When Thaddeus emerged from the stairwell, Jessamine was standing at the hospital room's entrance making a call. She sensed that the atmosphere inside the room earlier was tense.After Thaddeus and Noah came out, she endured for a few minutes before making a random excuse to follow after them.Thaddeus' phone rang in the hallway. Jessamine looked up and their eyes met."Are you okay?""Worried about me?"They spoke almost simultaneously.In the next second, Thaddeus smiled faintly."I'm fine. Let's go inside."Seeing the worried look on Jessamine's face, Thaddeus felt quite pleased. It inevitably reminded him of the conversation he had just had with Noah. Noah never stood a chance. Even if he genuinely liked Jessamine, he never stood a chance, especially since he saw her only as a substitute.Thaddeus' cold demeanor suddenly dissipated. He walked over with long strides and naturally wrapped his arm around her slender waist."Let's go in. Grandpa might get suspicious later."
Thaddeus wasn't a good husband before, and that caused a lack of mutual understanding between Jessamine and him. That was why they divorced. Jessamine was even left with a fear of marriage.Now that Thaddeus realized his mistake, he was determined to be with her for the rest of his life, even if they didn't have a marriage certificate."Grandpa, Jessie's family doesn't have a very good impression of me. So, I need to get them to know and like me first. We can't ask for her hand in marriage on the first visit, can we?"Thaddeus had a point, and Thomas realized he'd been too hasty about their marriage. This wasn't something that could be rushed.He softened his tone and said, "It's good that you're aware of this. Go and meet Jessie's family first, but remember to lose your grumpy and gloomy face. Be attentive; pull out chairs for the elders when they are about to take their seats, and fill their glasses with wine when they raise their glasses."Don't get annoyed with me for nagging.
Jessamine's question instantly made the atmosphere in the car tense.She couldn't help but glance at Thaddeus, who was in the driver's seat. They were at a red light, and he was staring straight ahead. His face was expressionless as he gripped the steering wheel. There was no way to tell what he was thinking.After a moment, Xander replied on the other end of the line, "Well, it really depends on the person. You know our family—we're not snobs. So, whether your future partner is poor or ugly, as long as you like them, I won't oppose it. But there's one thing to remember: he must have good character and absolutely cannot have the last name Holt!"Xander's last words made Jessamine uneasy. She was just about to bring up Thaddeus, but Xander's firm tone made her swallow her words.So, she decided to hold off on mentioning Thaddeus for now. Instead, she thought it would be better to let the Pattons get to know him more before making any further moves."Okay, Xander. Layla's sleepy, so
Jessamine wiped Thaddeus' forehead with her hand. "Are you feeling unwell?"Thaddeus held back. It had been a while since his last episode, and he had almost thought he was cured. He worked hard to calm himself."I'm okay."Jessamine could feel his body tensing up, and her waist started to hurt from how tightly he was holding her."Are you really okay? Do you want to lie down for a bit?" she asked. Thaddeus' forehead was coated with sweat. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his cheek on hers.After a few seconds, he suddenly let go of Jessamine and sprung up. He rushed to the bathroom, where he started to vomit violently.Jessamine hurried to him worriedly."What's going on with you, Thaddeus?"After vomiting, Thaddeus felt a little better. He reacted badly this time, possibly because he had neglected to take his medication recently. He thought that having her by his side would make his psychological issues go away, but it seemed that the problems were still recurring.
Thaddeus felt better now. At least his stomach wasn't upset anymore. He knew seeing him like this would have frightened Jessamine, and he somewhat regretted letting her witness it.The medication was both a remedy and a reflection of his struggles over the past few years.He wanted to win her back but didn't intend to use those medicine bottles to gain sympathy.What he wanted was pure love, one without other things like sympathy or pity.Thaddeus took a bottle from the pile of medicine and said with a calm expression, "I only need this one. Please throw the others away for me. I stopped taking those a long time ago."Jessamine clenched her fists, trying hard to calm herself down."So, you have been taking these medications for the past few years?"She picked up the bottle to check the production dates. They were all produced this year, which meant he had been using these at least for the current year.She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.Thaddeus smiled bitterly. "
“Okay, I'll buy some vegetables.”Thaddeus handed Jessamine his phone."Use my phone to make the purchase."Jessamine left her phone in the living room, so she thought she could just use his phone to shop. She sat on the edge of the bed. He had already opened the grocery shopping app on the phone for her to choose what she wanted.Jessamine tapped and swiped on the screen, ordering the kids’ and his favorite food. When it came time to check out, she handed him his phone.She said, "Enter the password."Thaddeus lay still. "Don't you know the password?"Jessamine was taken aback for a moment. She knew the password, but she didn't want to enter it. He might let his guard down, but everyone needed their own personal space.She knew where to draw the lines. Be it when they were married or now when they were trying to rekindle their relationship, it never crossed her mind to invade his privacy. She insisted on handing him the phone. "You should enter it."Thaddeus raised an eyebr
In the evening, Jessamine cooked; it was her first time taking charge of the kitchen in this house.While lying in bed, Thaddeus kept himself busy with his computer, planning his work schedule. Since Jessamine would be taking the two kids back to Hajera for the weekend, he needed to plan his upcoming tasks, prioritizing the urgent ones and scheduling the less pressing ones for later.He definitely planned to go to Hajera with them.As Thomas mentioned, they would gradually start to focus more on their business in Hajera. Jessamine prepared a few dishes and set them on the table. Thaddeus was still in a remote meeting. Despite it being the weekend, the core management team at the company wasn't idle—they were all called in by him.Jessamine called out for a long time without getting a response, so she went directly to the bedroom to find him."Do you want me to bring the food to the bedroom for you?"Jessamine knew about his odd habit of only eating at the dining table. She only
Jessamine had no chance to refuse when Thaddeus leaned over and lay down beside her.Thaddeus neatly folded the blanket that was on her and set it aside. He then covered them both with the large quilt he had brought. With practiced ease, he drew her naturally into his embrace."Jessie, I hope you'll give me a chance to meet your family when we return to Hajera."Jessamine grew quiet."There will be a chance."She pondered when would be the right time to introduce him to her family. She knew she needed to communicate with her grandmother in advance, as bringing him home suddenly might not be well-received.She knew very well how her grandmother would react.Thaddeus gently nudged her head with his chin and whispered, "I will do my best.""Don't feel too pressured about this. We don't need to rush this matter.""Okay."He understood that rushing was not an option. Changing her family's impression of him in such a short time seemed nearly impossible. He needed to find a way to w