Chapter 190 Why Is He Suddenly Concerned
"Dad, is there a problem with me following him to base?"
"Oh, no—no problem." Connor said.
Then asked, "When will you be back?"
"Not sure yet. Haven't even left yet. Depends on when my husband gets leave."
"Call me once you get there."
"Okay."
The conversation ended there.
Matilda figured unless something special came up, Connor wouldn't reach out again.
...
The day they left for the base, Charles and Zoey came to the airport to see them off.
After everything they'd been through together, Matilda felt like Charles and Zoey were true family now—closer than her own parents, even.
But maybe because they were so close, Matilda noticed something off about Zoey today. The girl was usually so transparent—happy meant smiling, sad meant crying. But today when she smiled, she didn't seem happy at all. And when it came time for tearful goodbyes, she cried way too hard.
Like she had something weighing on her heart, using the goodbye as an excuse to cry it out.
Was it pregnancy hormones? Or was something really bothering her?
Once on the plane, Matilda texted Zoey: [Why were you crying so hard back there?]
Zoey: [Just gonna miss you.]
Matilda: [Tell me the truth!]
After a long pause, Zoey finally replied: [Charles's ex-girlfriend came back to the country.]
Matilda had to ask: [Has she contacted Charles?]
Zoey: [Yeah. Charles even helped her find a job and a place to live.]
Matilda: [Don't overthink it. Charles is sentimental—maybe he's just being nostalgic. Have you told him you're pregnant?]
Zoey: [Not yet.]
Matilda: [Silly girl, you must be showing by now?]
Zoey: [What if Charles wants to be with his ex? If they get together, I'll be a single mom. He doesn't need to know about this baby.]
Matilda: [That won't happen. Trust Charles. He's a responsible man.]
Zoey: [Matilda, I gotta go. Heading to my parents' for dinner.]
Matilda: [Okay, take care of yourself.]
...
The plane hadn't taken off yet. Wentworth pulled her close. "How come you're glued to your phone? Can't even see me sitting right here?"
Actually jealous.
Matilda's tone turned sharp. "You men are all the same!"
"What did I do? I haven't done anything to upset you, have I?" Wentworth looked genuinely confused.
"Not you. Your brother."
"What about my brother?"
"His first love came back to the country. Now he's helping her find work, being all concerned."
"Janice?" Wentworth clearly knew who she was.
"You know her too?"
"Janice lived at our house for a long time. My mom treated her like an adopted daughter—kind of like a half-sister to me. Then someone manipulated her, made her see us as enemies. She even dumped my brother. He was hurt for a long time, couldn't bring himself to date anyone."
Matilda thought: Another adopted daughter? This mother-in-law sure collects them.
"So do you think your brother needs to help her?"
Wentworth considered carefully. "If she's in trouble, helping a bit is fine. Janice isn't just his ex—she's practically family. She grew up in our house, basically a relative. When relatives have problems, you should help, right?"
The second he finished speaking, Matilda stopped talking to him. She flagged down a flight attendant for a blanket and covered herself, including her head.
Wentworth tried to pull the blanket down. "What's wrong? Did I... say something wrong?"
She yanked the blanket off, still annoyed. "How could you be wrong? You're absolutely right."
"Then why won't you talk to me?"
She wanted to say something but held back.
Wentworth had to carefully analyze why she was mad.
First, she got upset after chatting with Zoey and then brought up Janice. So the problem stemmed from Zoey.
Zoey was worried that Janice's return threatened her position? Worried Charles might rekindle old feelings? So she told Matilda about it.
Those two had become like sisters lately—when one got hurt, the other got defensive.
Wentworth smacked his forehead. That was it! Why hadn't he figured it out sooner?
The plane was about to take off. Once they reached cruising altitude and things settled, Wentworth said, "You're worried my brother still has feelings for Janice? He doesn't. Trust him—he knows what he's doing."
Matilda had actually almost forgotten about it. After takeoff, she'd been wondering what the in-flight meal would be.
But Wentworth brought it back up. Had he been thinking about this the whole time? Trying to manage her feelings?
When she thought about it that way, he seemed adorable.
"This kind of relationship stuff isn't really our business to manage. We can only do our part to remind them. When you get a chance, remind your brother not to get too close to that woman. Zoey's sensitive right now, and naive—she can't handle the stress."
Wentworth actually took Matilda's advice. He drafted a WhatsApp message, basically telling Charles to watch himself. He even showed it to Matilda. She approved—he could send it once they landed.
...
Brookford City.
Connor's eyelid had been twitching nonstop for days.
Something weighing on his mind made it impossible to focus on work.
After much deliberation, he decided to call Brianna.
But Brianna's number was disconnected.
After jumping through hoops and asking around, he finally got her WhatsApp.
He made a voice call. No answer.
He called from morning to noon. Finally, someone picked up.
Brianna's voice: "Are you insane? Calling me all morning like this? If you'd called me this much when we were together, we wouldn't have gotten divorced."
"Where are you? Have you been in touch with Matty lately?"
"I'm in Malaysia."
"Did someone traffick you there?" Connor figured with Brianna's capabilities, she couldn't have gone abroad on her own—either trafficked or scammed.
"You're the one who got trafficked. Matty's in-laws arranged for me to come here. She married some rich guy, and they think relatives like us are too poor and embarrassing. Didn't want us going back and ruining her image."
"Didn't she marry a soldier? What rich guy?"
"A soldier? All I know is her in-laws are loaded. Her husband's military too?"
Connor couldn't help blaming her. "When you were in Phoenix City, why didn't you ask more questions? She's the daughter we raised!"
"Why are you blaming me? Did you ask around? She's your daughter—did you care about her? Besides, she married into such a wealthy family. Do they need poor relatives like us caring about them?"
Connor sighed. "I'm not trying to fight with you. I'm worried... Don't you remember? Back then..."