Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1002

Children her age usually love amusement parks, so he thought Lillian would too. But the little girl hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "It's too crowded there," she declined politely. "It won't be convenient for you. You might get bumped into." Her answer wasn't necessarily born of concern, just a statement of fact. But to Jordan, it was a sign that his daughter was thinking of him. He was overjoyed, believing she was being considerate of his condition. This made him even more determined to take her. "Don't worry, Lillian," he insisted. "Nathan Gates and the bodyguards will be with us. Nothing will happen. The important thing is for you to have fun." With the decision made, Jordan took Lillian, Nathan Gates, and the bodyguards to the amusement park. But when they arrived and he saw the massive queues of people at every ride, he frowned. He suddenly realized that some things couldn't be achieved through sheer persistence. With his disabled legs, he couldn't even stand, making it impossible for him to join Lillian on most of the rides. In the end, he had to turn to Nathan Gates. "You take Lillian on the rides," he instructed. He felt a bitter sense of frustration and couldn't help but think of the past. Why had he only ever thought of taking Daniel to have fun, never Lillian? He stood outside the carousel fence, watching Lillian and Nathan Gates ride, laughing freely with a wide smile on her face. But the moment she got off and faced him, her joyful expression vanished, replaced by her usual quiet, well-behaved demeanor. A bitter feeling settled in Jordan's stomach. This was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. He longed for her to smile at him with that same unrestrained joy. But for now, that seemed impossible. Still, he refused to give up. Doing nothing would only push her further away. Jordan resolved to be more patient. Just as Lillian had said today, she would see for herself who truly treated her well. He had already lost so much; he couldn't bear to lose his daughter too. As the little girl and Nathan Gates got off a ride, another child walked past holding a strawberry ice cream cone. No matter how mature and sensible she was, Lillian was still a child. Her eyes followed the ice cream for several seconds. Nathan, who had been watching her closely, noticed and bent down. "Do you want some ice cream, Lillian?" The little girl nodded her small head. "Yes, please!" It looked so sweet, and she was sure it was strawberry flavored! Nathan went to ask for Jordan's permission. "If she wants one, go get it for her," Jordan said. It was just an ice cream cone, and it was rare for Lillian to ask for something herself. Of course, Jordan was happy to indulge her. When Nathan told her, Lillian happily took his hand, skipping and hopping all the way to the ice cream stand. Not long after they left, Jordan ran into some trouble. A misbehaving child, chasing after a balloon that had floated away, didn't see Jordan's wheelchair and ran right into it, bouncing off and falling to the ground. By the time the boy got up, his balloon was long gone. Furious, he blamed Jordan. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" he yelled. "You made me lose my balloon!" Jordan rarely encountered such an unreasonable child. He frowned. "You're the one who ran into me. Don't you know how to apologize?" he said coldly. The boy was startled by his tone. After a two-second pause, he burst into tears. "You... you're bullying me!" The boy's mother heard the commotion and hurried over. "What's wrong? What happened?" The boy pointed at Jordan, crying, "This cripple ran into me, and then he yelled at me!" The mother, clearly one to dote on her child, immediately turned on Jordan. "You're a grown man! Aren't you ashamed of yourself for bullying a child?" Jordan had never been falsely accused like this before. His face turned dark. The mother, still not satisfied, continued her attack. "Look at you. You don't look like a good person. No wonder you're a cripple!" Emboldened by his mother, the boy was no longer scared and joined in. "Stinky cripple!" he taunted, making a face. A dark aura emanated from Jordan. The bodyguards were about to step in when Nathan and Lillian returned. Having seen what happened, Lillian spoke up in her small, clear voice, addressing the mother and son. "How can you twist the truth like that? I saw everything. He ran into the wheelchair himself! If you don't believe me, you can check the security cameras." Sure enough, a security camera was clearly visible right above them. Nathan also spoke up. "Not only did you fail to watch your child, but you're also making personal attacks. We could sue you for this." The mother finally seemed to wake up, belatedly realizing that Jordan's demeanor suggested he wasn't an ordinary person. Seeing the crowd that had gathered, she suddenly lost her nerve and tried to back down...