to eat it at least 3 times a week!

It seemed, his tastes hadn't changed.

Jackson took a deep breath and held onto Amelie's hand as they headed for a private room in the back. Jackson had already explained everything to her, so she had a gun ready in her handbag just in case things went downhill. "Don't worry, if anything goes wrong, I'll back you up," she said.

Jackson nodded his head. If anyone had his back, he knew Amelie definitely did.

With his guard up, Jackson slowly opened the door.

But, as soon as he walked in a familiar face welcomed him with arms wide open.

"Jackson, it's been a long time," Rawson Zhang grinned.

Jackson looked at the man. The man had lost a considerable amount of weight and his black hair had turned half white, but he still had the same sly grin.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhang," Jackson greeted.

A sly look flashed across the man's eyes. "Come sit, I have serious business to discuss with you," the man said as he pointed to the empty chairs around the table.

The old man was the only one sitting at the table. Around him were a few bodyguards, but Everett and Carol were nowhere to be seen. Was Rawson involved with the illegal activity that was happening at the casino, or did he simply want to catch up with him? Maybe this man had learned his lesson after spending 7 years in prison.

But, just as Jackson was beginning to relax around the old man, there was a knock on the door.

One of the bodyguards opened it up and a familiar couple walked in.

It was Everett Pang and his wife, Carol Pang.

"Godfather," Carol smiled affectionately as she walked up to hug the old man.