Jay’s POV
“Ah, I wanted to get some water before going back to check a lot of documents,” I replied as I walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.
Before stepping out of there, I smiled at them as I showed them the bottle of water. Piper and Jessie just looked at me and said nothing. Then I hurried out of the kitchen while holding back my embarrassment. However, before I got any further from the kitchen, I faintly heard Lily’s voice saying, “Thirty minutes ago, Sir asked for some water to be brought into his workroom. Maybe I didn’t bring enough to drink.”
“Dad rarely drinks much mineral water. He prefers to drink wine,” Jessie said.
It seemed like they soon realized my purpose in the kitchen. Could it be that Piper would think I was weird?
An hour later, Jessie knocked on my workroom door.
“Yes, come in,” I replied.
She opened the door with a big smile. After closing the door, she ran over and hugged me. “Dad, let’s have dinner. Piper made salmon steaks with lemon sauce, and for dessert, she made cheesecake. Let’s hurry out before the steak gets cold. I’m already starving, anyway.”
“Hahaha, ok, I’ll turn off the laptop first. Are you happy?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m happy. I feel comfortable around Piper. I wish she could stay here forever, but of course, that’s not possible because she has a son,” she replied. She had a sad look on her face and looked down at my desk.
I took her tiny hand, caressing the back of her cotton-soft hand. “I understand. Maybe we can ask Piper to stay here with her son or we can take them to the beach, resorts, and other vacation spots. Do you want to? But don’t let your mom know, okay?”
Her beautiful face looked at me. “Why can’t Mom know about this?”
“Umm, so that there won’t be any problems. It’s hard to explain. But let me tell your mom, okay?” I replied.
“Oh, okay,” she replied with a smile.
“Let’s go out and eat.” After shutting down the laptop, I took her tiny hand out of my workroom.
I saw Piper sitting waiting for us at the dining table alone. Later that night, we enjoyed a dinner that Piper had cooked for the three of us without Megan. I didn’t know what she did daily and I honestly never saw her take care of Jessie. Maybe it was because she didn’t have Piper’s maternal instincts or because she wasn’t Jessie’s biological mother.
However, as we were chatting over dinner, Megan suddenly came over to us with an annoyed look on her face. She approached Piper and pulled the fork she was holding.
“Wh-what are you doing, Megan?” Piper asked in confusion.
I put the knife and fork I was holding onto the table. In a high-pitched voice, I yelled at Megan, “Let go of her hand! Don’t be silly.”
Megan shot me a glare, “This is my business with Piper.”
“Sassy! Piper is our daughter’s tutor, and she’s our guest. Let go of her hand and get out of here,” I replied.
“Mom, don’t hurt Piper,” Jessie said through tears.
“What have you done to my family? Do you want revenge on me?” Megan asked Piper.
Her question seemed to expose her foul deeds to Piper in the past, whether Piper realized it.
“What do you mean by revenge? I did nothing for your family. I just cooked dinner for them as a token of my gratitude. That’s all. You misunderstood. Please let go of my hand,” Piper pleaded.
And instantly I saw Megan about to push Piper. I tried to hold her hand back as fast as I could and succeeded. “Stop your silly behavior or I’ll kick you out of here.”
Megan laughed loudly as she glared at me. “Kick me out? Are you sure? I’m the mother of your child.”
“Then get your hands off her and get out of here. Don’t make a scene in front of Jessie or I’ll get violent,” I said while glaring at her.
“Hahaha, well, I’m out of here. But it’s not over yet,” she said as she left the dining room with an angry look on her face.
“I’m sorry about her, Piper. Are you okay?” I asked.
Piper nodded. Megan had gone too far. If Jessie wasn’t here with us, I might have kicked her out or said something rude to her. Once the truth comes out, I’ll take decisive action against her for the good of Jessie and all of us.
Nick, I’m counting on you. Help me find all the dots in this thread.
After dinner was over, I called Lily to tidy up and clear the table while Piper and Jessie went up to the second floor. Jessie took her hand and led her to the guest room.
After instructing Lily on what she needed to prepare, I went up to the second floor and into my private bedroom. I looked at my laptop for a few minutes as I took calls and reports from Nick. That’s when I realized Piper didn’t have any sleepwear. I remembered Mom had left some of her clothes at my house in case she was staying here and needed clothes. I knew Mom kept all her clothes and accessories in her bedroom.
I rushed into her room, grabbing a set of nightwear along with kimono, house slippers, sweaters, and socks. I took whatever I thought she would need to sleep comfortably tonight in the cold.
It was 8 pm. I stood in front of the guest room door and knocked a few times, but there was no answer from inside.
Was Piper with Jessie? So, I checked Jessie’s bedroom and found her sitting alone on her bed.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” she asked in surprise.
“Is Piper here?” I asked.
Jessie shook her head. I closed Jessie’s bedroom door and knocked on the guest room door. The same thing happened again. There was no answer from inside. I pushed the doorknob down and the door opened. Turned out Piper hadn’t locked her bedroom door.
I went inside to put her clothes and other things on her bed, and I heard the water faucet in the bathroom turn on.
“Piper, I put the nightwear and other things on the bed. If you need anything else, please let me know,” I said. However, there was no answer. If she was in the shower, she should have been able to hear my voice, especially since the faucet wasn’t too loud.
I finally approached her slightly open bathroom door, and that’s when I felt my feet get wet. As soon as I looked down, a stream of water was flowing out from inside the bathroom.
Something happened inside the bathroom.