Inside the car, Madeline leaned over and cautiously asked, Jake, are you missing your mom?”
Jacob turned his head back, as if afraid of upsetting Madeline. After a moment of hesitation, he gave a small nod. “I called Mom and asked if she could come to my parent–teacher meeting. She said no.”
His voice held both grievance and a hint of blame. Madeline failed to pick up on the blame. All she heard was that Jacob was still thinking about Jessica.
Knowing how sharp Jacob was, Madeline didn’t dare speak badly of Jessica directly. Instead, she subtly said, “Your mom is probably really busy, even though she’s not working right now.
“I imagine she has her own things to take care of. Jake, don’t trouble your mom too much. Otherwise, she might be less likely to come back.”
Jacob nodded and said nothing more.
Putting on an expression of concern, Madeline pulled him into a hug. To her surprise, Jacob pushed her away and said, “I’m a big kid now. I shouldn’t be held all the time.”
Madeline’s face turned grim for a second, and impatience flickered in her eyes.
She complained inwardly, ‘He doesn’t eat the food I make. I take him to the amusement park, and he turns up his nose at everything. Now I just want to comfort him, and he pushes me away.‘
She clenched her teeth in frustration, thinking, ‘If Jacob refuses to get close to me, how am I supposed to use him to marry Brian?
‘Hmph, just wait. Once I give birth to my own child with Brian, I’ll kick you out of the house without a second thought, Jacob.
Jacob had no idea that Madeline was already imagining how she would one day throw him out.
He gazed out the window, unable to hide his sadness. The person he used to love being around the most was right there beside him, yet for some reason, he just could not feel happy at all.
The next day, there were three days left on the countdown to her divorce.
Jessica worked at the company for half the day. Around lunchtime, she returned home.
The party Dereck arranged for her would be held tonight. It would be a formal event to publicly announce her as the heiress.
She spent the entire afternoon stuck in the house as a stylist pinned her hair and adjusted her evening gown.
“Jessi, something urgent came up, and I can’t get away. I’ll throw you a private celebration once I get back, okay?” Gabriela’s voice came through the phone, sounding genuinely apologetic.

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