Jonathan suddenly fell silent. Evelyn misunderstood, thinking Jonathan’s silence meant he didn’t want to pay child support. “It’s fine, really. Even if you don’t pay, we can still manage to raise them ourselves.”

Jonathan said, “Evelyn, that’s not what I meant. I never wanted things to end up like this. As for Teresa’s sister, I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to fix the situation.”

“It’s already been decided in court. What’s left to fix? I don’t care if it was your mother or you who filed the lawsuit. Just stay away from Teresa. We can’t afford to mess with your almighty Lynn family!” Evelyn snapped.

Before Jonathan could say another word, Evelyn pulled Teresa inside and slammed the door shut.

Teresa said, “I didn’t dare tell you at first because I was afraid things would end up like this. It was Irene who sued my sister. Jonathan honestly had no idea about it at the beginning.”

“That’s enough! Why are you still making excuses for him? He didn’t know? That’s his own mother. Now that they’re rolling in money, they look down on us? Just like your dad, who got rich and suddenly forgot where he came from.”

As she spoke, Evelyn started to cry, her pain obvious. Teresa quickly added, “He’s not like Philip!” But Evelyn just cried even harder.

She grabbed Teresa’s hand. “What’s the difference? All men are the same. I hate myself for not protecting you better. How could you put up with his mother for two whole years? You even had a kid for him after the divorce? Wasn’t one enough? Why did you have another? You should’ve just ended it back then. Would’ve saved you so much pain.”

Teresa yanked Evelyn’s hand away. “What about you? After you had Lucas, you knew Philip was cheating, but you still went ahead and had me. Why didn’t you just get rid of me?”

“You think I wanted to?” Evelyn’s eyes instantly turned red. “Once I was pregnant with you, how could I possibly bear to get rid of my own child?”

“Me too,” Teresa choked, “Even though I knew there was no way I’d ever get back together with him, how could I possibly go through with it? Besides, I still…”

“What?” Teresa looked embarrassed and shook her head, but Evelyn looked right through her. “You still love him, don’t you?” Teresa stayed silent.

Evelyn grabbed Teresa and smacked her arm in exasperation. “You’re so hopeless. Who did you inherit this from? Why keep loving him when all he does makes you miserable? Is he the only man in the world? Why are you so hung up on just one guy? Maybe he never even loved you. Maybe he just married you because he didn’t have a better choice back then. Seriously, who did you get this stubbornness from? What are you even clinging to?”

Evelyn hadn’t hit her hard, but Teresa still felt the pain. What really hurt was her heart.

Evelyn hugged Teresa and stroked her hair gently. “Silly girl, you need to snap out of it. Take care of yourself. Don’t ever think men will be loyal to you. And after everything his mother’s done to you, you’re still standing up for him?”

Teresa sniffled. “When Lucas was in the hospital, sick, Jonathan paid for everything and helped out. He’s a good man.”

Evelyn slowly let go of Teresa. “Yes, Jonathan is better than his mother at heart. He’s helped our family a lot, but honestly, I don’t think he loves you. He just wants his child back. If you hadn’t given him a child, would he still be so good to you? Look at how things are between you two now. What love is left? In his mother’s mind, you’re a sinner just because you won’t hand over the child to her son. With a mother whose values are so twisted, do you really know what’s in her son’s heart?”

Teresa fell silent, her heart twisting in pain.

“Silly girl, if you ask me, you never should’ve had those kids. If you hadn’t, the two of you would’ve moved on and remarried by now,” Evelyn said.

“I don’t regret having them. Both my kids… I don’t regret a thing,” Teresa insisted.

“But what about him? Maybe he regrets it all—regrets marrying you, regrets you having another kid with your ex after the divorce, regrets being stuck with you because of the children. Even if he wants to see you in the future, don’t go. Cut him out of your life for good.”

Teresa didn’t say anything. She just closed the door and went back to her room.

The night was dark and heavy. Teresa sat at the edge of her bed, dazed and lost, her eyes fixed on the moon outside the window, her mind a tangled mess. Her two children were still at Forlisle Rose Estates. She thought, ‘I have to bring them home.’ Despite everything, she still ended up calling Jonathan.

The call went through almost instantly. Jonathan answered, “Hey.”

His voice was so deep and gentle that Teresa felt tears prick at her eyes. She thought, ‘Maybe Evelyn was right. If it weren’t for the kids, would he even still be tangled up with me? Maybe we would have moved on and found our own happiness. Is there even any love left between us? That love has changed beyond recognition. Maybe it is already gone.’

Jonathan didn’t hear Teresa say anything, so he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

Teresa finally spoke, “The kids… They’re still with you.”

Jonathan went quiet. Irene’s words kept echoing in his mind. The love he thought was real was unrecognizable at that moment. He wanted so badly to just take her and the kids away, to some place where it was only the three of them. But deep down, he knew she probably wouldn’t want that.

“I’ll bring the kids over,” Jonathan said, with his voice filled with a pain so deep it was almost unbearable.

“Okay, thank you,” Teresa replied softly.

“I’m sorry,” Jonathan said again. “I’m sorry for everything my mother did to you. I really am,” Jonathan said, his voice hoarse, and then he hung up. Teresa hung up, too.

At the bar, Jonathan was downing drinks one after another, with Benny sitting right beside him.

Jonathan asked Benny, “Is there any way to drop Jennifer’s case or get her out early?”

Benny shook his head and let out a sigh. “We can only appeal, but there’s no way to drop the case. An appeal would just drag things out even longer, and we’d have to wait through all the procedures. Nine months will be over before you know it.”

‘Nine months… Is that really fast?’ Jonathan thought bitterly. ‘So why does it feel like every single day is endless torture for me?’

Benny clinked his glass against Jonathan’s. “You’ve done everything you can. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Just let it go.”

“Let things take their course,” Benny added. With that, he downed his drink in one gulp.

Just then, footsteps approached. It was Gary who slid into the seat next to Jonathan. “Jonathan, I did what you told me. Your mom’s been taken care of.”

Benny looked puzzled. “Taken care of? Where’d you send your mom?”

Jonathan didn’t explain. After a moment, he finally spoke, his eyes dark and full of meaning. “I won’t be sticking around much longer either…”