Chapter 223: On the Brink
“Alison, don’t worry. Trust me; the kids will be fine.” Jack tried to reassure her.
The car sped along, faster than before.
“Alison, try to rest,” Jack added.
As the car entered the bustling streets of S City, Alison gazed out the window, her mind in chaos.
“Jack, let’s go see Isabella.”
“Alison, let’s rest at the apartment. I’ll call my mother to find out what’s going on.”
He drove straight to the apartment. After parking, he wrapped his arm around her as they stepped into the elevator.
His embrace snapped her back to reality. “Jack, where are we?”
“We’re going back to the apartment. Don’t be afraid. I just want you to rest and relax.”
“No, Jack, it’s getting dark. Call Isabella and ask if the children are back yet. I miss them so much.” She shook his arm.
He reassured, “Don’t worry. I’ll call my mom as soon as we get to the apartment. Sophia and Ethan are her grandchildren. She wouldn’t do anything to them.”
Inside the apartment, he guided her into the bathroom. “Take a shower. I’ll have news for you when you’re done, okay?”
His gaze made her nod. “Okay.”
He smiled and silently resolved not to let his mother hurt Alison again because of Aimée.
After watching her enter the bathroom, he closed the glass door and walked to the living room. He dialed his mother’s number, wondering where the children might be.
“Mom, it’s me, Jack,” he said in a low voice.
“What is it?” Isabella asked calmly.
“Mom, did you take the kids?”
“Oh, yes. Your grandfather wanted to see them, so I brought them to the family home.”
“Mom, why didn’t you tell us first?” he asked, hating his mother’s secretive ways.
“Jack, you didn’t tell me when you left S City.”
“Mom, I had an emergency.”
“Camping in the mountains counts as an emergency?” Isabella’s tone grew harsher. “You two don’t care about the kids at all! How can you just abandon them to go have fun yourselves?”
“Mom, I dragged her along on the camping trip. Besides, it’s been four years; she really deserves a break. How can you say she hasn’t been taking good care of them?”
“Fine. The kids are at the ancestral home, and your grandfather watches them every day,” Isabella replied.
“Mom, Alison and I will head back to the ancestral home tonight.”
“Do as you please, but you know your grandfather’s temper.” With that, Isabella hung up.
Jack slammed his phone down and punched the back of the sofa.
“Jack, are the kids okay?” Alison happened to walk out just then and saw the punch. She knew things hadn’t gone well.
Hearing her voice, Jack turned his head and smiled.
“It’s okay,” he said casually. “We’ll go back to the ancestral home together tonight.”
“Okay,” she replied, her tone unwavering. She felt it was wrong to abandon the children just to be alone with Jack.
“Alison, are you regretting this?”
“Why?” She looked up in confusion, unsure of what he meant.
Jack walked up to her, enveloping her hands in his. “Don’t regret it, Alison. Going camping was the right choice. I don’t regret it. Not one bit.”
Her face tightened with guilt, her eyes turning red.
Jack let her lean against his shoulder. “Alison, cry if you need to, but don’t regret it. Even if you hadn’t gone camping, if my mom wanted to take Sophia and Ethan, she would have done it anyway, right?”
His words made sense, yet she couldn’t shake the guilt. “Jack, we absolutely have to bring Sophia and Ethan back tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
Jack considered that keeping Alison at the ancestral home might be a solution—if she spent more time with his mother and grandfather, maybe they would accept her.
“Jack, keep your word.” Her heart still felt unsettled.
“Okay.” He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, hoping it would soothe her troubled heart.