Chapter 25
"Sue, you have no idea how beautiful it is here! You really need to come visit when you have time off!"
Lily suddenly lowered her voice and added mysteriously, "Oh, and there are lots of hot guys here too!"
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and teased her, "So, have you found anyone you're interested in?"
Lily replied, "Not yet. They're good-looking, but something's just missing."
Seeing her so full of energy, the weight on my chest finally lifted.
Lily must have moved on from her ex-boyfriend.
"How much longer are you planning to stay before coming back?" I asked.
"About a week." Lily seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Oh, right, when you went on that business trip last week, who did you leave Jessica with?"
When I told her about it that day, she was busy and didn't catch everything.
"Jason." Just mentioning his name made me feel helpless.
"What?!" Lily's eyes went wide. "How could you leave the kid with him? Aren't you worried the Cooper family might find out? What if they..."
I shook my head gently and said, "If that day really comes, I'll respect Jessica's choice."
Jessica really liked Jason and accepted him as her dad. I couldn't keep blocking that forever.
Lily looked at me deeply but didn't say anything more.
She knew Jessica was my everything, yet I was still willing to let Jessica spend time with Jason.
If the Cooper family found out Jessica was Jason's biological daughter, they might just take her away from me.
Even so, I still chose to go along with what Jessica wanted.
She thought I was braver and stronger than she'd imagined.
We chatted a bit more before hanging up.
I put away my phone and came out of the stairwell, only to unexpectedly see a figure.
I asked, "Mr. Ethan? What are you doing here?"
Brian put out his cigarette, his expression somewhat unnaturally stiff. "I just came to have a smoke and relax. Didn't expect anyone else to be here."
I quickly said, "I'll head back now. Take your time."
I walked away quickly, not noticing Brian's eyes darkening.
He actually hadn't just arrived.
But he didn't say anything. He really had come to the hallway for a smoke and happened to overhear my conversation with Lily.
So it was Jason who had taken Jessica.
Brian ground the cigarette butt forcefully and lit another one.
After work ended in the afternoon, I opened the home security camera to see what Jessica was doing.
I searched through all the cameras but couldn't see Jessica anywhere.
I quickly called Jessica's kids' watch.
The watch rang for a while, then Jason's voice answered, "Hello, what's up?"
"Is Jessica with you?" My voice was tight.
How did Jessica end up at Jason's place?
"I was about to ask you the same thing. Jessica is only four years old. You're leaving such a young child home alone?" Jason snorted coldly. "Aren't you worried something might happen to her?"
Leaving a four-year-old home alone - I really deserved to be scolded for that.
I pressed my lips together, my tone softening a bit. "I know this is my fault, but I don't have much choice. Jessica doesn't want to go to kindergarten, and I have to work. I can't exactly bring Jessica to the office."
Jason said, "Not wanting to go to kindergarten isn't a big deal."
Jason remembered he didn't like kindergarten as a kid either, so the Cooper family arranged for the best teachers to come teach him at home.
He paused, then added, "If you don't have time to look after her, I can arrange for a nanny."
A nanny...
A strong sense of helplessness surged through me.
Everything in Seaside City was expensive. I still needed to save money to buy a house and pay for Jessica's education. I couldn't afford it at all.
And I didn't want to owe Jason any more favors.
"Let's talk about that later." I took a deep breath and changed the subject. "Sorry for the trouble today. I'll come pick her up after work."
"No need, I'll bring her back to you." Jason refused outright.
With that, he hung up directly.
For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this.
When I got home from work and opened the door, I looked up to see Jason sitting casually on the sofa.
Seeing me come in, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Off work?"
"Yeah." My gaze fell on Jessica beside him.
Jessica obviously felt guilty and looked away, not daring to meet my eyes.
So there was a reason Jason knew my home address.
I wasn't angry, just felt a bit bitter inside.
I'd always known Jessica really liked Jason, but I hadn't expected a child's attachment to her father to be this strong.
I needed to find a chance soon to tell Jason that Jessica was his biological daughter.
I just wasn't mentally prepared yet.
"Thank you, Mr. Cooper, for watching Jessica today. Sorry for the trouble." I looked at Jason and thanked him sincerely.
Jason stared at me with a half-smile, his words loaded with meaning. "Just saying thanks isn't enough. Won't you let me stay for dinner?"
I could only agree helplessly. "Alright, but I only have home-cooked food here. Hope you don't mind."
Luckily, I'd bought plenty of groceries on my way home from work.
I washed vegetables and cooked in the kitchen while Jason went to the balcony for some air.
The balcony was small, with lots of clothes hanging up.
Jason raised his hand to push the clothes aside and walked to the railing to lean against it.
When he first arrived at my place, Jason had discreetly checked around the whole apartment.
Good - no signs of any man living here.
He was in a good mood.
Just then, Grandma Cooper video-called him, and he answered.
Before Jason could speak, Grandma Cooper burst out excitedly, "You've finally come to your senses! Is it that young lady I met last time? She's very pretty, you better not let her go! Be nice to her, don't bully her!"
Jason replied, "Grandma, what are you talking about? I'm outside."
"You think you can fool me? Look what's behind your head!" Grandma Cooper said irritably.
Jason instinctively turned his head, and his face pressed right into my white bra.
His face turned red, his ears turned red too.
I came out of the kitchen, wanting to ask Jason if there was anything special he wanted to eat, when I saw this scene!
This pervert!
He was actually smelling my underwear!
My face instantly flushed red. I screamed and rushed over, yanked down the bra, and ran straight to the bedroom!
Grandma Cooper was about to say something more on the call, but Jason hung up directly.
Jason's gaze fixed on my retreating figure, his lips slowly curving up.
Was Sue embarrassed?
She was still so cute.
But...
Jason looked down at a certain part of himself, stirring restlessly, and continued standing on the balcony in the breeze.
Just being close to her made him lose the self-control he'd always prided himself on.