Jonathan heard Teresa’s voice. “Your son is pathetic. I am disgusted by him. I hate him—your son.” Jonathan finished the recording, his face unreadable, his eyes cold. He immediately called Irene.

“That’s impossible,” he said. “She’d never say something like that.”

“How well do you really know her, son? It’s been over three years. There are plenty of women out there. She said she hated you. What do you still want from her?”

Jonathan was silent for a few seconds, then abruptly changed the subject. “Are you the reason why Teresa won’t come back to Nareigh?”

Irene’s anger flared. “So she’s badmouthing me again? I only talked to her once or twice, and she’s already holding a grudge against me? She promised me she wouldn’t come back to Nareigh.”

“Stop,” Jonathan interrupted. “So you were the one who told her not to come back? That’s why she refused to return. Is that it?”

Irene was momentarily speechless. “Yeah, I did ask her not to come back. She’d just end up tangled up with you anyway. What’s the point?”

“You have no right to say that,” Jonathan said, enunciating each word. “Even if you’re my mother, you have no right to ask her not to come back.”

Irene retorted angrily, “She doesn’t want to come back! What does that have to do with me?”

Jonathan said, “She has her reasons for not coming back to Nareigh. I think I finally know why she won’t come back. As long as she’s willing to return, I’ll stop contacting her.”

Irene was silent. Then she said, “Jonathan, why are you doing this? You’ve been divorced for so long. Why are you still caring about your ex-wife?”

Jonathan replied, “I’ve told you. If she goes back to Nareigh, I won’t contact her anymore. That’s it.”

After that, Jonathan hung up. Irene could hear the difference in Jonathan’s tone. This time, if Teresa did go back to Nareigh, maybe he’d finally let her go.

As a mother, Irene always hoped her children would thrive, especially her son. She never wanted to limit Jonathan’s career. But it turned out Teresa had tied Jonathan down.

Irene texted Jonathan: [If Teresa goes back to Nareigh, it’s out of my hands. As long as you don’t contact her, I won’t either.]

At the same time, at Jadeleaf Apartment, after Teresa went upstairs, Michael caught up with her and grabbed her hand.

“Mom! Mom! I saw Mr. Lime arguing with you! Why were you two fighting?”

“We weren’t fighting, sweetheart,” Teresa said, ruffling his hair. “Be a good boy and go back to your room, okay? I need to talk to Miriam.”

While Michael left, Miriam remained silent. Then, knowingly, she said, “Mike and I were out on the balcony. We saw you and Jonathan, and then Jonathan left. Mike wanted to go downstairs, but luckily, I saw Irene’s car, so I stopped him.”

She paused, then added, “I saw Irene making a call right after you went upstairs. No idea who she was calling.”

Sunday, May 25th. Chapter 338.

Teresa frowned, a little self-mockingly. “She can call whoever she wants. It has nothing to do with me.”

Then Teresa asked Miriam for a favor. She asked if Miriam would help list the apartment for sale. Teresa wanted to sell it and move to another city with Michael.

Miriam’s heart ached for her. “Teresa, go back to Nareigh,” she said. “You cannot keep drifting, and you don’t have anyone to rely on in another city. If your sister dares to mess with you, I’ll be the first to step in.”

Teresa said, “I promised Irene I wouldn’t go back…”

Before Teresa could finish, her phone buzzed twice—a message from an unknown number, saved under Irene’s name. They had just been talking about Irene. Irene’s message essentially stated that it was none of her concern whether Teresa returned to Nareigh or not.

Irene: [Jonathan said if you go back to Nareigh, he’ll never contact you again. He’s moving on.]

That was Irene’s final message. Teresa’s grip on her phone tightened as she stepped aside. The message showed as “read,” so Irene knew Teresa had seen it. She immediately sent another message.

Irene: [This should’ve happened a long time ago. I can’t stand a daughter-in-law who’s always badmouthing me behind my back.]

Teresa came to herself and replied: [If you’re sick, go get help.]

She could count on one hand the number of times she’d ever mentioned Irene to Jonathan—even when they were married. Ultimately, she couldn’t be bothered to argue with Irene’s nonsensical accusations of badmouthing.

Miriam, walking over just as Teresa put down her phone, said, “Alright, alright, let me talk to her.” She then said to Teresa, “Benny just invited us to check out South Mountain. It’s close by, and he said he would drive. The scenic area there is pretty famous. Want to join?”

Teresa replied, “You go ahead. I’m going to sit this one out.”

Miriam said, “Come on, it’ll be good for you to get out and clear your head. It might be good for your luck.”

Teresa was quiet for a few seconds. Finally, she agreed. People only started believing in luck when things weren’t going their way. When everything was going well, no one cared about that stuff.

She couldn’t leave Michael behind. Last time she left him with a coworker, the poor kid was terrified. She wouldn’t make the same mistake—Michael was coming with her.

But Benny was there. Miriam, sensing Teresa’s hesitation, grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. If anything happens, I’ll help you. It’ll be fine.”

They decided to head out in the morning, before it got too hot. Benny drove. When he saw Teresa holding Michael’s hand, a sly and satisfied smile flickered across his face.

Benny said, “Looks like the kid is still with Teresa.” Through the rearview mirror, Benny stared at Michael, who was holding Teresa’s hand tightly.

Sunday, May 25th. Chapter 338.

Miriam said, “What can we do? My cousin and Teresa are so close.”

Benny simply said, “Is that so?”

The day Miriam faked the “car accident,” Teresa and Jonathan rushed off in the middle of it. Benny and Miriam left soon after. But on his way back, Benny saw Jonathan’s car. After Jonathan parked in the community, Benny saw Jonathan carrying Michael and noticed that Teresa watched her son with a gentle, caring look.

Benny had actually lost interest in the little guy. But, based on the way Teresa looked at the kid and how much the kid seemed to trust Jonathan when Jonathan held him, Benny’s curiosity was piqued again.

After they arrived at South Mountain, Teresa walked slowly—she was pregnant, so she couldn’t move any faster. Miriam figured Teresa must be tired, so she told her to take a break.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Benny said, scooping up Michael, who was walking beside them. “Hey, buddy, need to use the bathroom? Come on, I will come with you.”

Teresa said, “Ben…” But suddenly, a sharp pain hit her belly.