Liam said, "Isn't this the experience you summed up?"
Stuart was quiet for a few seconds before admitting, "Yeah, my bad."
As he grew up, Stuart never felt so stifling as he did with Josephine.
Honestly, if it weren't for Josephine, Stuart wouldn't even bother with Liam. So, in the end, Josephine was always the one tripping him up.
Stuart convinced himself that enduring all the challenges was worth it to win Josephine's heart. Thinking like that made him feel a bit better.
He asked, "How come I never noticed when you went to see Josephine before?"
Liam replied, "Josephine was super busy back then. I barely saw her when I went. Plus, I'm Jeffery's godfather. I was there to hang out with Jeffery."
Of course, Liam wasn't about to admit he was always cautious around Stuart. So every time he visited Jeffery, he had a legit reason.
And with Jeffery hanging out with a bunch of foreign kids, Stuart never suspected one of them was his and Josephine's kid.
"You knew I was looking for her, and you had her info, yet you kept it from me," Stuart accused.
Unable to find Josephine, Stuart naturally turned to Liam. Despite his attempts to intimidate or offer incentives, Liam consistently maintained that he was unaware of her whereabouts and had not been in contact with Josephine.
Now it seemed, Liam had really played him. But Liam felt no guilt. He said, "Put yourself in my shoes. If your family was hurt so badly by a bad guy, would you tell the bad guy about your family's situation?"
Stuart knew he was in the wrong, so he said stiffly, "Depends on the situation. I was genuinely sorry at the time."
"Your sincerity remains questionable," Liam remarked. "Honestly, even now, I don't believe you. But I want Josephine to be happy. If you're the only one who can make her happy, then I have no choice."
This time, Stuart was quiet for a few seconds again. Then he spoke, his tone much more serious. "Liam, thanks."
Liam said, "No need to thank me. I didn't do this for your gratitude."
"I know I might not have the right to say this. But we've been at odds since we were kids, and I feel like I've never really understood you. To be honest, I used to be jealous of you, and because of that, I even stopped talking to Josephine out of spite. That's really childish."
If it were before, Stuart would have snapped back. But now, he said helplessly, "It was pretty childish. But you weren't much more mature back then, were you? Now that I think about it, you used to act all buddy-buddy with Josephine in front of me on purpose."
Liam said, "Josephine and I were really close!"
"But a lot of times when I wanted to talk to Josephine, you'd start chatting with her to distract her... Don't deny it. Now that I think about it, you were pretty sneaky back then."
Liam sneered, "So what? It just proves your feelings weren't that deep. You gave up after a few setbacks."
Stuart was silent. He had no comeback for that. But honestly, at that age, he was sensitive, proud, and stubborn. He was jealous of Liam every day and had no clue how to handle his immature feelings.
Liam also knew that at that age, they were indeed very childish. But no matter what, Stuart hurt Josephine after they got married, and that was a fact.
Thinking of this, Liam lost interest in continuing the conversation and got up to leave.
Stuart, who wanted to say more, fell silent. He was a bit stunned, but he quickly consoled himself, "I didn't want to talk to you anyway."
Meanwhile, Steven found Laura pretty quickly. Just a moment ago, he had pulled her into a quiet corner, hugged her, kissed her, and got a bit too handsy, which annoyed her, so she pushed him away. Now that he found her again, Steven didn't dare to try anything in public.
Seeing him behave, Laura asked, "Do you guys only think about one thing?"
Steven felt a bit wronged, "Hey, I only think about that stuff when I'm with you. Otherwise, I'm pretty normal, right?"
"So it's my fault?"
"No, it's my lack of self-control. I can't resist your beauty."
Laura rolled her eyes at him, "I just saw Josephine and Stuart acting a bit weird. Do you think they might have made some progress?"
Steven said, "Laura, are you really rooting for Stuart? Rex is a good option too."
"Don't even mention him! First, Rex has a kid. Second, he's way older. Most importantly, he's not the type to prioritize love."
"You're being a bit harsh," Steven said. "Given his status, with his wife gone, he could do whatever he wants, but he's been pretty restrained."
"We're not talking about the same thing," Laura said. "Besides, the most important thing is what Josephine wants."
"So Rex has no chance?"
Laura said, "I've told you before, he shouldn't waste his time."
Steven said, "Alright, I'll talk to him when I get back."
Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang. Seeing the caller, he smiled at Laura, "Speak of the devil, he's calling me now."
He answered, "Done with work and thinking of me?"
Rex had indeed been busy lately. Hearing Steven's teasing, he laughed, "When do I not think of you? Where are you? Let's hang out."
"I'm soaking in a hot spring. By the way, Josephine is here too. If you want to..."
Before he could finish, Laura pinched him, and he shut up.
Rex heard, "Josephine is there? Where? I'm coming over now!"
After hanging up, Laura glared at him, "Feeling bold, aren't you?"
Steven said, "He'll see the situation with Stuart and Josephine for himself and give up."
Laura closed her eyes, "Fine, fine, do what you want."
Steven looked at her, wanting to steal a kiss but didn't dare.
People said he was a masochist. Despite being rich, powerful, and capable, he seemed to enjoy being mistreated by Laura. And they were right! He was a masochist!
In this life, he loved being bullied by Laura!
'What, are you jealous? Want Laura to bully you? She wouldn't even bother with you!' This was what Steven thought in his mind. To him, Laura was perfect in every way. So what if she bullied him? He didn't like gentle women anyway.
So love really depended on whether personalities matched. Liam thought Stuart was a jerk, a scumbag, but Josephine liked him. What could he do? He had indeed admired Josephine, liked her for who knew how many years. But Josephine only saw him as a friend. She confessed her crush on Stuart, leaving teenage Liam heartbroken over the girl he liked. Especially since Josephine liked his arch-nemesis.
Later, Josephine got her wish and married Stuart. Liam thought as long as she was happy, it was fine. But who knew, Stuart wasn't a good person.
Liam had tried countless times to persuade Josephine to divorce. Despite their eventual separation, he never revealed his feelings. Because he knew Josephine only saw him as a friend. They could be family, but never lovers.
If he confessed, it wouldn't end well. Their relationship might become so awkward that they might not even remain friends. So he buried his feelings and gradually let them go.
Josephine took Jeffery to rest and had him remove his colored contacts. Looking at Jeffery's brown eyes, Josephine's heart melted.
Soon, she received a message from Laura: [Rex is here, ready to fight Stuart! Come out now!]