Chapter 42
Victoria gripped the lunch box tightly and bit her lower lip.
Impossible! She'd been keeping a close eye on him. There was never anyone else around Jason, so where did this girlfriend come from? This must be Jason's polite way of turning her down, right?
Victoria's eyes lit up.
That's right! It must be! As long as he wasn't flatly rejecting her, she still had a chance.
She'd worked so hard all these years just to become good enough to be worthy of Jason.
She would definitely marry into the Cooper family!
I sat at the dining table, head down, eating, trying my best to avoid making eye contact with Jason.
After such an intense argument earlier, Jason could still sit here calmly eating.
Just as I was thinking about this, Jason's phone rang.
He glanced at the caller and answered, putting it on speaker. "Grandma."
"Have you eaten yet?" Grandma Cooper's voice came through clearly.
"I'm eating right now, at Sue's place. Sue cooked the meal herself." Jason's tone was completely natural.
I silently gripped my chopsticks tighter.
"You little rascal, going to see my granddaughter-in-law without even telling me? I want to eat Sue's cooking too!" Grandma Cooper's voice immediately rose, full of complaint.
Jason chuckled softly.
He looked up at me and said meaningfully, "Next time. I'll have her cook for you. Her cooking is really delicious."
With Grandma on the phone, I couldn't really argue with him, so I could only glare at him fiercely.
Jason smiled even more happily.
Grandma Cooper said a few more words to Jason, telling him not to bully me.
Just before hanging up, Grandma Cooper said, "When will you bring Sue back for dinner again? I miss Sue."
"When she's free, I'll bring her back." Jason stared at me as he readily agreed.
After hanging up, the dining table fell silent again.
Jessica blinked, seeming to sense the awkward atmosphere. She obediently kept her head down and ate without saying anything.
After finishing her meal, she went straight back to her bedroom.
I finally couldn't hold back. I put down my chopsticks and asked with barely suppressed anger, "Jason, can you please stop making decisions on your own?"
"Grandma said she missed you, so I agreed to bring you back to see her. Isn't that fine?" Jason didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he'd done.
Watching his self-righteous expression made me angrier and angrier. "No, it's not fine! Not at all! What's our relationship right now? What right do you have to make decisions for me? And why are you telling people about our relationship?"
"I'm seriously pursuing you." Jason stared into my eyes, his expression stubborn and earnest. "It's okay if you don't agree now, but I'll keep pursuing you until you do."
"Narcissist!" I shouted angrily. What made him think that just because he pursued me, I would agree?
"It's called confidence." As Jason spoke, he suddenly hooked my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
"Look at me carefully." Jason's voice was low.
I didn't understand what he was trying to do, and I couldn't break free, so I had no choice but to look at him.
Under the warm lighting, his sharp features softened considerably, and his deep eyes were full of my reflection.
I instinctively held my breath, my heartbeat quickening.
Jason took in my reaction completely, a smile brewing in his eyes. "Handsome, right?"
That one sentence seemed to take me straight back to five years ago.
Back then, Kean always liked to show off and act cool in front of me.
He certainly had the right to do so, just his face alone was enough to make me completely infatuated.
The Jason before me now had shed his youthful innocence, appearing more mature and steady, and even more captivating.
I swallowed and looked away. "I'm trying to talk to you about something serious. What are you going on about?"
"I'm also talking about something serious. Whether you admit it or not, I am attractive to you." Jason moved closer to me, took my hand, and pressed it against his chest. Under my palm was a strong, steady heartbeat.
"Can you feel it? My heart is beating faster." Jason's voice was low, constantly tugging at my nerves.
I pressed my lips together, trying to keep my voice calm. "As long as a person is alive, their heart will beat."
"My heart is beating faster because I'm close to you. It's okay if you don't believe what I say, but heartbeats don't lie." Jason spoke word by word.
The heartbeat under my palm grew faster and faster, and the air around us seemed to heat up in that moment.
I jerked my hand back as if electrocuted and asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I'm proving to you that I love you, that I want to get back together, that I want to marry you." Jason stared at me intently. His gaze, filled with intense emotion, almost seemed to burn my soul.
My eyes trembled slightly, and I lowered them, avoiding his gaze.
In the past, when I was with Jason, I was very insecure about our relationship.
Maybe it was because I never experienced love in my childhood. When a partner appeared in my life, I would unconsciously seek affirmation and love from them.
I couldn't even count how many times.
I would always ask Jason, "Do you love me?"
But the response I got was basically always silence.
He never said he loved me.
Between couples, saying those three words is so normal, but he never said them.
No matter how I asked, no matter how I hinted, all I got was suffocating silence.
He never said it, but he did take good care of me in daily life.
Over time, though I felt unwilling, I still chose to compromise.
I never expected that five years after we parted, I would hear those three words from Jason's mouth.
But so what?
Just because he said "I love you," was I supposed to believe him?
He could hide his identity and be with me before, so why would he fall in love with me now?
And there were already more outstanding women around him...
I'd rather maintain things as they are now. At least now Jessica and I can live peacefully.
I didn't answer, and Jason didn't say anything more.
I slowly sighed and stood up to clear the table.
Jason helped me clean up.
"You can go out first. I'll wash the dishes myself." I grabbed the dish sponge first.
Jason said nothing and left the kitchen.
I made my dishwashing quieter, secretly listening for sounds outside.
There were rustling sounds from outside, then, after a moment, silence.
After cleaning up the kitchen, I instinctively searched the house for Jason.
The sofa where he usually liked to sit was now empty.
I stood there for a moment, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Just as I was about to gather the trash to take downstairs, I noticed the trash can was empty.
The sound from earlier had been Jason taking out the trash.
Before leaving, he'd taken the trash with him.