Chapter 71
"I don't think anything's different," Jason frowned and replied calmly.
"Of course it's different!" I raised my voice.
Realizing I was getting too emotional, I tried hard to calm myself down. "Before, you were just Kean, a man who could feel happy squeezing into a tiny rental with me. But now it's different. You're Jason, the head of Glacier Corp, someone the whole Seaside City trembles at the mention of. You have power, influence, and the massive Cooper family behind you now, while I'm just an ordinary woman. How can we possibly go back to what we were?"
"Jason, please let me go." I let out everything I'd been holding inside in one breath.
I actually felt surprisingly lighter.
It felt good to say it out loud. After making things clear like this, Jason surely wouldn't keep pestering me anymore.
From now on, Jessica and I could live a peaceful life.
I forced myself to ignore the sense of loss in my heart.
"None of that matters." Jason's voice suddenly rang out.
His eyes locked onto me, not hiding his possessiveness at all. "I told you, only I get to decide what happens between us."
He stood up, his tall frame's shadow instantly covering me.
Jason reached out to hook my chin, saying, "I know you have your secrets right now. I won't force you to tell me. I'll wait until the day you're willing to tell me yourself."
With that, Jason turned and left.
I sat down on the bed in a daze, not even hearing the bedroom door close.
What I didn't know was that when Jason saw the bag still sitting on the shoe cabinet, unopened, his eyes dimmed.
Jason took out the kitchen trash with him.
After throwing away the garbage, he didn't drive off right away but sat in the car and lit a cigarette.
His phone rang with an incoming call. Seeing it was Victoria, Jason hung up with a frown.
She called several times in a row, and Jason hung up on all of them.
Then Victoria sent a string of messages.
Jason didn't even want to open them. He long-pressed the conversation and deleted the chat directly.
At the same time, in Victoria's studio apartment.
Victoria stared at her phone with an almost twisted expression.
She had originally wanted to call Jason to tell him that Sue actually had a daughter.
But Jason wouldn't answer.
Before, although Jason was cold to her, he would at least answer the phone.
Ever since Jason brought Sue to confront her face-to-face, Jason's attitude toward her had become even colder.
When the calls wouldn't go through, she could only message Jason.
She told Jason everything about Jessica in one go.
Once Jason learned the truth, he would surely see through that bitch Sue!
Then Jason would know that she was the one who truly loved him!
Another day, and I was working at the company as usual.
A colleague beside me suddenly let out a strange cry.
I was startled, and my train of thought was interrupted.
"What's wrong? Why so excited all of a sudden?" I turned to look, a bit curious.
Having worked together for so long, this colleague was usually pretty calm and steady. What could have happened today to get her this excited?
My colleague put her phone in front of me, opening her mouth with shock all over her face. "Mr. Ethan and Miss Perez are getting engaged, and the engagement party is in two months!"
So sudden?
I was stunned for a moment.
The last time I saw Elizabeth was when she angrily threw water on me.
Hadn't Brian said he didn't like Elizabeth back then?
The confusion flashed through my mind, but I quickly let it go.
I was just a subordinate. My boss's love life had nothing to do with me.
I just hoped that after their engagement, Elizabeth wouldn't unreasonably interfere with my work.
"How is the news of Mr. Ethan's engagement so sudden? You're always around, Mr. Ethan. Have you heard any inside information?" My colleague winked at me mysteriously.
I shook my head gently. "No, I just found out about this, too."
Seeing that my colleague wanted to ask more, I reminded her, "These are all the boss's private matters, not something we should be thinking about or asking about."
I didn't like gossiping behind people's backs either, especially when the subject was my direct supervisor.
Only then did my colleague close her mouth.
I didn't see Brian all day. It wasn't until after work that I ran into someone unexpected.
"Sue! Wait, I need to talk to you!" Mia walked over in a Chanel-style suit, carrying a designer bag and wearing stilettos.
She looked at me with a condescending, scrutinizing gaze. "Do you know Brian's getting engaged?"
I nodded slightly, not quite understanding why she'd come to tell me this specifically.
"You're the woman who's been by Brian's side the longest. Now that you've heard Brian's getting engaged to another woman, don't you feel sad at all?" Mia asked again.
I couldn't help but frown.
Why would I be sad about Brian getting engaged?
I glanced at the time. It was already time for after-school care to let out.
I couldn't help but urge, "Miss Ethan, if you have something to say, can you just say it? My child is waiting for me to pick her up from school."
"Child?" Mia was instantly stunned, looking at me in disbelief. "You already have a child?"
I nodded in acknowledgment.
Mia hesitated for a moment, then pressed on, "Are you married?"
"No." I didn't like being interrogated like this and didn't say more.
I had Jessica with love in my heart.
I didn't want her to be looked at through colored lenses by others.
Not only was Mia not angry at being rebuffed, but she actually smiled. "It's good you're not married! I didn't really like you before, but I still support you being with Brian. As long as you're willing to fight for it, I'll help you!"
Terry had warned me not to get too close to Brian, yet here she was encouraging me to be with him.
A flash of insight crossed my mind.
Mia wanted to use me to weaken Brian's position at DT Corp.
Compared to me, an ordinary woman with no background, Elizabeth was obviously much more accomplished. Her marriage to Brian could provide him with much more support.
That naturally wasn't what Mia wanted to see.
But what did any of this have to do with me?
I was just an ordinary employee with no interest in my supervisor's love affairs, and I wouldn't get involved.
"Miss Ethan, you may have misunderstood. I'm just Mr. Ethan's subordinate. I don't have any feelings for Mr. Ethan now, and I won't in the future. I hope you won't say things like this again." I replied calmly, word by word.
After speaking, I didn't give Mia a chance to say more and got straight into my car.
I drove to Sunshine Kindergarten, where Jessica was already sitting on a small stool by the school gate, waiting.
"Jessica." I got out of the car and walked over quickly, only to be stopped by a teacher who seemed to want to say something.
"Sue, there's something I've been thinking about for a long time, and I still feel I should tell you about it."