Chapter 39
I thought for sure Jason would refuse.
After all, he didn't look like he was in any state to sit down and have a calm meal together.
But Jason nodded slightly and accepted readily, "Sure."
I looked at him a couple of times, wanting to say something but holding back.
I went to the kitchen and made a simple dinner.
It was the first time the three of us sat at the same table for a meal.
Jessica was obviously very happy, chatting away with Jason.
Jason was very patient too, responding to everything she said.
Watching them interact, I felt both comforted and deeply sad.
After dinner, I made an excuse about taking out the trash to go downstairs, leaving Jessica and Jason some time alone.
Jessica really loved her dad. Whenever Jason came over, she would cling to him.
After throwing out the trash, I didn't go back up right away. Instead, I wandered around downstairs for half an hour.
Figuring Jason should have left by then, I got ready to go back upstairs.
But just as the elevator doors opened, I ran right into Jason.
He walked up to me with his long strides, looking down at me with an overwhelming presence. "You're avoiding me."
His tone was quite certain.
I lowered my head to avoid his gaze and replied as calmly as possible, "I'm not. I just don't want you to have any scandals."
After all, he even went on business trips with Victoria.
As his ex, I should stay out of the way and ideally never appear in front of Jason again.
Jason asked unhappily, "What scandals?"
I didn't want to talk about Victoria in front of Jason, so I just said, "If you want, you can take Jessica out when you're free, but there's no chance for us."
"I came to see you, and you're telling me to just see the kid?" Jason's voice dropped as he stared at me.
His gaze made me uncomfortable, as if he could see right through me.
I took two steps back, putting distance between us, and said, "The past is the past. There's no chance for us anymore."
"That's not for you to decide." Jason stepped forward, closing the distance between us again.
He reached out and grabbed my wrist.
I instinctively tried to pull away, but he held on tight.
Jason stared straight at me and said word by word, "I'm the one who decides."
I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to calm my increasingly rapid heartbeat.
The Jason standing before me now was completely different from Kean back then.
The young, inexperienced Kean had become more mature over five years, and more domineering too.
I stared at my wrist in Jason's grip, opened my mouth, but said nothing.
I didn't understand. He should hate me, so why was he pursuing me so relentlessly now?
After a moment, Jason let go of my hand and said, "I know you don't believe what I'm saying right now, but that's okay. We have a long future ahead."
With that, he left.
I instinctively turned to watch his retreating figure and noticed he was still carrying the gift he'd brought back from Rosewood City.
When I got home, I immediately saw the gift box still sitting on the coffee table.
So what Jason took was...
I went into the kitchen to check.
Sure enough, the gift Brian gave me was gone.
I couldn't help twitching my lips. Was he jealous?
I opened the gift. Inside, besides the signature rose cookies from Rosewood City, there was also an exquisitely wrapped small box.
When I opened it, it was a bracelet.
Light purple mixed with gold, looking especially radiant under the light.
In a corner of the bracelet, our initials were engraved, with a very cheesy heart in between.
I stared at it for a moment, my cheeks suddenly feeling warm.
Back when Jason and I were still together, I had ordered custom couple t-shirts online.
Besides our photos printed on them, they also had our initials and that same heart.
When Jason got the shirts, he said rather disdainfully, "The quality of these shirts is terrible. You got scammed."
"Two shirts for only 10 dollars, so cheap!" I argued back.
Our life wasn't well-off back then, and I didn't have high standards for clothes.
Jason complained about them, but still honestly wore his out.
The next day his skin broke out in a rash, which made me feel guilty for a long time.
Those two shirts ended up just sitting in the closet.
I put the bracelet in a box at the very back of my dresser and shut it firmly.
Actually, I wanted to throw the bracelet away. But in the end, I couldn't bear to.
The next morning, after getting up and making Jessica's lunch, I drove to the company.
David, the assistant who went on the business trip with Brian a few days ago, was sharing rose cookies with other colleagues.
When they saw me arrive, they offered me one too. "Ms. Wilson, try one. Rosewood City's rose cookies are really famous."
I found it strange. Didn't Brian say everyone in the company would get some?
But I still took it and thanked him quietly.
David waved his hand and continued talking to his colleagues, "I feel like we didn't buy enough this time. Next time if I get to go to Rosewood City on business, I'll buy more."
Other colleagues chimed in, "Help me buy some next time, too."
While they were talking, Brian arrived at the office too.
He walked straight to my desk and tapped his fingers on the surface. "Ms. Wilson, come to my office for a moment."
I followed him in.
I was confused but didn't ask.
Brian handed me several files and said, "Process these."
I took the files and left the office.
Brian gave me quite a lot of work.
Although DT Corp had plenty of assistants, Brian gave me all the confidential company documents to handle.
And I had to work hard to live up to that trust.
Time flew by, and soon it was noon.
A colleague invited me to lunch. I looked at the files that were still half-finished and shook my head. "You guys go ahead. I'll grab something quick after I finish this."
David came over and pulled the colleague away.
They hadn't gone far when their conversation drifted into my ears.
"Ms. Wilson is really different. She has way more work than us."
"How could it be the same? Ms. Wilson is Mr. Ethan's right-hand assistant. We can't compare to Ms. Wilson. Come on, let's go eat."
I shook my head and ignored those voices.
The company was full of Terry's spies. I was the only one Brian truly trusted.
While I was busy, a figure suddenly appeared in front of me.
I thought it was a colleague and said without looking up, "You guys go eat. Don't wait for me."
"Working so hard you're skipping meals?" It was Brian's voice.
Only then did I look up, meeting Brian's slightly concerned gaze.
Without giving me a choice, he pulled me up and said, "Come on, let's eat first."
"No need, Mr. Ethan. I'll just finish this bit of work and then go eat."
I tried to pull my hand back, but Brian wouldn't let go.
I couldn't help frowning, about to say something, when I suddenly heard an angry shout, "What are you two doing?!"