Chapter 12
Memories from the past washed over Timothy, leaving him awash with guilt. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he owed Sheila so much–more than he could ever repay.!
If anything happened to Jessica and word got back to the old man, Sheila would be the one to suffer for it.
Crushing out his cigarette in the ashtray, Timothy turned to the woman beside him. “Stay with Henry for me. I’m going to look for her.“>
He grabbed his suit jacket and headed out the door.
But the truth was, he had no idea where Jessica might have gone.
Once in his car, he pulled over at the curb and dialed Jessica’s number.
Three calls. No answer.
His handsome features darkened, eyes clouded with worry.
He started the car again and drove toward the nearest shopping center.
Earlier that afternoon, Jessica had gone to tidy her grandmother’s grave, only to find it overgrown with saplings and weeds. She’d bought some tools, spent hours cleaning up the site, and finally made her way home, exhausted.
It wasn’t until she heard her phone buzzing that she realized she’d left it behind when she went out.”
By the time she found it, the call had already ended.”
Three missed calls from Timothy.&
Two more from Mabel earlier in the day.”
But none from Henry.
Her little boy–wasn’t he the one who always needed her most?”
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. She slipped the phone into her bag and forced herself not to dwell on it.
Timothy didn’t get home for another two hours.
Henry was already asleep. Sheila was waiting in the living room, rising to meet him the moment he walked in.
He looked grim.2
“No word from Jessica?” Sheila asked, brows knitted.
Timothy pressed his lips into a hard line and nodded slightly.
“Timothy, I think we should call the police.”
That was the last thing he wanted.
His marriage to Jessica was still a secret–he had no intention of letting anyone else find out, not yet. Besides, he’d promised Sheila that if he ever married, he wouldn’t make it public.
“Don’t worry about her. You should get some rest.”>
She hesitated. “But-“2
“She’s not a child. Her phone rings–she’s fine.“}
Sheila bit her lip, then nodded and retreated to her room.
Only then did Timothy head to the master bedroom.
His gaze fell, almost unconsciously, on the oversized wedding photo hanging on the wall.
Jessica–the Little Mute, as he used to call her always did know how to play the game.”
He’d refused to take proper wedding photos and joked that she could just blow up the marriage certificate photo instead. And she actually had.
He’d never planned to have a real relationship with her after the wedding, but she’d found her way into his bed and, before he knew it, they had a son. All these years, she’d been nothing but patient–never causing trouble, never making demands.
But when she finally did rebel, she caught him completely off guard.
Now, he was curious: just how far was she willing to go?”
Jessica arrived in Oakwood a day before Timothy and his son.
After a night’s rest, she set out to explore the town, but by mid–afternoon, fatigue forced her back to the hotel.
As she approached the entrance, she spotted Timothy and Henry–right there, in Oakwood.
She shrank back, hiding behind a large potted plant near the door.
Timothy collected their room keys and took Henry’s hand, heading toward the elevators.
“Dad, I called Miss Sheila this morning. She said she’s staying at this hotel too! She’ll be so surprised when she finds out we came all this way just for her.” “Of course she will,” Timothy replied.
Jessica’s fingers curled into her palms, her heart pinched tight.
When Timothy had asked for her ID number to book the flight, she’d naively assumed it was a family trip. She never imagined he was planning a surprise for Sheila
Good thing she’d kept her expectations in check.”
Over the years, she’d learned one painful lesson: the higher your hopes, the harder the fall.
Henry’s cheerful voice echoed again from across the lobby.
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