Chapter 1014

“Wish him a safe journey,” was all Teresa could say. She thought, ‘At least he has a friend to see him off—still better than having no one at all.’

Unexpectedly, Jonathan took Benny’s phone.

The moment Teresa heard Jonathan’s voice, she felt choked up, her words caught in her throat. She wanted to say, “Could you please not leave? I might not be able to take care of both kids on my own.”

She wanted to tell him, “I really am grateful for everything you’ve done. What my mom said is just her own opinion—it doesn’t mean I don’t see all you’ve done for our family.”

She wanted to say that it wasn’t gratitude that made her marry him, but real love. Even after the divorce, she still loved him, and that was why she could never let another man into her heart.

But she also felt that saying it wouldn’t make any difference; she believed Jonathan had already written her off. And Irene’s rejection still lodged like a thorn in her heart—an apology she’d never received, an approval she’d never earned.

Teresa admitted to herself that she was a coward. She was afraid of the pain, afraid of being hurt again, afraid he’d say, “Let’s just make do for the kids.” She couldn’t settle for that—couldn’t return to a marriage with no future.

Now that Jonathan was gone, all Teresa could do was wish him well. She told herself that from now on, she’d have to be stronger and live her own life.

Just then, a doctor asked, “Are you the patient’s family?”

The doctor’s words snapped Teresa back to reality.

Teresa stood up quickly and hurried over. She asked, “How is my friend? Is she okay now?”

“Yes, it was just a minor surgery, and it went very well. You can go see her soon,” the doctor replied.

“Thank you,” Teresa said.

When Miriam opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Teresa. She exclaimed, “Teresa, what are you doing here?”

Miriam tried to sit up, but Teresa gently pressed her back down, telling her to rest since she’d just had surgery.

“Why did you come? Did Edward call you?” Miriam asked.

“Yeah, he said you had acute appendicitis and were in the hospital. He couldn’t get back from out of town, so I came,” Teresa explained.

“I swear, Edward. Why did he have to call you and make you come all the way here just to look after me?” Miriam complained, sucking in a breath from the pain as she spoke. She just had the surgery, and the wound still hurt a bit.

“Come on, no need to be polite between us. When I had Mike, I didn’t even get to rest properly after giving birth, and look at me—I’m still perfectly fine,” Teresa said.

“How is that the same? I really feel for you. You had a premature birth this time and lost so much vitality,” Miriam replied.

Miriam remained lying down. She wasn’t allowed to drink or eat yet, so Teresa went to pay her hospital fees.

As soon as Teresa left, Edward called.

Miriam scolded, “Why did you call Teresa and make her come all the way here to take care of me? She’s the one who needs looking after.”

Edward said, “I didn’t know who else to call. I don’t even have your parents’ phone numbers. Teresa was the only one I could think of.”

‘Fine. I’m okay now, so don’t worry about me,” Miriam said.

Edward felt relieved.

After hanging up, Miriam waited for Teresa to come back. Once Teresa sat down beside her, Miriam asked, “By the way, what happened with Jennifer? I still don’t know how long she got sentenced for.”

“Nine months,” Teresa answered.

“Oh, really? So she’ll be out next year,” Miriam said.

Teresa replied, “Yeah…”