Jessamine felt warmth blooming in her chest. She was happy to have two friends who sincerely cared for her."I'd better not intrude. After all, I have to walk my own path and get used to the changes. Besides, I can't rely on you two forever. I have to handle things myself. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've thought it through."Shane and Melissa relaxed after seeing Jessamine making her declarations with a smile. She didn't seem overly ambitious, either. They were relieved to see her being so open.Jessamine explained her next plans, "As soon as I get the divorce certificate, I'll leave Zenville and move to a beautiful city. I'll concentrate on my designing career and raising my babies."Melissa froze at her words. "Will we ever meet again?"However, Shane had a different response. "I support your choice to leave. The further away, the better."He added, "If you keep staying in Zenville, Thirsty Ted won't make things easy for you and your children. He may even fight with you for the
Thaddeus held the steering wheel with one hand, and the moment of distraction made him almost hit the car in front of him. "Joe, call the ambulance and send me your location. I'll be right over."He could hear Joe's trembling voice on the phone. He was so frightened that he had lost his wits. Thaddeus didn't dare to imagine what had happened or ask in detail about the situation. He could only remain calm and handle things on his end.When he got the address from Joe, he quickly turned the car around. He hurried to the location, running through countless red lights.The police had already formed a blockade around the area where the car accident had taken place. The police cars and ambulance had already arrived.Thaddeus didn't care about anything else. He charged into the blockade and saw several medical staff rescuing Thomas.Joe saw Thaddeus as if he was the savior. He fell to the ground and hugged his knees. He cried, "You're finally here, Mr. Thaddeus! We hit a car when we tu
Thaddeus said, "I owe you that much."Jessamine remained silent.After a long while, Thaddeus asked, "Don't you have anything to tell me?"Jessamine glanced at him. Then, she looked at the frail Thomas on the bed. She said slowly, "Take good care of Grandpa, and don't let Amy piss him off."Thomas hated Amy. Jessamine felt uncomfortable when she remembered they hadn't told him about their divorce.She was worried that Amy would show up around Thomas and upset him. Thomas needed to recuperate. He couldn't take any more surprises.Thaddeus sighed. He was waiting for her to back out from her decision. He had made a difficult decision. If she relented, he would void that reckless divorce of theirs. As for Amy, he would think of other ways to handle her.However, he was disappointed to hear Jessamine's words. She seemed determined to leave, and the only person who held her back was Thomas. Even so, she simply told him to watch Amy and stop her from upsetting Thomas. She didn't me
Thaddeus dialed Amy's number. Soon, he heard the weary voice of an old man. The voice belonged to Colin. "Mr. Holt, you finally picked up. Amy's heart condition acted up again. You have to show her some affection. She's truly a pitiful woman. She has suffered a lot. If she hadn't fallen into the water that year…"On the other side of the phone, Colin wiped his tears. After a while, he said, "It's fine. I shouldn't bring up the past. Amy can't take any more shock. You have to see her. She's pregnant with your baby, after all."Colin deliberately mentioned that Amy had gotten a heart problem because she almost drowned while saving Thaddeus that year. He wanted to gain Thaddeus' sympathy and make him feel indebted to Amy.When Amy's condition acted up, she tried to call him, but he didn't answer his phone. Even after Sasha managed to get hold of him, he still didn't show up. Thus, Colin realized that Thaddeus was avoiding them.Amy's baby didn't bring Thaddeus any joy at all. Otherw
Margaret fell silent from fear. After all, she was already old and unattractive to him. Given Colin's ruthlessness, he would definitely dump her and marry a younger woman.She wasn't getting any younger. Colin also controlled the family's finances, so she didn't have much personal service. If he left her, she wouldn't be able to survive without him.Silence returned to the ward once more.Amy could only watch as her parents argued, unable to interject. Now, it was finally her turn to say something. "Dad, you're a smart man. Do you have any ways to get Ted to divorce Jessamine?"Colin paced back and forth in the room. After a moment, he laughed. "All men want a son, not to mention a top-level wealthy family like the Holts. There's no way they don't want an heir for their endless wealth. As long as you have a son, Mr. Thomas will be begging you to join their family."Amy was anxious. "Dad, that doesn't solve our most pressing issue. Jessamine is also pregnant, and she's been pregnan
This wasn't the first time Thaddeus had seen a situation like this. Ever since Amy returned to Crestia, her condition had acted up countless times. The only difference was that she was pregnant this time.Since the baby was his, Amy had another bargaining chip to keep him by her side. He wasn't heartless enough to leave her after getting her pregnant. However, he couldn't change the past, either. If he had known something like this would happen, he wouldn't have had drinks and reminisced with her that night.Thaddeus remained silent for a long while. He didn't even want to deal with Margaret or Colin, especially Colin. He said to Amy, "If your condition has been acting up after you've returned, it's because you haven't gotten the right doctor to treat you. "I've contacted a doctor from Marita who's an expert on heart diseases. He's available next Wednesday. Should we fly to Marita, or should I bring him to Crestia?"Thaddeus gave Amy a choice. However, Amy panicked when she he
Amy said bitterly, "So you don't think I can keep him by my side now? He isn't even staying here with me, and he didn't even come when we called him. This isn't how an expecting father should act."Colin comforted her. "Amy, calm down. I promise things will be fine. Let's wait until the blood test. It would be best if your baby is a boy. It'll save us a lot of trouble."Meanwhile, a group of doctors arrived at Thomas' quiet ward. Jessamine had been sitting beside Thomas, muttering to herself. But to her surprise, he woke up and patted her hand.Then, she hurriedly pressed the call button, and soon, the nurse called several skilled doctors over to examine Thomas.When Thaddeus returned, the doctor had finished the examination. He was scared when he heard a commotion in the ward. He thought something had happened and dashed inside. When he went into the room, he bumped into the smiling assistant director, Dallas Carson."Mr. Carson, how's my grandpa?" Thaddeus asked anxiously."M
Jessamine was coaxing and soothing Thomas, so she didn't notice the jacket on her shoulders. Then, she felt Thaddeus' familiar warmth and smelled the scent on the jacket. She looked at him warily as if telling him she didn't need the jacket.Her response gave Thaddeus mixed feelings. She used to always look at him happily. When he came home late, skipped dinner, or didn't praise her delicious supper, she would wrap her arms around his neck and complain about it. He liked that very much.But now, her wariness made him believe that they didn't have a chance anymore.Jessamine reached out to take off the jacket, wanting to return it to him. She had already made up her mind. His little gestures wouldn't sway her. This time, she was determined to give up on this marriage that had brought her endless harm.However, Thaddeus grabbed her hand to stop her. "Just wear it if you're cold. Don't catch a cold and pass it on to Grandpa."He was clearly worried that she would be cold, but his w
Thaddeus was dumbfounded. Why hadn't he considered using blood types to eliminate the possibility first?"My dad has type O blood."Jessamine's stroked his Adam's apple softly and deliberately. "My mom has type B blood, and I have type AB blood. Do you think it's possible that we could be long-lost siblings?"Thaddeus thought for some time and couldn't help but burst out in hearty laughter. It was impossible for someone with type B blood and someone with type O blood to have a child with AB type blood. What was he worrying about?At that moment, he couldn't believe how foolish he'd been. Biology was his best subject in school, yet he didn't think about this until Jessamine reminded him. His biology teacher would be furious if they knew."Why didn't you say so earlier, Jessie?" He regretted not talking to her about it sooner and ended up suffering in prolonged silence by himself.After Jessamine got bored touching his Adam's apple, she started playing with his rough chin. "I just
Jessamine lay still for a long time, aware that Thaddeus was also awake, battling insomnia just like her.This visit to Zenville to solve one mystery ended up bringing her an even bigger one.The gathering took place years ago in the restaurant owned by Benji's family. She had even asked Benji about it. The surveillance footage from over 20 years ago wouldn't be around now, and even the staff had changed several times. The restaurant's manager from back then had left the job many years ago.It wasn't easy to uncover the truth from back then unless they found the people who were directly involved. The closer they got to the truth, the more pressure she felt.By investigating this matter now, she was essentially peeling back the layers that had been hiding a much deeper issue. As she confronted the dark side of human nature, the ultimate victim ended up being her beloved mother.If Jessamine didn't look into this matter, she felt like she would be letting Elizabeth down. She wanted
Thaddeus frowned immensely at his request. "Don't be ridiculous!""I'm serious. You could help me rent one too. You know, the kind that charges by the day. I'll fool my dad first. We'll deal with everything else once he gets better," Benji said.Thaddeus cursed inwardly, "Dude, don't drag me into this, especially with my wife watching. It sounds like you're implying I have ways to get or rent women."Thaddeus glanced back at Jessamine and said, "I don't know about this. You should ask someone else. If you're at your wits end, go ask one of the assistants in your company to help you out."Benji seemed to come to a realization. He said, "It's getting late. You all should go back and rest. There are doctors here. I'll stay and keep watch."Jessamine asked, "Can you handle this on your own, Mr. Moore?""Sure, thank you… all of you," Benji replied.After saying a few more words of comfort, Jessamine and Thaddeus went downstairs to the car. Thaddeus' phone started ringing again."Mr.
Maya also knelt by the bed and started crying."Dad, don't speak for now. Please be okay."Benji zoned out. Seeing Carmen and Maya crying, his mind was in a mess. He realized that he couldn't continue to live aimlessly—his family needed him now."A girlfriend, a girlfriend..." he mumbled, not even sure of what he was saying.The doctor hurried to the room upon hearing the call, checked on Jonathan again, and then sent the family away."The patient needs rest and should avoid additional emotional stress. You all can wait outside for now. There's no need for everyone to be here, one would be enough. The room can be stuffy if there's too many people here, too."They then left the room. Benji was holding the X-ray images of Jonathan's brain, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He felt completely lost.Shane quietly slipped away from the crowd after watching from afar. He went to an empty hallway and called his father. "Dad, are you free to analyze some X-ray images? It's for a fri
Benji had always lived a smooth and pleasant life. It hit him hard after hearing what the doctor said, leaving him in a state of shock and bewilderment."Mom, hasn't Dad always been in good health? How did he suddenly..."Carmen's eyes were red and swollen from crying."He mentioned feeling dizzy a few times recently and said he'd go for a check-up but actually never did. Plus, he's been swamped with work lately and hasn't got any time. Today, he suddenly fainted at the office. His assistant called an ambulance right away and brought him to the hospital. By the time I got the call, he was already being examined inside."Benji's face turned pale. With Jonathan down, the burden of supporting his family fell on him. He had been free from responsibility for the past 20 years, and now, suddenly having to shoulder this heavy load, he felt completely lost.His father had been asking him to get familiar with the company's operations a long time ago. However, he was too lazy to bother abou
Benji never had any grand ambitions. From the day he was born, people always told him that he didn't need to worry about anything since most problems in this world could be solved with money, and his family had plenty of it. He just wanted to drift through life."I don't need to surpass him. As long as I can cover my daily expenses and not have to ask him for money, that's enough," Benji replied.As they were talking, Shane had prepared a table full of dishes. He set out four sets of plates and cutleries before calling everyone over to eat. "It's time to eat."The four of them hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they had to have a drink.Jessamine looked at the beautifully prepared dishes on the table and couldn't help but offer a compliment. "Shane, your cooking skills have gotten so good."Shane opened a bottle of red wine and poured some for everyone. "What can I do? There's a glutton at home."Benji was not happy with Shane's comment. What did he mean by saying there wa
"It's great that you came by today, Jessie. I'll pay you back the money. Friends who are willing to lend money these days are rare, so I want to thank you again," Benji said.He hadn't repaid the money he borrowed last time yet. Coincidentally, he received some money today, so he decided to settle the debt in person. With that, he picked up his phone to make the transfer.Jessamine's phone chimed, indicating that a payment had been received. The amount was a bit more than what she had lent out."Mr. Moore, I'm not here to ask you to settle your debt. You can keep it for now. I won't need the money for the time being," Jessamine said."If one borrows and returns promptly, borrowing again won't be difficult. You're much easier to talk to than Thaddeus. Despite knowing him for so many years, borrowing money from him is such a hassle. You saw it last time yourself. That scoundrel's attitude was terrible!" Benji complained.At this point in the conversation, Thaddeus happened to arrive
Thaddeus tightened his grip on Jessamine's slender waist. "What am I going to do with you, Jessie?"He thought to himself that if things really were just that coincidental, he would rather play the fool and pretend to know nothing at all. He just couldn't leave her.Jessamine asked softly, "How about you ask your dad?"Thaddeus paused for a moment and took out his phone to call Corey. He couldn't calm his mind at all.After a few seconds of hearing the dial tone, the call was answered."Dad," Thaddeus said.On the other end of the phone, Corey was about to go to sleep. He had been adjusting his routine lately, aiming to go to bed early and wake up early."What’s up?" Corey asked."Do you remember the gathering over 20 years ago with Mr. Hardy, Jacob Langston, Leon Lincoln, Paxton Loomis, and a few others?"After that, Thaddeus added, "That night, a beautiful woman came over. She drank some alcohol and was drugged."There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the ph
On the other side, Jessamine and Thaddeus got into the car.Jessamine and Beatrice were quite familiar with each other. However, it was Jessamine's first time meeting Sabastian. Surprisingly, she had a pretty good impression of him."Do the Hardy and Holt families have business dealings with each other?"Thaddeus drove as he answered her question, "We don't have much interaction. We would occasionally invest in small projects and conduct some charity work in Zenville together."Mr. Hardy is an upright and trustworthy person. He has a good relationship with Grandpa. Hayden would often come to my house with him when I was young."Jessamine paused for a moment and asked, "Does he have a wife?""Hayden's mother passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth. Since then, Mr. Hardy has remained single and never remarried."Jessamine was deeply moved. In this era, who would remain loyal for a lifetime to their deceased wives? Most men like Sabastian, who had both power a