Chapter 519
“I don’t think this is trivial for you,” Jonathan offered her a gentle smile. “It’s wonderful you’ve finally found closure. Your mother truly does care about you.”
“Well,” Teresa adjusted her shawl. “I really should thank you.”
“You’ve thanked me a thousand times already. Mere words aren’t going to cut it,” Jonathan teased.
Teresa suddenly remembered Jonathan’s earlier remark. She shot him a glare. “You look every inch the gentleman. Yet your mind’s always in the gutter.”
With that, she strode forward, leaving him several steps behind. Jonathan sauntered after her, grinning as he teased. “I’m a man. There are only two kinds of workouts for us—in the gym and in the bedroom.”
Teresa turned to face him. “Right now, I need to take care of my mom. I don’t have time for your kind of workout.”
Jonathan nodded with a smirk. “I’ll take a rain check on that. But…” Jonathan had already kissed Teresa’s lips, just to tide him over.
Evelyn still needed to get another MRI. If the results came back clear, she’d finally be able to go home. Teresa brought both Michael and Isabel along.
Isabel snuggled up beside Evelyn, completely oblivious to the fact that her parents had just been through a bitter legal battle, and that her father was now behind bars.
Evelyn decided to wait until Isabel was older before telling her that Charlie was in prison. It’s no use telling her now. She’s still too little to even understand what “prison” means.
“Mike,” Evelyn then said to Michael with a gentle smile, “Grandma got you a notebook. Here, it’s for you.”
It was a cartoon–patterned children’s notebook. Teresa couldn’t help but remember how, back in Fernlandia, Isabel had a notebook, the one with Jonathan’s signature on it.
Michael burst into tears, but Evelyn, clearly taking Isabel’s side, casually dismissed it with “It’s just a notebook.” Furious, Teresa took Michael and left.
Teresa was surprised to see the notebook. She turned to Evelyn and asked, “When did you buy this?”
Evelyn smiled at Teresa, then at Michael. “I bought this a long time ago, just for my dear Mike.”
Michael looked up at Teresa, his face beaming. “Mommy, this is a limited edition.”
Teresa gave a small nod and ruffled Michael’s hair. “Then say thank you to grandma.”
Michael beamed, “Thank you, Grandma!”
“I’m glad you like it, Mike,” Evelyn said warmly. “I’ll get you more nice notebooks whenever I find them.”
Michael threw his little arms up and shouted, “Yeah!”
Seeing the child’s joyful smile, Teresa found herself smiling softly as well. ‘Family bonds were always complicated and hard to understand,’ she thought. At that moment, she admitted to herself that she had never truly hated Evelyn.
‘Maybe I’m just too tender–hearted,’ Teresa thought to herself. ‘After all, she’s still my mother.'
After Michael and Isabel had been playing in the ward for a while, Evelyn leaned in and whispered to Teresa. “When are you going to tell Jonathan the truth about Michael?”
“I–I don’t know,” Teresa murmured.
Evelyn let out a sigh, “We were so worried something might go wrong at Hannah’s wedding. Despite all our careful planning, it was still Gordon who ended up causing trouble. Now that Hannah’s married, I think it’s time you told Jonathan the truth.”
Just then, a nurse knocked on the door to inform Evelyn that it was time for her MRI scan. Teresa sidestepped the question, accompanying Evelyn for her MRI scan and leaving Michael and Isabel in the ward.
Michael gave a little hop and said, “Mommy, I wanna come with you.”
Teresa turned to him and said, “Sweetie, could you stay and play with Isabel for a little while? Mommy and grandma will be back very soon, okay?”
“Okay then.” Michael finally agreed.
Just as Teresa and Evelyn headed downstairs, a lone figure took the elevator up to Evelyn’s hospital room. The two children, Michael and Isabel, were playing in the hospital room. Footsteps drew nearer.