After they left. Reba closed the hospital door behind them, still confused as she asked Amelia. “Why did you go along with Stephen’s demand? You know he’s not someone you can trust. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his way.”
“I know,” Amelia said quietly. She could see how calcted Stephen really was.
Reba hesitated, “Then why-”
Amelia interrupted, “It’s just business.”
Reba thought back to what had just happened.
Stephen would help them leave Jsburg, and in return, Amelia would spare Jeffrey’s life.
But honestly, Jeffrey was the one who could snuff her out if he wanted. There’s no way she’d ever get to let him off the hook.
“Forget what he said,” Amelia said, knowing Reba was getting hung up on the deal. “Think about his rtionship with Jeffrey.”
Reba’s mind raced, and she quickly figured it out. “You mean he wants to get Jeffrey’s attention off me leaving, so he can take control of the Hanson Group from him?”
Amelia nodded. “Yeah.”
Once Reba realized his real motive, she finally let out a breath she’d been holding.
As long as he wasn’t plotting against her, she couldn’t care less.
However he chose to go head–to–head with Jeffrey was none of her concern.
That night, Jeffrey stopped by the hospital.
After checking on Amelia, he asked Reba about Stephen. Reba just said he’de by with a friend to visit her mom, not giving away anything else.
Jeffrey looked skeptical. “Just a visit?”
Reba kept her expression neutral. “Yeah.”
“Are youing back to the vi tonight?” Jeffrey asked, not pressing further. He reached out and took Reba’s hand in front of Amelia<i>. </i>
“No,” Reba replied, pulling her hand away without missing a beat. “Mom has her rehab session early tomorrow, so I’ll just stay here and not make the trip back and forth.”
Jeffrey said, “Samuel’sing back tonight.”
11:02 <b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
Reba blinked, confused. “What?”
Reba frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed toe back tomorrow at noon?”
“I told him Amelia’s awake, and he insisted I go get him right away,” Jeffrey replied, checking his watch. “He should be here in just over an hour.”
Reba finally decided to head back.
She needed to talk to Samuel about leaving–she wanted to ease him into it and find out what he really wanted. If he chose to go with her, she’d have to quietly make all the preparations without anyone noticing. But if he refused, it meant there’d be less and less time for them together.
Once she left Jsburg for real,ing back wouldn’t be an option–at least not for a long while.
From then on, their connection would be limited to calls and video chats–nothing more.
“Tonight, I want to stay with Samuel,” Reba announced the moment she stepped out of the hospital.
Jeffrey understood what was really going on, but chose not to say anything. “Okay.”
They got home quickly.
After waiting for an hour, Reba grew a little anxious. “Didn’t you say he’d be home around now? Why haven’t we heard anything yet?”
Jeffrey picked up his phone and called Samuel.
He didn’t bother calling the driver, since Victor, the butler, was the one driving.
“Hello, Mr. Hanson.” Samuel answered, his tone distant–it had been a while since he called him “Dad.”
“Why aren’t you here yet?” Jeffrey asked calmly, switching the call to speaker. “Your mom’s been waiting at home for you for quite some time now.”
Samuel: ‘What?!‘
Samuel’s voice instantly rose. “You’re such a liar!”
He got all worked up. “We agreed you wouldn’t tell Mom! I wanted to surprise her when I got home!”
Jeffrey, calm as ever, asked, “Isn’t this Mr. Hanson you’re talking to?” <fna0ad> For original chapters go to find(?)ovel</fna0ad>
Samuel was so mad he could barely catch his breath.
‘Seriously, Dad is just getting more and more impossible these days,‘ Samuel grumbled to himself.
“Ugh, I don’t even want to talk to you right now,” Samuel shot back.
“Your mom asked me to call you,” Jeffrey replied, his tone calm and unhurried. He had no qualms about teasing his son. “If you’d rather make her worry, go ahead and keep ignoring me.”
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11:02 Thu, <b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
Samuel: “…”
‘He drives me crazy!’ Samuel fumed.
But he forced himself to stay calm.
80
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“Victor’s car had a little problem on the way, so we had to stop and fix it for a bit,” Samuel said, still pouting.
“How much longer until you get here?” Jeffrey asked.
Samuel nced over at Victor in the driver’s seat.
Victor checked the navigation. “About an hour. There’s an ident in the tunnel ahead, <i>so </i>traffic’s backed up.”
“Did you hear that?” Samuel asked.
Jeffrey didn’t even bother answering him. Instead, he turned to Reba and said, “You can go upstairs and get some rest. I’lle get you when he arrives.”
“No, I’ll just wait for him downstairs. I don’t have anything else to do anyway,” Reba replied.
Jeffrey didn’t say anything more.
After hanging up, Reba flopped down onto the living room couch.
With nothing better to do, she got out her phone and started scrolling for business ideas–stuff she actually cared about, stuff she’d want to get into. ‘Might as well use this downtime to finish up my business n,‘ she thought. If things went her way, she could finally put it into action once she left Jsburg.
“Hey, Softie,” Jeffrey said, dropping down next to her.
Reba didn’t take her eyes off her phone, answeringzily, “Mm.”
“You remember what day it is?” Jeffrey asked, his eyes dark and steady. He could tell she wasn’t even close to being present.
Reba didn’t so much as nce his way. “What day?”
Jeffrey’s gaze never wavered from her. “Two months ago today, you asked me for a divorce.”
Reba paused.
After a beat, she shot back, “Why don’t you call it the two–month anniversary of you shamelessly telling me you wanted Andrea around?”
“Still upset?” Jeffrey reached over and nudged her gently.
Reba paused, her thumb stopping mid–scroll.
She lifted her gaze from her phone, locking eyes with Jeffrey–his stare was as deep and unfathomable as the night.
<b>11:02 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
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<b>80 </b>
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The next moment, Reba shot Jeffrey a serious look and asked, her tone sharper than usual, “Are you really clueless about why I’m mad? You know exactly how I’m feeling, so what’s your angle asking me that? What are you ying at?”
Reba stared at him, unusually serious. “Seriously, you already know I’m upset–why ask? What are you trying to get out of me by pretending not to know?”
“I’m sorry,” Jeffrey said, leaning in close, his eyes full of sincerity. “I just saw you glued <i>to </i>your phone and not paying any attention to me. I just wanted a little attention from you.”
The frustration just sat heavy in Reba’s chest–she was so mad but couldn’t let it out.
When Jeffrey decided to spoil her, he could be unbelievably sweet–he knew exactly how she felt and always found a way to make her feel cared for.
But when he wanted to push her buttons, he really knew how to do that too–just like right now.
“Don’t go sneaking off and leaving me behind,” Jeffrey said, his voice gentle and earnest. He didn’t want to argue, so he reminded her again, “Promise me?”
A chill ran down Reba’s spine.
‘Did he figure it out?‘ she wondered.
“I’m a little weird, and my temper’s nothing to brag about,” Jeffrey said, his gaze falling to her delicate fingertips. His words were slow and deliberate. “If I get worked up, sometimes I just lose control.”
“What are you talking about?” Reba felt a chill run through her.
“Everything with Samuel was a setup,” Jeffrey confessed calmly. “After his allergy was treated, I roped everyone in to pull it off. We even used makeup on Samuel–just to trick you.”
Reba froze, caught off guard.
‘Honestly, I should be pissed right now,‘ she thought to herself.
But all those nerves and anxiety just ate her up inside, pushing any anger aside.
Jeffrey never came clean like this unless something bigger–something way crazier–was about to go down. And that made her even more nervous.
“If you really want to take them and leave me, I’ll do everything I promised before,” Jeffrey said, locking eyes with her, his words crisp and unwavering. “As long as I can keep you with me, I’ll pay any price–even if it means breaking every promise I made.”
“You’re crazy!” Reba snapped, bolting to her feet and heading straight upstairs.
Reba couldn’t take it anymore–she had to get away.
She didn’t dare stick around, afraid he’d start pressing her with more questions.
<b>11:02 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
She dreaded what else he might say–maybe something that would seriously mess with her head.
60
“I’m not ying games,” Jeffrey said, grabbing her wrist from behind, his voice dangerously calm. “I can let you do whatever you want here in Jsburg, but leaving? That’s out of the question—don’t even think about
<b>it</b>.”