"You shouldn’t be here, Damon," Jones was the first to break the silence, his tone icy, his eyes filled with barely concealed hostility.
Damon, cradling Brandon in his arms, just kept pacing, casually retorting, "Why shouldn’t I be here? She’s my ex-wife. It’s only natural for us to et as long as she’s not married."
At the ntion of ’not married’, my heart sank.
As expected, Jones’s face grew grim, and in the next mont, his gaze landed on , filled with disbelief.
Did he think I was the one who told Damon?
"Damon, stop talking nonsense!" I couldn’t help but interrupt him. I didn’t want to be with Jones, but I couldn’t admit that now.
"Nonsense? If you two aren’t legally married, then you aren’t husband and wife in my eyes," Damon’s words were obviously ant to provoke Jones. He put Brandon into his stroller, then sank into the couch, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone, completely ignoring my protest.
Damon was just as possessive as I’d thought. Even if given a hundred more years, he would still do as he pleased.
I just couldn’t understand how he’d found out about the state of my marriage with Jones. "Did you tell him?" Jones’s tone shifted, his eyes full of disappointnt as he looked at
I imdiately shook my head, but I had just had a big fight with him a few days ago, even stating that I’d rather be entangled with Damon than be with him. So, my denial seed to have little effect.
I could feel the tension radiating off Jones, the hurt in his eyes apparent. As he walked towards , I held Serena in my arms and my heart pounded with fear, worried about what he might do.
"Jones, we have two children together. Isn’t that enough to consider us married, even without a piece of paper?" I quickly explained, not only trying to calm Jones but also hoping to dispel any doubts Damon might have about the children.
As soon as I finished speaking, both n’s expressions changed.
Jones’s face softened considerably and he stopped in his tracks, while Damon’s eyes went dark and stormy as he stared at Jones and .
"Right, I don’t care about a marriage license. A piece of paper doesn’t always guarantee that people will cherish what they have," Jones took Serena from my arms and kissed her gently.
Serena, who was already fond of Jones, let out a cute giggle at his kiss.
Her laughter made Jones smile too, his eyes warm and tender, enough to make anyone fall for him. He was just too good to my children.
But Damon was clearly irked by this scene. He rose, his whole being radiating frustration and cold determination.
"Marriage without a license, is that so?" Damon laughed coldly, glancing at Brandon with a chilling gaze that sent shivers down my spine.
If he’d already discovered that Jones and I weren’t legally married, then it wouldn’t be too hard for him to arrange another paternity test, and then everything would be exposed.
"What’s the point of you pestering her?" Jones’s voice was back to its usual calm deanor, probably pleased by my earlier words. His eyes narrowed slightly as he addressed Damon, "We’re a happy family of
four, and you have Catherine and Leo. Damon, don’t you know how to cherish what you have?"
Jones’s words only made Damon’s expression even colder, as if a sore spot had been poked. He hadn’t cherished when we were together, and now he wasn’t cherishing Catherine either.
What’s the point of valuing sothing only after losing it?
"Thank you for bringing the car back today, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to have lunch together," I was feeling all over the place and just wanted both n out of my house as soon as possible, so I addressed Damon first.
Damon looked at . Even if he wanted to pester , he wouldn’t do it in front of Jones.
He didn’t even respond to and just walked out.
As soon as one of them left, I felt a weight lifting off my chest. I let out a sigh of relief and sank into the couch, feeling drained.
Jones gently placed Serena back into her stroller and gave her a small toy to practice grasping,
The living room fell into an oppressive silence. Jones sat down in front of , staring at for a long ti without saying a word.
Finally, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer and said, "I’m sorry about earlier. I manipulated you again."
Jones simply humd in response, his voice void of any discernible emotion.
"Don’t you have any questions?" I asked, wondering why he didn’t ask about how Damon knew about our marital status or why he ca to return the car.
But Jones didn’t ask, and I couldn’t guess what he was thinking. His eyes were like a deep, still pool, quiet yet slightly unsettling.
Maybe I was just feeling guilty.
We sat in silence until Norah ca back. She’d bought so groceries and wore an awkward smile. "Dr. Jones, would you like to have lunch here? I’ll start cooking."
"No, thank you, I just ca to pick up so docunts. I’ll be heading back to the hospital soon," Jones finally spoke but didn’t address the issue with Damon.
I watched him leave without stopping him. Wasn’t this the outco I wanted?
Both Serena and Brandon were soundly asleep, their peaceful faces both warming and wrenching my heart. If I couldn’t provide them with a stable life and keep them entangled in this chaotic situation, I would really be letting them down.
"Ms. Brooks, I’m sorry, but could I take a leave?" Norah suddenly ca out of the kitchen, looking anxious.
"What happened?" I snapped back to reality.
"There’s been an incident at ho. My mother fainted all of a sudden. She’s over eighty and is now in the hospital. I need to go see her" Norah replied, looking worried.
Norah was a local. Her whole family lived in Eldoria, so it was natural for her to want to check in on them. There was no way I could refuse her.
"Alright, go on now. If you need sothing, just let know. I’ll help you out where I can." I agreed to Norah’s request without a second thought. She had always been kind to and the kids, so I added an extra word or two.
Norah nodded gratefully. Not having the ti to chat, she rushed off.
She was gone for the afternoon, and by evening she gave a call, saying she would be able to make it back tonight.
"No problem, take care of your mother first. You can co back tomorrow." I didn’t give Norah a hard ti.
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