The next morning, Jessamine was awakened by a phone call. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on something hard. Upon closer inspection, it was an arm.Jessamine was startled and quickly sat up, feeling all traces of sleepiness gone. Thaddeus was also awakened by her movement.The two of them had chatted late into the night. Later, when the two children were tired, Jessamine went in to lull them to sleep and ended up falling asleep herself.Thaddeus spent half the night swatting mosquitoes and couldn't hold out any longer before lying down. He only dared to lie on the edge, not daring to get close. It was Jessamine who rolled into his arms in the middle of the night. Of course, he didn't avoid her and just held her comfortably.Jessamine now held her phone, looking bewildered.Thaddeus' arm was almost numb. He sat up and massaged his arm, hastily explaining to avoid being blamed, "You rolled over yourself. I was lying on the edge without moving at all."Jessamine licked h
"Great! I still want to sleep in the tent.""If Porky Pig is in the tent, that would be even better."A few seconds later, Layla thought of a serious problem. "Mommy, can we sleep in the tent with Daddy when we get back?"This question caused Jessamine to choke up a bit. She wasn't confident about falling asleep herself as it would be awkward if she ended up snuggling into his arms again.Thaddeus strongly agreed with Layla's suggestion, agreeing repeatedly, "Sure, Daddy and Mommy will both sleep with you. Do you agree to go down the mountain now?""Yeah!"The two little ones jumped up happily.The kids were now pacified, but Jessamine's expression froze. When Thaddeus finally noticed her, he received a genuine glare.He was simply cozying up to her under the pretense of the children. Making do on the mountain was one thing, but to go back and still sleep together?Jessamine's expression turned cold as she packed up things, finding it inconvenient to argue in front of the chil
Few people would demand to borrow money so straightforwardly. Thaddeus got out of the car and leaned against it, looking at the down-and-out Benji, feeling a bit amused."Where's your supercar? Just sell one of the cars in your garage. You can't afford gas now anyway!" Thaddeus jeered.Benji felt a pang of sadness. He never imagined he would one day worry about money. He had no concept of its value and never lacked it in his hands.Who could have thought that Benji, born with a silver spoon, would one day not be able to afford gas? The cars in his garage were his cherished treasures, and selling them would be like taking his life.Thaddeus, this jerk, said it on purpose, knowing he wouldn't be able to bear it."Cut the crap. I'm in trouble now, and instead of helping, you're making snide remarks. Have you forgotten who pulled you out from the grave and fed you four years ago? Without us, would you have your reunion with Jessie today? You would have starved to death in a grave!"B
Benji saw the transfer amount and choked in surprise. He didn't expect Jessamine to be so generous. This money could maintain his rich lifestyle for a while, and she was much more generous than his bad friends.Benji took a big sip of juice, swallowed the chicken, sent a heart emoji on WhatsApp, and gave Thaddeus a disdainful look."Jessie, I'll pay you back immediately once I receive a payment next month."Jessamine pursed her lips and smiled gently. "No rush."Shane invited everyone inside. Not long after, Melissa arrived carrying two bottles of red wine. Shane had sent a message in their three-member group chat about a gathering this weekend, and she finally had some free time, so she had to come.Melissa was surprised to see so many people when she entered. She wasn't surprised to see Benji here since she knew about the things between Shane and Benji.But Thaddeus…Melissa pulled Jessamine into a corner and whispered, "What's going on? Did you remarry?"Jessamine shook her
Before Jessamine could reach the balcony, Thaddeus intercepted her halfway, grabbed her wrist with his large hand, and pulled her aside."Jessie, let me clean up," he insisted.Jessamine usually didn't get angry. After seeing her expression, Thaddeus thought she was going to spank the children. He quickly pulled her aside, grabbed the cleaning tools himself, cleaned up the dirt, and mopped the floor. Finally, the floor was clean again.Jessamine was pressed into a chair by him and calmly watched him clean up. Melissa, who had unknowingly sat down beside her, leaned to whisper, "Jessie, Mr. Holt seems different from before. Hmm, how should I put it?"Melissa put her hands on her cheeks and pondered. "It feels like he has a more realistic way of living now. I thought he was the kind of pampered scion who needed an assistant to hand him toilet paper, but it turns out he can even mop the floor?"Jessamine rubbed her temples. It's not like he was disabled…After Thaddeus finished clea
Although Xander gave her strong support, there was always a lot to worry about as parents.When Sasha was sick as a child, Heather would hold her all night.Heather said that mothers were the most anxious people in the world—afraid their children wouldn't eat enough to grow tall, suddenly eating too much and upsetting their stomachs, wearing too much and overheating, or wearing too little and catching a cold.As she held onto Sasha, who had just returned from the hospital with an IV drip, Heather advised him, "Ted, when you grow up, you must remember to be good to your mom. It was really hard for her to raise you."She only taught him to be good to his mom but never mentioned caring for his wife. After all, his wife's pregnancy was due to him.In the span of a few minutes, Thaddeus thought about many things.After the two children were cleaned up, they didn't dare to go to Jessamine's side, fearing criticism, and ran around Thaddeus. They couldn't even tell when they started to r
Dinner was prepared by Shane himself, and Thaddeus took the initiative to assist in the kitchen. Though his culinary skills were not great, he had no problem playing second fiddle.In the living room, Jessamine, Melissa, and Benji were left watching TV and eating some nuts. The two children also started feeling hungry and obediently sat on the couch eating nuts.Melissa ate the macadamias while holding back laughter, thinking her friend had completely become a hands-off supervisor now.During the meal, Thaddeus left to take a phone call and returned looking a bit off. Though he didn't say anything, Jessamine could sense the call had something to do with her.She didn't want to ask in front of their friends, so she waited until they were on the way back to speak up. "Did something happen?"Thaddeus, while driving with a blank expression, said, "The police informed me that Amy's sentencing result is out. Three years in prison."Jessamine felt her heart suddenly squeeze painfully. "
She didn't even look at him and still doubted him. What a heartless woman.Thaddeus paused and went to the car to get the robot, which he'd brought back from the company yesterday but hadn't had the chance to take out. It was still lying in the car now.The thing was quite heavy and took him a lot of effort to move. He opened a mobile app and controlled the robot to walk into the house on its own. Lucas came to greet it from afar, clapping his little hands and jumping happily.Thaddeus crouched down on one knee to look at Lucas at eye level. "Call me Daddy, and I'll teach you how to control it."Lucas pursed his lips and called out indifferently, "Daddy."Thaddeus found a bit of solace for his wounded heart in his son. He picked up his phone and patiently demonstrated it to Lucas. This robot was the third version and had basic functions like pouring water, serving dishes, opening doors, and playing music.Currently, the tech department was heavily researching the fourth version,
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