CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: YOU SEEM TO HAVE LIED TO ME

He stood not far away, from his brow to his nose bridge, down to his jawline, exuding a cold and handsome aura.

Back then, he was already over 1.8 meters tall.

In a clean blue and white school sports uniform and white sneakers, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a small segment of a cold white wrist.

The gaze falling on her face was just like it is now.

He didn’t say anything, yet she felt as if she had done something wrong, lowering her head, silently walking to the roadside, and throwing the unopened love letter into the trash can.

Justin walked in front; she followed behind, separated by a few meters, without a word spoken, each heading to their own home.

Jean thought of the past events, feeling an unbearable bitterness. If she hadn’t fallen for Justin, perhaps the series of bad things that followed wouldn’t have happened.

Justin walked step by step towards her, with a cold expression, stopping only when he was close in front of her.

"I called you."

"Did... did you?"

Jean took a step back, silently moving the bag in her hand behind her.

Justin looked at her scrutinizingly from a high vantage point, a perspective that felt somewhat familiar to him.

"Reporter Ellison, it seems you’ve lied to me."

Jean suddenly looked up, blinked, and was filled with panic.

Which lie was he referring to?

In these past few days, she told so many lies to him that she couldn’t count them on one hand.

"Jesse’s biological father,"

Justin paused midway through his sentence, and Jean’s breath stopped, her eyes widened, and the ten fingers clutching her bag trembled behind her.

"He isn’t dead."

"Where is he?"

For God’s sake, could he not just finish his sentences in one go?

Jean felt like she was going to faint from fear; she took a moment to calm herself, striving to keep her tone steady.

"I don’t understand what you mean."

Justin frowned, stepping forward with his long legs, forcing Jean to retreat until her back was completely against the wall.

The man stood in front of her, his broad shoulders and tall stature blocking the light above her head, her direct gaze landing on his chest.

Even without looking up, she could feel how cold and harsh his gaze was, sending shivers across her scalp.

After a standoff for a while, she was the first to give in.

He always didn’t need to say anything; just by maintaining silence, Jean was at a loss, relinquishing her defense.

The silent atmosphere made her anxious, especially when facing Justin, whose familiar aura pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.

He was so smart; if he wasn’t speaking, he was surely thinking, and if he spotted any of her flaws, she couldn’t figure out how to explain them.

"Jesse’s father indeed isn’t dead."

Her lips moved slightly, and Justin’s face grew colder.

Jean looked up at him for a moment, seeing he had no intention of moving, and lowered her head again, rolling her eyes.

Justin was watching her when suddenly he saw a tear slide down her cheek, falling to the ground.

His thin lips moved slightly, as if there was something he wanted to say.

Before he could speak, Jean’s sobs grew louder, with tears the size of soybeans streaming down her pointed chin.

"My husband doesn’t want Jesse and me anymore."

The crease in Justin’s brow deepened, his heart feeling as if it was pricked by something.

Jean spoke as she cried, wiping away the tear stains from her cheeks with her hands, "He’s all alone in the United States, living the good life, feeling ashamed of having an ex-girlfriend like me who’s been to prison, and with Jesse being a girl, he doesn’t care about her."

Suddenly, two long, slender white fingers holding a white tissue reached in front of her eyes.

Jean stopped crying, slightly stunned, and took the tissue right away, vigorously wiping her tears as she continued speaking.

"I told you he was dead, and yet you still asked."

"He’s just a heartless man, cruelly abandoning me and Jesse."

The light overhead spilled over, and when she glanced up, she saw Justin frowning as he retreated a step, allowing her to quickly escape from under him.

"Stop crying, let’s not bring this up again."

Justin handed her another tissue; was she made of water? One tissue turned into a wet wipe from her crying.

Jean didn’t expect him to be so easily deceived; whatever she said, he just believed.

Seeing no point in continuing, she stopped her tears.

"Lawyer Holden, can I go home now?"

Her face was small, even smaller than the size of Justin Holden’s palm, thin and bony, looking already very weary, still streaked with two trails of dried tears, appearing pitiable.

"I’ll take you back."

Justin didn’t know how to comfort people; it seemed like he had never done such a thing.

He was even less adept at coaxing women; when he was with Claire before, he always had the final say, and Claire was obedient and agreeable, never requiring him to coax her.

It seemed like he’d never seen Claire cry; as long as she saw him, she would smile, not knowing what there was to be so happy about all day long.

Jean shook her head, "I want to walk back by myself."

She picked up her bag and walked forward, her pace quickening, only to turn around and find Justin still following beside her.

"Lawyer Holden, do you have something else?"

She stopped, sounding displeased.

Hadn’t he been deceived already, why wasn’t he leaving?

"I need a photo of you and your ex-boyfriend together."

Justin’s tone was serious; he must gather information about Jesse’s biological father. If he’s indeed a wealthy man residing in the United States, that lawsuit would have an extra chance of winning.

As long as he’s not a former convict or gambler, it won’t be a hindrance.

"There are no photos."

Jean blurted out, and this time she wasn’t lying.

Indeed, she had no photo with Justin; the only one with both in the frame was their high school graduation photo, a photo with more than forty people, and Justin and she were standing far apart.

"You dated, how come there’s no photo?"

Justin clearly knew the things she said while crying might not be true; since there were no photos, it gave him more reason to be suspicious.

He temporarily believed her, just afraid she’d cry too loudly and faint.

The pretty boy doctor at the sanatorium did mention she had insufficient blood supply, right?

"I forced him to be with me; he didn’t like me, so we never took any photos together."

Jean lifted her head and looked him in the eye, her eyes reddened, a sour feeling at the tip of her nose.

"Forced?" Justin let out a cold laugh, his thin lips curving into a slight arc, "That ex-boyfriend of yours is really useless."

Jean furrowed her brow, remaining silent and not responding.

Justin stared into her big eyes, her dazed expression reflecting in his dark pupils, and his expression became serious.

"Did you also force him in bed?"

He inexplicably felt annoyed.

Jean blushed, biting her lip, and said softly, "That’s not the case."

Quite the contrary, she never thought about sleeping together; she just didn’t want him to date Wendy Wallace back then, as she had secretly admired him for so many years.

She told her father she would marry no one but Justin, asking him to bring this up with the Holdens.

Unexpectedly, Justin was so obedient to the elders; the next day, he asked her out, and their dating began inexplicably.

Justin’s phone rang; he answered it, hearing Samual Pryce’s urgent voice.

"The Jennings family found Jesse’s biological father."