Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Raeleigh felt a little uneasy. Jepherson would be leaving on this day. He'd already booked his plane ticket. Someone knocked on the door. Raeleigh looked up and opened the door to see Jepherson standing there, dressed in his grey coat and black thermal wear. He held an overnight bag. She gazed at him, a little dazed. "You came looking like this, and you're leaving like this. It's so strange." "What's strange about it? I'm still the same person." Before she could answer, he leaned in for a kiss. She held his face and kissed him back. They kissed for a few seconds before parting, Raeleigh looking a little drunk. "I think this is the first time." "And what does that mean?" he asked her. She shook her head. "I don't know." "It means that a certain someone has already allowed me into her heart and won't abandon me from now on." Jepherson wrapped his free arm around her waist and leaned in to give her a passio
Jenna prepared some food and waited for Jepherson to come down. She'd just turned around to see him watching her from the door. "Jerry...." "Mom, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?" Jepherson entered the kitchen and hugged Jenna, moving her to bits. "Yes, of course. Wait a minute, I'll bring it to you. Go wash your hands and we'll eat in the hall." Jenna hurried off to get some food for him and he obediently sat down next to Hansen. He took a look at the chess game. When he sat down, Hansen asked, "Why didn't you come down to eat?" "I've gained some weight, and Raeleigh has been complaining about it." Jepherson implied that he was trying to lose weight. Hansen turned to look at Jepherson with a chess piece in hand. He had, in fact, lost some weight after going hungry for five days. "Are girls so bothered by guys' appearances nowadays? Your mother and I never experienced this during our time." Hansen wasn't bothered by his father'
Raeleigh was a little taken aback when she saw who was calling her. She hadn't expected that Scarlette had already gone back. "You went back?" Raeleigh was sitting on the sofa. She'd barely left the house recently, mostly cooping herself up in her room. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the matter with the Richards family or the weather. She was quite surprised to receive a call from Scarlette through a local number. She'd never called Scarlette herself, despite wanting to know what was going on with her. It was partly because she herself was in a dilemma, and partly because she didn't want to interrupt Scarlette and Hadrian's time together. "Yeah." Scarlette was sitting on the bed. The house was the one that previously belonged to Raeleigh. It currently belonged to her and Hadrian, though, thanks to Santiago. Initially, Scarlette had felt bad about accepting it. After all, the house belonged to Raeleigh, not Santiago. However, Santiago said that i
After a long conversation, Scarlette talked bad about Xanthus in a roundabout way. Raeleigh ended the phone call when she'd heard enough. If she allowed Scarlette to continue, she'd probably make Xanthus out to be some wicked villain. She put down the phone and looked at him. "Scarlette bears no ill intention." There were only the two of them in the living room, so it was quiet. He must have heard their conversation. He put down the magazine and looked at her. "I know that, but when are you going to stop hiding things from her?" "Let's wait a little longer. Perhaps I'll tell them in the future, but it would be better that they don't know about it for now." Raeleigh was a little blue. This wasn't the toughest part. The hardest part was how she was supposed to ask for permission to go to the wedding. "Xanthus..." She hesitated for a long time before she spoke. How could Xanthus not know what she was thinking? "She's your friend, so it's nat
Santiago ushered Xanthus and Raeleigh into his car and put their luggage into the trunk. Then, he brought them for some food. Raeleigh hadn't intended on going because she was feeling lethargic, but Santiago didn't even ask what their plans were. He drove them straight to a restaurant. She was almost asleep when they reached their destination. She opened her eyes and looked around blearily. Once they were in the restaurant, she sat down and started nodding off again. Santiago touched her hand, but she did not react at all. "Why are you so sleepy? Have you not slept for days?" Raeleigh opened her eyes groggily and watched as Santiago put his hand back on his thigh. She looked around and saw that they weren't in a private room like usual, but were instead in the main dining hall. "I ordered steak. What would you like to eat?" Santiago asked Raeleigh. She took the menu and ordered something similar to what Santiago had ordered. Raeleigh didn
Raeleigh was completely dazed. Hadrian's mind went blank for a short while before he asked, "Will it hurt?" Xanthus replied, "All surgeries will hurt, but this one is especially so." "We won't do it." Hadrian hesitated for a while before turning Xanthus down. Raeleigh stood to one side. "You should let Scarlette think about it." "There's no need to think about it. I'm the one making the decisions," Hadrian said. Scarlette rolled her eyes at him. "Are you sure about that? What right do you have to decide for me? Go away." Scarlette pulled Hadrian aside and his face darkened. "I have the final say in this." "No, you don't." Scarlette refused, but Hadrian did not succumb to her either. Raeleigh did not know what to say, but Xanthus said, "No matter what you think, it's not the right time to quarrel. Even if you guys decide to do the operation, she is not in the right state. She will need to be treated for at least six months before she can undergo
Raeleigh didn't manage to get the call through after going back either. She didn't rest well that evening. Early in the morning, she received a call from Jepherson, who had just taken a bath at home and was ready to go to bed. Raeleigh was worried out of her mind. Over the phone, she couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you answer the phone? Where have you been?" Jepherson searched his mind for an answer. Sitting on the bed in the room and looking at the velvet box in front of him, his answer would become a defining moment for him. "I was always around, I just didn't have time to answer the phone. I had something to do, so I've booked a flight and I'll have to catch it later. I'm just about to take a bath and change my clothes..." "Where are you going?" "To give you a gift, Raeleigh." Jepherson was in a good mood. It was undoubtedly the best thing in the world to be cared for by her. Since he would have time in the next few days, he had better seize th
Raeleigh went in and stood quietly at the side. As usual, Marissa the person with the most severe superiority complex in the room did not spare Raeleigh a glance. However, nobody told Raeleigh to sit down. Even Jepherson himself was left standing, without anyone having invited him to take a seat. Although it was his own home, his parents were handling Marissa with care. It seemed a bit inappropriate for him, as a son and a grandson, to take a seat on his own accord. Thus, he decided to stand with Raeleigh. Raeleigh looked at him with curiosity in her dark eyes. She lowered her gaze slightly and stayed quiet. Jepherson's hand had been holding Raeleigh's since the start. In fact, he had been using both hands to hold hers, and put their hands behind his back. The way others saw it, Jepherson was trying to show Marissa respect. At least he wasn't being blatant about it. On the contrary, the way Marissa saw it, her terrible grandson Jepherson was giving
Santiago went home once more to retrieve Jepherson's sperm from the sperm bank. After that, Raeleigh got pregnant through medical procedures. However, when Raeleigh was only three days pregnant, the doctor made a major discovery. He informed her that he made progress with Shaney's illness , and that he might have misdiagnosed her condition. At that time, Raeleigh had been so overjoyed that Shaney was fine, and she only remembered that she was pregnant after half a month since learning about Shaney. By the time she remembered that she was with child, she wanted to stop her pregnancy. However, Santiago persuaded her to give the baby to him. Raeleigh pondered about it for a long time before finally agreeing. ...... Time passed in a blink of an eye, and Raeleigh had never expected for things to turn out the way it did. She gave birth to her second child, and Shaney had made a full recovery. Santiago had told her that the baby was the will of God, and he
When Raeleigh got out of the car, she began staring at the Richards family's courtyard. Although the Richards family had already buried Marissa's body, Raeleigh was still unwilling to go back. However, as she gazed at Carsten's precious little face that was looking at her expectantly, she had no choice but to follow Jepherson inside. At that moment, Santigo and the other children were in the yard. When Santiago saw Raeleigh and Jepherson, he smiled and gestured at Jepherson. "What are you doing?" Raeleigh asked when she saw Santiago. "Nothing." Though Raeleigh did not believe Jepherson, she decided not to ask further. When Carsten saw Forden and Shaney, he immediately tried to break away from Jepherson's arms, wanting to get to them. The children were all gathered in the Richards family manor that day. Coupled with the four other children of the Whalen family, there were ten children altogether, and they almost occupied the entire courtyard. Ra
Raeleigh said nothing as Carsten continued sinking his teeth into Jepherson's neck. She stared in shock as blood seeped out of his wound. Jepherson raised his hand and patted Carsten gently, then walked to the bed and sat down. After a while, Carsten finally fell asleep. He closed his eyes as he dozed off in Jepherson's arms. Meanwhile, Raeleigh had rushed out of the room to ask the hotel staff to prepare disinfectants before going back into the room to help Jepherson clean his wound. Jepherson leaned against the wall, still holding Carsten in his arms and unwilling to let go. Raeleigh frowned. "What should we do?" Jepherson's voice was a little hoarse. He had been busy for the past two days entertaining guests. "He got scared because of the crowd. He thought that you didn't want him anymore since he couldn't find you, and probably thinks that I'm the one who forced him to stay there." After bandaging Jepherson's wound, Raeleigh helped wipe Carsten's mouth. Sudd
After Raeleigh and the others left, Santiago walked to Zorion's car and stopped him. Zorion casted a glance outside. "Rossie, you should go first. He won't show any mercy once I get off." "You knew he wouldn't show you mercy, so why didn't you think of that before you caused trouble?" "I was just kidding! Who knew he'd have such a bad temper? I didn't expect him to take it seriously." Rossie sighed and gave in. Glancing at Zorion, she finally understood that he was only using her as an excuse to escape whenever he got into trouble. She got out of the car and looked at Santiago who stood opposite her. "Long time no see." "Where's Zorion?" "He's so afraid of you that he doesn't even dare to come out," said Rossie. "It's too late to be scared." He walked up to Zorion's car with the rod in his hand, then raised the stick and smashed it against the car until it was completely wrecked. When he was done, he tossed the stick aside, turned to pick
After leaving the kindergarten, Raeleigh followed Santiago to the Richards family manor. It had been four years since she returned, so she was no longer familiar with the place. Santiago went in, put Carsten down and asked the children to keep themselves entertained. He then looked at Raeleigh and said, "I came back this time because Mrs. Richards is dying. She has been unconscious for a while now. I came back to see her for the last time." Raeleigh asked, "Mrs. Richards?" "Yes. Jepherson hasn't been home these couple of days because he has gone to visit her. He didn't tell you about it because Mrs. Richards doesn't want to see you. While she was still herself, she did say that she would never let you into the family, and that she didn't want to see you ever again. Jepherson went to take care of her but was worried about you. So, he asked me to come home to take a look and it was only then did I find out that Carsten is autistic. This is on your plate now."
When the time came, Raeleigh enrolled Carsten into a kindergarten. On the first day of school, Carsten was bullied. Raeleigh felt sorry for him as she gently touched his swollen face. He had been beaten because he could not speak. She wanted to confront the bully, but Jepherson stopped her. He told her that Carsten should resolve this matter by himself. That year, Raeleigh could not sleep well at night. Hair loss became an issue, and she was exhausted all the time. But after half a month, the children stopped bullying Carsten. Instead, their parents came to Raeleigh's home. "Just take a look at your child..." The parents pointed to their child, and Raeleigh was confused when she saw a boy about the same height as Carsten. The boy seemed to have taken a serious beating, but when Carsten had gotten beaten up like this, Raeleigh hadn't gone to look for trouble with the bully's parents, did she? Raeleigh retorted, "And? It's normal for
The snow was falling heavily. Jepherson put away the phone and took Raeleigh back into the house. The two stood inside and watched the snow. Meanwhile, Hadrian and Scarlette were busy in the kitchen, not daring to make a sound. The Richards family manor remained quiet when winter was approaching. None of the family members returned even on New Year's Day. Raeleigh went to the yard and waited for them in advance, but no one came back. After New Year's Day, Raeleigh returned to her home with Jepherson. Her family members were all surprised to see her pregnant when she got home. They did not expect Raeleigh to be pregnant after being missing for several months. Moreover, she was almost due. Everyone in the Osteen family knew that Raeleigh stayed because of the baby inside her belly. Undoubtedly, the baby was Jepherson's. However, they wondered where Santiago went. Since Raeleigh said nothing, no one dared to ask about it. They all ignored the incident and sil
Raeleigh was stopped by Jepherson's men at the entrance of the village. 'I knew it wouldn't be easy for me to run away.' "Madam Raeleigh, Mr. Richards is waiting for you." Raeleigh had no choice but to go back with them. At the same time, Jepherson sat on his wheelchair outside the village with a blanket on his lap and upon seeing Raeleigh, he breathed a sigh of relief. Raeleigh walked up to him, "Don't be complacent. I'll leave one day." Shifting his gaze to Raeleigh's belly, Jepherson stretched out his hand and pulled her to him. Despite being too weak to walk, he had a firm grip. Raeleigh lost her balance and fell onto his lap. She tried to escape, but he said immediately, "Don't move." Although his voice sounded terrifying to others, he was trying to negotiate. Everyone turned around to look at them, and Raeleigh blushed. Jepherson covered her body with the blanket, then placed his hand onto her belly. Raeleigh tensed up immediately. She ra
Raeleigh had been depressed for a while after Santiago's departure. After a few days, she finally calmed down a little. Jepherson's health had not improved during this period of time. Whenever he was free, he would stare at Shaney's photo in a daze. Deanna and Jacky had helped take care of Jepherson when Raeleigh fell ill. After Raeleigh recovered, she returned to taking care of him herself. However, Jepherson had been in such poor health that he couldn't even go downstairs. It took Raeleigh a lot of effort to help him get down, especially when he was unwilling to go downstairs. "Autumn is coming. I don't want to go down." He was saying that it was cold downstairs. Raeleigh replied, "I can't take care of you all the time. Are you going to exhaust me to death? Your parents left you alone and ignored you. Santiago abandoned you too. What do you want me to do? I have to work. I also have to take care of you..." "Then stop working. Take care of me." Rael