Chapter 147
I didn't look at him, keeping my eyes on the TV, "It's pretty good. Doesn't require much thinking, relaxing and pleasant."
Suddenly, I felt something soft and wet on my face.
Jason sat back down contentedly and said seriously, "Who says so? I still think you look better."
The TV show and I probably shouldn't be put in the same category.
But the next moment, I realized something.
"Weren't you supposed to have drinks tonight? How come there's no alcohol smell?"
"I quit drinking."
Jason said frankly.
I nodded seriously, my tone quite approving, "That's good. After all, drinking is bad for your health, can easily lead to three highs. You're still young now so it's fine, but when you get a bit older you'll easily develop fatty liver..."
Before I could finish, Jason grabbed my hand and said helplessly, "I quit drinking for you."
"Me?" I looked at him in surprise, not understanding, "What does this have to do with me?"
"Because you're allergic to alcohol."
Hearing Jason say this, I was even more confused.
He's the one drinking, not me, so what does it have to do with my alcohol allergy?
As if suddenly realizing something, my face instantly turned red.
"Shameless!" I glared at Jason fiercely and couldn't help saying, "You did this for me? You did this for yourself!"
Jason touched his nose and grinned sheepishly, "Well, it's for our happy life together. Anyway, quitting drinking is pretty good."
I rolled my eyes unceremoniously and got up to leave.
My body suddenly lifted off the ground, and amid my startled cry, Jason held me in his arms.
I nervously wrapped my arms around his neck, "What are you doing? Put me down!"
"I'm carrying you upstairs to save energy for what really matters."
"Jason!"
"I'm here, don't worry, you'll have plenty to shout about soon."
That morning, I received a call from Tamsin Cooper.
"Sue, Linda made dishes that you and Jessica love. Don't cook lunch, come eat at my place."
Tamsin's voice was cheerful, "Haven't seen you two in days, Grandma really misses you."
I couldn't bear to refuse, so I agreed, "Okay, once Jessica finishes this class, we'll come over."
"Good."
After Jessica finished her lessons for the day, I took her to the Old Mansion.
As soon as I entered, I was surprised to see Thomas actually at home.
I couldn't help being surprised, "You didn't go to work today?"
"I'm getting old now, slowly handing things over to Jason. Taking the occasional day off from the office isn't a problem."
Thomas said cheerfully, then waved at Jessica, "Jessica, come let Grandpa hold you, Grandpa missed you so much!"
Jessica immediately ran into Thomas's arms with a smile, saying sweetly, "I missed Grandpa too!"
She paused, then quickly added, "I missed Great-grandma too!"
Her clever little act made everyone in the room laugh.
I chatted with Tamsin for a while.
Suddenly, a servant came in, "Mr. Cooper, Mrs. Cooper, there's a woman outside calling herself Helen who wants to come in. She says she has something very important to discuss with you, sir."
Hearing that name, Tamsin and Thomas's faces instantly darkened.
The servant instinctively shrank back, not knowing what they had said wrong.
Thomas spoke first, "Let her in."
The servant breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to the door to bring Helen in.
When Helen saw that I was also there, she was obviously taken aback.
She looked at Thomas questioningly, but Thomas ignored her.
Helen's expression was somewhat awkward. She said to Tamsin uncomfortably, "Mom."
Tamsin's face was unprecedentedly cold. She scoffed, "Don't! Don't call me that, I can't accept it!"
Helen pressed her lips together, "Mom, I..."
Before she could finish, Tamsin cut her off with disgust, "You and Thomas have been divorced for so many years, you've long had nothing to do with the Cooper family. We're not related, so calling me that is disgusting."
Helen looked completely embarrassed and turned to look at Thomas, "Thomas."
Thomas's expression was cold and indifferent, "What is it?"
Helen glanced at me, speaking with implication, "I do have something, but there are still outsiders here. This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to the study."
Thomas didn't move an inch, "There are no outsiders here. Say it here."
Helen had no choice. Standing there awkwardly, she could only pull over a stool and sit down herself.
Her gaze fell on Jessica in Thomas's arms.
"Has this child had a paternity test? Are you sure she's Jason's child?"
As soon as those words came out, the whole room fell into deathly silence.
Tamsin's already cold expression instantly became extremely ugly.
She slammed the table, stood up, and pointed at Helen's nose, scolding sharply, "Get out! This is the Cooper family's business, it's not your place to interfere! Who do you think you are? Whether Jessica is my great-granddaughter is not for you to say! Do we need to do that thing?"
Helen's face looked terrible. She bit her teeth and insisted stubbornly, "Jason is my son. As his mother, of course I have the right to be concerned. And if you haven't done a paternity test, how can you be sure she's Jason's child? What if some people have bad intentions and had a child with someone else and made Jason think it's his? Besides, she doesn't look like Jason at all. Haven't you ever suspected?"
Her words completely ignited Tamsin's fury.
Tamsin, not caring that Jessica was still present, launched into an angry tirade at Helen, "If your eyes are blind, gouge them out! Jessica looks so much like Jason did as a child! Oh right, I forgot, you abandoned him when Jason was eight years old. How would you remember what Jason looked like as a child?"
Helen was momentarily speechless.
Her face twitched, and she said unnaturally, "We're talking about the child now. Why bring up my business?"
Tamsin sneered, "Shameless enough to do it but can't stand people talking about it? You've been divorced from Thomas for twenty years. If I were you and had done something so disgraceful, I'd want to stay far away from the Cooper family for the rest of my life, not be thick-skinned enough to still appear in front of us."
Helen's face looked terrible.
She bit her lower lip hard. After a moment of silence, she finally couldn't help saying, "No matter what, I'm Jason's mother. He's the child I worked hard to carry for ten months and give birth to. What's wrong with me worrying that he's being deceived by some woman with bad intentions?"
Tamsin took a deep breath, trying hard to control her emotions, and said through gritted teeth, "If it weren't for the fact that you gave birth to Jason, you would have been thrown out long ago!"
"Helen, let me tell you very clearly, you are not part of the Cooper family and have no right to participate in Cooper family matters. Jessica is Jason's child and is recognized by all of us. We don't need you sticking your nose in!"
Helen was left speechless by Tamsin's words.
She widened her eyes, seeming to want to say something, but in the end couldn't say anything.
With no other choice, she turned to look at Thomas, who hadn't spoken, and her lips moved, "Thomas, say something. Are you really going to accept such a child of unknown origin as your granddaughter?"