Chapter 169: Can It Ever Be Repaid?
Jack pulled the car over and growled, “Get out!” His patience had finally run out.
Alison, Sophia, and Ethan filled his mind.
“No. Why should I? I’m not getting out,” Aimée retorted.
“Then shut up. Otherwise, I’ll drag you out myself.” His tone was cold, and she knew he meant it.
In the end, she obediently fell silent. She knew she was no match for him if she pushed back.
She stared silently out the window, tears falling.
Was this worth it?
No! I can’t give up.
The car soon arrived at Alison’s house.
Jack pulled over and ran toward the small building.
Watching his retreating figure, Aimée sneered. I would never reveal her new address.
She wanted to see how he would react.
Before long, Jack returned, gloomy.
Stealing a glance, she noticed his hand trembling slightly—utterly strange.
His face was ashen, his anxiety plain.
Aimée seethed. Alison had such a profound effect on him.
Yet his expression made her hesitate to lash out.
They had yet to share any intimacy. But she was certain that if they had just one encounter, she would conceive his child. She was sure of it. Her experience with Aidan had already proven she conceived easily.
The car pulled up again outside Alison’s flower shop.
Jack dashed out once more, but soon returned empty-handed.
This time, he didn’t hurry to drive off. Instead, he sat silently, still gloomy.
Aimée sat quietly beside him, sensing the man at her side was on the verge of erupting. She remained silent.
After a long while, he came back to himself, sat up straight, and the car resumed its normal speed.
The car was heading toward their apartment.
Jack drove, the scenery before him shifting between sharp focus and blurred haze.
He couldn’t understand why Alison and the children had vanished.
He searched everywhere, but found no trace.
Where had she gone? Why had she left without saying anything?
The more he failed to fathom the reason, the more his heart ached.
As he neared the apartment, every version of Alison floated vividly before his eyes.
The car careened wildly down the street, narrowly avoiding disaster several times.
Aimée turned pale with fear, but dared not utter a word.
When the car finally pulled into the apartment building, Aimée sighed in relief. “Jack, you go. I’ll wait in the car.”
All she wanted now was to get away from him, before his rage consumed her.
Jack ignored her, slamming the car door shut.
He strode toward the lift lobby.
With every step, he felt Alison beside him. He reached out, only to clutch at empty air.
Jack began running frantically toward the lifts, his hand still trembling as he jabbed the floor button.
In the elevator, he thought, if she isn’t here, then I truly have no idea where else she could be.
He sprinted down the hallway, closer and closer to the apartment door, his heart pounding.
His hands shook as he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
He took a deep breath—and found the scene before him wasn’t a mess, but a tidy space.
She had been here.
Only Alison would have tidied his room; Emily never bothered.
He checked every corner, but there was no sign of her or the children.
The clothes he had tossed aside were neatly hung back in their place.
On the shoe rack, the slippers he had flung carelessly were now set neatly side by side. But her pair—the ones he had saved for her for four years—was missing.
He scanned the room frantically until his gaze settled on the table in front of the sofa.
There lay a small bundle wrapped in floral fabric.
As he walked over, a tremor seized him the moment his fingers touched it.
He quickly withdrew his hand as though it were a ticking time bomb, ready to explode.
He stared at it, chest tightening.
Why? What exactly is it?
Closing his eyes, he fumbled to open the bundle.