Chapter 648
“Let me ask you one more time, Jennifer: did you have anything to do with Hayden’s sudden illness?”
Jennifer stared at Teresa. “Does it even matter?”
“Of course, it matters. I was about to tell Jonathan about Mike when Grandpa suddenly had a stroke and was rushed to the emergency room.”
“I didn’t want to distract him at such a critical moment, so I had no choice but to keep Mike a secret.”
“I know Grandpa’s condition—he must have experienced severe mood swings to suffer a stroke like that. And I refuse to believe you had nothing to do with it. Because the timing was just too damn suspicious,” she thought.
Jennifer retorted, “If you don’t trust me, why even ask? You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?”
The phone rang. The caller ID showed Gary. Teresa ignored the call, letting it ring out until it disconnected. She shot Jennifer an icy glare, then turned and strode out.
“Don’t go. You’re not going anywhere!” Jennifer grabbed Teresa’s arm desperately, knowing exactly who she was going to see.
Teresa’s hand flew out, delivering a stinging slap across Jennifer’s face. Jennifer clutched her cheek, frozen in place, her body rigid with shock.
She slowly lifted her gaze to Teresa, who had just struck her. In Teresa’s eyes was the same bone-chilling disappointment she had seen in Gary’s.
Teresa said, “You win. You’ve burned all my bridges. Now Jonathan thinks I’ve left Nareigh for Gorthany, and I’ve missed the perfect moment to come clean with him. Everything’s exactly as you planned.”
“Isn’t this better?” Jennifer countered, her eyes welling with tears. “Can’t we just go back to our peaceful lives—no one will get hurt this way?”
Teresa shot back, “No one gets hurt? Really? Do you even have a heart? Grandpa’s hospitalized—he’s eighty years old. And you deliberately provoked him, completely disregarding whether it might be life-threatening."
“And what about Evelyn? She’s been consumed by guilt ever since she found out you were alive, doing everything she can to make it up to you.
“Yet you forged a breast cancer report just to trick me into going to Gorthany. How is that any different from cursing her death?
“She’s our mom, yet you take her medical records. Are you even human? A daughter? A doctor? You wear that white coat, abusing your profession to forge reports for your gain, all under the pretense of helping us, while doing utterly heartless things.
“No matter me, Mike, Mom, or even Isabel, have you ever truly cared about any of us or done anything for anyone but yourself?
“I’ve told you before, your pain isn’t my fault. I don’t owe you anything. Yet time and again, you used family ties, always demanding I put you first. Jennifer, you’re not Hannah. My sister, who always protected me growing up—she’s long dead.” Teresa said, her voice choked with emotion. She drew a deep breath and wiped away the tears welling in her eyes before continuing, “If only I’d never met you. If only you weren’t my sister.”
“Teresa!” Jennifer’s hoarse voice echoed through the cold, empty examination room. Only then did she realize that Teresa had left her and had left for a long time.
She also realized that her actions this time had completely crossed Teresa’s line. ‘Teresa and I. We could never go back to how we were,’ she thought, her heart heavy with regret.
Jennifer.
Just last New Year’s Day, they were all together—eating raviolis, drinking, and watching the fireworks. She even made raviolis for Teresa and promised to take good care of her and Michael.
‘How did things end up like this?’ Tears welled up in Jennifer’s eyes, sliding down her cheeks, and falling onto her white lab coat.
“Do you even deserve to wear that white coat?” Teresa’s words, Gary’s words, and the look of utter disappointment in both their eyes stabbed into Jennifer’s heart, leaving her gasping for breath.