CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 180: LOVESICKNESS

Jean Ellison returned to the magazine office where she used to work.

There were some changes in the office area, the workstations had been rearranged, and there were a few new faces.

She sat down at her original spot, and a seasoned colleague leaned over, lowering her voice, "Jean, you’re back? A lot has changed while you were away. Editor-in-Chief Sutton is on leave, went abroad for maternity. A new editor-in-chief has been appointed and will officially start next Monday."

Another colleague overheard and joined the conversation, with a tone of envy.

"The Holdens really value her pregnancy. I heard they don’t trust the medical standards here and sent her abroad for delivery. It’s truly the style of a wealthy family."

The colleague nearby, while organizing files, chimed in.

"What’s strange about that? Don’t all rich people do that?"

"If you had the means, wouldn’t you want to give birth abroad?"

"Good environment, high medical standards, the child gets foreign citizenship upon birth, won’t have to struggle through the domestic education system, just aim straight for Ivy League schools."

The first colleague scoffed, showing a disapproving expression.

"The story I heard was different."

"I heard that the Holdens actually don’t want to acknowledge Leah Sutton as a daughter-in-law, so they found an excuse to send her overseas."

"When the child is born, it’ll probably be an illegitimate child."

"What’s wrong with being an illegitimate child?" a younger female colleague retorted, "The Holdens don’t have any grandchildren yet. If it’s a boy, then he’s The Eldest Grandson!"

"Even if there’s a blemish on status, he’s still the Holden family’s only third generation for now."

"Holden Group is such a vast empire, and Lawyer Holden is devoted to his law practice, clearly not interested in inheriting the family business. Chairman Holden might be hoping to groom a grandson to take over."

"What if it’s a girl?" someone asked.

"A girl is The Eldest Grandson too!" the young female colleague immediately said, "Aren’t capable female heirs more common now? There are more and more of them in recent years, okay? As long as she’s talented, what’s so strange about a granddaughter inheriting the family business."

The colleagues chatted animatedly, their conversation revolving around the inheritance rights of heirs in wealthy families and the distant, luxurious lifestyle of the elite.

Jean Ellison sat quietly at her workstation, listening intently.

She didn’t join in the discussion, her fingers unconsciously gripping a cold pen on the desk.

Her face was pale, her heart racing.

Leah Sutton going abroad for maternity, the Holdens’ emphasis on heirs, The Eldest Grandson inheriting the business...

She absolutely, absolutely could not let them discover Jesse’s existence.

Jesse was her life.

She had no one else in this world more important to her.

She would never have another child in this lifetime.

She only had Jesse.

No matter what, she had to protect her daughter and must not let her be taken away by the Holdens.

Jean Ellison sat at her workstation, listening to her colleagues’ chatter, her face growing paler, fingers involuntarily tightening.

The colleague chatting nearby noticed her odd behavior, paused their conversation, and asked with concern, "Jean, are you okay? You look really pale, are you feeling unwell?"

Jean suddenly snapped back to reality, released her whitened grip, and forced a smile.

"I’m fine, maybe a bit of low blood sugar, I’ll be okay after eating something."

The colleagues, seeing her response, didn’t press further, dispersing back to their tasks.

Jean took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart.

She glanced at the time on the bottom right of her computer screen, and her heart sank abruptly.

It was well past the time for the kindergarten dismissal. She had been so caught up with returning to work that she forgot to set an alarm.

She immediately grabbed her bag and, without bothering to say goodbye to her colleagues, rushed out of the office, almost running as she dashed downstairs and hailed a taxi to the kindergarten.

By the time she reached the kindergarten gate, it was already closed, with only the security guard manning the duty room.

Jean ran over, out of breath, urgently tapping on the window of the duty room.

"Excuse me, sir, have you seen my daughter? Her name is Jesse, she’s in the senior class. I’m late to pick her up."

The security guard leaned out the window, recognized Jean, and said, "Oh, you’re Jesse’s mom. Don’t worry, Jesse’s already been picked up by her father."

"Father?" Jean’s heart skipped a beat, her voice changed, "What father? Which father?"

The security guard was momentarily taken aback, then explained with gestures, "The gentleman who participated in the parent-child event before, tall, wearing a suit, very well-dressed."

"Isn’t he Jesse’s dad? Jesse seemed quite familiar with him and left happily."

Jean’s heart instantly plummeted to the depths.

It was Justin Holden.

She was just about to take out her phone to call Justin when her phone screen lit up first, showing a message from Justin, very short:

"Come over, to the KFC next to the kindergarten."

Jean immediately turned and ran towards the nearby KFC fast-food restaurant.

Pushing open the door of KFC, the cacophony of voices and the aroma of food hit her.

She instantly spotted the two people by the window.

Jesse sat in a high child’s chair, with a half-eaten burger and fries in front of her, holding a toy that came with the meal, happily swinging her legs.

Justin Holden sat across from her, wearing a crisp shirt, cuffs rolled up slightly, watching Jesse with a relaxed demeanor.

The afternoon sun streamed through the glass window, painting a picture of father-daughter intimacy.

Jesse was the first to see Jean, immediately waving her ketchup-stained hand, excitedly shouting, "Mommy, mommy, you’re here! Uncle Holden bought me a burger and a toy!"

Jean walked over briskly, her face expressionless, she went straight to pick up Jesse.

"Jesse, we should go home."

But Jesse squirmed, avoiding her hand, pointing to the food on the table.

"No, Mommy, I’m not done eating yet, the fries are really tasty."

Jean’s hand froze in mid-air.

At this point, Justin Holden reached out, grasping Jean’s wrist.

His palm was warm, exerting enough strength so she could not break free.

Jean suddenly turned her head to glare at him, "What are you doing? Let go!"

Justin did not let go, he raised his eyes to look at Jean, his gaze profound.

"Why?"

"Why do you always treat me with such suspicion, like guarding against a thief? Why do you never let me spend time alone with Jesse?"

Jean tried hard to pull back her hand, but she couldn’t break free.

She met his gaze, her tone cold and hard.

"Lawyer Holden, you’re an adult, a grown man."

"My daughter is only five years old, why should I let my daughter spend time alone with a man who has nothing to do with her? How could I be at ease?"

"Nothing to do with her?" Justin Holden repeated those four words, a smirk devoid of warmth on his lips, he leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.

"Jean, tell me, is there really nothing to do with her?"

His gaze was sharp as a knife, locking onto her eyes, not missing any subtle change in her expression.

"Isn’t it because Jesse is actually my daughter?"

Jean’s pupils suddenly contracted, her blood seemingly halted.

Her eyes widened, her face unable to hide the shock and panic. Although it was only a moment, it was enough for Justin Holden to catch.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Jean Ellison’s voice trembled slightly. She tried her best to calm herself, her tone carrying the anger of someone being offended.

"How could Jesse possibly be your daughter!"

"Justin Holden, are you crazy? Five years ago, whether or not I slept with you, don’t you know?"

"At that time, we didn’t even know each other."

Justin observed her intense reaction, his gaze becoming even more profound.

He held onto her wrist, his grip not loosening in the slightest, and spoke with a steady tone.

"Of course I know, five years ago, the woman who was pregnant with my child was Claire Caldwell."

Jean’s heart pounded so fast it was almost about to burst out of her chest. She forced herself to meet his gaze, refusing to show any signs of fear.

"As long as you know that, what does it have to do with me."

Justin stared at her, speaking each word slowly, his voice hoarse and low.

"Because you are Claire Caldwell, aren’t you? You’re not dead."

A bout of dizziness overwhelmed Jean, her back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

She fiercely pinched her palm, the sharp pain clearing her chaotic mind for a moment.

She took a deep breath, putting on a face of absurdity with a hint of mockery, even raising her voice deliberately, attracting the attention of customers at nearby tables.

"Lawyer Holden, have you lost your mind again, thinking every woman who looks similar to others is Claire Caldwell?"

"How many times have I told you, I am Jamie York, the daughter of Sean York. Look carefully, shouldn’t you see a doctor? Hypochondria is also an illness."

"You certainly have a lot of diseases, insomnia, skin hunger, and now hypochondria."

Her tone was clearly accusatory, sounding justified and confident.

Justin squinted at her flushed cheeks and eyes pretending to be calm.

He did not immediately refute, only watching her with a deep gaze, as if trying to see into her heart.

The surrounding gazes made Jean more uncomfortable, and she once again struggled, finally shaking off Justin’s hand.

She no longer looked at him, turning to pick up Jesse, who was still eating fries, from the high chair. Ignoring Jesse’s calls for her toy, she almost carried her in her arms, quickly heading towards the KFC entrance.

Justin did not rise to stop her.

He remained seated, watching Jean’s flustered retreating figure, the little Jesse in her arms, looking back at him with wide eyes.

That small face looked very much like his own.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes obscure and indecipherable.

Jean’s reaction was within his expectations.

Denial, then arguing, and counterattacking.

But this only deepened his suspicion.

He took out his phone, glanced at the message Samual Pryce had sent earlier.

"The samples have been sent for testing, results expected tomorrow."

Tomorrow.

He put away the phone, his eyes once again looking out the window.

Jean was already carrying Jesse, quickly disappearing at the street corner.

His daughter...

If Jesse really is his daughter...

Justin’s eyes became different, his stern face seemingly softened a lot.

He indeed has diseases, different ones, but not entirely as Jean described.

His most serious disease is lovesickness.

Jean carried Jesse, almost fleeing back to the apartment.

Closing the door, leaning against the cold door panel, she dared to breathe heavily, her heart still beating violently.

Jesse was made uneasy by her hurried actions, quietly asked: "Mom, what’s wrong? Why didn’t we wait for Uncle Holden?"

Jean did not answer her daughter’s question.

She put Jesse down, her voice a little tense: "Jesse, go play with your blocks for a while, mommy needs to make a call."

Jesse looked at her mother’s pale face, obediently nodded, holding her new toy, and walked into her little bedroom, looking back every third step.

Jean immediately took out her phone, her trembling fingers finding Isabel Dalton’s number and dialing it.

The call was answered almost immediately.

"Isabel!" Jean’s voice was anxious, speaking rapidly, "Justin Holden suspects me, he thinks I am Claire Caldwell, and he seems to realize that Jesse is his daughter."

On the other end, Isabel Dalton was clearly shocked too, but her voice quickly calmed down.

"Claire, don’t panic, calm down, listen to me."

Jean took a deep breath, trying to regulate her breathing.

Isabel continued speaking.

"The identity I arranged for you, all the background information can withstand a normal investigation."

"No matter how skillful Justin Holden is, he is just a lawyer, not a policeman, and certainly not national security."

"As long as we don’t slip up ourselves, he can’t find a decisive flaw."

She paused, her tone becoming especially serious.

"The most critical thing now is Jesse, you must watch her closely, absolutely do not let Justin Holden have another opportunity to approach her, especially alone."

"Now that he is suspicious, his next step might be to figure out a way to do a paternity test."

"You must know, appearances can change, stories can be fabricated, but genes cannot be changed. Once a test is done, everything will be over."

Jean gripped the phone tightly, her nails digging into her palm, nodding repeatedly.

"I know, I’ll watch over Jesse, I won’t let him near her anymore."

Just then, from the corner of Jean’s eye, she caught sight of a small shadow cast on the floor at the master bedroom doorway.

Her heart tightened suddenly, she quickly turned her head to look.

She saw Jesse, at some point, standing at the master bedroom door, still holding the doll given from KFC.

She wasn’t playing with blocks but quietly standing there, looking up at her mother on the phone.

Clearly, she heard part of the conversation just now.

Jean’s heart sank instantly, her face becoming even more grim.

She hastily said into the phone: "I understand, let’s leave it at that for now, we’ll talk later." Then she hung up.

She looked at her daughter, her throat dry, not knowing how to explain for a moment.

Jesse’s big eyes blinked, her face showing a complex expression.

Initially, it was surprise, her mouth slightly opened.

The surprise faded from her face, and a shiny joy spread from her eyes, her lips involuntarily curving into a cute smile.

Turns out, her favorite Uncle Holden really is her dad.

She thought secretly in her heart.