bChapter /bb79 /b

Brian froze. Those sharp words from Jessica’s lips were unexpected. He nced at her belly before he swallowed whatever retort he mig

That evening, he finally turned his attention to Jacob. The boy’s room was dim, illuminated only by a sm table.

stuffed animal nightght on the bedside

Brian approached the bed and noticed the quilt pulled tightly over Jacob’s head. When he tried to lug the quilt down slightly, he felt it trendling.

Realizing what was happening. Brian pulled the quilt down and found Jacob curled up, sobbing softly. “Jake”

“Dad, Mom still won’t forgive me.” Jacob’s voice was thick with tears.

Brian’s heart clenched. His brows furrowed as he lifted Jacob into his arms, “Your mom…” He hesitated, deciding not to tell Jacob about the pregnancy just yet. “She’s going through something special right now. It’s not that she doesn’t want to forgive you.”

Brian thought maybe it was the hormones from pregnancy that made Jessica more emotional than usual, which led her to lose her temper toward Jacob.

But Brian’s exnation meant little to Jacob, a child who simply wanted his mother back.

It took bquite /bsome time to calm Jacob down enough for him to fall basleep/b. Only then did Brian return to his bedroom. The emptiness and silence in the room unsettled him. Even after many days, he still hadn’t gotten used to life without Jessica.

The next day was Saturday. Though it was the weekend, one of the two days Jacob could sleep in, his ingrained routine, instilled by Jessica’s strict upbringing had him awake by 8 a.m.

When Brian came downstairs, he found Jacob sitting listlessly at the breakfast table.

“Mr. Atkinson, he seems off today,” Sylvie murmured in concern.

Brian dismissed it as lingering moodiness from the night before. After breakfast, he headed to the office, resuming his usual routine. After dispatching a fresh batch of air–flown fruits to Jessica, he sent an assortment of pastries.

Not long before noon, he received a call from Sylvie. “Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Jacob Atkinson isn’t acting like himself. He hasn’t bspoken /ball moming refused lunch, and just sits bthere /brearranging his toys. Nothing bI /bbsay /bgets through to him.”

“Put him on the phone, Brian frowned.

Through the receiver, Brian could hear Sylvie’s coaxing. “Jake, it’s Dad. He wants to know if you’d like him toe home for lunch.”

“Jake?” Brian’s concern met with silence.

“Jacob, speak.” After several attempts with no response, Brian lost patience and raised his voice.

There was still no answer. But soon, the silence was followed by Jacob’s uncontroble crying. Sylvie scrambled tofort him.

Frowning, Brian hung up the phone and bcalled /bJessica.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavable.” He tried ba /bfew times, all met with the same result.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “She blocked ne?” He sighed, feeling frustrated, but there was little he could do about Jessica

About half an hourter, Brian received another urgent call from Sylvie. She had been trying to calm Jacob down, but he was still crying

Brian rushed back home. Jacob’s beyes /bwere red and swollen, his lips quivering as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Enough tears. Wash up. We’re seeing your main tonight.” Brian gave in. He couldn’t bear to see his son like this anymore.