Chapter 334

“It’s fine. You can go back. I can take care of him myself,” said Teresa.

Jonathan glanced at the little guy on the bed and said, “How about I hire a nanny for him? He’s not your own kid, but you should care for him, not just leave him to a former coworker.”

Teresa was speechless. Anyone could blame her for being careless, but not Jonathan. She didn’t want to hear that from him.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Miriam just texted me that she’s coming over. You can go now,” she said.

After all, Teresa hadn’t talked to Miriam at dinner, so Jonathan knew he didn’t have a reason to stay.

“I’ll let you two catch up. Call me if you need anything,” Jonathan said before leaving. Miriam arrived soon afterward.

Miriam felt so bad and apologized, “I totally forgot about Mike. When I saw you rushing out, I figured you must be going to pick him up. I’m really sorry for the false alarm about the car accident. I swear, it won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay. You really freaked me out. If you ever pull something like that again, we’re done,” Teresa said.

“Sorry, sweetie, I know I messed up. I’ll take care of Mike to make it up to you,” said Miriam. Teresa then changed the subject to Jennifer.

Miriam said the last time she saw Jennifer, she was shopping with Donald, and they seemed pretty close. Then she said, “Jennifer’s in love now and definitely has no time to look after you. Even if you go back, she probably won’t live with you. So just go home now.”

Teresa was silent. Then she turned away and said, “If I go back now, Irene will take Michael from me, and Jennifer will get dragged into it too.”

“Does it have anything to do with Jennifer?” Miriam asked.

“Oh, forget it. I’m fine here,” Teresa said, unwilling to discuss it further.

“You’re Mike’s mom. Irene can’t take him from you,” Miriam said.

Teresa said, “That might have been true before. If the parents split up before the kid turns three, the mom gets custody unless she gives it up herself. But Michael turns three next month. Irene’s scheming. If she plays some tricks to snatch him, she might succeed.”

“Then just remarry Jonathan. If you’re married, how could Irene possibly take him?” Miriam said.

Teresa fell silent, glancing down at her belly. If she told Miriam about her pregnancy now, Miriam would even push her to get back with Jonathan.

Just as Teresa was hesitating, her phone rang—speak of the devil. Rebecca was calling to remind her of the prenatal checkup and told her to come by when she had time.

Teresa replied, “Got it. I’ll come tomorrow.” That night, Miriam was staying over at Teresa’s place.

She chatted happily with Teresa—she was over the moon about dating Edward. He hadn’t graduated yet, but he would this summer. Most of their eating-out and entertainment fees were paid by Miriam.

Teresa advised, “Take care of your money, okay? Don’t let him spend it and take it for granted.”

“He doesn’t have a job right now, but once he does, he’ll take care of me. I’m serious about our dating and will marry him,” Miriam said.

“Alright then, when you two get married, I’ll give you a big wedding gift,” Teresa said.

“Let’s get married together. Even if you don’t marry Jonathan, you can find someone else and we’ll have a double wedding,” Miriam mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 334

Marriage was like a siege. Outsiders craved entry, while insiders craved exit. But those who hadn’t been through it just wouldn’t get it. Teresa had been married before, so she wasn’t in a rush to marry again, but things were different for Miriam.

“If you end up marrying Edward, your mother-in-law would be Irene’s sister. Hope she’s a good one,” Teresa said.

Miriam, who’d seemed fast asleep, was suddenly shocked and sat up. “What? I haven’t even met his mom yet. He hasn’t told her about us at all!” she blurted out.

“Oops, what a headache.” Miriam flopped back down, saying, “I really hope Edward’s mom is nice. I can’t deal with mother-in-law drama—it would drive me crazy.”

The next morning, Teresa got up early and said she was going out for something. Miriam stayed to look after Michael, who was still afraid Teresa would leave him. So he clung to Teresa and wouldn’t let go.

Teresa comforted him, saying, “How could I ever leave you? When have I ever abandoned you? Wherever I go, I always take you with me, right? Besides, Miriam is here. Will that make you feel safe?”

Michael pouted and said, “Mommy, I’m scared you won’t want me anymore.”

“My sweet boy,” Teresa hugged him and said, “Mommy will never leave you. Don’t worry, as you’re such a wonderful boy.”

“What if I turn into a naughty boy? Will you stop loving me then?” asked Michael.

“Of course not. No matter what kind of person you are, I’ll always love you.”

“Mommy, I’m a strong boy now. Last time, those big kids weren’t even as awesome as me,” Michael said proudly in his soft, childish voice.

“Oh really? My little boy is the best of all.” Teresa kissed his cheek and said, “Now, check the time. I’ll be back in two hours. If I’m late, you can punish me.”

“Pinky promise.”

“Okay.”

Teresa left home for the hospital for her prenatal checkup. She went to Rebecca, whose office was on the third floor. Teresa knocked on the door, and after hearing the response, she came in. Then a familiar figure turned around.

Teresa froze, taking a deep breath as she stared at Jennifer, who was sitting next to Rebecca. Jennifer was wearing a bright green dress, her hair curled and loose around her shoulders. She used to tie a ponytail, but now she looked so much more grown-up that Teresa almost didn’t recognize her. Teresa quickly looked away and turned to leave.

“Teresa!” Jennifer immediately chased after her, looking worried. She grabbed Teresa’s hand tightly and asked, “Teresa, it really is you. If Rebecca hadn’t told me you were coming in for a checkup, I never would’ve known you’d been living here all this time.”

Seeing Teresa confused, Jennifer explained, “Rebecca and I both studied under Ms. Nelson. I just came to see her today, and she happened to tell me you were here.”