Thomas looked healthy. The doctor said he could be discharged from the hospital in a week. At that moment, he was really excited. He was eager for time to pass by so that he could meet his great-grandchildren.After hanging up the phone, Jessamine checked the time. It was around 9:00 pm. She felt bitter as she ate alone in the dining room. Her food didn't taste good at all.In the nursery, there was a baby swing that Thaddeus asked Jordan to bring home. Jessamine unwrapped the package and sat on the ground as she slowly installed it. When she didn't understand what to do, she watched the instructional videos over and over again.A housekeeper brought her some milk and looked at her from the door for a long time. "Mrs. Holt, why don't you have a glass of milk? It'll help you sleep better."Jessamine gave her a calm smile and took the cup. Right now, she wasn't alone. She had to consider the well-being of her babies. She would try anything beneficial for her health, even though she h
On the other end of the phone, Colin was left stunned and speechless by Jessamine's question.After hanging up the phone, Jessamine blocked this number. She slowly drank her soup until the bowl was empty. Then, she opened her private chat with Thaddeus and sent a text. It said, "Thaddeus Holt, reply to his message when you're free. We're going to the courthouse to settle the divorce."…Meanwhile, Thaddeus had stayed in the hospital all night. When he walked out to smoke in the morning, he noticed that he had muted his phone at some point. He had several missed calls in his call history. When he saw Jessamine's caller ID, he raised his eyebrows. Then, he saw a message from her on WhatsApp. Upon seeing her message that she wanted to settle the divorce at the courthouse, he felt his heart pounding. He quickly opened his contact list to call her, but he noticed he had zero way of explaining what had happened last night.He had left behind his pregnant wife at home and stayed up
Thaddeus' eyes were red and his throat was dry. He rasped, "Then, you might as well die."The ward was eerily silent. Then, the silence was broken by Amy's hysterical cries. "You said you would marry me! I've liked you for over a decade, and I'm pregnant with your child! How can you do this to me? I'm not a rag you can just toss aside!"Amy hit her stomach and cried, "I should be dead, and so should my baby! We don't deserve to live! We're just unwanted and annoying people who don't deserve to live! We shouldn't even be here!"Hearing the cries in the ward, Colin dashed into the room with the doctor. He grabbed Amy's arm. "Amy, calm down! Please! Mr. Holt's the father of your child. He wouldn't abandon you like that! You've misunderstood him. He's just fooling around."Amy gradually calmed down as several people held her steady. She glared at the heartless Thaddeus with tears in her eyes, feeling wronged. She was unhappy. Why should she let him go?Since she was a teenager, she ha
"Jessie, can you give me some time to settle this?" Thaddeus whispered, his eyes red.Jessamine smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I just want to ask one question. I won't waste both of your time. I'll leave after you give me an answer."Upon seeing that Jessamine didn't plan on causing trouble, Colin relaxed and stopped blocking her way.Thaddeus was heartbroken to hear Jessamine referring to him and Amy as an item. All of this still bothered Jessamine. He walked to the door and reached for Jessamine's hand. However, she pulled her hand away. Their relationship had reached its breaking point once again.Thaddeus had a feeling that he was going to lose Jessamine for real. He couldn't even handle one of the women who pined after him. The two of them walked outside the door one after another. Jessamine looked at him coldly as if she was waiting for his answer.Thaddeus wished he could disappear on the spot. The answer she wanted to hear wasn't the answer he wanted to give.
Colin tried his best to pick up Amy, who was unconscious on the ground. When he felt something sticky on his palms, he looked down at his hands, only to panic upon seeing some blood on them.The doctor urged the family members to leave the ward. After an unknown amount of time, a doctor walked out of the ward.Colin rushed over and asked urgently, "How is she, doctor? The baby in her belly has to be fine!"He knew very well that losing this baby would bring Amy one step further away from her goal of being Thaddeus' wife, and his hopes would be dashed.The doctor looked serious. "The patient had a threatened miscarriage and needs to stay in bed this week to maintain her health. The embryo is in a very bad position in her womb, and she gets rattled very easily. If she isn't careful, her life would be in danger."Colin's face turned ashen. He got on his knees before Thaddeus and hugged his legs. He begged, "Mr. Holt, please save Amy's life. She has had a hard life. She was born pre
Thaddeus quickly came to his senses and pulled Colin away from Jessamine. Colin was still yelling for Jessamine to show mercy to Amy, that she couldn't be so cruel to her own sister. He was clearly trying to emotionally blackmail her. To protect Amy, he was cruel enough to fight with his other daughter.Jessamine watched as Thaddeus pulled Colin away and held him back. She stood frozen on the spot. For a moment, she seemed to see a vision of Thaddeus treating her children like this decades later. She was in such agony that she couldn't breathe.Colin was still trying to charge at Jessamine, but Thaddeus held him back."Enough!" Thaddeus yelled so loudly that his voice shocked everyone present. "I'll divorce her, but none of you are allowed to go near her anymore." His declaration stunned everyone. They knew that he was referring to Jessamine.Somehow, Jessamine was relieved to hear his words, as if she was free from the bonds that shackled her to him. She could finally live her
Jessamine's harsh words stunned Thaddeus. After a brief silence, he said, "Jessie, if we compare our financial situations, the children will have better living conditions and education if they stay with me. "Besides, I didn't say I'd refuse them from acknowledging you as their mother. You can come back to see them any time or even stay with us."Thaddeus' shameless words angered Jessamine so much that she yelled, "First of all, Thaddeus Holt, I don't ever want to stay with you guys and bear witness to you and Amy's disgusting relationship! Secondly, I don't think my children will be raised well under your care. "A disloyal man will always be disloyal. You won't cherish my children, but you'll give Amy's child your attention instead. You already have another child of your own, so why are you fighting with me for my children?"Just like that, Thaddeus and Jessamine had a dispute over the custody of the twins. Neither of them wanted to relent.These babies were Jessamine's lifeline
Jessamine stayed up all night after going home. She packed some necessities and booked a flight to Marita for next week. She needed to buy some things to bring before leaving the country. More importantly, she needed to visit Elizabeth's and Willow's graves one more time since it would be hard for her to see them in the future.Since she was pregnant, she was bad at remembering things. So, she jotted down a note of everything she needed to prepare and busied herself until dawn. If she didn't have anything else to do, she would've gone abroad immediately after finalizing the divorce with Thaddeus.Given Thaddeus' stubborn personality, she had a feeling that he wouldn't let her off so easily. He would definitely fight for the children's custody. She didn't have as many resources at her disposal as he did, so the best thing to do was to hide.Jessamine slept lightly all morning. She set her alarm for noon so she wouldn't delay the divorce procedures. She got up, put on light makeup,
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