CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104: THIS MISUNDERSTANDING IS OUT OF CONTROL

As Jeff gently woke Jessica, it was already around eight in the evening. She blinked slowly making her awake.

The moment she woke up she then froze in horror as she realized she had been sleeping on his lap.

Her eyes widened even more when she saw a small patch of saliva had soaked through the fabric near his fly, making her blush deeply with shame.

Jeff however calmly paid for the ride, not bothered by it at all. He simply gave a small smile to her, thinking he could just change clothes later.

The driver was overjoyed since Jeff had paid more than 1,000 pesos when the fare was only supposed to be 200.

For him, it was more than worth it, with that the driver left filled with happiness.

But the moment Jeff and Jessica opened the door and stepped inside, they froze.

Rose was standing there with her arms crossed, her eyes sharp and cold as she stared at them.

Jeff and Jessica exchanged a quick glance, both wondering what was going on. No one said a word for a full minute and the silence in the room was heavy and tense

Jeff smiled and was about to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was met with a glare so sharp it felt like a blade.

It scared him more than the men who had tried to kidnap them so without another word, he shut his mouth and took a cowardly step back.

Jessica who was equally confused, looked toward the landlady. The moment their eyes met, she could feel it, the coldness radiating from Rose’s gaze.

It sent a chill down her spine, "Uhh, Bi-big sister... What seems to be the problem?" Jessica asked nervously.

Rose raised a brow, her gaze narrowing as she stared deeper into Jessica before finally responding.

"Where the heck did you two go? Do you even realize how dangerous it is outside at night? You disappeared early in the morning and came back this late. And you, young man," she said, turning her eyes to Jeff with a menacing glare.

"I called you several times and you didn’t answer. What kind of thing did you two actually do?"

Seeing how worried she was, Jeff started sweating like bullets. He unconsciously checked his phone and saw over thirty missed calls, all between six and seven in the evening.

That was exactly when the battle had started, and to make matters worse, his phone was on silent mode the whole time. There was no way he could have noticed that.

Seeing the landlady’s intense expression terrified Jessica. If they spilled everything now, she feared her freedom would be taken away immediately.

Jeff, on the other hand, was more afraid of making Rose worry even more. Being surrounded by a gang armed with knives was not exactly something you casually bring up.

He was not the type of person to make someone close to him worry, so he would rather carry this secret to his grave than say it out loud.

In Jessica’s mind, if Rose found out the truth, she would definitely call her parents. That would mean the end of her living alone, and just the thought of it made her anxious.

Seeing the two of them looking scared and avoiding her eyes, something clicked in Rose’s mind. A thought she did not want to believe started forming.

"You youngsters are really something else, so wild hah! Don’t tell me you spent the whole day doing that?" Rose said, her tone was sharp with disbelief.

"Next time, make sure to watch the time. The both of you are too young to be getting into things like that."

She then turned her gaze toward Jessica, her expression serious.

"Even though it’s considered normal in our country, you’ll be despised by others if you end up pregnant at your age, young lady."

Jeff and Jessica felt like their ears had exploded. Wild? The whole day? Pregnant? Who was getting pregnant?

As their minds finally processed what Rose had just said, their faces slowly turned bright red. The weight of her words hit them hard.

"What the hell, how did you come up with something so baseless?" Jeff screamed in his mind.

Jessica’s eyes widened in pure horror, her brain practically short-circuiting from Rose’s words.

"W-what? N-no! Big sister, it’s not like that! We didn’t.. I mean.. I just.." she stammered, her voice trembling.

Her hands flailed in the air, as if she could somehow erase the implication with sheer panic.

Her cheeks turned a shade of red that could rival a ripe tomato.

"W-we weren’t doing anything! I mean, we were doing something! But not that something! I mean... we were out! But not out doing anything like you have imagined!"

Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence, and the more she tried to explain, the more her words tangled into complete incoherence.

"I-I mean, what I mean is I was with him, yes, b-but not with him, like with him! It’s not what you think! We were... uhm... we were..."

Her voice faltered as she glanced desperately at Jeff, her eyes were pleading for help. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing coherent came out.

It was like her brain had hit a wall and refused to continue. Her hands pressed together nervously as she bowed her head, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Please don’t call my parents..." she whimpered softly.

She was like a child pleading after being wrongly accused. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she refused to lift her head, too overwhelmed by the misunderstanding.

Jeff after hearing her plea, when he was just about to open his mouth. Since he had a perfect excuse lined up in his mind, something about a power outage at the mall, long lines, maybe even traffic.

But the moment Jessica said, "Please don’t call my parents..." in that fragile, guilt-laced voice, he froze.

It felt like his soul almost exited his body.

"Wh.. Jessica... that’s not..." Jeff stammered, his eyes wide in disbelief.

He didn’t finish. A sudden chill crawled down his back as he felt Rose’s gaze lock onto him. It was cold and sharp, the very kind of stare that could pierce through steel.

Jeff’s spine straightened on its own as he forced a nervous smile.

"Big sis, look. It’s really not what it looks like," he began, trying his best to stay calm and sound convincing.

"We... went out. Just for fun. You know, a normal hangout, like a casual stroll through the park and a quick bite after that. That’s why we were late, not because of, you know... that."

After saying that, Jeff let out a small awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. But Rose’s eyes only furrowed deeper.

"Also, uh... my phone was on silent mode, so that’s why I didn’t hear your calls. And the traffic... yeah, the traffic was really bad. Made the journey take a bit longer than expected," he added quickly.

But as his words trailed off, Jeff could feel the heavy silence radiating from his aunt Rose. It clung to the air, thick and suffocating, making him wish he could just vanish.

Her gaze did not waver for even a second. She did not blink as she just stared, and that look was far worse than yelling.

In those eyes, Jeff could see it clearly. It was not just doubt, it was disappointment.

The kind that stings deeper than any scolding, the kind that settles quietly beneath the skin and stays there.

Rose crossed her arms in response to his nervous chatter, the weight of silence growing heavier with every second.

Then she spoke, her voice was calm, almost too calm.

"So let me get this straight. After the quick bite, you must have eaten something better than food, right?" she said slowly, each word dragging across the air like a loaded blade.

As Rose turned her gaze toward Jessica, Jeff instantly understood what she meant by ’eating’ just from the look in her eyes.

He clenched his teeth, forcing himself not to blurt out the truth. "Is my aunt’s mind really this perverted?" he screamed inwardly.

"She’s over here begging me not to call her parents, looking like a deer caught in headlights, practically admitting something happened," Rose said, pointing at Jessica who was still bowing.

Her pointed hand shifted toward Jeff, her expression now burning with a different kind of anger.

"And you were just standing there with that awkward smile and that half-baked excuse of yours? Are you really going to pretend nothing’s wrong? Really, young man?"

She exhaled slowly through her nose, the was disappointment thick in the air as she shook her head.

"You do realize how that makes you look, right? You’re a coward. A wimp. Actually, the right word is a sissy," she scolded, her voice sharp and unwavering.

Jeff’s ears buzzed at the sting of her words. He was surprised inwardly. He never thought his aunt could use words like that.

But being called both a wimp and a sissy, especially after everything that had happened earlier, stirred something inside him.

A flicker of irritation sparked, and for a moment he wanted to shout the truth. To let her know he had faced something no sissy could ever stand against.

But he held it in, he just clenched his jaw and kept silent.

He forced himself to stay still, holding back the words boiling inside of him as Rose continued to speak her mind.

"Look at Jessica. She’s clearly scared and panicking. And instead of taking responsibility like a proper man, you’re fumbling around like a guilty kid caught sneaking snacks past bedtime."

Her eyes sharpened, and her voice grew colder. The weight in the room became almost suffocating, each word cutting deeper than the last.

"Do you think I am dumb or something? Because I can clearly see that something really did happen, and you’re lying to cover it up. That is very low of you, young man. Trying to pretend nothing happened just so you can let her take the fall for it? That is even lower."

Rose then straightened her back and gave him a stern look that made Jeff curse inwardly.

"Now tell me, Jeff... which one is it?"

"What... which one is what?" he replied, completely confused on what she was referring right now.

...

Rose’s brow twitched, her patience clearly thinning as she watched him cling to his innocent act.

"You’re seriously going to play dumb with me now?" she said, taking a step forward.

"I gave you a chance to explain yourself. To act like a decent young man and take accountability. And this is your response?"

"Are you mocking me, young man?" she said, raising a clenched fist and showing it to him, making Jeff fully understand how bad the situation had become.

Her voice now carried an edge, sharp enough to cut.

"I may be worried, but I’m not stupid, you young man. Don’t stand there with that blank face pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about when the girl beside you is now crying for you to hide the truth, clearly disowning her."

"Crying? Who’s crying?" Jeff said, his voice cracking as his mind began to collapse under the pressure.

Looking to his side, Jeff was shocked to see that Jessica was really crying. He could hear her muffled groans, making his eyes grew wider than an egg.

Rose then crossed her arms again, her tone rising with every word.

"You have the nerve to be clueless after dragging her home late, doing who knows what all morning. You even dared to ignore my calls and come up with the world’s worst cover story. And now you’re standing there acting like this is some kind of joke?"

Her eyes flashed, "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable."

Seeing Rose stomping her foot in anger and Jessica crying in distress gave Jeff a pounding headache.

The chaos in front of him felt heavier than the fight he had earlier.

Since things had already gone this far, he decided to just bite the bullet. Maybe once his aunt calmed down and the tension eased, they could finally tell her the truth nut not today.

For now, he just needed to endure it.

Even though telling the truth right now might have seemed like the right choice, but Jeff held back.

He understood Jessica’s situation all too well. For her safety, her aunt would likely call her parents and take her back into their custody just to be sure.

And even though he had handled the danger they faced, it was not enough to change the outcome if the truth came out now.

So, without saying a word, he offered Jessica a look of quiet apology. Then he gently pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

"Yes, aunt. Something did happen. I was just afraid to admit it, but now I’m not," Jeff said aloud, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Rose stood stunned, her eyes locked on the scene before her. She noticed Jeff’s hands resting intimately on Jessica’s stomach as they embraced.

The shock froze her in place. not only her but Jessica as well. While she was still sniffling, she stopped crying the moment she felt the warmth of the hug.

Her heart skipped a beat, as a sudden rush of shyness and shame washed over her, especially with Rose the landlady standing right there, watching everything unfold.

...

1st: Special thanks to ’Essos👑’ – the GOAT of the month, for both the rewarding gifts and golden tickets! Much love, brotha!

2nd: Big thanks to ’Pat_funding👑’ for the unwavering support since the very start of my journey and for the golden tickets and gifts!

3rd: Special shoutout to ’Devon1234👑’ – The same GOAT of this month, for all the amazing gifts! You’re absolutely RAD!