For the next two days, Deanna stayed at home, spending time with the two little ones and her grandmother while catching up on the domestic situation during her absence.
During this period, Julia learned of her return and came to visit.
After some small talk, Deanna glanced at Julia's flat stomach and asked, "The baby..."
"It's gone. Half a month after you left, I decided I couldn't keep it," Julia said calmly.
Deanna felt a pang of heartache as she looked at her. She knew that Julia's emotions at the time couldn't have been so serene. She reached out and held Julia's hand, apologizing, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during such a significant event."
"There's nothing to apologize for. You had important things to handle too. Besides, you did ask Lionel to take care of me," Julia replied with a smile, trying to ease Deanna's concern.
Deanna nodded lightly but remained curious about how her friend and Lionel had gotten along during her absence. She asked, "You and Mr. Grant..."
"There's nothing between us," Julia quickly denied, almost too eagerly, which made it seem like she was hiding something.
Deanna gave a mischievous smile and said, "Is that so? What a pity. I thought you two might hit it off."
"There's no way I could hit it off with someone like him. He's so picky and doesn't meet my standards for a partner. Marrying him would be a nightmare," Julia complained, clearly having strong opinions about Lionel.
Deanna just listened quietly, smiling knowingly. To her, it was obvious that her friend was being contradictory. If Julia didn't care, how could she notice so many flaws?
"It seems you two got along well. That puts my mind at ease," Deanna said with a smile.
Julia's eyes widened in disbelief. "How do you figure we got along well?"
"If you didn't get along, how would you notice so many of Mr. Grant's flaws? And isn't it true that when you care about someone, you start by noticing their flaws? You told me that yourself," Deanna reminded Julia of her own relationship advice.
Julia froze, feeling absurd. How could she possibly care about Lionel when she liked Landon? But thinking about how often she had been seeing Lionel lately, she felt increasingly uneasy and decided she couldn't let things continue this way.
Deanna, unaware of Julia's thoughts, teased her further. "You did say that before. You said a lot more too. Want me to help you remember?"
"No need! I just remembered I have some work to handle at the office," Julia said hastily, standing up and rushing out.
Watching her friend flee, Deanna chuckled softly. However, she realized she hadn't contacted Lionel or Brent since her return two days ago. She informed Sam and then headed to the research institute.
The institute had been rebuilt ten days ago. To avoid arousing suspicion from those behind the scenes, Deanna and Lionel had agreed to focus on the institute during the day. Only at night would Lionel return to the villa to rest and use a double to cover his trips to the underground lab.
When Deanna arrived at the institute, everyone was surprised to see her.
"Ms. Jones, you're back."
"Ms. Jones, long time no see."
Deanna responded to their warm greetings with gentle smiles.
Soon, Brent and Lionel heard the news and came over.
Brent was excited. "Miss, you're finally back."
Despite his words, he noticed only Shannon was behind Deanna and his eyes flickered.
Deanna didn't notice his reaction. She nodded at them and said, "Let's talk in the office."
"Sure, sure," Brent agreed eagerly and followed Deanna to the office.
Once inside, Deanna remembered the previous surveillance incident and asked Shannon to check the room.
Brent quickly assured her, "Miss, don't worry. After the renovation, I had everything checked thoroughly. I also have regular checks done."
"In that case, there's no need to check again," Deanna said, trusting Brent. She then asked about the institute's status during her absence.
Brent smiled and said, "Everything is normal at the institute. How was your trip abroad? By the way, where is Nightingale?"
"Nightingale got injured. I left her abroad to recover. She'll return once she's healed," Deanna explained honestly since Brent and Lionel were trusted allies.