Chapter 653

“Today, I saw Teresa with a little boy,” Gary repeated.

Jennifer looked up, staring at Gary in disbelief, a trace of entreaty flickering in her eyes. “Gary…”

Gary closed his eyes. It was the second time Jennifer had used his new name ever since he changed it; she had always called him Sanford.

He glanced at Jennifer with a knowing smile. “You saw it too, didn’t you? Teresa was with a child.”

Jennifer suddenly understood. Gary was trying to cover for her. He wants to bring up Teresa, but also keep me out of it? How is that even possible? She could only stay silent.

Jonathan’s handsome face remained expressionless as he calmly nodded and asked, “What did the child look like?”

Gary replied, “He’s pretty cute–just as good-looking as you. He’s got a delicate little face and looks about three years old.”

Jonathan paused for a moment and then said, “I know that child. He’s my secretary’s son.”

“What?” Gary’s eyes went wide, utterly dumbfounded.

“Let’s go, Jonathan.” At the elevator, Donald walked over. Jennifer stiffened, caught off guard.

Donald hadn’t expected to see Jennifer here, let alone standing beside Gary. “Jennifer, what are you doing here?” Donald asked.

Jennifer suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Gary cut in, “Jennifer came looking for you. She heard you were here and came to see you.”

“Really? So, Jennifer knows about Grandpa, too?” Donald asked. “Grandpa has cerebral thrombosis. I came to discuss with Jonathan about transferring him to another hospital and whether he should have surgery. He’s getting old and might not handle these.”

Gary’s face darkened. How could this happen?

“Let’s talk at the hospital,” Jonathan said, already striding ahead. Gary followed close behind.

Jennifer looked at Donald, her eyes full of unspoken words. After a moment, her gaze settled into calm. Donald asked, “Jennifer, how did you know I was here? Didn’t you say your schedule was packed today?”

“Yes, I am busy,” Jennifer thought. She wanted to say Gary had told her, but that didn’t seem right. No matter how she explained it, Donald was bound to misunderstand.

Donald had just come downstairs and seen Jennifer standing next to Gary, her expression almost pleading. Gary was his half-brother, and Jennifer and Gary were classmates. With all these complicated layers, how could he not jump to conclusions?

It was impossible for Donald not to overthink it. “Have you been secretly meeting with Sanford behind my back–no, I mean, secretly meeting with Gary?” Donald pressed sharply.

“No, I’m not,” Jennifer replied.

“Then why did you two come here together?”

Because…

She couldn’t tell Donald about Mike. She couldn’t admit she was terrified of losing him, of losing everything, and that’s why she had come to stop Gary.

Donald clenched his fists and then let out a sigh. “We’ll talk about this at home tonight.”

Chapter 653-

Teresa had just left the airport. She was simply dropping Miriam off since it was on her way.

Miriam had mentioned she was heading to Gorthany, and it wasn’t until they got to the airport that Teresa saw Benny was there too. The two exchanged a few words in the departure lounge.

So, Benny is also flying to Gorthany on the same flight as Miriam? Teresa couldn’t help but wonder if something was going on between them, but when Edward showed up, she dismissed the thought.

The signal at the airport was spotty, so Teresa didn’t see Sherry’s missed calls and messages until after Miriam and Benny had boarded and she was leaving. Startled, she quickly called Sherry back.

Sherry then filled Teresa in on what she knew. “That’s all I know,” Sherry said. “I have no idea if the man who introduced himself as Mr. Lynn’s cousin told Mr. Lynn about Mike. You should probably call your sister and ask her.”

Teresa let out a deep breath. “I see,” she said. If Jonathan knows about Mike, he will not be this calm, she thought.

She tried to reach Gary, but he was unreachable. With no other choice, she contacted Jennifer first.

Jennifer replied with a single message: [Gary didn’t say anything]

Teresa was relieved.

Teresa had just gotten home when, a short while later, Gary called her. As if he already knew what Teresa wanted to ask, he found a quiet spot and told her the whole truth.

“Here’s what happened,” Gary explained. “Jennifer showed up and stopped me. I figured if I suddenly told Jonathan that Mike was his son, he wouldn’t believe it, so I decided to take it slow. But I told him I saw you with a kid.”

“And what did he say?” Teresa asked Gary.

“I described Mike’s features, and weirdly, he said the kid was his secretary’s son. So, what the hell is going on here?”

Teresa paused and then quickly filled Gary in on the real story.

Gary started to piece it together. “So, the reason Jonathan doesn’t know Mike is his son is because Jennifer swapped out the DNA test results multiple times, and he’s always thought Mike was his secretary’s kid. Is that it?”

“Yes,” Teresa didn’t deny it.

Gary dragged a hand down his face. “Christ, this mess is so tangled. If I hadn’t had my wits about me, you two would’ve left me spinning.”

“How’s Grandpa?” Teresa asked. She’d been worrying about this, but since she was no longer part of the family, it wasn’t her place to visit him, especially with Irone there. Running into her would only stir up more trouble.

“Not great. He has cerebral thrombosis in a risky spot. We are discussing whether he should undergo surgery.”

“How did it come to this? Is Jonathan at the hospital too?”

“Yeah, of course. He’s there. He’s the one holding the family together right now!”

Teresa clenched her fingers, paused for a few seconds, and then said, “You don’t need to worry about the thing with Mike. Just tell him to take care of himself and not to overwork.”

He had a lot on his shoulders. After hanging up, Teresa reflected that every family matter, big or small, seemed to fall on Jonathan. If his father were still alive, maybe Jonathan wouldn’t have to bear so much.

He was the eldest son with much more responsibilities, so she didn’t want to bring herself to add to his burdens at a time like this. She just hoped he…

Lost in thought, Teresa was startled when Jonathan called her. She answered but kept silent.

On the other end, Jonathan’s voice was icy. “Gary said you told him to tell me to take care of myself and not overwork.”

Teresa choked up. Does Gary have to be that blunt? He told Jonathan word for word. She replied, “I heard about Grandpa. I hope he recovers soon.”

“You’re not my wife anymore, and you’re not coming back. My family’s business is none of your concern,” Jonathan retorted coldly. With that, he hung up resolutely.

Teresa stared at her phone. It had always been her hanging up fast–now the tables had turned. “I must have angered him. Maybe it’s better this way, rather than us growing to resent each other even more.”