Chapter 8 He Was an Asshole

"Janiyah..." Kolton instinctively gave chase.

Overcome with alcohol, he tripped and almost fell. Those around him shouted abuse.

Amid the hubbub, Greta held up the marshmallow. Her big eyes were filled with confusion and fear. In reflex, she chased after Kolton, "Daddy..."

While she was cowering, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her...

There were too many people in the square, and the familiar figure disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The cold wind came. His handsome face flushed under the effect of the alcohol. Still, he staggered his way through the dense crowd and persistently searched for Janiyah.

His vision became shaky, blurry, and distant.

He tried to grab it but could not catch anything.

While he was in a trance, a pair of warm hands grabbed his arm and brought him back to reality.

"Kolton, what happened to you? Why is your face flushing?" Elyse was talking with someone when she saw the soulless man. In a hurry, she walked up.

She was more worried about seeing him like this. Standing on tiptoe, she touched his forehead and found it scorching, "You're having a fever..."

Kolton couldn't hear her. In his delirium, he grabbed her hand and raved, "I saw Janiyah. She was here, but I couldn't find her..."

He spoke incoherently, and Elyse's heart convulsed. As something crossed her mind, she looked around and immediately changed her countenance.

"Kolton, where is Greta?"

Elyse's question struck him like a thunderbolt, and he sobered up instantly. Greatly frantic, he looked at the marshmallow stall, but their daughter was no longer there.

"Greta!" Kolton realized his blunder, paled, and scrambled to the stall. Along the way, he almost fell several times. Grabbing the vendor, he asked, "Did you see my daughter? She is three, four years old, about this tall, and wearing a princess hat..."

Elyse hastened over and angrily shoved him. "Kolton, you jerk. I lost my mind to leave Greta in your care..." She cursed while sobbing.

Given Greta's condition, the slightest stimulation would lead to a heart attack. Maybe she collapsed helplessly in a corner, or bad people got her...

Elyse searched around frantically and could barely stand.

After a moment of a daze, Kolton hurriedly called his assistant and bodyguards. People were summoned to join in the search. Without the slightest hesitation, he followed the anxious woman lest something might happen to her.

The square was not too big, but a lot of people were there, which increased the difficulty of their searching.

Half an hour passed. Elyse nearly fell into despair. Her face was covered with tears and her throat was strained.

"Greta..."

If something happened to her daughter, she didn't know how to live the rest of her life. Years of persistence and forbearance would lose all their meaning.

While the couple were frantically searching, her cell phone suddenly rang. "Elyse Padilla? This is Central Hospital..."

Outside the emergency room, Elyse wiped off her tears. Her swollen eyes gazed at her daughter through the window.

The thin little figure was lying on the sickbed. Her cheeks were as pale as the bedsheet. Panic and desperation were written all over her contorted face.

Given the shape of her mouth, she was like shouting, "Daddy, don't leave me..."

Standing behind her, Kolton also saw everything. His eyes were crimson while a blister formed at the corner of his lips. It was so painful that he could barely open his mouth.

He was an asshole!