After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 204

“Jeffrey, Amelia called out to him. She had noticed the way he looked at Rebecca.

Jeffrey turned his gaze toward her. “Mom.”

Amelia said, “Come over and let’s talk.”

Jeffrey walked over and sat down.

Amelia kept a courteous tone, but her words were anything but gentle. “Have you given any more thought to what we talked about before?”

“My answer hasn’t changed,” Jeffrey replied, his voice firm. “Rebecca is my wife. I’m not ever going to divorce her*

Amelia pressed, “Even if being with you doesn’t make her happy?”

Jeffrey said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy.”

Amelia looked him straight in the eye. “And if she’s still not happy after all your efforts?”

“We’ll deal with that if the time comes,” Jeffrey replied, his tone calm and unchanging. Then, without missing a beat, he changed the subject. “What really needs your attention now is whether or not you’ll let Rebecca recognize Mr. Guzman as her biological father. From what I hear, Mr. Guzman has been preparing for this ever since he got back to Honnala.”

Amelia said, “What does that have to do with me?”

Jeffrey said, “Rebecca is his child.”

Amelia’s gaze was cold. “Got any evidence?”

Jeffrey hesitated.

“A privately–conducted paternity test won’t hold up in court. Even if Mr. Guzman tries to sue, he’d lose–he doesn’t have any chance in this,” Amelia said, straightforward as ever.

Jeffrey said nothing.

He was just probing, trying to gauge whether Rebecca would ever acknowledge Mr. Guzman as her father, so he could plan his next move.

Amelia saw right through his scheme but didn’t call him out. Instead, she added, “If anyone tries to give Rebecca a hard time, I’m not above using Mr. Guzman to stand in their way.”

Jeffrey looked up.

‘Is my mother–in–law almost too clever for her own good?‘ he wondered.

10:44 Fri, Oct 3

Chapter 204

55 vouchers

“What do you mean by using him, Mom?” Rebecca said as she walked over, fresh from her chat with Timothy She shot Amelia a searching look, a hint of confusion flickering in her eyes.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Amelia reassured her, determined to keep Rebecca out of all the drama. “Just call a cleaning crew to spruce up our home later. Once you’re out of the hospital next week, you’ll have a nice, clean place to settle back into.”

joy. ‘Going home, finally. Things

rehab specialists,” Jeffrey chimed in, trying to shift the conversation. “Why don’t you just move

past suffering fresh in her mind. “I’m not interested in a house

Jeffrey was speechless.

out that she’d only said it in a moment of anger, but then it hit him–it wasn’t just about what happened before. More than anything,

sneaking out later

Rebecca’s Manor,

the nutritionist and rehab specialist over to your place,” Jeffrey said, smoothly changing the subject. “You’ve only just woken up, so you

covered,” Rebecca said, having already thought of everything since Amelia woke up.

charming as ever. “Let me take a

Rebecca stared him down.

Jeffrey was totally lost–he had no idea

her lips, but in the end, forced herself to swallow all her feelings and managed a

she was wound so tightly that even one offhand

Jeffrey didn’t believe in her, as if he saw her

Rebecca realized, ‘he was just showing a little

anything by it—it was just his usual way of

10:44 Fri, Oct 3

Chapter 204

75

755 vouchers

didn’t pry. When dinner rolled around, he ordered some takeaway

single day, no matter how

shine. And when the day came for her to be discharged, he even sent

no one was happier for

and relieved that

the month was almost

Amelia and Rebecca took a stroll through the

pretty much back to normal now. Do you want to leave soon, or

walked slowly, her steps heavy.

Amelia nodded. “Yes.”

mixed with emotions. “Didn’t you say you hated

to hate it, but now I just feel indifferent,” Amelia replied, her tone honest. She

hospitals, or chances to start over–Honnala really has it all,

place around, except maybe

couldn’t help but

herself to get over her own reluctance, Rebecca would much rather pick a different city. She didn’t want her mom to put herself through all

see things differently. They’re the ones

been so full of pride

stubbornness had stuck with her all the way

crossed such a long distance just to find her, Amelia finally understood: no matter where you live, the ones you care about will always stick

10:44 Fri, Oct 3

Chapter 204

will find their own

$75

255 vouchere

be with the people she loves, and tune out all the baggage–just start