Chapter 485
When they walked out of the mall, Cheryl muttered, “Teresa, you can’t treat me like this. Or I’ll tell Benny about Michael.”
Teresa heard her. “Really? Threats again? Want me to drop you off on the side of the road?”
Cheryl shook her head dramatically, her braids swinging. “I know you won’t dare.”
“Wanna see if I will?” Teresa said, and actually stopped the car. Cheryl knew when to quit and quickly apologized.
They got home earlier than planned. On the way up, Cheryl swore Serena would still be asleep. But as soon as they walked in, they saw Michael gently patting Serena’s tummy, trying to soothe her. “Sleepy baby… go to sleep…”
Cheryl smacked her forehead. She messed up.
“Michael,” Teresa called.
“Mommy!” He looked up and ran over, smiling. “You and Auntie Cheryl are back!”
Teresa patted his head. “I bought you some snacks.”
“Thanks, Mommy! The baby woke up, so I took care of her. I did good, right?” asked Michael.
“You did amazing,” Cheryl chimed in, pinching his cheek. “See, Teresa? I told you we could trust Michael.”
Teresa gave her a look. “Quit grinning. Go check if Serena’s hungry.”
“Okay,” Cheryl said and headed over.
Teresa’s phone started ringing. When she saw who it was, her smile vanished. It was Donald’s number, but the voice that came through was Jennifer’s. “You still haven’t taken me off your block list, so I had to use Donald’s phone. I need to talk to you. It’s about my wedding.”
Teresa walked into a room, closed the door behind her, and answered, “You can talk to Evelyn about that.”
Jennifer said, “It’s about the house. I’m in Nareigh right now and I don’t have a place to stay. Evelyn doesn’t either. The only place left is your place at Rosary Estates.”
“You’re saying you want to leave for your wedding from my house?” Teresa finally understood. She replied firmly, “No.”
“Why not? I can have Michael stay in a hotel.”
“Why should my son stay in a hotel? Cheryl and Serena are staying with me, too. You want to use my house, and I’d have to rearrange everything for you. I don’t have the time, and honestly, I don’t want my house used for that.”
Jennifer paused for a few seconds, then her tone cooled. “I’m already at Rosary Estates. Let’s talk in person.”
Teresa didn’t say anything. As she rushed out, Cheryl called after her, “Teresa, where are you going?”
Teresa didn’t respond. She just asked Cheryl to look after the two kids.
Down in the garden, Jennifer parked her car. As soon as she saw Teresa, she started questioning her. “Why is Cheryl here again? And she brought her daughter, too?”
“That’s none of your business. Just stick to talking about the wedding,” Teresa replied.
Jennifer dropped the Cheryl topic and got to the point. “I really didn’t want to bother you, but this is my wedding. It matters. Packing up is no big deal. Just stash Michael’s stuff somewhere. Nobody will notice.”
“If it’s just for show, then use a hotel. Or stay at your dorm at the hospital. Or pick any place and fix it up however you want. Do whatever you like,” Teresa said, turning to leave.
Jennifer grabbed her wrist. “So that’s a no? Grandpa and Grandma gave you that house because they thought I was dead. If they knew I was alive, I think they would’ve split it,” she said.
Teresa was clearly annoyed and pulled her arm back. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to fight you over the house. I’m just really hurt. I was hoping I could be picked up for my wedding from Rosary Estates, like it was my home. But you won’t even allow that,” Jennifer said, her voice cracking.
“All these years, I had no one. You had Grandpa and Grandma. They raised you, loved you. But I didn’t have any of that. I had to depend on myself. You had a better life, but you never appreciated it,” Jennifer continued.
Teresa clenched her fists tight. Something in Jennifer’s words clearly hit a nerve. She shut her eyes for a second, then opened them and said coldly, “Fine. Just tell me how much you want. I’ll give it to you. I’m not going to your wedding. And after this, we’re done.”
“Done?” Jennifer narrowed her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” Teresa shot back.
Jennifer didn’t know how to respond. Seeing the look in Teresa’s eyes, full of anger and resentment, Jennifer took a deep breath and said, more calmly, “I’m just sad. You seem to have so many issues with me now… so many misunderstandings.”
“Before we knew we were sisters, we got along really well. You’d drink and talk with me, and we’d go shopping. Besides Miriam, you told me everything. But now…”
“Ever since we found out we’re sisters, why did things have to get so ugly between us?”
“Was it me who wanted to end up like this?” Teresa asked her calmly. “Or was it me who left you all alone these years? You keep using our grandparents to play the victim. What’s the point? I don’t owe you anything. Your bad luck isn’t my fault. I don’t have to carry your pain,” Teresa said.
“As sisters, I thought I did enough, financially, help-wise, support-wise. But what about you? Every time I mess up even a little or don’t do what you want, you start mocking me or playing the victim about how hard your life has been, telling me how tough things were for you.”
“Jennifer, it’s not only you who’s had a tough time. Everyone has struggles.”
“You say you’re helpless and suffering, but you didn’t want to come back.”
Jennifer froze, staring at Teresa. Teresa stared right back, every word sharp as a knife.
“You had the chance to come back, but you were scared. Scared to face Evelyn and Philip fighting, scared of their yelling and pressure. So you didn’t dare come back.”
“You said I was your only family, but you didn’t care if I lived in their chaos. You ran off to hide in Genevieve’s arms and live your new life.”
“You betrayed me long ago.”
“No.” Jennifer shook her head, her face turning pale. “Don’t think like that of me. I never meant to ignore you. I always thought of you as my sister. I wanted us both to be happy.”
Teresa shook her head. “From start to finish, you only ever thought about yourself and whether you could be happy.” Teresa walked past Jennifer.
Suddenly, light rain started to fall.