Chapter 636
Jonathan made a U-turn. Teresa asked him, “Where are you taking me?”
Jonathan said, “Memorie just opened a new branch in Nareigh a few days ago. Let’s go check it out.”
Teresa frowned. The bar’s name somehow sounded familiar to her.
Jonathan arched his brow leisurely. “Ten years ago at Memorie, a certain you got drunk, threw up on me, clung to my neck, and insisted I take care of you. Have you forgotten all about it?”
Teresa froze for a few seconds. Suddenly, memories she thought she’d buried came rushing back. She had just turned eighteen and had gotten into a prestigious local university. Miriam was also there, and the two were inseparable, sharing every secret. Life, it seemed, was going quite well for them then.
Until that day, Teresa saw Evelyn’s Facebook post – a bouquet of red roses with a caption declaring she’d found love again. She felt a deep ache inside. From then on, she couldn’t even call Evelyn “Mom” anymore. Teresa confided to Miriam that she wanted to get away for a while.
Miriam didn’t just skip class with Teresa. She even went abroad to help her get her mind off things. Teresa was deeply moved by this. On the night before her return flight, Miriam had to leave early due to family matters. Teresa didn’t leave right away. Her flight was booked for the next day, so she spent that night alone in the city.
She noticed a bár called Memorie, with a sign beside it that read, [Moments Hidden in Memory.] The poetic phrase resonated with her, so she stepped inside. The bar owner was a witty and charismatic man, and even had his kids helping behind the bar. Watching this heartwarming family scene, Teresa felt her eyes welling up. Her family was shattered.
She drank heavily, paid her bill, and prepared to leave. In her drunken haze, she stumbled twice, and a pair of hands caught her by the waist. Looking up, she saw a stranger’s face–backlit by the dim light, his features blurred and indistinct. She clung to his neck and broke down in tears, sobbing, “I’m so heartbroken. But Mom deserves to be happy, doesn’t she? How could I stand in her way? I have no right to stand in her way.”
Tears streaming down her face, she clung to the man. She poured out her heart in broken whispers against his ear. “Please stay with me,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave me alone.” And then she blacked out and couldn’t remember a thing.
Jonathan helped her recall, enunciating each word, “You threw up from drinking, called me ‘hubby,’ and begged me not to leave you alone.”
“No way. I would never be that out of line!” Teresa protested.
Jonathan teased, “What if you did? You think you can get away with it just because there’s no witness?”
Teresa cleared her throat. “So what if I called you ‘hubby’ back then? I was drunk, okay? You didn’t even know me, so why didn’t you just push me away?”
Jonathan scoffed, “If you weren’t so pretty, I wouldn’t have bothered with you.”
Teresa stared at him and teased, “You were just after my looks, weren’t you?”
Jonathan narrowed his eyes, his pupils darkening. “If I really were after your looks, I would’ve slept with you right then. Do you think I’d have let you go like a gentleman?”
Teresa’s words caught in her throat. She remembered waking up the next day with a hangover in a serviced apartment. She was alone in the room, her clothes were perfectly intact, and her bag and coat were placed beside her. A note lay on the table, which read, Even if your mom remarries, she’ll still worry about you when you’re drunk. Take care of yourself.