After lunch, Josephine finally figured out why the whole family had a beef with Stuart.
Once they were done eating, Andrew and Jeffery headed off to play chess, and Elbert carefully helped Carol out for a walk. Before they left, they told Stuart to look after Josephine.
When the living room was empty, Josephine turned to Stuart and asked, "What did you do?"
Stuart was pouring her some coffee and glanced up, "What?"
"Why do Grandpa, Elbert, and Carol all dislike you so much?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Josephine suddenly felt uneasy. She looked away and said, "It's fine if you don't want to say. I'm not that curious."
"Whether you want to know or not, I'm telling you." Stuart placed the coffee cup in front of her, "I had this coffee made just for you. Give it a try."
Josephine responded with a simple "Oh."
Stuart set the coffee down and sat beside her, "Josephine."
Josephine stared at the pattern on the coffee cup, "Hmm?"
"My parents and Grandpa all dislike me because..." Stuart took her hand and held it, "because I'm so dumb that I haven't brought you back to them yet."
Josephine tried to pull her hand back but couldn't. Or maybe, she didn't really try that hard.
"Josephine," Stuart gently squeezed her fingers, "can Jeffery stay a few more days? You saw it too; the family really likes him."
"Okay." Josephine nodded, "But I need to ask Jeffery first."
"Jeffery is well-behaved, sensible, and very capable. You've raised him well."
"Oh, not really," Josephine replied, "Sometimes Jeffery is too mature for his age, and it just breaks my heart. He understands everything."
"I know. I owe you both so much. I wasn't there for Jeffery in the past. When you first returned, I could feel some hostility from Jeffery every time he saw me."
Josephine was surprised, "Hostility?"
"Yeah," Stuart said, "I could feel it."
"I didn't know," Josephine shook her head, "He never said anything to me."
"Like you said, he understands everything, so he blames me."
Josephine said, "Our issues are our issues. No matter what, they have nothing to do with him. He shouldn't..."
"No, he's right. He should blame me. I didn't take good care of either of you."
Josephine couldn't help but squeeze his fingers too. "Let's not talk about that. If Jeffery wants to stay a few more days, that's fine. If you have time, you can spend more time with him too."
"Then tonight, shall we welcome Jair and the others together?"
"Together?" Josephine asked, "No, your friends aren't coming? I'm not familiar with them."
"No," Stuart said, "just the four of us."
"Did you tell Jair? Does Claudia know?"
"He probably talked to Claudia about it since he suggested it."
"Alright then."
"In that case, stick around. Let's go together this afternoon."
"In that case, stick around.Before Josephine could say anything, Stuart added, "Go upstairs and take a nap, get some rest."
"It's not convenient." Josephine refused, "Forget it, I'll go watch Grandpa and Jeffery play chess."
"If you don't rest at noon, you'll be tired in the afternoon," Stuart advised, holding her hand. "Have some coffee, then I'll take you upstairs."
Josephine took a sip of the coffee; it was delicious.
Stuart said, "There's a separate room prepared for you."
"Grandpa and the others want you to stay," Stuart looked down at her, "and I want it even more."
Josephine's ears turned red. "Stop it, I'll stay."
She stood up and said, "The coffee is really good."
"I'll pack some for you when you leave," Stuart said. "Shall we go upstairs?"
"I'll go up myself."
Before she could finish her sentence, Stuart took her hand. Josephine had no choice but to keep quiet.
Stuart led her upstairs and showed her to another room.
Josephine was a bit nervous, but fortunately, Stuart just introduced the room to her and then left, closing the door behind him.
Josephine sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid Stuart would kiss her, and she wouldn't know how to refuse.
Their relationship was unclear, always doing intimate things, which made Josephine feel a bit complicated.
She knew that if she nodded, Stuart would probably want to remarry her immediately. But after everything she had been through, Josephine no longer looked forward to marriage.
She even irresponsibly thought about whether she could maintain this kind of casual relationship with Stuart. Obviously, that was not possible.
Not to mention the elders and children watching, even Josephine couldn't get past her own conscience.
Although she was supposed to take a nap, Josephine lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep.
Eventually, she dozed off and felt someone pressing on her.
It was Stuart, his kisses hot and intense, his large hands roaming over her body. Josephine felt like she was melting like butter under his scorching touch, dissolving into his body bit by bit.
Stuart's thrusts carried an extreme force, leaving Josephine with nowhere to hide. She didn't dare make a sound, but her arms wrapped around Stuart's neck. Soft moans escaped her lips.
She wanted to escape, but Stuart held her waist tightly, bullying her even more.
"No..." Josephine felt weak all over, pleasure spreading from the depths of her soul.
Josephine suddenly opened her eyes, her body feeling weak, and stared at the ceiling for a moment before realizing she had just had a dream.
She had such a dream! Oh my God! How could this be? It was said that dreams were influenced by thoughts entertained during the day. But had she really thought about it?
She covered her face and buried herself in the blanket. Yes, she had thought about it. But she wasn't so desperate as to have such a vivid dream, right? It felt too real. The pleasure lingering in her body hadn't faded.
That long-lost joy made her feel both ashamed and somewhat relieved. Fortunately, it was just a dream. If something had actually happened with Stuart, what would she do next? Naturally be with him? She didn't feel ready for that.
Josephine hid under the blanket and heard a knock on the door.
She sat up abruptly, "Wait, wait a minute!"
Stuart checked the time; Josephine had been sleeping for almost two hours. He was worried, so he came to check.
Elbert had just scolded him, implying that he shouldn't have let Josephine nap alone.
Come on, he wanted to nap with her too, but he lacked the status and the courage.
Hearing Josephine's voice, Stuart felt relieved.
Josephine quickly attended to her bodily discomfort in the bathroom, splashed water on her face, and then proceeded to open the door
As soon as he saw her, Stuart's first words were, "Why is your face so red?"