"Mama," Jeffery mumbled, still half-asleep, as he leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Jeffery?" Josephine exclaimed, "Are you running a fever?"
Jeffery nodded weakly but didn't say anything.
Josephine quickly carried him back to his room.
Rex stood there, stunned for a moment, then let go of Jessica. "Jessica, I'll get someone to take you home."
"You're not coming with me? Still chasing after Josephine?" Jessica choked out.
"I've got something important to handle," Rex said. "But you just showed up out of nowhere—how could I not worry?"
"You still care about me? All you think about is Josephine now!"
Rex tried to comfort her for a bit before calling a driver to take her home. Then he went to knock on Josephine's door.
Josephine had just finished checking on Jeffery; he seemed fine, just a cold. She gave him some fever medicine and wiped his hands with alcohol wipes. Jeffery soon fell back asleep.
Rex knocked softly. Josephine hurried to open the door. "Mr. Armstrong? Do you need something?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Sorry, Jeffery's not feeling well. I need to take care of him."
"What happened?" Rex asked quickly. "Does he need to go to the hospital?"
"No, let's wait and see. If there's nothing else..."
"Jeffery is Stuart's kid, isn't he?" Rex suddenly asked.
Josephine was stunned, then replied flatly, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I saw it," Rex said. "Just now, Jeffery's eyes..."
Josephine was startled and, without thinking, pulled Rex inside.
Jeffery was in the bedroom, and the two of them sat in the living room.
Josephine said directly, "I hope you can keep this secret for me."
"So Jeffery really is Stuart's kid?"
Josephine didn't respond.
Rex said, "How does that jerk Stuart get so lucky? He hurt you back then, and not only did you forgive him, but you also had Jeffery for him!"
"It's not like that," Josephine frowned. "It was complicated back then. Besides, Jeffery is innocent. I can take good care of him on my own."
"So you don't want Stuart to know Jeffery is his kid."
"Yes. So, please, Mr. Armstrong, keep this secret for me."
Rex felt a bit happy. "Am I the only one who knows this secret?"
"No," Josephine said. "A few of my friends know."
Rex fell silent, and that bit of happiness vanished instantly.
He asked, "How long do you plan to keep this a secret? Are Jeffery's eyes colored contacts?"
"Yes," Josephine said. "As for how long I can keep it a secret, I haven't thought about it."
Rex asked again, "Do I still have a chance?"
Josephine smiled bitterly. "Mr. Armstrong, with your qualities, you can have any woman you want. Don't waste your time and energy on me. Also, you should consider Jessica's feelings. At her age, she's very sensitive and rebellious. You should pay more attention to her."
"I can't give up my own happiness for Jessica."
"But you can wait a few more years to consider your marriage for the sake of Jessica, right?"
"Are you saying you can wait for me?"
"No, we are not suitable for each other," Josephine said helplessly. "I've made it very clear, and I hope you won't waste any more time and energy on me."
"Other than being older, I don't think I'm any worse than Stuart."
"You are excellent," Josephine said. "Being a few years older makes you more mature and steady. You are better than all of them."
"But you don't like me," Rex said. "Can I know why?"
"I don't know either," Josephine said. "Sometimes, feelings are hard to explain."
"In simple terms, you don't have feelings for me?"
Josephine nodded. "Yeah, you could put it that way."
"I wish I had met you earlier."
Josephine smiled. "Stuart and I have known each other since we were kids."
"So you're saying I can never catch up to him?"
"No," Josephine explained. "These things are hard to say. Sometimes you know someone for ten or twenty years and feel nothing, and sometimes you meet someone for a day and know they're the one."
"To be honest, I've never felt that way," Rex admitted. "Love at first sight, does that really exist? When I first saw you, I just thought you were beautiful and felt comfortable around you."
"So, the right person for you hasn't shown up yet. Good things are worth waiting for," Josephine replied.
"You really know how to talk," Rex laughed. "You're almost convincing me."
"So, will you agree to keep my secret?"
"What if I say no?"
Josephine was silent for a few seconds, then looked at him and said, "Then there's nothing I can do. After all, I can't force you."
"I'll keep your secret. But I have two conditions."
"What conditions?"
Rex said, "First, from now on, call me by my name, not Mr. Armstrong. Can you agree to that?"
Josephine thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay."
Rex continued, "Liam is your friend, right? Then I want to be your friend too."
Josephine said, "I remember we talked about this before."
Rex said, "You know, before it was just part of my plan. But now, I genuinely want to be your friend. My request is simple: treat me the same way you treat Liam."
"Liam and I grew up together; our feelings are naturally different."
"Even if you consider him family, can't you see me as an older brother? I'm a few years older than you; why not recognize me as a brother?"
Josephine said, "Let's just be friends."
"Alright, then it's settled. I'll keep your secret, and you genuinely treat me as a friend."
"Okay."
They reached an agreement.
Josephine then said, "Mr. Armstrong, if you have nothing else..."
"Still calling me Mr. Armstrong? What do you call Liam?"
Josephine reluctantly said, "Rex, I need to take care of Jeffery. If you have nothing else..."
"If Liam were here, would you also send him away?"
Josephine said helplessly, "Feelings can't be developed overnight, even for friends."
"I understand. I just want to know if there's anything I can help you with. What's wrong with Jeffery?"
"He has a fever. But I gave him some medicine, so he should be feeling better now."
"Then go check on him. If his fever is down, I'll be relieved."
Josephine indeed felt uneasy. She went to the bedroom and found that Jeffery's fever hadn't subsided; his forehead was still burning hot.
She carried Jeffery out, and Rex quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
"I need to take him to the hospital."
"I'll take you."
"No need, I'll call..."
"If you call someone now, it might alert Stuart. If I take you, no one will know."
Josephine didn't hesitate any longer. "Thank you."
Rex glanced at her, then reached out to take Jeffery and asked, "Would you be this polite with Liam?"
Josephine didn't respond; instead, Rex swiftly carried Jeffery out with her quickly following behind.
Stuart received a call from Andrew, who insisted that he must invite Josephine to their home for the Starlight Festival.
It was obvious that Josephine wouldn't go back to the Kalmien Family for the Starlight Festival. Andrew naturally hoped she would join the Haustia Family for the family reunion event..
Stuart said, "I don't want to force her."
"Just tell her it's my wish!" Andrew said. "I'll also mention it to her."
"Grandpa," Stuart said helplessly, "Josephine isn't alone now. She... she has a child."
Andrew angrily replied, "So what if she has a child? Are you looking down on her because of that? If you hadn't driven her away back then, my great-grandchild would be older than that kid!"
Stuart felt wronged. When had he ever driven Josephine away? He clearly didn't want a divorce.
"I don't care what you do. You must get Josephine to come home for the Starlight Festival! Otherwise, don't bother coming back yourself!"
Andrew hung up. Stuart struggled to find the right words to talk to Josephine about it, all while hoping she would spend the Starlight Festival with him. It seemed he could only use Andrew's health as an excuse.
He glanced at the time and headed to Josephine's door. He knocked repeatedly, but there was no response.