Valerie introduced, “This is my husband.”
Jeana was taken aback. She thought, ‘I never expected Valerie to be married already! I got pregnant so young, I really have no right to judge anyone else.
She quickly introduced her son to Valerie and Aiden, saying, “This is my son, Timothy Turner. He’s three years old. Timothy, say hello to Aiden and Valerie.”
Interestingly, Timothy was also staring at Aiden, hugging his toy tightly, and gazing at him as if he were some rare and fascinating creature.
The little one and the grown–up locked eyes, big eyes meeting small.
Obediently, Timothy greeted, “Hello, Aiden, Valerie.”
His adorably soft, babyish voice instantly melted away more than half of the resistance Valerie had felt.
‘How cute,‘ Valerie thought.
Jeana gave an embarrassed smile and said, “Valerie, how silly of me, I had no idea you were hospitalized. I only brought some fruit, health supplements, and things for Timothy.”
“It’s okay,” Valerie said, looking at her. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
An awkward look crossed Jeana’s face. “Don’t even mention it. Last time…”
Jeana glanced at her son, quickly covered his ears, and said, “That woman you saw last time, the one who hit me, I honestly thought she was my fiancé’s wife… Turns out, they were both just con artists.”
Jeana’s eyes grew slightly red as she began pouring out her story to Valerie.
It turned out the man was a successful professional in his early thirties. At a party, he took a fancy to Jeana and wouldn’t leave her alone.
From the very beginning, Jeana thought he was unnaturally enthusiastic, so she kept her guard up.
Yet this man was incredibly attentive, not only did he chauffeur her to and from work almost every day, but he also constantly showered her with gifts. After two months of this relentless pursuit, even Jeana found her defenses weakening.
As a single woman and a single mother, Jeana found it increasingly hard to resist such ardent pursuit from this man.
Once her resistance began to waver, Jeana finally brought her son to meet him, wanting to gauge his reaction.
If he ended up rejecting her just because she had a kid, she could live with that.
After all, Timothy was all she had in this world.
But when this man saw Timothy, he was momentarily stunned. Then, with red–rimmed eyes, he asked, “Have you really been raising this child all on your
own?”
Jeana thought he would look down on her, but to her surprise, he said with apparent concern, “It must have been really hard for you, hasn’t it?
“From now on, I’ll take care of you and your son!”
His unwavering words moved Jeana so deeply that she was completely overwhelmed with emotion.
Timothy was shy around strangers and always kept his distance from the man, yet the man treated him with the utmost care, doting on him as if he were
his own son.
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Chapter 209
He constantly bought him presents and took him out on fun excursions
Jeana’s long–frozen heart had finally been melted by this man. Not long after she decided to commit to the relationship, he appeared before her locking utterly defeated. “I secretly embezzled company funds for an investment,” he confessed, “but it failed. Now I need a large sum to cover the shortall otherwise, I’ll likely end up in jail.”
Jeana had a good job, she was hardworking, capable, and wasn’t afraid to take risks. Thanks to these qualities, she’d managed to save up quite a saving.
Hearing this, Jeana lashed out at him. The man broke down in tears, clutching her hand as he sobbed, “I’m so sorry. I really wanted to give you and your son a good life, but now I can’t even do that. Instead, I’ve let you both down.” He insisted on breaking up, saying he didn’t want to drag them down with
him.
Jeana hadn’t experienced such kindness in years. Completely overwhelmed with emotion and unable to bear seeing him suffer, she took the initiative to offer him a loan.
That sum was around 60 thousand dollars
But the man said it wasn’t enough. He demanded a full 100 thousand dollars.
100 thousand dollars was all the savings Jeana had accumulated over the past few years. She hesitated, but the man sweet–talked her again, swearing on his life that he would pay her back.
In the end, Jeana gave him all her money. He insisted that since he had embezzled company funds by cashing them out, the repayment had to be in physical cash to cover the shortfall.
Jeana believed every word he said. But the moment she handed over the money, she found herself mistaken for a homewrecker and beaten up in public.
She was beaten up right there on the street. When she got home, she cried her eyes out, heartbroken and full of bitter regret.
Then, just like that, the man vanished into thin air, gone without a trace.
His workplace, his home address, even that heavyset woman who attacked her was fabricated.
Jeana thought bitterly, ‘That bastard probably just wanted to beat me up from the start!‘
Everything had all dissolved like a bubble, leaving nothing behind.
After crying her eyes out, Jeana wiped her tears and vowed to track that bastard down.
At the very least, she was determined to get her money back.
Valerie’s heart ached upon hearing this. “Do you know where he is now?” she asked gently.
Tears streamed down Jeana’s face as she sobbed, “I don’t know where he is, I can only try to piece things together from the little clues I’ve noticed. But that was all my savings. Now, all I have left is my latest paycheck, just over 3 thousand dollars. I can give you 15 hundred first. Please, take care of Timothy for me. When I get my money back, I’ll give you more.”
“How could I possibly take your money?” Valerie quickly stuffed the money back into her hands. “Keep it for yourself. I can take care of your child for now, but are you sure you’ll be able to get your money back this time? Have you reported it to the police?”
Jeana forced a bitter smile through her tears, wiping them away. “I did report it, but the Endver City police said… since I gave him the money willingly and we were in a relationship, they couldn’t file a case…” She looked at her, pleading, “Please, take care of him for me. I promise I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright.”
After Jeana left, Timothy crouched in the corner with his toy in his arms, watching Aiden sitting by the hospital bed.
Aiden watched him back. Suddenly, he chuckled and said, “What are you staring at, kid?”
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Chapter 209
Timothy tilted his head and blinked his big eyes up at Aiden. “Aiden, you’re so handsome,” he said in his soft, childlike voice.
Aiden arched an eyebrow, amused.
‘Kid’s got good taste,’ Aiden thought.
Valerie chuckled and waved him over. “Come here.”
Timothy, clutching his toy tightly, scampered over and asked in his soft, babyish voice, “Valerie, did you get hurt?”
“Yes, sweetie, I got hurt, so I have to stay in the hospital for a little while.”
Timothy asked, “Is this man your husband?”
“Yes, sweetie,” Valerie replied.
Timothy blinked, half–confused and half–understanding, then asked innocently, “Then… how come my mommy doesn’t have a husband?”
Valerie’s smile faltered, clearly thrown off by Timothy’s blunt question.
60%
Aiden looked at the boy, thinking, ‘Why does he look so familiar?‘ With a lazy stretch of his legs, he said casually, “Come here, kid. Let’s take a picture together.”
Valerie couldn’t help but think, ‘Wait, doesn’t Aiden absolutely hate taking photos?‘
Timothy scampered over eagerly, his bright eyes sparkling with unmistakable adoration, the kind a child reserved for a father figure.
A sinking feeling crept over Valerie. ‘Oh no, please don’t tell me he’s about to mistake my husband for his dad?‘ she thought anxiously.
AD
