Chapter 555
She continued, "You're not a child anymore. Don't go soft or lose your composure at every little thing. Think this through for yourself. Face it, Teresa. There are only two possible outcomes—either Mike gets taken away from you, or he’ll be branded an illegitimate child. Period." With those final, brutal words, Jennifer simply walked away.
Teresa drove straight over to Miriam’s place to pick up Michael. She crouched down and looked Michael up and down. With a mix of relief and exasperation, she scolded, “Didn’t I tell you not to run off? Why did you sneak out of Miriam’s house?”
Michael said, “You went to see Mr. Lime without me, so I had but to sneak off by myself.”
Teresa took a deep, shuddering breath, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she gently stroked Mike’s small hand. She said, “Don’t ever sneak out like that again. Miriam and I searched everywhere for you.”
Teresa held Michael tightly in her arms. Her tears flowed, seemingly out of worry for Michael, yet there was also a deeper, unspoken anxiety behind them. Seeing Teresa in tears, Michael hurriedly wiped them away. He said, “Mommy, I won’t run off again. I promise.”
Teresa’s tears fell onto Michael’s shoulder. Miriam assumed Teresa was crying tears of joy after finding Michael, so she gently soothed Teresa, “There, there, it’s okay now. We’ve found him. I’ve already contacted the security camera installers to come and set them up. That way, we’ll be prepared, just in case.”
Teresa said, “Miriam, I’m so sorry. I always seem to be causing you trouble.”
Miriam scoffed, “Come on, don’t be so formal with me. Mike’s practically my son. There’s no need to apologize between us. No more tears now.”
Teresa nodded.
As soon as Cathy received the car purchase contract from Werner, she immediately called Cheryl. She said, “Your dad’s already got a car for you, so just relax and focus on getting your driver’s license. Once you pass, you’ll be able to hit the road in your own car.”
Cheryl said, “Thanks, Mom. And thank Dad too. My dad’s the absolute best.”
Cathy asked, “When are you coming home?”
Cheryl didn’t even hear Cathy’s question–her mind was racing. She thought, ‘I have to get my driver’s license as soon as possible. Then I can drive Serena around, and we won’t have to walk our legs off anymore.’
Cathy called out, “Cheryl? Cheryl?”
Cheryl snapped out of her thoughts and asked, “Mom? What is it?”
Cathy said, “Cheryl, I asked when you’re coming back. What’s keeping you so busy over there?”
Cheryl replied, “I’m in training sessions, Mom. It’s crazy busy. I gotta go, gotta get back to it.” With that, she quickly hung up the phone.
Cathy didn’t press further. She was preparing to call Werner to ask when he’d be back. She felt that ever since Werner returned from Shaville, he’d been acting strange. He had been constantly distracted and absent-minded these past few days. Whenever Cathy pressed him for a reason, Werner would simply reply that he hadn’t been sleeping well.
That evening, Jennifer and Donald were going home for dinner, just as Cathy’s dual-cancer screening results came back. Two high-risk HPV markers tested double positive, indicating an active HPV infection. Previously, Cathy had always gotten her checkups at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital. But now things were different. With Jennifer serving as department head of gynecology, it was only natural for Cathy to feel more at ease having Jennifer oversee the examination.
By this point, Jennifer had already reviewed the report, and so had Donald. On the way home, Donald turned to Jennifer and said, “Let’s not tell my mom just yet. I’ll check with my dad first. I don’t want her worrying over nothing.”
Jennifer said, “I don’t think your mom is that kind of person. Maybe the issue is with your dad.”
Donald bristled slightly.