Jair was cradling Jeffery in his arms, sitting in the hospital room.
Out of nowhere, Jeffery said, "You really care about her, huh?"
Jair, who had been watching Claudia, turned his gaze and nodded.
Jeffery reassured him, "She'll be okay."
"Yeah," Jair replied.
Then Jeffery asked, "Do you like her?"
Jair looked down at him. "Do you even know what it means to like someone?"
Jeffery responded, "Like how Stuart likes my mommy?"
Jair chuckled. "You know Stuart likes your mommy?"
Jeffery nodded. "Don't underestimate kids. I know everything."
Jair patted his head. "Didn't mean to sell you short. You were a champ today, like a little grown-up. Half the adults wouldn't have handled it like you did."
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the hospital room opened, and Josephine walked back in.
Jair stood up.
Josephine immediately took Jeffery into her arms. "Jair, you can go now. I'll take care of Claudia."
"But you still have Jeffery with you," Jair said.
"It's fine," Josephine replied, "Roy will come to pick him up soon."
Jair wanted to say more, but Josephine, with red eyes, kissed Jeffery and didn't seem interested in talking to him anymore.
Jair had no choice but to say goodbye, took one last look at Claudia, and then left.
Josephine waited until she heard the door close before she let her emotions out, holding Jeffery's small body and silently crying.
Jeffery softly comforted her, "Mommy, I'm okay. I'm not scared."
The more he said that, the guiltier Josephine felt.
No matter what Robin did, it was ultimately because of her.
That was why Robin targeted Jeffery.
Josephine felt a heavy weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Mommy, don't cry." Jeffery wiped her tears with his hand. "Or I'll start crying too."
Josephine held him tightly, slowly calming herself down.
Outside the hospital room, Jair found Stuart and asked, "Did you explain everything to her?"
Stuart nodded.
Jair patted his shoulder. "Thanks to you, Claudia and Jeffery are safe. Appreciate it."
Stuart hadn't paid much attention to what he was saying, but then he looked up. "You're thanking me?"
Jair shuffled a bit. "Well, thanks for all your hard work, anyhow."
"Wait a minute," Stuart frowned. "Do I need your thanks? Who are you thanking on behalf of?"
Jair quickly changed the subject. "Hey, I need to tell you something."
Stuart asked, "What?"
Jair asked, "When you held Jeffery, did you feel anything?"
Stuart was confused, "Feel what exactly?"
Jair replied, "I just noticed that Jeffery's eyebrows, nose, and mouth bear a striking resemblance to yours."
Stuart snapped irritably, "Do you think his eyes resemble mine? Don't bring up stuff that bothers me!"
Jair said, "I'm serious."
Stuart felt annoyed. "Get lost!"
Jair rubbed his temples. "Shall we leave together? Josephine said Roy is coming soon, and you, as the ex-husband..."
Stuart interrupted him angrily, "Why are you being so irritating? What did I do to make you so mad?"
Jair said, "It's not that you did anything recently. It's just that remembering certain things you did in the past ticks me off."
Stuart was puzzled. "What things?"
Jair responded, "For example, causing the Howard family to go bankrupt."
Stuart was surprised by Jair's mention.
He said, "The Howard family's bankruptcy was ages ago. What does it have to do with you? Besides, you know the real story behind it, don't you?"
Jair retorted, "I know, but rationally accepting it is different from emotionally accepting it."
Stuart eyed him suspiciously. "I knew something was off! That thank you earlier, were you saying it on behalf of Claudia? What's your deal with Claudia? Are you connected to her in some way to be thanking me on her behalf??"
Jair rubbed his nose. "Just don't worry about me, okay? Hurry up, Roy is coming. Are you leaving or not?"
What else could he do but leave?
But before heading out, Jair swung by the doctor's office to check on Claudia's condition.
Only after hearing she was indeed fine did he leave with peace of mind.
Not long after they left, Claudia woke up.
Seeing Josephine, her tears immediately started to fall.
Josephine spoke directly, "You don't need to say anything. I know everything. Claudia, this ain't on you. Don't beat yourself up over it. If you see me as a friend, just let it go, alright?"
Jeffery chimed in, "Claudia, I'm okay."
Claudia didn't speak, just kept crying.
Josephine said, "You just fainted, you know? If you keep crying, I'll really get mad!"
Josephine comforted her for a while before she finally stopped crying.
Seeing Josephine start to use her phone, Claudia asked, "Hasn't Roy arrived yet?"
"He's on his way," Josephine said, "He went to sign a contract in the neighboring city today."
Claudia responded with an "oh."
Josephine added, "I'll let Jair know that you're awake."
Claudia was surprised, "Why would you tell him I'm awake?"
Josephine replied, "He asked me to let him know when you woke up before he left."
Claudia didn't say anything.
Josephine, mindful of Jeffery being around, didn't say much more.
After a while, Claudia spoke, "We really owe it to Stuart today. If it weren't for him, I can't imagine what that psycho Robin would have done."
Josephine paused while cutting fruit and then said, "Yes, I'll thank him."
She had been so angry and worried earlier that she had actually forgotten about this.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Stuart was the savior of Claudia and Jeffery.
Josephine sent a message to Jair and then, after some thought, sent one to Stuart, formally thanking him.
Jair didn't reply, but Stuart did quickly.
Stuart: [If you want to thank me, can you treat me to a meal?]
Josephine held her phone, unsure how to respond.
At that moment, Roy rushed into the hospital room and asked, "Josephine! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Josephine quickly stood up. "Don't worry."
Roy then checked on Jeffery and, seeing that he was also unharmed, finally breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death!"
After Claudia was observed for a few hours and confirmed to be okay, they all left the hospital together.
During this time, Jair replied, saying he had been driving and asked Josephine to put in a good word for him so that Claudia would accept his friend request.
Josephine asked Claudia for her opinion, but Claudia shook her head. "No need."
Josephine, not wanting Claudia to stay alone, took her back to her house.
After sending Jeffery to take a bath, she asked Claudia, "If Jair likes you, what will you do?"
Claudia said, "I've thought about it. Even if he does, we're just not a good match. Forget it, Josephine, that's how things go."
Josephine frowned. "What kind of talk is that?"
Just as she finished speaking, Laura walked in. "How's Claudia doing?"
"You're back?" Josephine said, "She's much better."
Laura nodded. "That's good. By the way, I heard from Steven that the Campbell family is looking for a suitable marriage partner for that Shirley, and Stuart is their top choice."