Chapter 844

“I don’t want to lie to you,” Jonathan said, guilt flickering in his eyes. “I swore to you before that my mom had nothing to do with what happened to your company, but the truth is, she was still involved.”

Teresa looked away, bitterness and sorrow welling up inside her. She had always known Irene was involved.

Sometimes, she understood Irene even better than Jonathan did. That’s why, once she’d cooled off, she told him not to look into it anymore.

She hadn’t expected him to go through with it anyway.

“Don’t worry. This time, she was misled by others and got a bit muddle-headed. It won’t happen again,” Jonathan said.

Teresa took a deep breath. ‘It won’t happen again? Really?’ she thought, a bitter doubt flickering in her heart.

All of a sudden, she felt calm. Her voice was steady as she said, “So, is that all? Are you finished?”

She thought, ‘I don’t know what I’m hoping for. Am I expecting him to drag Irene over here and make her apologize in person?’

“Here, just take the keys,” Jonathan insisted, holding them out to her.

“Forget it,” Teresa said quietly, her tone calm but resolute. She turned down Jonathan’s so-called compensation.

Teresa said firmly, “You’ve done so much for my family and even saved my brother’s life. I owe you a lot. You helped with the company mess, so I won’t mention it again. But I’m not moving. I’ll stay here at Rosary Estates.”

She turned around and started to walk away. Jonathan strode forward and blocked her path, standing right in front of her and said, “Why do you have to be so stubborn? I just want you to live a more…”

But before he could finish, he stopped short. He saw that her face was covered in tears. She hadn’t cried at all while talking to him, but she cried with her back turned to him.

He stood there, dazed, as Teresa wiped away her tears and said, “The environment here is great. I’m comfortable and used to it. From now on, unless it’s about Michael, please don’t ask to see me alone again. That’s it.”

She didn’t want the keys to the place in Luviston Estates, and she never would.

She turned and headed upstairs, leaving Jonathan standing there, clutching the keys tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on her back, brows drawn together in silent frustration.

Later that night, Irene went to see Heidi. She couldn’t help but start complaining and venting again. She asked Heidi how she could make Teresa give up and back off.

Heidi said, “Why not offer her money to give up custody? Let her take the cash, leave, and never return to Nareigh.”

Irene thought for a second and said, “But what if that woman goes crazy and asks for 30 million dollars? There’s no way I’m giving that much.”

Heidi replied, “Just test the waters and see what she wants. If she asks for a ton, you can go tattletale to Jonathan and show him her true colors. That way, you get what you want either way.”

Irene thought that sounded like a plan. However, what she didn’t know was that every word she and Heidi said was overheard by Edward and Miriam, who had just walked in behind them.

Edward had brought Miriam home today to meet his parents, but as soon as Miriam heard Irene talking about Teresa behind her back, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Irene,” Miriam called out, her voice sharp as she approached. Then she gave Irene a hard slap on the shoulder.

“Oh, my!” Irene gasped, clutching her chest in shock. She turned around and shot a glare at Miriam, who was all dolled up.

“Who are you? You startled me,” Irene snapped.

With a forced smile and a sharp edge in her voice, Miriam said, “Irene, don’t you remember me? I’m Teresa’s best friend, Miriam.”