Natalie reached out and gently patted Cassian's leg. Cassian held her hand with his left. "That was a long time ago." Olivia sighed. "Wait—so you built Holland Group all on your own?" Impressive! He built a company that huge from scratch? And he wasn't even 30 yet! Cassian shook his head. "No. Holland Group was my grandfather's." Harold's eyes went wide. "You had a grandfather? Then why'd you end up in an orphanage?" Cassian's voice stayed calm. "My father was kidnapped when he was a boy. By the time my grandfather found me, I was already 17." Natalie's lips parted, but she hesitated. "Then ... your grandfather?" Cassian pressed his lips together. "He passed away three years after he brought me home." Natalie's heart ached for him. He had lost both parents at seven and grew up in an orphanage. When he finally reunited with his grandfather, he only got to enjoy three short years of family before losing him too. His grandfather died when Cassian was just 20. Taking over Holland Group at that age must have been brutal. And yet, he had managed to run it so well. Natalie couldn't stop staring at him. The more she got to know him, the more she realized just how many good qualities he had. Maybe sensing the mood was getting heavy, Olivia teased, "Let's not keep talking about this. Look at poor Nat—she's about to cry!"Cassian glanced at Natalie, catching her just as she quickly looked away and shoved food into her mouth, embarrassed. A smile tugged at his lips, and he tightened his hold on her hand. They ate and talked for over three hours before finally getting ready to leave. As they stood up, Ghania looked at Lottie in surprise. "This little girl's been listening to us the whole time?" Harold also found that amazing. "Yeah, usually kids would be bored to death by now and already asleep." He bent down and teased, "Lottie, did you even understand what we were talking about?" Lottie shook her head. "Nope." Cassian glanced up at her when he heard that. Harold tapped the little girl's head. "If you didn't understand, why listen so hard?" Lottie grinned, sweet and innocent. "Because you all look pretty!" Harold burst out laughing. He turned to his mom and said, "See, Mom? Raising a kid might actually be kind of fun!" Ghania pursed her lips. "You can't even find yourself a wife, and you're already talking about kids?" Everyone laughed. Even Cassian, who almost never smiled, was grinning. Harold saw it and shouted, "Dude, how could you be laughing at me?" Cassian wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulder. "Not at you. I'm just proud." After all, finding a wife these days wasn't easy. Especially one as amazing as Natalie.Both Harold and Natalie were speechless at the way he boasted. The others left with their laughter; only Natalie and Cassian were left in the house. The two of them cleaned up together. While gathering plates, Natalie asked, "That little girl wanted to play with you. Why didn't you respond?" Cassian shot back without hesitation, "She's not your kid. What's that got to do with me?" Natalie couldn't rebuke that. No matter what the topic was, this man always found a way to tease her. She rolled her eyes at him. "Shameless. Who's having kids with you? The world's dangerous enough as it is. I'm not planning to." Cassian seemed to realize that too. He changed his tone. "Yeah, it's too risky to have kids now. We won't. If I ever feel like raising one, I'll just take good care of you instead." Natalie's face turned bright red. "Stop talking nonsense!" She quickly went back to the topic. "Seriously, why were you so cold to Lottie?" From what she knew of Cassian, even if he didn't like kids, he'd keep up basic manners. He wouldn't just stay silent. Cassian grew serious. "I don't like her expression." Natalie frowned. "Expression?" He nodded. "It doesn't look innocent, like a child's should. More like she's pretending to be silly." Cassian had seen plenty of women like that—acting cute, fragile, or helpless—but they were grown women.A kid that age should be naturally sweet, not fake. Usually, little girls that age tried to act more mature, not more childish. Natalie thought about it and remembered the child's gaze. They did seem strange. She muttered, "Now that you mention it. Yeah." Cassian added, "Her answer to Harold's question was weird too." Natalie asked, "What question?" Cassian said, "When Harold asked if she understood what we were saying." Natalie suddenly understood. "Oh, you mean most kids pretend to understand when they don't. But she pretended not to understand even though she did." Cassian nodded. "Exactly. That little girl understood everything we said. And she was paying close attention." Natalie frowned deeper. "Why would a child have such thoughts?"