Chapter 297

“You were drunk. What could you possibly remember?” Teresa asked.

Teresa remained calm. “If that’s all you want to talk about, then yes, you used protection. Pull over and let me out. I need to get home. Thanks for tonight.”

Jonathan stared at Teresa for a few seconds. He thought, Did I really use protection? I didn’t see anything in the trash when I woke up.

There was no way Teresa would let Jonathan become suspicious. The protection didn’t matter anymore—she was already pregnant. Michael was still waiting for her at home. She couldn’t keep prolonging this with Jonathan.

“You don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant,” Teresa said. “I’m not.”

“Just asking,” Jonathan said, his eyes landing on her flat stomach. “Just drop me off up ahead at Northwing Avenue.”

“As a tourist, you sure know your way around,” he remarked.

“Can’t I read a map?” Teresa snapped, clearly annoyed. “Why do you keep going on about this? Whether I’m here for a trip has nothing to do with you. I don’t like being bothered.”

Jonathan’s gaze darkened. “I’m not bothering you. I didn’t even know I’d run into you today. There are just a few things I need to clear up with you.”

He retrieved a card from his wallet—the one Teresa had asked Benny to give him earlier, containing $6.8 million—and handed it back to her. “Take it,” he said. “Even if we’re divorced, the money I gave you was a gift. There’s no need to return it.”

“I don’t need your money,” Teresa replied.

“Take it,” he insisted firmly, making it clear he could stand there all night if she refused.

Teresa accepted it provisionally, planning to have Benny return it once she was back in Nareigh. She hadn’t used a cent of it anyway.

Jonathan produced another card—the one she’d given him when she left Nareigh. Seeing her handwriting, Teresa felt like it was from a previous life. She had left Nareigh at the end of March, and it was already late May—almost two months had passed. It all felt so distant. Jonathan probably felt the same.

“Maybe what you’re holding onto is just the past?” Jonathan read the words on the card aloud. “I’m not the kind of guy who looks back.” He continued, reading the next line: “‘You don’t owe me anything anymore. Whether I owe you or not, that’s not for you to decide.’ The last line: ‘Wishing you happiness. Your ex-wife, Teresa.’ ” Jonathan let out a dry laugh. “You make it sound like I’ve already moved on. How am I supposed to be happy?”

Teresa was silent for a moment. “None of my business. I’m just your ex-wife.”

Jonathan said, “It might not matter to you, but I still want to make things clear. You said you didn’t want to be bothered, and I respected that. I only went to Lonisburg to see you once. Today, it’s just fate pulling the strings.”

“Let’s just treat this as a chance encounter and go back to our own lives,” Teresa suggested.

Jonathan stared straight ahead, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Which hotel are you staying at? I’ll drive you.”

Teresa frowned, clearly reluctant to tell Jonathan where she was staying. “Just let me off by the side of the road,” she said.

“Where do you live? Tell me,” Jonathan insisted. “Even if you don’t want me around, I’m not letting you get out alone this late. It’s not safe.”

Teresa remained silent. After a few minutes, Jonathan said, “Then I’ll just take you to my hotel. I’m working here and staying alone at the Golden Diamond Hotel.”

Teresa knew the Golden Diamond Hotel was the best in Everport, and it was nowhere near her apartment.

“Still not telling me?” Jonathan asked. “Then I’m heading there.”

“I live at Jadeleaf Apartment,” she finally admitted.