CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: HAND OVER THE PACIFIER

"Conrad Sterling, if you have the guts, take it out on me... what skill is it to bully a child?"

As soon as Anna Thornton approached, she confronted the man sitting as still as a mountain.

Conrad Sterling glanced at her sideways: "Who told you I bullied the child?"

Granny Chandler followed Anna Thornton in, looking awkward: "Miss Thornton, President Sterling did not bully the little miss."

"How can you say he’s not bullying her when Pop looks so wronged?"

"President Sterling only... he only confiscated the little miss’s pacifier."

"Huh?"

Anna Thornton couldn’t understand: "Conrad Sterling, why would a grown man like you take a child’s pacifier? You’re obviously rich, can’t you buy your own if you want one?"

"..."

President Sterling was speechless, "I don’t want it."

"Then why did you..."

"Pop is three years old this year; she doesn’t need that kind of thing."

So, what Conrad Sterling meant was... he was helping Pop quit the pacifier?

"Who says that three-year-olds can’t use pacifiers? When we were abroad, there weren’t so many rules. Pop is used to sucking on a comfort pacifier; she needs it every night to fall asleep."

"It’s your problem that you haven’t helped her quit the bad habit earlier!" Conrad Sterling emphasized.

Anna Thornton still disagreed with him: "When Pop gets a bit older, won’t she stop on her own? Why do you have to forcefully make her quit?"

"Do you know how many children, just because their parents have the same mentality as you, end up with habits they can’t break, leading to regrets?" Conrad Sterling had long had opinions about Anna Thornton’s way of raising the child, "It’s not just the pacifier, you also let her eat too much candy without any restrictions. These little things, in your eyes, will affect their dental development in the future. Are you also planning to wait until they grow up to deal with cavities on their own?"

This morning, before Anna Thornton went out, she left a big bag of milk candies.

In the past, when Pop craved them, she would go and fetch them herself to eat.

But today, she was stopped by Conrad Sterling after taking only three pieces, not allowed to eat more.

Not allowed to eat too much candy, and unwilling to eat meat in a fit of pique, Pop was so wronged she was about to burst into tears.

Anna Thornton hurriedly hugged the little milk bun to comfort her: "What do you mean by this, Conrad Sterling? Have you ever taken care of her for a day from childhood to now? Even counting today, it’s far from being a full 24 hours; what right do you have to criticize how I raise my child?"

Seeing that they were about to start arguing, Granny Chandler quietly backed out.

But it wasn’t really a fight because the emotions were mainly on Anna Thornton’s side: "Four years ago, you wouldn’t lift a finger, didn’t even care if I was alive or dead, and now you can’t be satisfied with the adorable, plump child I’ve raised for you? What right do you have to criticize me?"

"I don’t care how isolated or bullied I am at the company, but my daughter can’t be wronged."

"Since coming to your house means being mistreated, isn’t it okay if I take Pop and leave?"

Listening to himself say a sentence and getting ten responses back, Conrad Sterling remained silent.

Originally, he had no intention of arguing with this little woman.

But Anna Thornton naturally seemed to be at odds with him; when it came to correcting habits in children, shouldn’t parents be on the same side?

Does this woman feel uncomfortable if she doesn’t oppose him for a day?

According to President Sterling’s experience and temperament, it’s absolutely impossible for him to be the first to turn back or take the initiative during a conflict.

Anyway, if Anna Thornton wanted to leave with the child, she would definitely need his permission to leave through the door.

But twenty minutes went by, and there was still no news from the gatekeeper.

It wasn’t until Granny Chandler saw the food getting cold that she came over to ask: "President Sterling, should I have the kitchen reheat the dishes and persuade Miss Thornton to bring the child for a meal?"

"Wasn’t she planning to leave?" Conrad asked.

"She hasn’t left; Miss Thornton took the child to their room."

Upon hearing this, the corners of the man’s mouth unconsciously curled upwards.

As expected, that little woman went through all the trouble to stay here yesterday; how could she leave so easily over a tiff?

"Don’t call her!" Conrad Sterling declared, "Isn’t she being stubborn? I’ll oblige her."

"But the adults can skip a meal; the child shouldn’t go hungry. The little miss is still growing, and I noticed she seemed a bit hungry earlier."

Mentioning Pop slightly shook Conrad Sterling’s typically unyielding heart.

He said nothing, but Granny Chandler understood President Sterling’s intention, considering it permission to invite the two upstairs to come down.

However, after going up, Granny Chandler couldn’t get either to come downstairs: "President Sterling, they still won’t eat. Furthermore, Miss Thornton said..."

"What did she say?"

"She said you should personally invite them, and... that the pacifier be handed over."

"Let them eat or not, it’s up to them; don’t bother with her!"

Anna Thornton took herself too seriously, and she really didn’t understand Conrad Sterling’s temperament.

To know that in President Sterling’s dictionary, the word ’compromise’ doesn’t exist, alright?

After throwing a fit, she still wants the man to coax her.

If there’s a man like that in the world, he must love her to the bone enough to put his dignity aside.

Conrad Sterling himself lost his appetite and went up to the study on the second floor.

Meanwhile, he didn’t let Granny Chandler put away the food. Once Anna Thornton gets too hungry to endure, she’ll come down with Pop herself, and Granny Chandler will naturally know what to do.

Conrad’s room was also on the second floor; as soon as the door to Pop’s nursery opened, he would hear it.

However, until nine in the evening, there was no movement outside.

Conrad Sterling found it rather strange, wondering if they had fainted from hunger in the room.

Because whether it’s Anna Thornton or Pop, both are pretty lively, there’s no reason for such quietness.

The man opened the door to his study, coincidentally as Granny Chandler couldn’t resist going to knock on the nursery door, coaxing Anna Thornton and Pop to come out: "Miss Thornton, the food is reheated, please come out to eat with the child so you don’t hurt your health with this standoff."

"How about I prepare another pacifier? This kind of habit can’t be quit abruptly, you should talk it over with President Sterling, there’s always a way to communicate effectively."

No matter what Granny Chandler said, nobody inside the room replied.

Granny Chandler couldn’t help but look at President Sterling for help, her eyes filled with worry.

"President Sterling, could anything have happened to Miss Thornton?"

"She’s been in the room all the time; what could have happened?" Conrad Sterling had confidence in the security of his house.

But Granny Chandler’s implication was that she feared Anna Thornton might have troubling thoughts: "I-I just worry that Miss Thornton hasn’t been back in the country for long and hasn’t fully adapted. She’s so young and raising a child isn’t easy, with her celebrity pressures being high and recently constantly in the news..."

Despite being no longer young herself, Granny Chandler was at the forefront of gossip.

After all, President Sterling was home far less often than at the company, and life at the Sterling Residence was relatively relaxed, so who doesn’t catch up on a bit of gossip when free?

Even Granny Chandler had noticed the significant media pressure Anna Thornton was under recently; as a fellow woman, she couldn’t help but feel compassion.

In the entertainment industry, many artists face depression, with a number ending in suicide each year. Anna Thornton had borne a child, and some postpartum depression has a long incubation period. She might seem fine ordinarily, but it’s uncertain when a small issue might...