Chapter 749
‘He wants a daughter that badly?‘ Teresa thought as she gently rubbed her belly. “Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s another boy.”
“Who said it’s a boy?” Jonathan fixed his gaze on her. He remembered that when he went with her for the check–up, the doctor never mentioned the baby’s gender.
Teresa didn’t want to burst his bubble, but she couldn’t let him keep thinking the wrong thing. “When I was in Everport,” she said, “I had a check–up. The gynecologist was Jennifer’s college friend, and because of that, she secretly told me it’s a boy.”
Jonathan frowned.
Teresa caught that tiny flash of disappointment in his eyes. “If you don’t believe me, whatever,” she said, a little helplessly.
“Girl or boy, it’s all the same,” Jonathan said, his voice low and tinged with sadness. “Either way, they’re just more leverage for you to use against me.”
‘Leverage?‘ Teresa thought. She figured if she wasn’t pregnant, Jonathan wouldn’t be cutting her any slack. She knew she was in the wrong.
“This is a big deal for my family. I can’t just ignore it,” she said. “And with this pregnancy, I can’t exactly go running around. There’s no way I can track down Jennifer’s mom on my own. I’m really counting on you here.”
“Typical of you,” Jonathan said, his face tense. “You ask for help with trivial things but hide something as big as our son from me. Did my feelings ever matter?”
He thought, ‘How could I not be angry? How could I possibly feel nothing at all? How am I supposed to just pretend nothing happened?‘
Teresa took a deep breath. “I’m sorry again. Is that enough for you?”
“That’s not what I want to hear,” Jonathan said. But seeing the tears in her eyes, he decided not to push, worried it might upset her and the baby. Without another word, he scooped her up and carried her back to her room.
Still, he complained, “I asked you twice before if you needed my help, but you insisted you didn’t need me and said you could handle it yourself.”
Teresa was at a loss for words. She had no idea there’d be so much going on with her family. Ever since the test results came back, she’d been on edge. She looked up at him. “So, are you going to help me or not?”
Jonathan looked at her, “I can help you, but you have to agree to one condition.”
“What?”
“I want you to promise me that from now on, you won’t lie to me, you won’t keep things from me, and you definitely won’t let Jennifer lead you by the nose.”
“That’s three conditions.”
“You’re being difficult on purpose, aren’t you?”
Teresa gave it some serious thought. “Okay I’ll try.”
Jonathan fell silent.
“But wait,” Teresa said, “Did you forget? Your grandma is a Nelson too. And she’s the one who named Jennifer.”
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Jonathan frowned–he’d almost forgotten. Ever since Gordon passed away, Fiona had been living in some remote town, refusing to move to Nareigh because she hadn’t found a suitable successor.
Snapping back to reality, Jonathan said, “I’ll talk to my grandma and let her know everything Jennifer has done. She deserves to know the truth.”
Teresa let out a helpless sigh. “I’m begging you, just let Jennifer off this once. After all, Fiona raised her. Why do you have to tell Fiona about this? Getting Jennifer fired already hurt her more than anything.
“Still, she’s Mike’s and my family, Donald’s wife, and Fiona’s student. Taking her to court won’t look good for you either. You’re the big–shot CEO here–why are you getting so worked up?”
“Why?” Jonathan spoke each word slowly and clearly. “When it comes to you and Mike, I just can’t stay calm. Jennifer keeps threatening you, yet she’s still shamelessly hanging around the gynecology department. The longer she stays, the more damage she’ll do.”
Teresa went quiet. As Jonathan’s ex–wife, she knew she had no right to interfere. But if she did nothing about it, she couldn’t predict what might happen to Jennifer.
Jonathan sat down on the edge of her bed, rubbing his temples. “Alright, let’s leave it at that. I know what I’m doing. Once I help you find your brother, we’ll have a proper talk about Mike.”
“What is there to talk about with Mike?” Teresa asked, puzzled. ‘Didn’t we already agree to co–parent him?‘ she thought.
Jonathan asked back, “What about Mike’s schooling? Are you not sending him to kindergarten or what?”
“He’s got a point. Mike’s education is crucial. We really need to hash this out.” Teresa nodded. “Once I get things straightened out with my family, we’ll sit down and discuss Mike’s situation.”
“Okay.”
Meanwhile, Jennifer showed up at a used car dealership wearing sunglasses. She was there to sell her car.
After the dealer checked out the car, he held up two fingers, signaling a price.
“60 thousand dollars?” Jennifer frowned. “My sister paid almost 100 thousand dollars for this car when she bought it for me, and I’ve only had it for a year.”
The dealer shook his head. “Used cars drop in price like crazy these days. And look at yours–scratches everywhere, paint’s coming off.”
Jennifer gritted her teeth. “66 thousand, okay? I need cash, or honestly, I wouldn’t be selling it at all.”
After some haggling, the dealer sighed and waved his hand. “Alright, alright, I’ll make an exception this time. Just don’t tell anyone I gave you this price.”
‘Does he think I know nothing about cars? Honestly, even 66 thousand felt like a rip–off. Jennifer let out a cold laugh. If she weren’t so desperate for cash, there was no way she’d take such a loss just to sell this car.
With 66 grand in hand, Jennifer headed straight to get her passport, though she hadn’t slept a wink the night before.
She’d contacted a private investigator who tracked down Peggy’s shop overseas overnight. The consultation fee alone was 15 thousand, which was why she was in such a rush to sell her car.
Jennifer bought a same day ticket and texted her husband: (Donald, I’m going away for a few days. I’ll be back soon.) Then she turned off her phone,
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This was her first time going abroad. She figured relying on herself was better than counting on anyone else, so she made up her mind to
search for her mother herself.
On the way, she wondered, ‘What kind of woman could my mom be? Evelyn said she’s independent and tough. Does that mean she’s rich? Maybe not being Evelyn’s daughter isn’t such a bad thing after all. Maybe fate’s got something else planned for me.’
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With all these fantasies about how amazing and impressive her birth mother might be, Jennifer finally arrived in Seriul, the capital of Cerein.
In a foreign country where she didn’t know a soul, she wandered around, asking for directions. After getting lost more times than she could count, she finally found her mother’s shop by evening.
Standing at the entrance, staring at the shop sign covered in Cereinian characters, Jennifer took a deep breath. After pulling herself together, she stepped inside.
