Jeffrey was momentarily stunned.


    Gregory and Barry shared a secret thumbs–up for Samuel.


    ‘Samuel really is something else!‘ they thought.


    “Am I that embarrassing?” Jeffrey shot Samuel a sideways nce, his usual calm expression back in ce. “Do you have to think about me in secret?”


    “Isn’t that obvious?” Samuel replied seriously, sending Reba a quick message on his kids‘ smartwatch to let her know he was safe. “If you were someone I could talk about openly, I wouldn’t have to think about you in


    secret.”


    “What do you think about me for?” Jeffrey asked.


    “I just want you to have a better life,” Samuel said, not hiding his feelings one bit.


    Jeffrey’s lips curved into a faint smile.


    For the rest of the ride, Samuel surprised Jeffrey by being totally honest for once. It kind of threw Jeffrey off, since he was used to sparring with quickebacks, but Samuel’s real talk actually gave all his bottled–up worries a chance to breathe.


    The tension he’d been carrying finally let up a bit.


    As the scenery outside grew more unfamiliar, Samuel nced over and asked, “Where are we going?”


    “Home,” Jeffrey replied.


    “This isn’t the way to Reba’s Manor,” Samuel pointed out.


    Jeffrey pressed his lips together. No way he’d admit Reba booted him out.


    Just as Jeffrey was lost in thought, his phone buzzed out of nowhere with a message.


    It was a message from Reba: [Samuel’s used to staying at Reba’s Manor. If it works for you, take him there–he’s got stuff he needs to pick up. But if it’s awkward for you, don’t worry about it.]


    She’d turned Gregory down because she wanted to keep her distance from Jeffrey, but Samuel was their son. No way she’d let adult drama ruin things for him.


    Jeffrey replied instantly: [Okay.]


    Reba didn’t reply.


    She put her phone away and headed off with Amelia to handle the asset transfer. Amelia had so many assets that transferring everything would take months, so in the end, they only dealt with enough cash and investment funds to buy back the shares at the original price. The rest was left untouched.


    The cash transfer was wrapped up in a day, but the investment funds took another two or three days to clear.


    While she had some free time, Reba decided to meet up with Jessica and Ian.


    When they saw she’d picked a private room at a bar, both Jessica andn were taken aback. Reba was never the type for bars or nightclubs—both of them knew that so they couldn’t help but wonder, What’s up with


    this?‘


    As soon as they stepped into the private room, Jessica grinned and teased, “Seriously, Reba, of all ces- what made you choose a bar?”


    “I just want to see what my actual drinking limit is,” Reba said, making preparations for everything that was about to happen. “If you two are here, I know I’m good.”


    “Weren’t you always the lightweight–one drink and you’re tipsy, three and you’re done for? Jessica joked, the memory clear in her mind.


    ‘I guess that’s not really my true limit, Reba thought, reflecting on herself. When I’ve got someone I trust with me, I tend to drop my guard. Deep down, I let myself get drunk because I know I’m safe!


    Back at that dinner, Jeffrey made her drink.


    No matter how bad things got between them, Reba never really worried he’d let anything happen to her- she knew he’d never take advantage, even if she was drunk.


    Yeah, he’d hurt her in other ways, but when it came to stuff like this, he always yed it straight.


    So even when she tried to tough it out, that still wasn’t her true limit. <fn0802> This update is avable on ?ovelFind</fn0802>


    Jessica stared at Reba, looking totally bewildered–her face practically full of question marks.


    She gestured between herself and Ian. “Hold up, aren’t Ian and I your go–to people?”


    Reba waved a hand, a little awkward. “It’s different, okay? Hard to exin–just a vibe thing. Anyway, just think of this as us hanging out at a bar. No pressure, drink whatever you want, have fun.”


    Jessica hadn’t tried anything like this before, but she agreed right away. “Sure!”


    For the next hour, they just hung out together–chatting, gossiping, sharing stories, the usual stuff.


    Reba sipped her drink from time to time.


    Since she knew she had a bunch of business dinnersing up, she mostly stuck to the kind of drinks you’d see at a business dinner.


    By her third drink, even though Reba was making a real effort to stay sober, the booze still hit her hard- her limbs felt a little fuzzy, and her thoughts started to blur. She was definitely feeling the buzz.


    “You good?” Jessica asked, unable to hide a mix of worry and surprise. She always knew Reba couldn’t hold her liquor, but watching her get tipsy this fast left Jessica feeling a bit conflicted.


    30vouchers


    Reba grabbed her phone and carefully opened an app, double–checking that she could still dial a number without messing up. “Yeah, I’m good, she replied.


    About ten more minutes passed.


    Reba finished her fourth, then her fifth drink.


    She forced herself to stand, fighting the alcohol’s effects, but lost the battle–swaying on her feet before plopping right back into her seat.


    She was genuinely drunk now.


    “With a tolerance like that, you’d be knocked out before the party’s even started,” Jessica said, helping Reba back up with a sigh.


    Reba slurred stubbornly, “Then I just gotta practice more.”


    Jessica just chuckled, a bit helpless.


    Jessica and Ian got Reba home. On the way, she fought hard to stay awake, forcing herself not to let the alcohol get the best of her. But as soon as she made it through the door, she justpletely lost consciousness–crashing right onto the bed and knocking herself out.


    Seeing her like that, Ian and Jessica both felt a strange sourness in their hearts.


    This just doesn’t sit right, Jessica thought, ncing at Ian, who looked just as uneasy.


    “Is it really okay for her to drink like this?” Ian said, his voice full of worry.


    Jessica gently covered Reba with the nket, her touch full of worry. “No way that’s fine.”


    Ian looked uneasy. “Then why didn’t you try to stop her?”


    Jessica shrugged. “What was I supposed to do?”


    “Isn’t Mr. Guzman her actual dad? Why not just ask him to help her get those shares?” Ian said, clearly not wanting Reba <i>to </i>suffer. “Or maybe we should step in and help her out.”


    “Do you really care about Reba?” Jessica asked, surprisingly serious for once.


    Ian.answered without missing a beat. “Of course I do.”


    “Then you should respect her choices–even if it means she has to struggle,” Jessica said, understanding her perfectly. “All we can do is be there for her as friends.”


    You can only really trust what you get with your own two hands.


    Lovers, friends, even family–nothing in lifees with a guarantee. Things can change on you heartbeat.


    in a


    After everything she’d been through, Reba was honestly terrified of getting hurt again. She didn’t want to


    <b>793 </b>


    10 vouchers


    lean on anyone anymore—she just wanted to tough it out herself and be the one in charge of her own life.


    “You go ahead, Jessica said softly, making sure Reba was tucked in. “I’ll stick around and keep an <i>eye </i>on her tonight


    Her marriage had just blown up in her face, and she’d gotten dumped on top of that–talk about a double whammy for Reba.


    Now she was stuck handling life solo, no backup, just her against the world.


    It felt like everything wasing down on Reba at once. Jessica worried that if Reba woke up in the middle of the night, all that stress might hit her too hard and she’d end up crying her eyes out.


    Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Amelia walked in.


    Ian and Jessica both called out together, “Aunt Amelia.”


    “There’s a spare room ready for you upstairs on the third floor. Why don’t you two head up and get some sleep? I’ll stay here and look after Reba. Trust me, she’s in good hands,” Amelia said, her voice always so gentle.


    Jessica gave a reassuring smile. “No worries, I’ll stay with her tonight.”


    “She’ll most likely sleep all the way till morning,” Amelia said softly. “I’ll whip up something to help with her hangoverter.”


    With Amelia being so gentle about it, Jessica and Ian didn’t insist anymore.


    Reba woke up at five or six in the morning, her head throbbing from the hangover. She rubbed her temples, dragged herself to the bathroom for a shower just to shake off the haze. By the time she made it downstairs, dawn was breaking outside.


    Somehow, without her even realizing, autumn had slipped in.


    Reba took out her phone and aimed it at the sunrise, snapping a quick photo. Almost on autopilot, her thumb hovered, ready to send it straight to Jeffrey–then she suddenly froze, the truth washing over her: that part of her life was done.


    With Jeffrey and Andrea finally out of the picture, her life felt strangely peaceful all of a sudden.


    It was so quiet that, even after sobering up, her mind still felt kind of off.


    Just then, her phone chimed with a notification.


    She unlocked the screen–and saw it was a friend request from Max Quinn.


    ‘Seriously<i>, </i>he’s up this early?‘ Reba thought, amused.


    She hit “ept.”


    A


    Max had just finished getting ready for the day when he saw Reba had epted his friend request. He was a little surprised she was up so early, but didn’t make a fuss. Instead, he sent her a quick message: [Hey, are you free this afternoon? Grandpa was hoping you coulde by for dinner and talk a bit about the shares.]