Chapter 1036

Michael held out his hand and asked, “Mom, can I have my kiddie phone back?”

Teresa replied, “Next time.” Just hearing that name still made her heart ache. She thought, ‘It has been more than half a month since he left. Is he really never coming back?’

She took Michael back to his room and said, “Your dad is even busier than I am, so don’t try calling him tonight. Get some sleep, okay?”

She thought, ‘We agreed he’d pay child support every year–nothing more. We’re not remarried, so I won’t ask anything else of him. Better not disturb him.’

She then gently coaxed Michael until he finally drifted off.

Teresa couldn’t sleep. She was too busy cleaning up the mess left behind by Mandy. She thought bitterly, ‘So much for being my so-called classmate and the right-hand woman I thought I could rely on.’

When Michael woke up groggy in the middle of the night, he saw Teresa sitting at his desk, her back to him, busy working on the computer.

From his spot, he could see her eyes were red. She kept pushing her hair back, wiping away a tear now and then.

Teresa was so caught up in her design ideas that she didn’t even notice her phone was already gone, taken by Michael.

Under the covers, Michael poked and swiped at Teresa’s phone until he found Jonathan’s number. He hit the call button, hope bubbling up inside him.

The phone only rang twice, and then the call was abruptly cut off. A robotic female voice said, “Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable.”

Teresa heard the voice and hurriedly pulled Michael out from under the covers.

Michael choked out, “Mom, I saw you crying, so I wanted to call Mr. Lime. Didn’t you say that when it’s nighttime here, it’s daytime over there for him? He never sleeps in–so why did he hang up on me?”

The more he spoke, the sadder he felt. He lowered his head and wiped at his tears.

Teresa remembered how unpleasant her last phone call with Jonathan had been. She thought, ‘Is that why he won’t answer my calls anymore?’

She said to Michael, “He must be busy, probably in a meeting. Let’s not disturb him right now. When he’s not busy, he’ll call us back. And besides, it’s just my allergies acting up. I wasn’t crying.”

Michael said, “You’re lying. Since when do tears come out of your nose?” Still not satisfied after the call didn’t go through, he pleaded, “Please, Mom, give me my kiddie phone. Let me try calling Mr. Lime with my phone.”

“Next time, alright? It’s really late–come on, try to get some sleep now,” Teresa coaxed gently. She was completely drained. She honestly had zero desire to call Jonathan again.

Michael nodded and said, “Then if Mr. Lime calls you back, you have to tell me, okay?”

“Of course, I’ll let you know,” Teresa said gently.

It was late, so Teresa tidied her desk and got ready for bed. She never turned off her phone. Early the next morning, she instinctively reached for it–still no call from Jonathan.

She gave a self-deprecating laugh and thought, ‘Why am I still hoping for anything? He’s done with everything about me anyway. But I really can’t blame him.’

‘Compared to someone like Philip, at least he left plenty of money for the kids. Maybe, just like Irene said, he’d already moved on, probably having the time of his life with a bunch of women around him!’

When Michael woke up, the first thing he asked was, “Mom, did Mr. Lime call you?”

Teresa shook her head and said, “No, he didn’t. Come on, eat your breakfast, and I’ll take you to kindergarten.”

Michael hung his head, feeling crushed and disappointed. When he looked up again, his eyes brimmed with tears. He asked, “Mom, is Mr. Lime abandoning us now?”

Teresa froze. She avoided his gaze, suddenly at a loss for how to answer Michael. At the same time, memories of her own childhood came flooding back.

She remembered herself as a little girl, holding her grandparents’ hands and asking, “Grandma, do Mom and Dad not want me anymore? Why don’t they ever come to see me?”

Teresa couldn’t stop her tears from falling. She turned away, hurriedly composed herself, and then tried to comfort Michael.

She said, “How could your dad not want you? Do you think he’s that kind of person? He’s just busy, that’s all. Didn’t you say he’s your idol? Well, idols are always busy. And you still have me–I will always be here with you.”

But even with Teresa’s reassurance, Michael still broke down and started crying loudly. He said, “Mom, Mr. Lime promised me he’d come back after he finished his work. He promised me.”

“That’s right, he did promise you. He’d never go back on his word, right? He’ll be back before you know it,” Teresa comforted him.

She took Michael to wash his face, put some lotion on him, and straightened his clothes. Then she said, “Alright, go have some breakfast. I’ll take you to kindergarten in a bit.”

She had promised Michael the previous day that she’d take him, and she wasn’t going to let him down.

After making sure Michael was settled, Teresa spent a little more time soothing Felix.

Felix was already a month old. Amy was kind and gentle, always attentive and caring toward him.

Teresa called out, “Amy, I’m taking Mike to kindergarten. I’ll leave Felix to you.”

“Of course, Ms. Johnston,” Amy replied.

After dropping Michael off at kindergarten, Teresa watched him walk away.

Michael’s teacher told Teresa that Michael was adjusting really well. He was super lively and outgoing, and all the other kids at the kindergarten liked him.

Hearing this, Teresa’s worried frown finally eased.

When Teresa got back to the office, Benny happened to call her.

Benny said, “Miriam told me about Mandy. She seemed like such a good person back in college–who would’ve thought she’d stab you in the back like that?”

“I didn’t see it coming either. You never really know someone,” Teresa replied.

Benny asked, “Is your company going to be alright?”

Teresa replied, “It’s nothing I can’t handle. Just don’t tell him, okay?”

Benny went quiet for a second, then tried to play dumb. He said, “Who would I even tell? My lips are sealed.”

“Cut it out, you know exactly who I mean. You always take his side. Guess our friendship doesn’t count for much, huh?” Teresa shot back.

Benny said, “How could you say that about me? I’m fair–I’m a lawyer, remember? You both matter the same to me.”

“Sure, big-shot lawyer Benny, as long as you know what’s up. Anyway, I gotta run–super busy here,” Teresa said, and hung up.

Benny then sent her a message. He texted: [Need cash? I can spot you. How much do you need?]

Teresa replied: [Nope, I’m fine. Don’t need it.]

She’d never borrowed a dime from her friends–if anything, they were always the ones coming to her for help. Even if the company had to cough up a ton in damages, she still didn’t think things were bad enough to ask for a loan.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.