bChapter /bb214 /b

    Le was so furious that her face almost contorted in rage.

    Ste continued, “Of course, if you think you’ve got what it takes to win Jordan’s heart, I won’t stop you. Ms. Diaz, may the best woman win With that, she left.

    N hurried after her.

    Once Ste was in the car, N grinned and said, “Ms. Hayes, you were awesome back there. You’re seriously my idol. If I ever run binto /bsomething like that, I’m going to p back just like you did.”

    Ste gave her a helpless look and said, “Can’t you just avoid getting into those situations in the first ce?”

    Nughed.

    Ste waved at her and said, “See you tomorrow.”

    “See you tomorrow,” N replied.

    When Ste got home, Mary got all anxious as soon as she heard what happened. She said, “Ste, how did this happen? I was only gone for one day, and you’re hurt again?”

    Ste replied, “It’s okay. The bruises will fade in a few days, but the pain inside–I have no idea when that’ll go away.”

    Mary knew Ste was talking about Eleanor, and with no solution in sight, it was just so frustrating. Sheforted Ste, “Don’t worry, dear. Sooner orter, karma catches up with bad people. It might take a while, but it always does.”

    Ste said, “I just feel so guilty about Grandma. It’s already been a month since it happened, and there’s been no progress at all–not from me, and not from the police either.”

    Mary didn’t know what else to say tofort her, so she just patted Ste’s shoulder gently.

    Talking about Eleanor always made Mary feel even worse than anyone else—she couldn’t help but me herself for not taking better care of

    Eleanor.

    Ste noticed and decided to drop the subject.

    Just then, Jordan called to let Ste know he had a business dinner to attend that evening, but he was still worried about her leg.

    Ste reassured him, “Don’t worry about me, Jordan. You’ve already turned down so many social events because of me. Go ahead–my leg’s not a big deal. N helped me apply the ointment several times today, and it works. I feel a lot better now.”

    “Alright, I’ll try toe back as early as I can,” Jordan said.

    “No rush,” Ste replied. Then she hung up.

    Since moving in, Ste hadn’t had a chance to sit down and chat with Mary properly. With Jordan noting back early, Ste figured tonight was the perfect chance to have a proper chat with Mary.

    Mary started sharing stories from when Ste was little. She said, “You know, my heart always ached for you back then. But bmy /bsympathy didn’t change anything, since your family never cared about you. In the end, you had ito /ilearn tofort yourselfb./bb” /b

    Ste said, “But you cared about me, didn’t you, Mary? You helped me so much back then, and you always got scolded for bit/bb. /bIf you bhadn’t /bstayed by Grandma’s side, they would’ve kicked you out ages ago.”

    b1/3 /b

    Mary said, b“/bI’m alright, dear. I’m getting old anyway. But you–I just hope that if there is another chance, you’ll bbe /bbborn /binto a family that truly loves you.”

    Ste smiled and hooked her arm through Mary’s. She said, “Mary, if I get to choose, can you be my mom in my afterlifeb?/bb” /b

    Maryughed and asked, “So you want me to be Eleanor’s daughter, huh?”

    Ste said, “Why not?”

    “Alright. Then your grandma can look after me, and I’ll look after you,” Mary joked.

    “No way, I’ll take care of you too,” Ste replied. She leaned her head gently on Mary’s shoulder, feeling safe and warm.

    Mary’s face was lit up with a smile.

    It was gettingte, and Ste decided it was time to head to bed.

    Jordan still hadn’te home.

    Suddenly, Ste’s phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number. She checked it and saw a few photos of Jordan and Le.

    It didn’t take a genius to figure out who sent them.

    Underneath the photos, Le added a snarky message: [See? You said it was a fair game, right? Well, tonight I got your man bto /bgo out on a date with me. Wanna guess what we did?]

    Ste didn’t even bother replying with words. She just sent back a photo.

    The photo showed Jordan, Le, and a whole bunch of other people.

    When Jordan arrived at the venue, he had already texted Ste to let her know what was going on. He had texted: [bDon’t /bworry, I’m not meeting Le alone. I didn’t even know she’d be here. I’ll keep my distance from her.]

    After that, Le didn’t send another message.

    Ste could almost picture the look of frustration on Le’s face when she saw the photo. She felt it was kind of satisfying.

    By the time Ste drifted off, Jordan still wasn’t home, but she trusted him and slept soundly–she’d been taking such good care of herselftely that nothing could disturb her. So when he slipped into bed in the middle of the night, she didn’t stir.

    When Ste woke up and saw Jordan the next morning, she blurted out, “Why are you in my bed?” She couldn’t believe she’d slept through

    hising home.

    Jordan said, “Seriously, if I carried you off and sold you in the middle of the night, would you even notice? How do you sleep like the dead?”

    “I don’t know,” Ste mumbled, a little embarrassed. She had no idea what had happened. She vaguely remembered feeling somethingst night, but couldn’t recall the details–it was driving her crazy.

    “What time did you get backst night?” Ste asked.

    “Ten o’clock. I thought I was home early, but you were already out cold,” Jordan replied.”

    Ste’s cheeks turned pink. She replied, “Since you weren’t home, I figured I might as well turn in early.”

    “You can sleep without me around?” Jordan teased.

    Ste was at a loss for words.

    “Fine, whatever. I’m not even in your heart,” Jordan said, making a show of getting up to leave.

    Ste quickly hugged him from behind. She said, “How could you say that? Of course you are. I just sleep like a logb, /bbthat’s /bball/b. I didn’t mean bto /b

    ignore you.”

    Jordan couldn’t keep up the act anymore. He turned around and smiled at her. He said, “Alright, I was just messing with you. Seeing byou /bsleep so soundly means nothing’s bothering you, and that’s all I want.

    “I hope you get better soon. Didn’t you say you wanted ito /ihave a kid with me?”

    Ste’s face turned even redder.

    “Let me check on your leg,” Jordan said.

    Last night Jordan had been worried about waking Ste–she rarely slept well–so he kept still. Once he saw she was really bout/bb, /bhe flicked bon /bhis phone’s shlight and checked her leg.

    Although, as Ste had said, it did look better, he applied anotheryer of ointment ijust /ito be safe.

    Now, when he checked again, the blisters were almost gone. He said, “Yeah, it’s definitely getting better.”

    Ste was surprised. She eximed, “How did it heal so fast? It wasn’t like thisst night.”

    “You applied the ointment a bunch of times during the day, and it kept working while you slept, so it healed faster,b” /bJordan exined.

    There were plenty iof /ithings Jordan did for Ste that he never bothered to mention. He figured it was just what he ought to dob–/bnothing worth bringing up.

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