“Weren’t you sleeping?” Jeffrey sat up, hisposure unshaken.
“Sleep can’tpete with juicy gossip,” Stanley motioned for the staff to bring two sses and a bottle. After the staff left, he added, “Especially when it’s about you.”
Jeffrey stayed silent as the drinks arrived.
Stanley poured two sses, dismissed the staff, and slid one across the table. “You’ve got the stories, and I’ve got the liquor. Spill.”
Jeffrey’s gaze was unreadable, filled withyers of hidden emotions.
“Stop staring at me like that. It’s freaking me out,” Stanley joked.
Jeffrey picked up the ss but set it down without drinking.
Stanley’s curiosity grew. “What exactly happened?”
“Last night, Samuel asked me two questions. He got angry after I answered,” Jeffrey said calmly. “He even told me to treat
him like he’s dead.<b>” </b>
“What two questions?” Stanley asked, sensing these weren’t ordinary questions.
Despite his rare visits back home over the years, Stanley knew Samuel was a sensible boy who wasn’t the type to make
such dramatic statements unless deeply hurt.
Jeffrey nced at him without replying. His distress wasn’t just about the questions themselves but what they hinted at in
other areas.
“I won’t press you,” Stanley said, though he had an idea. “But this probably has something to do with Andrea. If you know she’s maniptive, why are you still involved with her?”
He thought, ‘She ys tricks and twists the truth, yet Jeffrey surprisingly indulges her instead of cutting ties with her. That’s very unlike Jeffrey.‘
“Because of a promise,” Jeffrey confessed for the first time.
“Even though it’s a promise, shouldn’t…<i>” </i>Stanley paused, realization hitting him. He kept his mouth open, no longer lighthearted.
The room fell into silence as neither of them spoke.
After a long pause, Stanley downed the ss of wine on the table, his voice slightly hoarse as he said, “What happened back then wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t me yourself.”
Jeffrey kept his head down, his hands resting limply on his knees.
“Alright, handle things however you want,” Stanley said, stopping his attempts to persuade. “Matters of the heart aren’t like other problems. No one else can truly understand or judge. As your friend, I’m here whenever you need support.”
<b>36</b><b>% </b>
“Tell Eugene that Jessica can return if she wants,” Jeffrey said, breaking the silence. “I won’t interfere as long as she doesn’t offer financial help.”
Stanley pressed further, “What aboutn?”
Jeffrey shot him a sideways nce. “What do you think?”
Stanley immediately understood–Jessica could help Reba, butn couldn’t.
Jeffrey stood, picking up his car keys and phone. His eyes lingered on the empty winess. “Need a ride home?”
+20
“Obviously!” Stanley’s usual carefree attitude came back, as if their serious conversation had never happened. “Next time,
don’t call me thiste. I’m exhausted.”
Jeffrey simply responded with a quiet hum, and the two left the private room together.
Stanley tossed his car keys to the club manager and instructed him to have someone drive the car back at dawn. Then he took the passenger seat in Jeffrey’s car.
During the drive back, Stanley kept ncing at Jeffrey before speaking up. “Why bring Jessica back all of a sudden? You never liked her whispering criticisms about you to Reba.”
“She’s Reba’s friend,” Jeffrey replied inly. “I cut off Reba’s financial support. At least let her keep offering emotional support to Reba.”
Stanley paused for a moment before chuckling in understanding.
Forty minutester, Jeffrey arrived home and smoothly got out of the car.
As he was about to drive to Harmony Estate, Stanley called out, “Jeffrey!”
Jeffrey paused with his foot on the elerator and turned to look.
Before he could ask, Stanley added, “Don’t tie yourself to the past. If he were still here, he wouldn’t want you carrying that
burden,”
Jeffrey’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t respond.
“Drive safely and take it easy.” Stanley waved with a smile. His cheerful gesture was a contrast to the weight of their
conversation,
Jeffrey pressed the gas pedal and drove off. As he made his way back, memories from the past flooded his mind with <b>the </b>bright smile of that optimistic boy who had faced everything with positivity.
The young prodigy who achieved fame early, dazzling the world, would forever be frozen at his brightest moment- seventeen years old.
A loud honk snapped Jeffrey back to the present. The traffic light in front of him had turned green <b>without him </b><b>noticing</b>.
<b>2/3 </b>
13:17 <b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>19 </b><b>Sept </b>
Shaking off the thoughts, he restarted the car. Whether it was exhaustion from an all–nighter or the weight of his memories, his whole demeanor felt distant as he returned to Harmony Estate.
<b>36</b><b>% </b>
+20)
As Jeffrey entered the house, he heard the door to the adjacent bedroom open. Andrea, wearing silk pajamas, stepped out. Noticing the time–just before 6 AM, she asked, “Jeffrey, why are you home <i>so </i>early?”
“Did I wake you?” Jeffrey’s expression revealed little emotion.
Andrea sensed something was off, but she brushed it off. “Not at all.”
“Then go back to sleep. It’s still early.” Jeffrey’s hand rested on his bedroom door handle. “Wake me when you’re ready. I’ll take you shoppingter.”
Andrea nodded. “Okay.”
Jeffrey gave a quiet hum and entered his bedroom.
The door clicked shut, putting a distance between them. Andrea stood there for a moment, her thoughts lingering on Jeffrey’s strange behavior.
Although she didn’t know him well, she understood that, even if he didn’t want closeness, he would still show concern due to duty or promises. But today, he said nothing.
Unable to find an answer, she turned her frustrations onto Reba, who would never expect to bear the me.
At 6:30 AM, the rm pulled Reba from her drunken slumber.
She had a low alcohol tolerance, getting tipsy after just 2 or 3 drinks. But a good night’s sleep always restored her without needing hangover cures or recovery time.
Her memory stopped after her fourth drink the night before. She had nned to push through and finish the bottle, but alcoholpletely broke her resolve.
Not sure if they had finished the bottle or not, and with aplete memory ckout, she decided to ask Samuel andnter, not thinking too much about it.
After waking up and washing up, Reba made breakfast. By the time it was ready, Samuel had finished his morning routine. Watching her sweet son sit at the table, eating properly, Reba hesitated before asking, “Honey, didn <b>bring </b>me homest night?”
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