Sitting in the private car, Taylor's face was filled with relief and emotion.
Since marrying Linker, not only had her relationship with her parents beco strained, but she also rarely visited the sister she had always relied on since childhood.
One reason was that her sister and brother in law had started a company, and their ti was precious. The other was that as a teacher, her rest schedule was fixed, and sotis she couldn't make it to gatherings because she had to tutor students during holidays.
As ti passed, her sister and brother in law's family welcod a daughter and then a son. Every ti Taylor saw them, she couldn't help but feel envious. Yet, despite her longing, she was powerless and had to endure criticism from her in laws.
She sighed softly. At today's birthday party, Taylor felt an unprecedented warmth. Family was still family after all. Even if she fell into the abyss, there would always be blood related relatives to pull her back.
After the confusing incident with Jake, Taylor had tossed and turned night after night. Even after telling her sister about her divorce, she couldn't bring herself to face her niece's concerned phone calls.
It wasn't Taylor's fault, yet she willingly bore the pain. What a good woman she was, but her husband hadn't cherished her.
It wasn't until today's unavoidable birthday banquet that Taylor, with an uneasy heart, arrived at her sister's ho. In such a warm and joyful atmosphere, her anxiety and guilt gradually eased.
Her niece's innocent and adorable expression was exactly the sa as when she was a child. Although Taylor was her aunt, she had never behaved like a strict elder and had always gotten along well with her.
"From now on, I'll never see Jake again. I hope Mia can be happy and not end up like !"
After that day, Taylor had spent a long ti recalling what happened. Though most of her mories were blank, she vaguely rembered that after she got drunk, Jake had stepped in to protect her. The sex that followed had also been initiated by her, as she sat on top of Jake, releasing long pent up desire.
At the thought, a faint blush crept onto Taylor's cheeks.
"What's done is done. Let it go." Taylor comforted herself this way.
Before she knew it, the car had arrived at Shangrilla.
After paying and getting out, Taylor walked into the neighborhood while reading the caring ssages her sister had sent.
During this ti, Taylor had mostly stayed at ho, rarely going out. She felt like her body was getting sluggish from inactivity.
Stretching her limbs, the sound of her nude high heels clicking echoed through the night.
The young security guard on night shift spotted the enchanting mature woman from afar as she walked toward him and greeted him as usual.
Her magnetic voice, gentle deanor, stunning face, and especially her curvaceous, striking figure—barely concealed even by the night—made her impossible to ignore.
Shangrilla was an upscale neighborhood with plenty of beautiful won, but rare were those of Taylor's caliber. Even her ordinary walk exuded a seductive charm in the young guard's eyes.
Only after the beauty disappeared from sight did the guard snap out of his daze. He knew full well that the residents of Shangrilla were either wealthy or influential. He couldn't afford to provoke them, but he couldn't help envying the woman's husband. So n just had all the luck.
Taylor passed through the dimly lit neighborhood corridor, entered the building, swiped her card, and headed ho.
"Ding dong..." The elevator arrived.
In the small hallway space, a familiar man leaned against the wall, fast asleep. The quiet corridor even carried the sound of his shallow breathing.
Taylor was startled, but the man's handso profile quickly cald her. The man she had been trying to forget, Jake had appeared before her once again.
For a mont, Taylor was overwheld with mixed emotions, her beautiful eyes flickering with hesitation and panic.
After taking several deep breaths to steady her turbulent emotions, Taylor wondered how Jake had gotten in. Going upstairs required both a password and an elevator card.
Trying to stay composed, she tiptoed past Jake.
Perhaps it was fate.
Just as Taylor reached her doorstep, Jake woke up.
A voice full of regret ca from behind her. "Auntie, I finally caught you."
In that instant, Taylor's heart felt like it had been sliced open. Her body trembled violently, and her hand, which had been about to unlock the door, froze midair.
Seeing that his aunt didn't respond, Jake eagerly stepped closer.
When Jake's tall fra stood before Taylor again, her emotions overflowed. Her dark, almond shaped eyes welled with tears.
"Didn't we agree never to et again? Why are you harassing ?" Even in high heels, Taylor's height wasn't much shorter than Jake's.
But Taylor seed like a wounded child. Her impressive stature couldn't mask the vulnerability in her heart. Her pitiful, heart wrenching expression was etched deeply into Jake's mind.
After all, she was still a woman—a gentle and kind one.
Taylor's sorrowful mood weighed heavily on Jake. His complicated thoughts boiled down to countless "whys."
After a long silence, Jake still didn't speak. Ti seed to stand still.
It felt like sothing out of an old Taiwanese idol drama from over a decade ago.
But Jake and Taylor weren't lovers. Though Jake harbored special feelings for his aunt, he had no idea how Taylor viewed him.
His lips quivered as if sealed shut. He had so much to say to her, yet the words wouldn't co.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke dejectedly, "Auntie, happy birthday."
Taylor was visibly stunned. Then, unable to hold back, tears began to fall.
Twin streams rolled down Taylor's smooth cheeks as she gazed at Jake through blurred vision.
Jake's thoughts were a tangled ss. Taylor, as both his ntor and aunt, hamred at his ironclad heart.
Guilt ridden, Jake couldn't et her eyes. Silently, he pulled out the bracelet he had prepared.
The erald agate shimred under the bright hallway lights. Jake gently took Taylor's slender wrist and, following the sales clerk's instructions, slipped the bracelet onto her left hand. Thankfully, Taylor's delicate hands were soft, making the process smooth.
Taylor had ant to refuse, but Jake's grip was surprisingly firm. In her emotional state, her reactions were delayed. By the ti she thought to resist, it was too late.
"So beautiful." Jake's eyes were full of admiration. Having done what he ca for, he didn't linger. He turned and left.
No desperate clinging, no crossing the line. Jake's actions were perfectly asured. Yet, the mont he silently turned to leave, Taylor felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.
Equally accustod to a life of privilege, how could Taylor be moved by such a small gesture from Jake?
The mories of knowing Jake flooded Taylor's mind uncontrollably. The grievances she had suffered at Linker's hands were now finding redemption in Jake, who was more than a decade younger.
The letter he had written to her that day was still tucked away in Taylor's bookshelf.
The genuine emotions expressed between the lines suddenly beca clear to Taylor in that mont.
The words Jake had spoken to her on the day she lost her virginity resurfaced in her mind, and her delicate body began to reminisce about that forbidden, taboo lovemaking that defied moral norms.
The conflicting emotions left Taylor tangled in distress. She lowered her head, absently stroking the bracelet on her wrist.
Jake had no energy left to eavesdrop on his aunt's "inner voices." Seeing that she had given up on suicide and was living well was enough to satisfy him.
The elevator doors had already opened. Jake stepped in slowly. One second, two seconds... The elevator doors closed again.
His aunt's figure gradually disappeared from sight.
But at that very mont.
A voice tinged with a hint of nasal tone suddenly spoke up, "Why don't... you co in for a while?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Taylor regretted it. She had been avoiding Jake, yet she had inexplicably invited him in. Had her heart already begun to accept this young man?
Fortunately, the elevator doors had already fully closed.
"Good, good. Maybe he didn't hear." Taylor turned to open the door.
"Ding..." The elevator doors opened again, and Jake rushed out, unable to suppress the joy on his face.
Jake was overjoyed that he had heard his aunt's invitation at the last mont.
Taylor's heart skipped a beat, then began to race. She pretended to remain calm as she walked into the apartnt, though she left the door slightly ajar.
Jake took two steps at a ti, jogging in after her.
The security door clicked shut tightly against the fra with a "thud," as if symbolizing the happy ending of the lady of the house.
Returning to this sowhat familiar place, Jake suddenly seed awkward, standing stiffly in place.
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