Chapter 5
Jessica slept through the night without dreams. The next morning, when she came downstairs planning to make herself breakfast, she smelled food the moment she reached the stairs.
It was Madeline. She had already made breakfast for the whole family and was now grinding coffee for Brian by hand.
When she saw Jessica, she smiled and greeted her, “Jessi, you’re up. Come on, I made sandwiches. I’m not sure if you’ll like them.”
“Maddie’s cooking is great. Who wouldn’t like it?” Jacob chimed in with a bright smile, then sneaked a glance at Jessica. There was a flicker of fear in his expression. He was afraid of his mother, and he resented her too.
He felt like Jessica had suddenly become a different person. He didn’t understand why she had looked at him with such a cold expression before.
Every time Jacob praised Maddie in the past, it would set Jessica off, making her try harder to be good to him—just so he could use that as a chance to slack off from all his tutoring sessions.
Jessica could more or less guess what her son was thinking. She let out a faint, mocking smile and thought, ‘Does he really think I, his mother, can’t see through a kid’s little tricks?‘
Jessica had indeed resented Madeline out of jealousy in the past–but only because she couldn’t accept that her husband had such a close third party in his life.
As for how Madeline treated Jacob, Jessica had always turned a blind eye.
Jacob was the heir of the Atkinson family. After Jessica gave birth, Brian’s mother, Paisley Atkinson, had warned her countless times not to slack off when it came to Jacob’s education.
Jessica had always believed in a happy, low–pressure way of raising her child. She knew Jacob was a lively, sweet boy who loved comic books, playing games, and being in nature.
But as Brian’s wife, and as the ever–watched Mrs. Atkinson in high society, she had to play the part of a strict and proper mother.
That was why Jacob always ran to his dad, complaining that his mom was too harsh.
What he didn’t know was that, while Jessica was strict, she had read educational books from all over the world, doing her best to create a teaching method that balanced structure and rest.
Jessica might have seemed like a stern mother, but back when Madeline was still her intern, it was Jessica who had personally handed her a hand- drawn storybook she had made herself and asked her to use those toys to bond with Jacob.
Jacob’s favorite dish–fish casserole–was something Jessica had taught Madeline how to make, step by step.
Jessica never imagined that all the care and effort she once gave would turn into a weapon against her in the end. Her expression turned cold, touched with a kind of hopeless absurdity. “What are you wearing?”
Madeline hadn’t expected Jessica’s first words to be that. She looked nervous. “I–it’s a suit. I didn’t have any clothes to change into last night, so I grabbed something from the closet. Jessi, what’s wrong?”
Jessica thought, ‘What’s wrong? A woman who doesn’t belong in this house is wearing my clothes, making breakfast for my kid and grinding coffee for my husband–and she’s asking me what’s wrong?‘
Brian seemed to sense Jessica was about to cause trouble again. He frowned and spoke first, “Jessica, it’s just clothes. Don’t make a scene. I gave you a black card. You can go buy a hundred more.”
Hearing that, Jessica couldn’t help but let out a snort. Her stomach turned: She couldn’t even tell if it was the pregnancy or the fact that she hadn’t eaten breakfast. “Brian, did you forget that this piece was…”
It was the one she wore after the first time they slept together.
Back then, Jessica had been young, fresh out of school, filled with curiosity about the world.
At a business party, she’d thought she could help the company close a billion–dollar deal, She’d drunk too much with the client, only to realize later that her drink had been spiked. She’d ended up in bed with the company’s CEO by mistake.
The next morning, she’d woken up to find her clothes torn to shreds by Brian. She couldn’t go to work and had sat on the bed, blushing in frustration.
Brian had found her reaction cute and had his assistant buy her that custom–tailored suit. After that, he’d reassigned her to be his personal
secretary.
Jessica remembered it clearly. That was how everything started between them.
1/21
Chapter 5
She didn’t expect Brian to forget. And now he let Madeline wear the very same outfit she once wore—it was disgusting.
Brian looked at Jessica’s face, seeing she was holding something back. He gave a mocking smile, his deep–set eyes flashing with something strange. “What is it? Say it. Jessica, are you really that attached to a piece of clothing?”
Madeline quickly sensed the tension in the air. She rushed over to explain, grabbed Jessica’s hand tightly, and pleaded with her, her eyes brimming with tears, “Jessi, don’t be mad at Mr. Atkinson. He didn’t know. I took it on my own.
“He just felt bad for me and didn’t make me take it off. I didn’t think you’d care so much. I’m sorry, Jessi. I’ll go change right now. Please don’t be upset.
Jessica pulled her hand away in disgust. “No need. You look good in it. Keep it. In fact, why stop at the suit? Just take anything you want from the walk–in closet. It’s all yours. And not just that.”
Jessica looked up at Brian and mocked, “Everything I ever had in this house is yours now, Madeline.”
“Jessica Brian finally lost it. He slammed the table and shouted, “Do you have to push her like this?”
Jessica said, “I’m not pushing her. You people are the ones pushing me.”
Her phone chimed. Jessica glanced down and saw the notification pop up–thirteen days left on the countdown.
At this rate, she might not even make it to the end of the countdown. She’d be gone before then.
Even Jessica hadn’t expected Brian to be this heartless. Day by day, he kept crossing her line.
Today it’s the clothes. What will it be tomorrow?‘ she thought, when suddenly she caught a scent coming from Madeline.
Jessica pondered, ‘Is that perfume?‘
It drifted faintly at first, almost like a natural scent. But now that Jessica was standing closer, it hit her sharply.
She was sensitive to smells as it was. Her face turned pale in an instant, and her mind jumped back to the notes she had written at her desk-“3. He doesn’t allow any woman to wear perfume around him.”
She thought, ‘Well played, Brian. So that’s how it is. As long as she’s around, every rule can be broken, huh?”
Jessica let out a laugh, tears falling before she even realized it. In that moment, she couldn’t wait for the countdown to end anymore. She wanted to leave now.
Her parents, her grandfather, and even her childhood best friend were waiting for her.
Jessica thought, ‘What right does Brian have to let another woman humiliate me like this and treat everything I gave him over the past ten years like it meant nothing?”
“If you feel so pushed, then leave.” Brian stared at her coldly, finally snapping. “You stay in this house acting like the world owes you something. Jessica, you’ve been talking about divorce, haven’t you? Fine. Let’s get divorced.”
Jessica’s chest heaved as she struggled to breathe through her rising anger. “Great. Then let’s get a—”
Before the last word “divorce” could come out, she clutched her collar in pain, her breath quickening, her skin flushed all over, her eyes locked in disbelief on Madeline.
Jessica thought, ‘Is that perfume floral?‘
She gave a broken laugh, then said her last words, “Brian, if you want me dead, just say it.”
Then everything went dark. She collapsed.
272
