Lisa's heart was instantly thrown into complete chaos! After the concert, Terry drove her home. During the drive, her mind was still buzzing with all the things Terry said earlier and the song he sang.A guy like him took singing lessons just for... her?"Why are you willing to tell Gale Porter that you're pregnant, but not your parents?" Terry's voice broke the silence in the car."Ah!" Lisa suddenly snapped back to reality. "I only told Gale because I thought I owed him an explanation. I don't want him to get hung up on me."His gaze was fixated on her, intense and piercing. "You're so considerate of Gale Potter's feelings. What about me? Don't you owe me an explanation too?"Lisa hesitated for a moment and then said, "Terry, I don't want to marry someone just because I got pregnant. If that's all the marriage is, then I'd rather be a single mother like Clara and raise the child all by myself!"She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, and continued, "Besides, I ha
"What if I become too dependent on you? I wouldn't want to be a burden to you," Serenity joked.Jackson glanced up at Serenity. "Serenity, you'd never be a burden to me. You're my world," he declared, making her heart pound.Serenity moved out of the bed, overwhelmed with feelings. Jackson was so seriously in love with her, both then and now. "What's wrong? Do you need water? Or the bathroom?" Jackson asked, concerned. He stood up and walked briskly to her."Nothing, it's just…" Serenity paused before admitting, "I just want to touch you." After getting the bandage removed, Serenity had to apply a scar removal ointment to the surgical wound daily, but she still could not use her fingers. She had to use electrical stimulation in physical therapy daily, using a mild electric current to stimulate the nerves in the hands."So, where do you want to touch? My face?" Jackson murmured, gently taking Serenity's hand in his.Jackson placed Serenity's hand against his slightly cool chee
"I'll have someone clean up the mess later," Jackson said."Oh," Serenity responded, her face blushing red.Jackson cleaned Serenity up and put her in a fresh hospital gown."By the way, Mr. Smith said I can be discharged in a couple of days. When I am, I'd like to see Caden first," Serenity mentioned.Caden had been discharged from the hospital, but he refused to stay with them at the Valor Residence. He insisted on returning to the Jenkins family because Cynthia was there.Unwilling to see Caden become more resistant to the Valor family and after a discussion with Jackson, Serenity decided to let the child continue to live with the Jenkins family. The Jenkins family readily agreed to take good care of Caden. Serenity knew it was only because they were eager to get on the good side of the Valor family."Okay," Jackson agreed. "If you really want him to come with us, I'll see what else I can do." It would not be hard for him to get the boy back to the family, but he would have
Yara Jenkins stood aside, observing Serenity's interaction with Caden. "Mrs. Valor, I hope you don't mind that much. Caden is still young. Don't worry about him living with us. We'll take good care of him!" Yara said warm-heartedly, completely forgetting how they had been treating Caden before.The Jenkins family would love for Caden to stay with them, the longer the better. Their connections to the Valor family would give them a better chance at social climbing.Lisa walked over from the store and heard Yara speaking to Serenity. Yara was so pretentious and had a lot of nerve saying that. "I wonder who was the one who beat such a young child until the boy was covered with bruises," she sneered, and Yara stiffened. Lisa crouched down and spoke to Caden at eye level. "Caden, you must know how much your mother has suffered for you. She's the reason you're right here, waiting for your sister to come home from school. She risked her life to save you!"Caden remained silent, his lips p
"I'm slowly recovering, but for a full recovery… It might take more than a year. The doctor said I could try holding something light in a week or so. I may start typing or writing again in a month. I should be fine," Serenity reassured."I'm glad to hear that," Lisa said, breathing a sigh of relief. Serenity said goodbye to Clara before heading to the Jenkins family.Lisa sat in the store, talking to Clara. "Serenity came to see her son as soon as she got discharged from the hospital, but Caden… That boy…""The boy is still young. He's still new to Serenity. Maybe he'll open up after some time," Clara said. "That boy is so attached to his sister. I think he'll accept someone who's genuinely kind to him.""I hope so," Lisa sighed and continued chatting with Clara. Yanny soon came home from school. When he saw Lisa, he greeted her politely."How did you get your clothes so dirty? Did you fall somewhere?" Clara asked her son."I accidentally fell," Yanny said."You tore your pant
Lisa sighed at Yanny's nervousness. "Fine. I won't tell your mom, but you'd better call me if this happens again. I'll talk to your teacher, and hopefully, we can stop them from talking about you like that again!""Thank you, Aunt Lisa!" Yanny answered nicely.Lisa patted Yanny on the head. The boy was too mature for his age, and she sometimes felt bad for him. Yanny was only nine, but he had already been through exceptional hardships compared to other children his age.Lisa and Yanny did not notice a figure listening from the doorway. Clara leaned against the wall, her eyes brimming with tears.She knew Yanny might face discrimination due to his inability to hear, but she never thought it would happen like this. Yanny had never told her anything about it, and she assumed that his classmates were nice enough not to discriminate against him.Clara had always wanted Yanny to grow up like a normal kid, so she sent him to an ordinary school, hoping he would live healthily and happily.
Micah struggled for a moment before approaching Serenity, hesitating about something."Micah? What's wrong?" Serenity gave her son a strange look.Micah's body tensed at his clear nervousness, and he finally gave Serenity a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Mom! I… I also… I missed you so much…" he stammered, his little face flushing red from all the embarrassment. It was his first time behaving like this with so many people watching.Although his face was getting redder, he was happy to see Serenity break into a smile of joy. He thought he should do this more often to make his mother happy, but he still could not bring himself to do the same as his sister. It seemed a little more difficult.A little boy stood aside, watching Serenity's interaction with her children. Fred had seen Serenity before. He knew she was Jacqueline's mother—the woman his mother hated!Jenny used to tell Fred how he and Jacqueline would never be friends. Fred did not understand what his mother meant be
At the end of the piano piece, Fred asked in a low voice. "Why did you help me? Why did you stop the other kid and take my side?" "Because you're my friend! Of course, I have to help! Besides, they were wrong. What your mother did wasn't your doing! Why should they insult you?" Jacqueline said boldly.Fred stared blankly at Jackie, surprised by her words. Friend? No! He and Jackie would never be friends!Later, in the living room, Serenity looked at Jenny's son and sighed in her heart. She was amazed by the boy's superb piano skills when she first met him, but she never thought he would be Jenny's son."You must be Fred. We've met before, remember? I'm Micah and Jackie's mom. You can call me Aunt Serene," Serenity said. She did not want the grudges of their generation to spread to the next generation. Fred was staying with the Valor family because Jackie insisted on keeping the boy with her. In that case, Serenity hoped the boy would live peacefully here and not foster hatred from