Rex could tell Josephine was someone impervious to any of his methods.
If it were anyone else, he would've lost his patience long ago.
But this was Josephine. Not only was he patient, he even found it more interesting.
Initially, he was only half-hearted about pursuing her, but now his interest had grown.
Josephine was going back to Hustalia, and if he followed her, it would seem too deliberate.
In any case, she was returning to the research institute.
At the institute, he was the biggest investor.
With that kind of relationship, he didn't need to worry about not having opportunities to interact with her.
Josephine returned to Hustalia and hadn't even done anything else yet when she received a call from Andrew, asking her to come over.
She didn't say it out, but she was actually a bit annoyed.
Of course, she wasn't annoyed with Andrew.
She was worried that Stuart was using Andrew as an excuse to get close to her.
But when she arrived at the Haustia Manor, she realized she had overthought it.
Stuart wasn't even home.
Thinking about how she had misjudged Stuart, she felt a bit guilty.
Andrew had called her over for a reason. "After you went to Celestia Springs, Todd brought that Emily over."
When he said that, she frowned. "He brought Emily? To see you? What for?"
In Hustalia, Andrew was highly respected.
The Haustia family held the highest status, and Andrew was even above that.
Back when the Haustia family's business was just developing, it was Andrew's boldness and determination that paved their success.
Now that Stuart could handle things on his own, Andrew had retired early to rest.
But for major events in Hustalia, many people still sought Andrew's involvement.
Andrew said, "Todd wants to give Emily the official status of a Kalmien family lady, to call her Emily Kalmien, and to hold a banquet for it. He's inviting me to attend."
In the past, when the two families were close, Andrew would've gone to respect Josephine.
Now, Josephine and Stuart were divorced, and the Kalmien family was far below the Haustias in status.
If Andrew attended, Todd would be overjoyed.
Josephine thought they couldn't get Stuart, so they turned to Andrew.
Andrew continued, "I've never heard of a family with a biological daughter treating an adopted daughter as their own. I said I wasn't feeling well and declined."
Josephine knew Andrew was standing up for her.
She said, "Grandpa, you know I was raised by my grandparents and not close to my parents."
"Even if you're not close, they can't do this," He said, "Josephine, your grandparents are gone now. If you need anything, just come to me. I'll protect you!"
She said, "Actually, there is something."
He immediately perked up. "Tell me!"
She said, "No matter what, my grandparents' business shouldn't benefit an outsider. I don't care if she becomes a Kalmien family lady, but as for the family business, I'd rather donate it all to charity than give it to her."
Andrew smiled and patted her. "Don't worry. Whatever you do, I'll support you."
He kept Josephine for lunch, and they hadn't finished eating when Stuart came back.
He immediately looked at Josephine. "I didn't call him back. He usually doesn't come home for lunch."
Stuart was both surprised and delighted to see her.
Hearing Andrew's words, he couldn't help but feel amused.
Was Andrew willing to disregard his grandson just to get along with Josephine?
Seeing Stuart's pale face, she asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Andrew then became concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Stomachache," Stuart said, striding inside. "Grandpa, Josephine, you two eat. I'll rest for a bit."
Seeing Josephine at home pleasantly surprised Stuart.
He didn't dare say much, fearing he might scare her away.
Seeing him like this, neither of them could continue eating.
Andrew asked, "Did you take any medicine? Why is it acting up again? Did you drink alcohol?"
Stuart glanced at Josephine and shook his head. "No."
heS said, "There should be medicine at home, in the medicine box in the bedroom."
Andrew said, "Josephine, could you go check for him?"
She wanted to refuse, but seeing his hopeful eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
She followed Stuart upstairs, initially hesitant. However, once they were upstairs, Stuart brought out the medicine box.
She found the medicine, and Stuart took it.
From start to finish, he was well-behaved and didn't say a word more than necessary.
Josephine finally sighed in relief. Seeing that he had taken the medicine, she prepared to go downstairs.
He then called out to her, "Wait a moment."
She had a feeling of "finally" in her heart.
She turned to look at him. "What is it?"
Seeing her cold and clear gaze, he felt sad.
There was no trace of affection for him in them anymore.
He had wantonly humiliated Josephine before, saying all sorts of hurtful things.
What was the use of regretting now?
He had broken her heart, and getting her back now was incredibly difficult. This was his retribution.
Stuart walked up to and looked at her.
Although Josephine no longer had any feelings for him, being stared at by such a top-tier handsome guy made her a bit uncomfortable. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Sorry," He said, "I just wanted to apologize to you."
She said, "Honestly, you've said this many times before. There's no need to keep saying it."
"No," He said, "The previous apologies were for the past. This time, it's for the recent events."
"Recent events?" She was puzzled. "Did you do something to wrong me recently?"
"I said I wanted to pursue you, but in hindsight, I realized I was being selfish. I've come to understand that to pursue someone, you first need to make her happy and feel at ease. Only then do I have a chance."
Josephine asked him, "Have you been losing sleep these past few days, thinking about this?"
He replied, "Yes. I've never pursued anyone before, so I might've done made some mistakes. Josephine, I hope you won't be mad."
Having been married, divorced, with a first love in his heart, and having had several mistresses, Stuart claimed he had never pursued anyone.
How ridiculous!
She smiled. "If there's nothing else, I'll head downstairs. I have things to do this afternoon."
"Wait a moment." He turned and brought over a nearby box. "Take this with you."
She glanced at it. "What's this?"
"It's your jewelry from before," He said, "Grandpa knew you didn't take it with you and scolded me for it. I was going to send it to you, but since you're here, you might as well take it."
She knew there was no point in arguing, but she realized something was off when she took the box back.
It wasn't just her old jewelry; there were many new pieces she had never seen before.