Chapter 89
It was already past 10:00 pm by the time Jessica returned from The Mansion.
Jessica sat in the car, staring at the old photo of her biological father on her phone–a picture she had secretly taken from Hazel.
She had lived abroad for many years, and Hazel had always been against her returning. She finally got Hazel to agree after coming up with several excuses, albeit reluctantly.
She had returned from abroad with one goal in mind–to find her father, a man she hadn’t seen in over two decades. She wanted to know if he was alive and what monumental task could have possibly made him abandon his wife and daughter for so long without a second thought.
She was certain that if Hazel had ever discovered what she was doing, she would have been furious. After all, Hazel had never brought up her father and had made sure to keep his existence thoroughly hidden.
Jessica figured Hazel would pressure her into returning after a year or two, but her sudden elopement would likely prevent that from happening.
She felt both excited and anxious, her palms clammy with sweat when she encountered Steven Sutton, that middle–aged man today, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the man in the photo when seen from the side.
Jessica told herself that there was no need to rush, though.
She had been invited to Evelyn’s birthday party, which was taking place the following Saturday night. She was told that Steven was the one hosting the party, so she would probably get a chance to see him then.
That thought alone kept Jessica up all night.
Jessica was in rough shape on Monday. She had been sore from playing badminton the previous day and hadn’t slept at all the previous night, leaving her with dark circles that were even more pronounced than Joshua’s.
She happened to come across Joshua, who was carrying a stack of files, just as she got into the elevator. She then leaned against the handrail and asked, “Is there something wrong with Mr. Jones‘ phone?”
Joshua replied, “I don’t think so.”
Jessica asked again, “Is the reception on the 30th floor bad, then?”
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Joshua replied once more, “It’s actually pretty good.”
Jessica said with a sigh, “It must be my phone’s reception that’s bad, then.”
Joshua asked with a chuckle, “What’s the matter?”
Jessica replied, “I feel like I’m living the life of a widow since my phone never rings all day long.”
Joshua couldn’t help but chuckle in response.
Jessica asked again, “Is Mr. Jones a clean freak, then?”
Joshua laughed out loud, holding his forehead. “Mr. Jones wants to know what kind of clean freak you want him to be. He said he’s willing to learn how to become one.”
Jessica suddenly realized that Joshua had actually been wearing earphones all along.
Jessica bit back the curse she almost blurted out and asked, “Did he hear everything?”
Joshua nodded frantically, took off his earphones, and burst out laughing while still in the elevator.
Jessica questioned, “Did he say anything about me, then?”
Joshua replied, “Mr. Jones was laughing nonstop.”
“You should have said something!” Jessica exclaimed, playfully punching and kicking Joshua. She was so mortified that she wished she could just drop dead at that moment. For a second there, she had genuinely imagined the elevator plummeting to the ground.
It was then that the doors slid open on the 28th floor, snapping Jessica back to her senses. She then noticed that there were several onlookers outside, who caught sight of her antics with Joshua, trying to stifle their laughter.
With her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Jessica took her seat at her desk, muttering, ” How utterly mortifying!”
“What’s the matter, Ms. Lockman?” Lilian asked as she turned on her computer.
Jessica replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. I just happened to run into a jerk this morning.”
They soon started working while chatting.
Having just turned on her computer and logged into her WhatsApp account, Jessica was
bombarded with a series of notifications.
Lilian curiously looked over at Jessica’s WhatsApp interface.
Jessica hardly ever received any messages, but that morning, there were already several
unread messages. She clicked on the notifications out of curiosity and saw the contact name honey“.
Jessica was so startled that she shrank back against her chair, dropping her mouse.
Lilian was just as surprised. She immediately recognized the profile photo of someone with a slender, well–defined hand holding a black tulip. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my-
Jessica quickly placed her hand over Lilian’s mouth. “Hush!”
Lilian, with her eyes widened in surprise, could only nod in response.
Upon receiving Lilian’s response, Jessica gradually lowered her hand, then frantically minimized the window on her computer.
She felt her heart hammering against her chest as she wondered what Zachary–that emotionally distant man–could possibly be messaging her about so early in the morning.
“Who exactly is this ‘honey‘ of yours?” Lilian asked as she leaned in.
Jessica’s face was flushed with embarrassment.
Lilian took out her phone, found Zachary’s profile in Jonest’s group chat, and showed it to Jessica. “Is it him?”
Jessica nodded in assent while covering her face with her hands.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Lilian squealed in a hushed voice.
