The Man's Second Act (Part 2)
"Skyla, go look out the window," Alison instructed.
"Okay." Skyla nodded.
"Ma'am, there are three big trucks," she reported upon returning.
"Trucks?" Alison immediately sensed that something was off.
Even if Jack wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't go so far as to call in something as big as a truck, would he?
Three large trucks were parked outside the main gate.
Alison took a quick look and froze—the pointed tips sticking out of the trucks looked just like the spikes on a durian.
"Skyla, keep an eye on the kids. I'm going out to check it out," she said.
Could Jack have bought them?
And three whole truckloads?
Alison casually opened the glass door.
Jack came up to her. "Honey..."
Ignoring him, Alison walked toward the main entrance. "Sir, what's this?"
"Delivery," the lead truck driver replied without hesitation.
"You must have the wrong address," Alison said, puzzled.
"No, that's correct," the driver said firmly.
"XXX Street, XXX, right?" he said earnestly, reading from the note in his hand.
Alison turned and looked at Jack, who had caught up with her. "Did you buy this?"
Jack froze for a moment.
He'd assumed that Alison had bought the durian to punish him.
He turned his head to look at the three truckloads of durians and remembered Caden's words: "Jack, don't worry. I'll make sure to fulfill your request and have all the discontinued durians delivered right to your door."
He never expected him actually to send the durians.
What kind of game was the executive director of Maple Leaf Global Group playing with him?
Seeing that he remained silent, Alison held back her smile and snapped at him in annoyance. "Jack…"
Jack snapped out of his daze, turned around, and ordered the security guard to open the main gate.
Three large trucks drove in one after another.
"Honey, of course I bought them."
Alison burst out laughing.
Earlier, she had only been joking about making him kneel for durians—she never expected him actually to bring them home.
"Do we really have to unload them?" she asked.
"Sure. It's up to you, honey." Jack leaned forward, bringing his handsome face close to hers.
His husky voice reached her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her heart.
"Ten."
"As you wish," Jack whispered.
The two had the workers start unloading, which left Jack uneasy.
His tall figure followed behind Alison, but his gaze shot a cold glance at the three truckloads of durians.
"Hold on."
"Sir, what's the matter?"
"Wait a minute." Jack suddenly remembered something and pulled out his phone, quickly dialing Audrey's number. "As Sophia and Ethan's teacher, come check all the durians in the house. I don't want anything to go wrong."
"Okay, sir."
The car hadn't driven far before Audrey turned around and came back.
"Jack, I'll give you credit for having the guts to admit you were wrong. Hmph." Alison turned around and snorted.
He moved closer and wrapped his arm around her. "Honey, you don't need to give me credit. I've always had the guts. How about we put it to the test right now?"
She felt that he was hiding something from her.
A shootout.
His car was clearly there.
Yet here he was, safe and sound.
Did the police let him off the hook?
Or...
Gabriel.
Those two words suddenly flashed through her mind.
She reached out and gently pushed against his chest, wondering if he was playing that game again.
If he had always been sincere with her, there was only one possible explanation:
Gabriel—he'd turned back into Gabriel.
She caught the lingering smell of gunpowder from the shootout on his shirt.
As she leaned against Jack's chest, her thoughts raced and spun into a chaotic whirlwind.
"Achoo…" She couldn't help but sneeze. She had gotten soaked in the rain earlier.
Her expression darkened. "Go make some soup."
"Okay, honey, I'll make it myself." Jack agreed, feeling guilty as he imagined Alison walking in the rain after he kicked her out of the car.
In a corner of the yard, durians were still being unloaded.
Skyla was a bit bewildered. "Ma'am, there's nowhere to store these durians. Are you going to leave them at our house?"
The smell was overwhelming, and durians were Skyla's least favorite thing.
"Jack bought them."
"Bought this many durians?" Skyla's eyes widened.
"Durians have many uses. Yes, they're very useful." Alison glanced back and smiled.
The soup smelled delicious, with a hint of spice.
A large bowl of it was brought over and placed in front of her.
"Alison, drink up."
The man's voice was deep and hoarse, and his face was etched with genuine concern—not a trace of pretense.
Alison thought of Gwendolyn being taken to the police station.
Wasn't he worried about her at all?
He should have gone to check on the situation, at least.
Never mind.
If he had truly transformed back into Gabriel, she wouldn't be able to uncover his secrets, even if she wanted to.
He wouldn't give her the chance to find out anyway.