Chapter 81
Lily still felt uneasy and said worriedly, "Sue, if anything happens, you must call me. I'll face it with you."
Hearing Lily's words, a warmth spread through my heart. "Okay, I'm going to check on Jessica. Talk to you later."
As soon as I hung up, my phone rang again.
I thought Lily had forgotten to say something. I picked up my phone, but the moment I saw who was calling, my breathing unconsciously stopped.
The words "Mom" vibrated on my phone screen.
These should be the warmest two words, but for me, they were like a nightmare.
The ringtone kept going, like a death knell from hell, dragging me down into the abyss.
I clenched my teeth, trying my best to stay calm.
The moment I answered the call, my heart jumped into my throat.
"Hello..."
"Sue! You're really something! All you do out there is embarrass me. How can you be so shameless? Having a child out of wedlock is one thing, but now it's been exposed. You're a disgrace to the Wilson family!"
Before I could say anything, Cora's sharp cursing came from the other end.
"All these years, never calling home, never coming back, just causing trouble out there. How did I give birth to a daughter like you?!"
The corner of my lips twitched. My heart, which I thought had gone numb from the pain, still felt sharp pangs at this moment.
I thought I didn't care anymore.
I had called Cora before.
I'd called her twice, both times when I missed her terribly and gathered all my courage to dial.
But both ended in dead silence.
Cora didn't answer. Now she was blaming me for never contacting the family.
At least, in the moment before the call connected, a rare fantasy had risen in my heart - maybe Cora was calling because she cared about me?
The pain was so intense I could barely breathe, yet I laughed. Big tears burst from my eyes and fell hard on my clenched fist.
"You still have the nerve to laugh?!" Cora caught my laughter and scolded angrily, "I really regret having a daughter like you! So embarrassing!"
I stopped laughing, my voice trembling uncontrollably. "Actually, you don't have to acknowledge me. Just pretend you never had me."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Cora's voice, suppressing her anger, "Are you trying to cut ties with me?"
I smiled bitterly, tears flowing even more, and asked back, "What's the difference between now and cutting ties?"
Could it still allow Cora to call and curse at me?
The call was hung up.
The bedroom fell into a deathly silence.
I sat on the bed in a daze.
The door opened at that moment. Jessica saw my tear-stained face, froze for a second, then quickly ran over and carefully hugged me. "Mommy, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Only then did I come back to my senses. Meeting Jessica's concerned eyes, I forced out a smile.
Stroking Jessica's little head, my drifting heart miraculously settled down a bit.
"Mommy's fine."
Jessica clearly didn't believe me.
She stood on tiptoe and carefully wiped the tears from my face with her soft little hands. "You're lying. You're crying, so something must be really upsetting you."
Jessica squeezed her whole little body into my arms and hugged me tight. "But it's okay. No matter what happens, I'll always be with you."
My heart was full of emotion as I held her tight.
For a moment, no one spoke in the room. Only the sound of our heartbeats remained.
After a while, I felt a bit better and finally let go of Jessica.
Jessica looked up, blinking at me. "Mommy, what can I do to make you feel better?"
A smile appeared on my face. "How about letting Mommy give you a kiss?"
"Okay!" Jessica immediately brought her little face close.
I kissed her, then turned my face to the side. "Will you give Mommy a kiss too?"
"Okay!" A soft kiss landed on my face, completely driving away the last bit of pain in my heart.
No matter what, I still had Jessica by my side.
After staying in bed with Jessica for a while, I got up and said, "You must be hungry. I'll go make breakfast."
Jessica followed behind me, checked the time, and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to work today?"
"No, I took the day off."
Breakfast was simple sandwiches.
Jessica didn't have a phone, so she didn't know about the online discussions about me.
I knew, but I didn't actively look. I'd even left my phone in the bedroom.
While we were eating breakfast, someone suddenly pounded hard on the door.
Jessica jumped, about to speak when she heard Jason's voice from outside, "Sue, open the door! I know you and Jessica are both home!"
"Mommy..." Jessica looked at me hesitantly and said carefully, "What's wrong with Uncle Jason today? He sounds like he's in a bad mood."
I knew the answer.
With everything blowing up online, Jason must have seen it.
I looked at Jessica, my voice calmer than I expected, "Jessica, go open the door."
Jessica nodded obediently and went to open the door.
From where I was sitting, I could see Jason's eyes instantly turn red when he saw Jessica.
Jessica looked up blankly and asked in confusion, "Uncle Jason, why are you at our house so early?"
Jason's lips paused. He squatted down and rubbed Jessica's little head. "How long were you and your mom planning to keep lying to me?"
Jessica instinctively turned to look at me, her eyes full of panicked guilt at being found out.
I stood up and had just taken two steps when Jason, not giving me a chance to speak, grabbed me and headed straight for the bedroom!
The door closed.
I sat on the bed, head down, not looking at Jason's face.
The person in front of me was emotional; even his breathing was heavy.
After a moment, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Why didn't you answer the phone? I called you many times, but you didn't answer."
I froze for a moment, not expecting this to be the first thing Jason asked.
"My phone's over there. I didn't hear it." I pointed to the phone I'd tossed on the other side of the bed.
Jason squatted down, kneeling on one knee and looking up at me, asking, "What about Jessica? Is what they're saying online true?"
I pressed my lips together and said, "It's already pretty obvious, isn't it?"
"I need you to tell me yourself!" Jason raised his voice.
I paused, then said softly, "Yes, Jessica is your child."
Jason immediately became agitated. He gripped my wrist tightly, his voice trembling as he asked, "She's my child - why didn't you tell me sooner? Why did you raise her alone for five years?"
I felt a bit dazed.
I don't know why, but I seemed to hear heartache in his voice.
Meeting Jason's tear-filled eyes, I looked away and said slowly, "I had no choice. I couldn't find you."
Five years - I'd searched for Jason for a full five years.
But who was he?
As long as he wanted, I could never find him in this lifetime.
So now, what was he asking when he already knew the answer?