Stuart suddenly realized he hadn't even won Josephine over yet. He could only secretly call her his wife in his heart, and it made him feel pretty bummed out.
He stepped out of the hot tub, and Laura shot him a glare, "What are you doing here?"
Stuart ignored her and walked straight over to Josephine, sitting down next to her.
Laura huffed in annoyance, "Do you even know what personal space is? That's like, totally creepy, you know?"
Stuart shot back, "I'm just chilling here, not making any moves. How's that creepy?"
Even though they were whispering, Josephine wasn't in a deep sleep. She woke up groggily, first looking at Laura, then tilting her head to look at Stuart.
She sat up and instinctively reached for a towel. She looked down and saw that, thankfully, she was submerged in water from the neck down.
Seeing her like this, Stuart felt a pang of bitterness.
Josephine was still wary of him. Maybe it was because he had kissed her before, making her feel threatened. But at that time, he really couldn't control himself.
Laura pulled Josephine closer to her and said, "Mr. Haustia, where's Rex? You two didn't get into a fight, did you?"
Stuart immediately looked at Josephine, "We had a swimming race, and I won."
Josephine didn't say anything, and Laura laughed, "That's hilarious. If you lost to Rex, that would be embarrassing. He's so much older than you!"
Rex happened to walk over and heard this, his face darkening, "Laura! How old do you think I am?" He was still young, okay? He had enough women chasing after him to fill several trucks!
Laura wasn't afraid of him and said directly, "You are older than Stuart! You're older than all of us! I didn't say you were old!" The implication was that she was already giving him face.
Rex was so angry he couldn't speak.
Josephine said, "Alright, everyone, calm down. Mr. Armstrong, why are you here?"
Rex replied, "I heard you were all here, so I came to join the fun."
Stuart said, "At your age, you still like to join the fun."
Rex looked at him, "Mr. Haustia, why are you always targeting me? It's true I'm a few years older than you, but that's not a crime, is it? Do you have to mock me every time? I didn't expect you to be so petty."
Before Stuart could say anything, Laura said, "Do you two feel proud arguing in front of Josephine?"
So, both men fell silent.
Seeing their eyes on her, Josephine felt a bit speechless. She wanted to check on Jeffery, so she said, "You guys enjoy the hot tub. I'm going back to my room."
Laura went with her. Stuart and Rex, who disliked each other, naturally wouldn't stay in the same hot tub.
Josephine asked Laura to find Steven, and she returned to her room.
Just as she was about to open the door, a girl came out from the room next door.
Josephine was startled. She remembered the girl was Rex's daughter, Jessica.
Jessica looked at her with hostility, "We need to talk."
Josephine recalled their initial encounter: Jessica's unkind words at her door, with Stuart later persuading her to depart.
Josephine knew what she was worried about and said, "We have nothing to talk about. Your father and I just know each other; we aren't even friends."
"You expect me to buy that? I know my dad's into you, and Stuart's on your tail too. What's your secret for reeling in both my dad and Stuart at once?"
Josephine didn't want to argue with Jessica, but her words were really harsh. She asked, "Does your dad know you're here?"
"None of your business!" Jessica got angry just looking at her. It wasn't just that she instinctively disliked Josephine; it was also because Rex was pursuing Josephine, and Josephine wasn't interested!
In Jessica's mind, Rex was the best, most capable man in the world. People usually chased after him. Who would have thought that Rex would like Josephine and even lower himself to pursue her?
Even more absurd, Josephine had been divorced and had a child, yet she still wasn't interested!Jessica knew that even if Josephine agreed, she wouldn't approve. But Josephine's refusal only made her angrier.
Ever since she met Stuart, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Knowing that both Stuart and Rex, two equally impressive men, liked Josephine, she couldn't accept it! So this time, when she found out Josephine was coming here, she followed.
Seeing her like this, Josephine didn't plan to say much. She took out her phone and dialed Rex's number.
Jessica guessed she was calling Rex and rushed forward to grab the phone, "What are you doing? Are you going to tattle on me to my dad?"
Josephine dodged her and quickly made the call.
Rex answered immediately, "Josephine?" His voice was filled with surprise. After all, he didn't expect Josephine to call him voluntarily.
Josephine said, "Mr. Armstrong, your daughter is here at my room."
Before she could finish, Jessica caught up and slapped the phone from Josephine's hand. As Josephine moved to retrieve it, Jessica stomped on it.
"You wicked woman!" Jessica's eyes were a bit red, "Why are you calling my dad?"
Josephine took two steps back and looked at her, "What's your deal? I never reached out to your dad, and I don't want anything to do with him. Instead of talking to me, why don't you tell your dad to stay away from me in the future?"
"What are you so smug about? My dad is just temporarily confused to like you! Once he comes to his senses, he won't even look at you!"
"Exactly, so what else do we have to talk about?"
Jessica's words were contradictory, and her face turned red, "I just want you to stay away from my dad! Don't use your tricks to seduce him..."
"Jessica!" Her words were cut off by Rex's stern voice.
Jessica turned around in disbelief, "Dad? What are you doing here?"
Josephine nodded and thought, 'Oh, so this father and daughter don't know the other was here.'
Rex strode over and grabbed her arm, "I haven't asked you! How did you get here? And what are you doing?"
As he spoke, he saw the dirty phone on the ground and looked at Josephine.
Josephine shrugged, "I didn't do anything. She knocked my phone down and stomped on it several times."
"Jessica!" Rex was so angry his head hurt, "What are you doing? Apologize!"
"I won't!" Jessica was about to cry, "Dad, you make me apologize without even asking what happened. Are you still my dad? I'm your daughter, and you're siding with her instead of me?"
"Did you knock the phone down? Did you stomp on it? Shouldn't you apologize? Did she hit you or curse at you? If she did anything, I'll stand up for you. But did she?"
Although Jessica was a bit spoiled, she knew the basic principles of being a person. She couldn't bring herself to lie.
Seeing her silence, Rex knew she was in the wrong and was silent because of it. He had no choice but to look at Josephine, "I'm sorry, Josephine. It's my fault for not teaching her well. I'll get you a new phone."
"Dad!" Jessica cried, "Why are you apologizing to her? I don't want her to be my stepmom! Why don't you consider my feelings?"
Her crying made Rex both heartbroken and frustrated. He closed his eyes and sighed, then bent down to pick up Josephine's phone. He took out a clean handkerchief and wiped it several times before handing it to Josephine.
Josephine took it.
Rex then turned and hugged the crying Jessica, "There, there, don't cry. I'm not getting you a stepmom. What are you worrying about?"
Jessica sobbed, "You like her and are chasing her. Isn't that because you want her to be my stepmom?"
"I like her, but she has to agree too. Don't worry, she doesn't like me."
"Why wouldn't she like you?" Jessica didn't know why, but she felt even more aggrieved, "I hate her!"
Josephine, unsure of her response, opted to leave quietly after a brief pause.
Just as she was about to move, she saw her room door open. Jeffery stood at the door, rubbing his eyes, and called out, "Mommy? You're back."
Josephine quickly walked over, "Jeffery, you're awake?"
Rex also looked over and was stunned.