Chapter 135
I hadn't been back at the company long when Jessa asked to meet me.
I looked out the window, checking the time. She should be arriving soon.
Nola said she was pregnant too—the test results clearly showed it.
With both of us needing maternity leave, we couldn't arrange the time off properly. The urgent matter now was that I needed to train someone capable of handling the big picture.
There were a few people in the coffee shop downstairs, mostly talking business at this hour.
Jessa waved at me, and I walked over to where she was sitting.
I sat down and noticed her holding her stomach.
"What did you want to see me about?"
I got straight to the point. I didn't want her to take up too much of my time. There really wasn't any need for us to stay in touch anymore.
Jessa took a card out of her bag and slowly pushed it toward me, forcing a bitter smile. "Here's another payment. I can't reach Levi."
She couldn't reach Levi, and neither could I.
"Whatever's between you two, you should work it out yourselves."
"Just follow his arrangement. Last time he said to give it directly to you."
I looked at her—haggard face, deep dark circles under her eyes.
"Did you lose the baby?"
Jessa nodded. "Yeah."
It was a heavy topic. I hadn't wanted to bring it up. This should be her vulnerable moment, the one she least wanted others to see.
I pushed the card back. "You need money right now. You can't pay it all back at once anyway, so take it back. There's no rush."
Jessa laughed lightly. "You look down on this amount of money, don't you?"
"Think whatever you want."
"You're the only one who knows about my situation."
Jessa looked at me, hesitating to speak.
"Don't worry, you don't need to worry about me telling anyone, and you don't need to use paying me back as a way to keep me quiet. I'm not interested in your business."
I could guess her purpose for doing this—she was just worried I'd spread the news.
She lowered her head, drawing circles on the table with her finger. "Please don't let Levi know, okay?"
So what she cared about most was Levi's opinion. Was she still fantasizing about being with him?
My heart felt like it was being gnawed by insects. I couldn't describe what I was feeling.
"The name Jessa has been so lucky. I took over your home, stole your father—none of that did me any good. Only this name let me be with Levi all these years."
She pushed her hands outward, as if letting it all go.
"It's just a name," I said.
"A name that won Levi's favor." She rested her chin on her hand. "You know, when I first confessed to him, he wasn't interested. But after he found out my name was Jessa, he slowly accepted me."
"When did it start? From when I found out about an essay he wrote as a kid."
"'A Memorable Event'—he wrote about going on a field trip and meeting a little girl."
So Jessa had known all along that Levi had this memory, and for all these years she'd tried to make herself into that little girl from the story.
As she spoke, my head felt stuffy and my stomach uncomfortable.
"Levi never said it outright, but I knew he must have mistaken me for you. So eventually, I stopped fighting it."
I didn't believe Levi had no feelings for her at all. A name is just a label—Levi wouldn't like someone based on a name alone.
"This is pointless. I have things to do at the company."
I wanted to end this boring conversation. She was clearly a tough character, so suddenly saying such negative things actually disgusted me.
Jessa pushed the card toward me again. "I hope you'll keep this to yourself. If you have a problem with me, please find another way to get back at me."
"If I wanted revenge, I'd stop at nothing."
I'm not a saint, and I'm not a pushover. If I really wanted to destroy her, I would have fought back when she first hurt me.
I have my weaknesses, and Levi and she were inseparable. Now that they've gone their separate ways, there's no need for me to waste time on this.
"I don't get what Levi sees in you, Blair. You're actually the best at pretending. You're so gentle, so calculating."
Jessa was showing her true colors now. If she loved Levi, she should hate me. She'd want me gone so she could replace me.
"You need rest after a miscarriage. I'm not in a hurry for the final payment. Take fewer gigs and save your strength for what you want to do."
She should be home resting instead of meeting me to say all this useless stuff. I felt sorry for her, but this was her own doing.
If she hadn't planned to climb up by latching onto Alaric, she wouldn't have been used by him.
"It's just a minor procedure. Don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
I didn't want to talk to her anymore. I was genuinely thinking from her perspective, but if she didn't care about herself, that was none of my business.
As I was about to leave, Jessa called out to me.
"Blair, watch out for the people around you. Don't get sold out and then help count the money."
I found this baffling. Everything I did was honest and legal, and I didn't have many people around me anyway.
Sometimes I even joked to myself that my social circle was pathetically small—Levi could practically count as one of my friends.
"Why don't you just say it directly?"
Jessa stood up, holding her abdomen. "Just be careful."
Useless nonsense—warning me without being clear. I was too lazy to keep chatting with her.
On the way back to the company, I thought about her words. Everyone around me was safe and reliable. The only person who also had contact with her was Elliot.
Could it be him?
He gave me gifts, invited me to see a play, said inappropriate things, and told me not to let Levi misunderstand.
Maybe he did it on purpose?
Was the purpose of his gifts to create a rift between Levi and me?
But why would he do that? I hadn't done anything to him.
"Stop thinking about it..."
I told myself not to overthink it. Maybe Jessa was just saying that to mess with my head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jessa get in her car. I hadn't accepted her card. I still had compassion for her. I admit my savior complex was acting up again.
Probably because I was pregnant now too, I wanted to do good for my child's sake. Even though Jessa was voluntarily paying me back, I still didn't completely kick her when she was down at her lowest point.
Though, given her twisted way of thinking, she probably thought I was looking down on her.
Buzz buzz...
My phone vibrated.
I opened it to see a message from Elliot.
"Ms. Ember, my CEO would like to invite you to the headquarters for an exchange. Reply when you see this message."
My mind was in chaos. Levi was on a business trip, and now I had to go on one too?
What about home?
Besides, Heartstrings Jewelry didn't have enough credentials yet to exchange experiences with WR. We should approach it with a learning mindset.
The company didn't need more funding, but the last collaboration still needed to be settled when it expired next year before it could end.
Honestly, I didn't want to go with Elliot. Levi had already misunderstood, and I didn't even know where he was...