Chapter 58 Stayed Out All Night
"What, you're not happy about it?"
"No, I'm not," she replied coldly, her anger clear. Jack was using her to get under Aidan's skin. If Aidan really cared about her, he'd be livid.
"But I am," Jack said, and without warning, he leaned in to kiss Alison.
"You... you're too much." Without thinking, she slapped him hard. The sound echoed across the rooftop, making her ears ring.
One of his hands was still supporting her back, while the other had let go and was now touching his face.
It must have hurt like hell because Alison could already see the clear imprint of her hand on his cheek.
But Jack was still smiling. At that moment, everything on the rooftop seemed so bizarre. What was happening? Why had things changed so suddenly? Her palm stung from the slap, and though she had hit him, her hand hurt just as much.
"Do you think he'll marry you if you stay with him? He won't. So, being with him or with me will end the same way."
"Who says I won't marry her? Alison, give me your hand. If you nod, I'll marry you right now," Aidan shouted at Jack without a second thought.
"Clap... clap..." Jack didn't care about the slap mark on his face. He clapped his hands and smiled, "Big brother, you finally decided to give the chairman an answer. Thank you."
"Jack, are you playing me?" Aidan asked, pulling Alison down the steps and glaring up at Jack.
"Big brother, don't take it so seriously. I just wanted to hear your true feelings and give you my blessings. Isn't that a good thing?"
Aidan had spoken impulsively; he had never thought about marrying Alison.
"Big brother, consider this trip to Paris as your early honeymoon. Book the tickets, and I'll see you at the airport the day after tomorrow."
"You agreed?"
"Did I say I didn't?" Jack said, jumping down the steps and landing steadily beside Aidan. He glanced at Alison, "Big brother, you better keep an eye on her, or next time, I can't promise I won't take her away."
Jack casually dusted off his hands and walked towards the door leading back to the world below.
So, it was all a game to Jack.
She felt foolish for thinking his gentleness under the grapevine was real, for falling for him again.
In the end, it was all fake.
He just wanted to push her towards Aidan.
As long as Aidan got married and had children, Jack wouldn't be pressured by the chairman to continue the family line.
And because he despised her face, he deliberately humiliated her.
After feeling moved, all she got in return was humiliation.
His back no longer seemed lonely to her, but heartless and cold.
In his world, there was no place for love.
To him, women were nothing but a naked transaction.
She wanted to tell Jack that it wasn't just others who had wronged him; he had wronged her too.
In fact, she was the most innocent one.
"Aidan, he's gone. You should let go of me now," Alison said, looking towards the door.
"Alison, I'm serious."
"Really?"
"Really."
"But I don't believe you." She shook off his hand, "If you want me to stay at YD, to stay by your side, then respect me. Otherwise, when I return from Paris, I'll leave YD." She meant it.
She wasn't a casual woman, and she found it exhausting to be caught between Jack and Aidan.
If finding the truth meant losing herself, she'd rather give up.
In this world, the innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will be exposed. She believed the truth would come out eventually.
"Alison, you agreed to go to Paris?" Aidan hadn't planned to announce Alison as his girlfriend so soon; he hadn't even won her over yet. But Jack's meddling had thrown everything into chaos.
"Yeah, I did." She wanted to go to Paris, to ease Jack's hostility towards YD. Although the accident wasn't his fault, their relationship had been strained for too long. After all, they were family, sharing the same blood. Those grudges should have been resolved long ago.
If possible, she was willing to be the bridge between them. Despite being angry at what Jack had just done to her, she still hoped he wouldn't be lonely.
Just then, Aidan's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and answered, "Hey, sis, what's up?"
Alison couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, only Aidan's responses: "Who said that? It's not true." "How could it be so fast?" "What? You want me to bring her home this weekend? No way, I'm going to Paris the day after tomorrow. Bye, sis."
After hanging up, Aidan looked helpless. He had been set up. If his sister-in-law knew, then the entire Winston family would know.
Was his life as a single, wealthy man really going to end with Alison?
Alison understood everything. She looked at the dejected Aidan and said, "Don't worry, I won't cling to you or marry you. But I don't mind playing along, just acting, okay?"
She smiled faintly. If she couldn't avoid it, she'd wait for the person to reveal themselves. She was always in the open, while that person was always in the shadows.
When she got home that night, the first thing she did was hug her two little ones. She had missed them so much after being away for a day and a night.
"Mommy, how could you be so heartless?"
"Mommy wasn't heartless."
"Yes, you were. You didn't come home last night. Your bed wasn't even touched."
"I did come home, but I made the bed again in the morning."
"You're lying. Auntie said you came back and left again. I heard her talking to Aunt Laura. She said you didn't come home last night, and Aunt Laura was so worried she called you."
Alison shook her head helplessly. She had indeed taken Laura's call, just to let her know she was safe. She hadn't expected her two little ones to know everything.
"Mommy had something come up. I didn't want you to worry."
But her two little ones still worried.
"Mommy, you can't stay out all night again. The teacher said there are a lot of bad people out there now," Sophia said seriously.
"Mommy, besides Daddy, you can't see anyone else at night."
"Alright, alright, I get it. I won't do it again, okay?" I said, raising my hand as if taking an oath. I really couldn't handle these two little ones.
Sophia started to pout, "Then if you don't come home, Ethan and I won't sleep."
"That won't do. Mommy has to go on a business trip the day after tomorrow, for about half a month. If you don't sleep, how can Mommy go on her trip with peace of mind?"
Sophia suddenly asked, "Mommy, are you going to Paris?"
"How did you know?" I asked, surprised.
Sophia and Ethan exchanged a smile. Sophia said, "I guessed. Mommy, you should go."
I looked at Sophia's expression and felt something was up. So I stood up, took Sophia's hand in one hand and Ethan's in the other, and led them to their room.
On the little table for writing and drawing, there was indeed a newspaper.
"Where did this newspaper come from?" I didn't remember subscribing to any newspapers.