Chapter 1015

Miriam said with a yawn, “What’s so hard to accept about that? She totally brought it on herself. I’m really sleepy, Teresa. The anesthesia still hasn’t worn off–I need to get some rest.”

“Go ahead and sleep. I’ll be right here watching over you,” Teresa replied.

Miriam drifted off into a hazy sleep.

In the dead of night, Miriam woke up groggy, needing to use the bathroom. She heard faint rustling in the hallway and realized Teresa wasn’t there anymore.

Afraid that something might happen to Teresa, Miriam scrambled out of bed, only to find Teresa sitting alone in a chair, sipping on a beer. Miriam exclaimed, “Are you out of your mind?”

There were already two empty beer cans next to Teresa.

Miriam snatched the can from Teresa’s hand and snapped, “Drinking in the middle of the night? You just had a baby–are you trying to kill yourself?”

Teresa reached out for the can and said, “Come on, just let me have a little. I haven’t touched alcohol in almost a year. I just feel so miserable.”

Miriam asked, “Why are you so upset? Did Jonathan treat you badly or something?”

Teresa shook her head.

Miriam pressed, “Come on, Jonathan must have done something to you, right? Otherwise, there’s no way he’d let you come out here to stay with me. Something must have happened between you two, right?”

Teresa kept shaking her head, and tears started to fall. She choked out, “He’s gone. He probably won’t ever see me again.”

“What do you mean? Where did he go?” Miriam asked, looking puzzled.

Teresa hadn’t shared the details with Miriam before, but now she finally told Miriam about how Irene had lashed out at her in court.

They’d originally kept all this from Evelyn, but thanks to Donald letting it slip, Evelyn found out about Jennifer being in prison and just how badly Irene had treated Teresa.

Evelyn was furious and took it all out on Jonathan. After that, the two families completely fell out with each other.

Miriam said, “How could this happen? Seriously, Donald. Why did he have to run his mouth like that? He must’ve done it on purpose, right? He and Jennifer really are two of a kind–they just can’t stand to see anyone else doing well. And now he even went and told your mom all this.”

“I don’t know. But it’s done now,” Teresa said, tears streaming down her face.

Miriam patted Teresa on the shoulder and said, “Don’t cry. Honestly, from your mom’s point of view, she’s probably just scared that if you keep getting involved with Jonathan, Irene will make trouble for you. Remember when Jonathan got investigated by the prosecutor’s office?”

“Yeah. Of course I remember,” Teresa replied.

Miriam said, “That whole mess was because of the people Irene planted in the company, right? If he hadn’t managed to clear his name, he could’ve ended up in jail for five years. Five years. Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cub. Irene is not someone to mess with. If she could almost get her son thrown in jail, what do you think she’d do to you? Now that Jennifer’s already in prison, what if Irene decides to stir things up again and drags you down with Jennifer? Seriously, it’s just not worth it.”

Miriam didn’t want to see Teresa get herself into trouble because of all this drama. She said, “Let’s just not get involved with him anymore.”

Teresa said, “I know what you’re saying, Miriam, but I just can’t help it–I feel awful inside. He’s gone now. I never thought he’d leave. I always thought he’d be here to watch the kids grow up with me, but in the end, he was the first one to give up.”

Miriam said, “Honestly, maybe it’s better this way. Now Jonathan can keep an eye on Irene himself, make sure she doesn’t run wild, and come back to mess with anyone else. Let him go find a new wife Irene likes–someone who’ll wait on him hand and foot, do all the chores, and be his maid. Whoever wants to put up with that can have him. At least we don’t have to deal with that crap anymore.”