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    Upon reading the message, Gregory immediately tried calling Jeffrey. The line rang once before a robotic female voice cut in, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavable.”


    Gregory stared at his phone, stunned. He quickly dialed Jeffrey’s usual number, only to get the same response. For a moment, his brain just froze.


    He had no choice but to call Timothy for details. “What kind of transportation did Ms. Jensen and Samuel take?” he asked.


    “A taxi,” Timothy replied.


    Gregory thanked him and ended the call. His first instinct was to call the bodyguards at Maple Garden and have them wake Jeffrey, but then he remembered Jeffrey had been up all night.


    When Gregory had seen him at noon, Jeffrey had seemed his usual self, but he could tell that his boss was preupied and running on empty. After a moment’s hesitation, Gregory decided against sending someone to disturb him.


    ‘Ms. Jensen is with their son, after all. Even if she finds Mr. Hanson there, it’s unlikely to turn into a huge fight,‘ he thought to himself.


    Meanwhile, dressed in clean pajamas, Jeffreyy down in Reba’s bed. He pulled theforter up, and her faint, familiar scent surrounded him. His eyes drifted around the small, simple room onest time before he finally sumbed to a deep and heavy sleep.


    Reba made it home with Samuel just after three. She found her keys, unlocked the door, and handed Samuel his house shoes. “Go ahead and get some rest…” she began.


    Then the words died in her throat. Her eyes caught on a pair of men’s slippers sitting by the door–ones she’d never seen before.


    “Mommy?” Samuel called out when he saw her freeze.


    Reba pressed a finger to Samuel’s lips, scanning the living room. Seeing no one, she guided him out and shut the door.


    Samuel looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”


    “A stranger’s in our apartment,” Reba said, grabbing her phone. “I’m calling the police. Let’s get downstairs.”


    “How do you know?” Samuel tilted his head, confused.


    “New slippers by the shoe rack,” Reba exined. She did keep spare men’s slippers around, but not that kind. Someone wearing slippers inside suggested it was probably someone from their own apartment building.


    Samuel quickly answered, “They’re Daddy’s.”


    Reba froze


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    “Victor took me to Daddy’s ce after picking me upst time,” Samuel exined. “I saw those shoes in his


    shoe rack.”


    Reba froze with her finger hovering over the dial, her eyes shing with uncertainty. “Are


    you sure?”


    “Yes.” Samuel nodded vigorously.


    Reba opened the door again. Seeing the perfectly aligned slippers, she realized that an actual intruder wouldn’t tidy up after breaking in.


    She tossed her keys aside and walked quickly toward Samuel’s room in annoyance, but saw no one there.


    She opened the door to her room again. Just as she expected, Jeffrey was lying on her bed.


    She hurried to the bed, ready to pull off the covers and pull him up, only to stop when she saw a light sweat on his forehead. His face was pale, and he was frowning deeply as if having a bad dream.


    For some reason, Stephen’s words about Jeffrey’s childhood suddenly popped into her mind.


    In five years of marriage, they had talked about the past. However, Jeffrey always brushed it off, saying his childhood was just endless learning, meaningless and boring.


    She hadn’t thought much about it back then. But now she realized his past probably wasn’t happy. Otherwise, Stephen wouldn’t have brought it up.


    “Jeff…” Reba started to call him awake, but hesitated seeing his poor sleep and dark circles under his eyes.


    As she debated whether to wake him and kick him out, Jeffrey woke. His deep–set eyes fixed on her conflicted face, his voice raspy from sleep. “Why are you back?”


    Now he was back to his usual calm. If not for the sweat still on his forehead, Reba would think it was all an illusion.


    “This is my house,” Reba said bluntly as he woke up. “Why can’t Ie back?”


    Jeffrey said tly, “Yeah.”


    Reba paused. ‘Seriously? That’s all he’s gonna say?‘ she thought.


    Jeffrey clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk. He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.


    Reba threw off the nket and reached out to drag him up. But before she could touch his clothes, he seized her wrist and yanked hard. She lost her bnce and fell onto the bed.


    The next instant, Jeffrey pulled Reba into his arms with one swift tug.


    It happened in a sh. Before Reba could react, she was dragged down beside him.


    “What are you doing?” Reba was trapped again, unable to push him away or escape.


    Jeffrey’s low voice murmured in her ear, “Either let me hold you while we sleep, or we do something else first.”


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    Reba wanted to twist away and hit him, but he had her trapped so firmly that she couldn’t move an inch.


    “Samuel’s probably still next door,” Jeffrey said, hitting her weak spot. “Struggle all you want if you want him to see something he shouldn’t.”


    Reba snapped, “What else can you do besides threaten me?”


    Jeffrey countered, “What do you think?”


    Reba stayed silent, knowing he was about to say something cheeky.


    “Just give me a minute,” Jeffrey whispered while pulling her closer. The real warmth and her clean, familiar scent calmed his restless heart.


    He knew when Reba and Samuel opened the door and walked in.


    He was half–asleep at the time, wondering why Gregory hadn’t given him any heads–up, while struggling through restless dreams.


    He only woke up fully when Reba approached the bed. He thought if she told him to leave, he’d just go, but she didn’t disturb him after calling his name. So he decided to just go through with what he truly wanted.


    “Your room is next door,” Reba said, struggling briefly but unable to break free. “Go sleep there.”


    But all she heard was Jeffrey’s steady breathing.


    She looked over and saw his eyes were closed–he was already asleep. ‘He must have been exhausted to fall asleep that fast,‘ she thought.


    She had assumed his hold would loosen once he fell asleep, but it stayed just as firm as always. It didn’t seem to bother hisfort, but for her, slipping away was out of the question.


    *****


    After learning Reba was home, Gregory waited for his boss’s call. Half an hour went by with no calls, and Gregary knew right then that nothing bad had happened.


    “Gregory.” Michelle came up to Gregory before adding, “Andrea wants to see you.”


    Gregory turned to the hospital room.


    At noon, Jeffrey had told him to keep an eye on Andrea for a while and to fulfill any of her requests as long as they weren’t too excessive.


    He was still in his professional suit when he walked in. “Ms. Scott, what do you need?” he asked tly.


    “Where’s Jeffrey?” Andrea asked anxiously. “It’s been all afternoon, and he hasn’te to see me. His phone is off–doesn’t he want to take care of me anymore?”


    “Mr. Hanson needs rest,” Gregory said, a hint of coldness shing in his eyes.


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