Chapter 177
Jessica dodged without hesitation.
Tyler's hand grabbed at empty air, but he wasn't embarrassed and simply pulled his hand back.
He wasn't embarrassed at all. He naturally withdrew his hand and smiled at me and Jason, who had just come over to take us to lunch.
"It's lunchtime. Let's have a meal together."
I stared at him coldly and refused without hesitation, "We're not the kind of people who can sit and eat together with you."
Tyler said, "Sue, I know you're angry with me, and I know you feel wronged. Now I want to make it up to you. You have to give me a chance to make amends. No matter what, the relationship between us can't be broken."
"Mr. Miller, some things are over when they're over. There's no way or point in making amends."
I stared at him intently, saying word by word, "Besides, you don't really want to make amends. You don't need to put on an act for me. I'm not interested in playing along."
Tyler paused, his eyes passing over me unwillingly, then landing on Jessica.
He squatted down in front of Jessica and said gently, "Jessica, I'm your grandfather."
Jessica frowned, staring coldly at the person in front of her.
She had learned what "grandfather" meant.
My heart tightened for a moment.
I hadn't planned to let Jessica know about this, since the past had nothing to do with her.
And honestly speaking, I didn't want my child to know that her mother was an illegitimate child.
An illegitimate child who couldn't see the light of day and wasn't loved by her parents.
Seeing Jessica's silence, Tyler added, "That means your mommy's daddy."
But Jessica shook her head, "No, you're not."
She lifted her chin, her tone serious, "My mommy doesn't have a daddy. You're not my grandfather."
Tyler smiled kindly, "Everyone has a daddy. Your mommy has one too, of course."
Jessica ignored him and turned to look at me, "Mommy, is he?"
I wasn't worried about setting a bad example for my child and shook my head, "Jessica, remember this face. If you run into him in the future, don't bother with him, don't say hi, just walk away."
Jessica nodded seriously, "Okay, Mommy. I'll remember."
Tyler's lips moved, and after a long while he finally managed to say, "Is this how you teach your child?"
I sneered, "What's it to you? She's my child. I'll teach her however I want. What's it got to do with you?"
Tyler's face twitched a couple of times. In the end, he didn't continue talking to me and turned to look at Jessica instead.
Tyler forced out a smile that looked worse than crying.
He reached out, trying to hold Jessica's hand.
Jessica stared at him coldly with no expression on her face.
Though she looked more like me, when she was angry she resembled Jason a bit.
Tyler pulled back his half-extended hand and asked ingratiatingly, "Jessica, how about I take you to buy toys? Whatever toys you like, Grandpa will buy them for you."
Jason, who had been standing to the side without speaking, finally couldn't take it anymore, "I think our family isn't so poor that we can't afford to buy toys for our child!"
Tyler shook his head, "I know you can afford it, but this is different. Jessica is my granddaughter. As her grandfather, I want to buy her gifts and be good to her. This is my way of showing I care. It's what I should do."
He said this with deep feeling.
But Jason sneered, "You'd better save it. Sue and Jessica don't need it."
"Jason, you're going to marry Sue in the future. I'm like a father to you. You can't talk to me like this."
"Sorry, I only respect people who deserve respect."
Tyler gritted his teeth, his face extremely unpleasant.
In the end, he said nothing and turned to leave with a dark expression.
In a corner no one noticed, Flora was hiding not far away, watching Tyler leave with confusion.
She was too far away to hear what we said, but she saw with her own eyes that Tyler had come to find us.
After that day, I had a few peaceful days.
Right now, I peeled a plate of grapefruit and pushed open the study door.
I happened to catch Jason standing by the window on the phone.
"I got it, Dad. Let's do it your way then."
I blinked and didn't make a sound, standing quietly behind him.
When Jason hung up the phone, I quickly and skillfully stuffed a piece of grapefruit into his mouth.
Jason chewed and swallowed without hesitation.
I smiled and asked, "Is it good?"
Jason nodded, "Sweet and sour, better than apples."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but sigh, "Genetics are really scary. Jessica hates apples too. No matter how I tried to prepare apples before, she refused to eat even one bite. Oh, and she won't eat cilantro either."
And the person in front of me didn't eat cilantro either.
Even if I put it in his mouth, he would spit it out.
Jason was quite proud of this, "Can't help it, my genes are too strong."
I smiled, "That's true. I hope Jessica inherits your good looks."
"She's already pretty cute. She'll definitely be a stunning beauty in the future."
"That's for sure."
I couldn't help but laugh.
Thinking about it, I couldn't help saying, "Come to think of it, this is the first time you've praised Jessica."
Jason was a bit surprised, "I haven't praised her before?"
I thought carefully, "I don't think so."
Jason waved his hand, "It doesn't matter. You don't need to praise kids. She'll get cocky."
"Jessica won't. She's smart and modest. There's no way she'd get cocky."
Jason gave me a long look, then finally said, "Are your expectations for her too high?"
I sat down with the grapefruit, shaking my head, "Not at all. I just think my daughter is great."
Jason looked at me helplessly, sat down beside me, and ate grapefruit with me.
I tilted my head to look at him, "Were you just on the phone with Uncle George?"
Jason nodded, "Yeah, come with me to the company in a couple of days."
I was puzzled, "What would I do at the company?"
"Keep me company at work."
Hearing this, I kept shaking my head.
"I'm not going. I finally don't have to work. I've completely experienced the joy of not having to work."
Making me go to work now would be worse than killing me!
Jason pinched my face with amusement.
"Can't I just miss you? Working alone is too boring. As soon as I leave home, I miss you like crazy."
He was getting more and more clingy.
"We'll see later."
I shook my head, not taking it seriously.
The peaceful days didn't last long. I didn't expect to receive another call from Cora.
I couldn't help but find it funny.
What was she up to, or what ghost had possessed her?
Someone who hadn't called me in all these years—why was she suddenly contacting me so frequently?
Curiosity prompted me to answer the phone, "What is it?"
Cora's tone carried dissatisfaction as she directly ordered, "I need to see you about something. Come out and meet me."
I didn't want to see that face that looked like I owed her millions of dollars.
"What is it? Just tell me over the phone."