Chapter 384

Teresa pulled up outside the apartment complex. Suddenly, her phone rang, making her heart skip a beat. After a moment's hesitation, she answered.

"You called me?" Jonathan had only been gone a few days, but his deep, familiar voice felt like it belonged to another lifetime. It was as if yesterday, the two of them were at Jennifer's engagement party together.

"Must've dialed you by accident," Teresa said.

Jonathan was silent for a few seconds. Teresa fell silent too, swallowing back the words she almost said. In a low voice, she murmured, "I'm sorry."

The next second, Jonathan shot back, "What are you pulling now?"

Thinking he hadn't heard her, Teresa paused, then said softly, "Sorry, I shouldn't have thrown your ring away like that."

Jonathan remained silent. Teresa let out a quiet sigh. "I won't bother you anymore. I'm hanging up."

"If you ever need anything, don't be shy. We might not be husband and wife, but we can still be friends."

Without saying anything, Teresa hung up. Then she took out the ring Jonathan had given her before he left. It was three times bigger than their wedding band. She pulled out the wedding ring too. She hadn't thrown it away.

At the Lynn residence, Jennifer took out a bank card and handed it to Cathy and Werner. "This is the dowry my mom gave me. There's $254,000. I'm paying Donald back for the money he spent on the house."

Donald was caught off guard and instinctively looked at Jennifer. Only then did Jennifer say, "Cathy told Teresa about it, and Teresa told me."

Donald called out, "Mom," his tone a bit accusatory. "Why did you reach out to Teresa? Didn't I already say I paid for the house willingly? What are you trying to do?"

Cathy was quite upset. She thought Jennifer was doing this on purpose to drive a wedge between her and Donald.

Werner chimed in, "Your mom didn't mean anything by it. You know what she's like."

Donald took the card from Jennifer. "Take it back. That's your dowry. We can't accept it."

But Jennifer was firm and insisted on returning it. "I told you I'd pay you back. It's all here."

"Don't do this," Donald said, gently squeezing her cold hand. "Can you wait outside for me? I'll talk to my parents."

Jennifer took a deep breath. "Anyway, I'm leaving now. Don't give it back to me."

After Jennifer turned and left, Donald was in a terrible mood. He looked at Cathy and Werner. "Is this enough? Are you happy now?"

Cathy got angry. "Shouldn't she pay the money back? She's your fiancée, so I didn't want to say it to her face. I talked to her sister instead. Was I wrong?"

Werner agreed, "Your mom's not wrong. She's not even married in yet, and you're already spending our money on her, buying her a house, and you didn't even tell us. However you look at it, this is your fault."

Donald was silent for a few seconds. "Jennifer has never been someone who cares about money. I know her best. She's proud, independent, and has a lot of self-respect. She's really great. What you did just now embarrassed her, and it embarrassed me too."

Werner muttered under his breath, "If she were really that independent, she wouldn't have taken your money."

Donald said, "Dad, I told you, I did it because I wanted to..."

Suddenly, Cathy raised her voice. "That's enough!"

Ronald and Donald were both a little confused, because Cathy was usually even-tempered.

"The engagement is already set. Are you two really going to fall out over a woman?"

"It's not that serious," Werner said, putting a hand on Cathy's shoulder. "Don't get upset. He thought Jennifer wasn't perfect, but breaking off the engagement over the house would be too much."

Cathy looked at Donald and sighed. "We're family. Getting along is the most important thing. I don't want us to end up like Irene's family, always fighting and having drama." As she spoke, she pushed the bank card back over.

"Her mom gave her that dowry. Of course, I can't take it. After you two get married, use this money for your own household. If you want to change cars, go ahead; if not, save it for your future kids' education."

Donald was silent for a few seconds, then took the card. "Thanks, Mom. You're being reasonable. But I still can't use Jennifer's dowry."

"Right," Cathy said, "Wait until tomorrow. You two come back for dinner, and I'll talk to her. I never wanted her money."

"Got it," Donald said, and left.

As soon as Donald left, Cathy was so mad she pounded her chest, and Werner tried to calm her down, telling her not to get so worked up.

Cathy brushed his hand away. "I never should've fallen for you, never should've chased after you, and I definitely shouldn't have given you a son," she snapped.

Werner let out a sigh. "Why are you blaming me again?"

Cathy took a deep breath. "I've figured it out. If I take that money, I'll just be the evil mother-in-law. That Jennifer's not someone you can mess with." Cathy was upset that Donald had already taken Jennifer's side.

She'd spent all these years raising Donald, and now, for a woman, he would turn his back on her. She didn't want to end up like Irene or Teresa, always fighting with their families. All she could do was swallow her anger.

That evening, Teresa messaged Cathy, asking how things were going with the money. Cathy saw the message but left it on read without replying.

Teresa followed up: "How much did Donald put in? Is $150,000 enough? I'll transfer it to you tomorrow; I've hit my limit for today."

Cathy replied: "[Teresa, just let it go.]"

Teresa insisted: "Cathy, I should pay. Jennifer said she wanted to buy the house for me, so let's just treat it as mine. You guys work hard for your money."

Otherwise, just thinking about how Donald had indirectly paid for the house made Teresa uncomfortable. She felt embarrassed for Jennifer; even when her own company was struggling, she never once thought about asking Jonathan for a single cent.

Cathy replied: "[Teresa, Jennifer already gave up $264,000. You don't need to pay us.]"

Teresa went silent. She wondered if Jennifer had given up Evelyn's dowry for this. Cathy didn't say outright that it was the dowry. She just said, "[We didn't take it. Let's just let the whole house thing go.]"

Teresa said, "[Cathy, your phone number is your Alipay, right? I'll send you a lucky amount. Please don't make this harder for me. Let's just put the thing behind us. I won't tell anyone about this, and I won't bother you again.]"

Cathy quickly showed Werner her phone. Teresa had just transferred $195,000 to her.

Werner said, "Honestly, I think Teresa is more reliable than Jennifer."

Cathy sighed, "Teresa's always been a good kid. I've never understood why Irene doesn't like her."

Werner motioned for Cathy to come closer and whispered, "I think it's because..." (The sentence ends abruptly)