Chapter 4
After agreeing on a time with Gabriela to take over the studio, Jessica returned to Atkinson Villa.
She had given herself a 15–day countdown because ten years had left too many things unresolved. She couldn’t just walk away. There were still matters to handle.
The most important of all was everything inside Atkinson Villa.
The massive villa, over 5,000 square feet, had no housekeepers simply because Brian thought they were too noisy. The daily cleaning had always fallen to Jessica.
Now that she was leaving, she intended to step down like the perfect secretary she’d always been. It was a matter of pride–as the heiress of the Grant family.
Madeline clearly wasn’t the type to do housework, so Jessica had to find a qualified housekeeper for her husband and child.
During the day, Jessica interviewed several candidates, having each of them cook according to Brian’s preferences. In the evening, as she was eating at home, an urgent voice came from the front door. “Chester, call the family doctor. Now.” It was Brian.
Jessica, being pregnant, was especially sensitive to the smell of blood, and the air immediately made her nauseous.
She frowned, an instinctive worry rising. ‘What happened? Is he hurt?‘ she pondered.
She instinctively started toward the door, only to see Brian hurrying in, carrying a woman in his arms. It was winter in Hartdale, snow falling steadily, soaking his hair and shoulders, but he didn’t seem to notice.
He laid the woman down on the couch and barked, furious, “Where is the family doctor? Hurry up.”
Jessica didn’t even need to see the woman’s face to know who she was. It was Madeline.
Wrapped in her thick robe, Jessica stood to the side and calmly asked, “What happened to her?”
They had just argued in the morning. Brian glanced at Jessica but didn’t seem interested in talking to her. His voice was filled with annoyance. “She ran into some loan sharks and took a stab to the shoulder.”
“Loan sharks? Whose debt?” Jessica asked, curious. She thought, ‘What, has the CEO of Atkinson Group gone bankrupt?‘
Before Brian could respond, Madeline, pale and weak, spoke up in a pitiful voice, “I’m sorry, Jessi. It’s my fault. My dad owes gambling debts, and somehow those people found out I was Mr. Atkinson’s secretary.
“They waited on a dark road tonight and tried to kidnap me. I fought back and got hurt. Luckily, Mr. Atkinson was working late and happened to be there. If he hadn’t shown up and saved me, I might’ve been killed.”
“Don’t say things like that,” Brian said sharply. “As long as I’m around, no one will lay a finger on you. But your place isn’t safe for now. I’ve already called the police. Until they catch those men, you’ll stay at Atkinson Villa.”
“No.” Jessica didn’t hesitate at all.
Hearing that, Brian looked up at her.
Jessica seemed in good spirits. Maybe it was because she had quit her job and reconnected with her best friend. Her cheeks were rosy, her skin glowing. She wore a soft silk robe, standing there lazily, full of charm.
Brian had been irritable since morning, but hearing Jessica’s flat rejection actually calmed him down.
He turned his head, sneering with what looked like mockery. He thought, ‘Just like I thought. Another game of push and pull. She acts like she’s indifferent, but deep down she’s still jealous of Madeline.
His tone turned low and warning. “Jessica, this is Atkinson Villa.” He was the one who owned this place. Whoever got to stay here was up to him.
“She still can’t stay,” Jessica said firmly. “There aren’t enough rooms. She has nowhere to sleep.”
Atkinson Villa was big, spanning three full floors, but there were only three actual bedrooms.
One room was for Jacob, one for Jessica, and one for Brian. That was all there was.
There used to be extra guest rooms in Atkinson Villa, but back when Jessica and Brian were newlyweds and still happy, Brian had had them all remodeled.
There was a luxurious nursery, a walk–in closet, a display room for luxury goods, and spaces Jessica used to pass the time–like a flower room, an art studio, and a yoga room. But there were no extra bedrooms.
Chapter 4
In fact, the third bedroom was planned by Brian for their second child in the future. But back then, they never imagined that one day they’d be sleeping apart because of emotional distance.
Brian hadn’t expected Jessica to reject Madeline’s stay for this reason. His face instantly darkened.
His voice was tight, like he was clenching his teeth. “Jessica, you sleep in the master bedroom.”
The implication was clear–they could share a bed. After all, no matter how strained things had gotten, just three months ago, they had still slept together. That was how Jessica ended up pregnant.
But Jessica didn’t care. That night had only happened because Brian was drunk three months ago. Back then, her feelings had been a tangled mess of love and resentment. Now, neither was left. There was no reason for them to be intimate anymore.
Jessica stood her ground, stubborn and unmoving, and the sight of it made Brian’s anger boil over.
At that moment, Jacob came downstairs, still groggy from sleep. “Dad, Mom, what’s going on? I heard you two arguing again.”
He spoke with a pouty, wronged tone, then glanced over and saw Madeline on the couch, still bleeding as her wound was being treated. He snapped to attention. “Maddie.”
Jacob ran over quickly. “Maddie, what happened? Why are you hurt? Does it hurt? Are you okay?”
Madeline smiled, patting his head, “It’s nothing, Jake. Be good and go back to bed.”
“I’m not going. You’re hurt. I’m not sleeping until you’re better.” Jacob was still a clingy child, and he clung to Madeline without letting go.
Seeing how much he liked Madeline, Jessica suddenly curved her lips into a smile. “Jake, don’t worry. Maddie might be staying with us for the next few days.
“But since we don’t have enough bedrooms, would it be okay if Maddie sleeps in your room with you?”
“Really?” Jacob’s eyes widened, full of excitement and joy. “Yeah, that’d be-”
Halfway through, he quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, Mom.”
Jacob thought, ‘I totally forgot. Mom hates it when I act like I love Maddie. The last time I stayed out playing with Maddie too long and forgot to come home, Mom got super mad.
‘After that, Dad told me I shouldn’t let Mom see how much I love Maddie.
“It’s okay. You can mean it,” Jessica said quietly, her voice soft as her cold hands beneath the robe rested gently over her belly.
Today, she finally understood what it meant to give birth to an ungrateful child.
Jessica still remembered the day Jacob was born. She’d gone through a long labor for nearly two days. The doctors had said she might not survive and told Brian he had to choose whether to save the mother or the baby.
Brian’s eyes had been bloodshot, screaming outside the OR that he only wanted Jessica.
But Jessica had refused. In tears, she’d begged the doctors to save the baby. She’d said she could give up everything, anything–just not the child she shared with Brian.
In the end, she’d pulled through on sheer will, giving birth to Jacob naturally without a single dose of anesthesia.
Jessica gave up her career to raise Jacob herself, day in and day out. And now, what she got in return was a child who favored another woman and wanted a different mom.
Jessica was really tired. She hadn’t even wanted to keep the baby she was carrying. When she got the results from last week’s checkup, her first instinct had been to give it up.
Her life felt too hopeless. She hadn’t planned on having another child with Brian.
But when she thought about leaving, Jessica started to feel a glimmer of hope. She thought that maybe this time, without the Atkinson family holding her back, she and her child could grow freely and things might be better.
With that thought, Jessica stopped looking back and walked away.
Jacob didn’t understand why his mom was acting this way. He stood frozen, watching her leave, silent for a long time, and then suddenly burst into
tears.
He was a sensitive kid. Even if he didn’t understand anything, something deep in his blood told him he was being left behind.
His sudden crying startled Madeline. She quickly hugged him and tried to comfort him, “Jake, don’t cry. I’m right here. Don’t be scared.”
1273 A
