CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: TAKE HER HOME

"Mom, are we having dinner this early today?"

Jesse sat at the dining table, his feet dangling mid-air, unable to touch the ground, holding an egg sandwich in his hands.

Jean Ellison poured a glass of milk and placed it in front of him.

"Yes, later Mom will take you to the supermarket."

Jesse nodded, lowered his head, and took a bite of the sandwich, with a bit of egg stuck on the corner of his mouth, licking the tomato juice off his lips.

Jean looked out the window, it was about to get dark.

The message from the real estate agent had been on her mind all day, the landlord would return in the evening.

What kind of person would he be?

His age, appearance, preferences, she didn’t know any of it.

Instinctively, she wanted to take Jesse out first to avoid the landlord of this house.

She was worried that upon seeing Jesse, the landlord might find him too young and annoying, as kids aged four or five could be quite noisy.

About twenty minutes later, the mother and son duo went out.

The supermarket was nearby, an import supermarket, busiest at dusk.

Holding Jesse’s hand, with a canvas bag hanging from her arm, Jean planned to buy some fruits and vegetables and some kids’ snacks.

The fruits and vegetables were for the landlord, as he rented her the house at a very low price, she had to show some gratitude.

The kids’ snacks were for Jesse, as he couldn’t attend kindergarten just yet, needing a few days of rest at home.

On the spacious road, a black Mercedes drove past Jean.

Justin Holden sat inside the car, head lowered, face stern, holding a tablet, seemingly replying to emails.

"Mom, that seems like Uncle Holden’s car!"

Jesse suddenly broke free from Jean’s hand and pointed at a passing car.

Upon hearing him, Jean looked over, quickly pulling Jesse behind a nearby tree.

She was still afraid of Jesse and Justin meeting, last time was an accident, and it already exceeded what she could handle.

After the Mercedes crossed the intersection, she took Jesse’s hand again, stepping out from behind the tree, continuing towards the supermarket.

"No, it just looks similar."

Jesse pouted and looked up at her, "I memorized Uncle Holden’s license plate."

"Who told you?"

Jean stopped, lowered her head, her eyes puzzled.

She tightened her grip on Jesse’s hand again, as if fearing he might be taken away.

"Uncle Holden told me, and I memorized his phone number too."

"Uncle Holden said whenever Jesse and Mom need help, we can ask him."

Jesse’s voice was soft, slightly raising his round little chin, wanting his mom to praise him for being smart.

Jean’s face, however, showed no trace of happiness, her brows furrowed. She remembered being exhausted and falling asleep, not realizing that Justin had said those words to Jesse.

"What else did he say?"

Jesse thought for a moment and shook his head.

Jean breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully it was just those words, nothing more.

"Did I do something wrong, Mom?"

Jesse’s big, watery eyes stared at her, as if tears were welling up in his eyes.

He could sense his mom’s mood wasn’t good; whenever Uncle Holden was around, she never smiled, always lost in thought.

Aunt used to be like that too, but it was always with Grandma and Grandpa.

"No, Jesse didn’t do anything wrong."

"It’s just that we can’t always rely on others for help. Jesse and Mom have to work hard to live each day well."

Jean patted his little head and smiled, pretending to be carefree.

Jesse, half-understanding, nodded; whatever Mom said, he was willing to listen.

Holding his little hand, Jean couldn’t help but look back again, hoping Uncle Holden would get out of the car and join her and Mom in the supermarket.

She hadn’t seen Uncle Holden for days...

On the other side.

The Mercedes parked in the underground garage, and Justin Holden got out of the car, striding into the elevator on his long legs.

He arrived at the door of his home, extending his index finger, not pressing down on the fingerprint lock.

The door had been opened by someone.

He sharply sensed this, frowning and pondering for a moment before deciding to open the door.

He didn’t know anything about the tenant, their age, occupation, or even gender.

However, changing the bedroom curtains to ones with cartoon rabbit patterns suggested a young woman not yet fully matured.

Turning on the lights in the living room and changing into slippers, the living room wasn’t as messy as he imagined; it seemed like the tenant hadn’t touched anything.

The dining tablecloth had been moved, and reaching out to touch it, the washed, overturned crystal cup’s wall was still warm.

Someone had just had dinner.

He looked at the shoe cabinet, seeing only two additional pairs of slippers, one large, one small.

The children’s slippers looked somewhat familiar, with green dinosaur plastic stickers on the upper; he felt like he’d seen them somewhere before.

Was it a woman with a child living here now?

Unexplainably, the images that popped into his mind were of Jean Ellison and Jesse.

He was probably overthinking.

Pinching the pressure point under his rimless glasses, after constant high-intensity work, and even a video conference on the way home, he indeed felt a bit tired and out of control, imagining baseless things.

He leaned on the sofa, closing his eyes.

The phone rang, and glancing at the screen’s note, he had to adjust his seating position to find a comfortable spot to answer the call.

"Hello."

"You’re back?"

Zoe Holden’s voice came, seemingly quite happy.

"Yes."

Justin’s tone was indifferent, not affecting Zoe’s continuous chatter.

"Leah Sutton is in the supermarket near your place; she forgot her phone. Could you help her with the checkout?"

"After paying the bill, send her home."

Zoe’s voice was soft and sweet, yet her attitude was firm.

She already knew about the last time when he left Leah at the restaurant door.

On their first meeting, he did that; it was evident he had no interest in Leah.

If it didn’t work the first time, there would be a second, and after meeting a few more times, familiarity would develop, and feelings would naturally grow.

Leah seemed nice, kind-hearted, and beautiful, crucially having had a crush on him for many years. She was a good candidate for a wife.

"I’ll call Samual Pryce to go."

Holding his phone with one hand, he raised the other to the side of his temple, pressing gently with his long fingers; his tone was nonchalant.

"I told you to go, so go. What’s Samual Pryce for, who of you two lacks a wife after all?"

"Listen to me, go quickly."

"If you dare leave Miss Leah in the supermarket, I’ll call Mom and Dad."

With Zoe bringing their parents into it, Justin had no choice but to grab the suit jacket beside him and head out the door.

"Got it."

His face was cold, eyes dark as ink.

With long, dense, raven-black eyelashes, his gaze naturally lowered, slightly weary dark gray under his eyelids, staring at his phone information.

The latest message was from Director Thorne.

"The discharge procedures have been completed."

Above that were updates about Jesse’s daily condition, detailing everything from medication to diet.

He read them, without a single reply.

"Leah is in the wine section. Go to the second floor and through the children’s food aisle to find her, she’s waiting for you."

Just as he descended the stairs, Zoe sent another message.

He glanced at it, casually throwing the phone onto the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and drove away.