CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: BEAR COOKIES

This place is quite small, a bit cramped with things, the walls are old, and the sofa looks a bit worn, but... those stickers are very cute.

The small bottle of flowers looks very refreshing, and the sunlight streams through the clean glass window, casting warm patches of light on the floor.

In the air, there seems to be a faint, pleasant scent, like the smell of sun-dried quilts, and a reassuring aura that belongs to the pretty aunt in front of her.

She doesn’t feel sad. Not at all.

On the contrary, a small joy, like tender shoots quietly emerging from the ground in spring, quietly peeks out in her little chest.

Here, small and warm, with flowers, candies, the scent of sunshine, and... this gentle-eyed, pretty aunt who keeps looking at her.

She doesn’t like that empty big house, it’s too large, you have to speak softly and walk lightly.

She also dislikes the maids who always follow her around, their gazes sometimes make her feel scared.

She likes this small, slightly shabby-looking place.

Here... feels different.

Like a place where you can run, jump, and speak loudly?

Jesse’s grip on the luggage handle unknowingly loosened a bit.

She looked up again at Jean Ellison.

This time, her gaze was bright, like stars falling in, and a shy curve lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Hmm." She nodded vigorously, her voice a bit clearer than before, with a hint of new excitement, "I’m... a bit hungry."

She paused, glanced at the cookie jar with a bear pattern, and softly added, "I want to eat bear cookies, can I?"

Jean Ellison almost burst into tears.

Not out of sadness, but from joy and relief.

Her daughter didn’t disdain this "shabby" home; she even seemed to like it a bit?

She voluntarily said she was hungry and even made a request!

"Of course, you can!"

Jean’s voice was thick with emotion, but her smile was as bright as the sun breaking through the clouds.

"Mom will get them for you right away, bear cookies and milk, okay?"

She got up and almost ran to fetch the cookie jar and milk, her actions made somewhat clumsy by excitement.

Jesse watched Jean’s busy back, watched her carefully take the cookie jar from the cupboard and go to the kitchen to pour the milk, in that small kitchen, just by standing on tiptoe, she could see inside.

Everything was small, but it felt full and warm.

She finally loosened her tight grip on the luggage, allowing it to stand on its own.

She took small steps to the small dining table covered with a blue-and-white checkered tablecloth, pulled out a chair that was a bit high for her, climbed up with effort, sat properly, with her little legs dangling lightly in the air.

Jean Ellison brought over the warm milk and bear cookies, and seeing her daughter sitting obediently, her heart was filled with a wave of warmth.

She placed the milk and cookies in front of Jesse.

"Thank you... mom."

Jesse looked at the steam rising from the milk cup and spoke softly.

She picked up a bear cookie and carefully took a bite, a crisp crunch.

The sweet taste melted in her mouth.

The sound of "mom" made her freeze in place, taking a long time to recover.

She couldn’t hold back any longer, tears silently slid down her cheeks.

She quickly turned her face away, using the back of her hand to wipe them away, not wanting her daughter to see.

She sat on the chair opposite Jesse, quietly watching her nibble on the cookie and sip the milk.

Sunlight streamed through the window, just enough to fall on Jesse’s fluffy hair and focused little face, giving her a soft golden glow.

In the small living room, there were only the faint crunch of cookies being bitten and the occasional soft clink of the milk cup touching the table.

There was no mansion, no maids, no expensive toys, and no Jules Ellison’s harsh words.

Only a small, shabby apartment, a small dining table, a little girl eating cookies and drinking milk, and a mother watching her, with a heart filled with happiness and bittersweetness.

Jesse finished a cookie, licked the crumbs off her fingers, and looked up at Jean Ellison.

Jean was watching her tenderly, the tear stains at the corners of her eyes wiped away, leaving only a gentle smile.

"Mom," Jesse’s voice carried a bit of hesitation and curiosity, "will I be living here from now on?"

"Yes!" Jean nodded vigorously, her voice full of certainty, "From now on, this will be our home, mom and Jesse’s home."

Jesse’s eyes curved into crescent moons, filled with pure, newfound fondness and acceptance of this new home.

She picked up another bear cookie, but this time didn’t eat it right away, instead offering it to Jean: "Mom, you have some, bear cookies, they’re good."

Jean looked at the bear cookie offered in front of her, and the bright, expectant eyes of her daughter. At that moment, the heart that had held firm through countless despairing nights finally melted and filled with this little cookie and the sound of "mom".

She took the cookie, put it in her mouth, and bit into it.

"Mmm, it’s good."

She nodded with a tearful smile.

"Really good, it’s the best bear cookie mom has ever had."

Jesse laughed happily, her giggles like clear bell chimes.

She swung her little legs and continued to focus on her cookie and milk.

To her, this small, shunned, shabby place was full of novelty and warmth.

It was the new home she loved, belonging to her and her mom.

Just then, an unexpected knock on the door sounded.

Jean’s steps toward the kitchen instantly halted.

The smile on her face froze for a moment.

At this time? Who could it be?

Her social circle was already narrow, especially after the lawsuit, she kept a deliberately low profile.

Jules Ellison? Impossible, the bitter face when she dropped Jesse off was still fresh in her mind, there’s no way she would actively visit.

The landlord? It’s not yet rent time. Could it be... Justin Holden?

This thought was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, making her heart skip a beat.

But then she immediately dismissed it.

Samual Pryce clearly said he went abroad on a business trip and left in a hurry, how could he suddenly appear here?

A trace of alertness and inexplicable tension quietly crept into her heart.

She instinctively glanced at Jesse.

Her daughter also heard the knock on the door, stopped swinging her little legs, and a trace of curiosity and a bit of unease flashed in her big eyes, her gaze shifting from the cookie to the closed front door.

"Mom?" Jesse called softly, seeking assurance.

Jean steadied herself, gently placed the bowl on the edge of the stove.

She untied her apron, casually draped it over the back of the chair, deliberately moving steadily, not wanting her daughter to detect her doubts.

"It’s okay, Jesse, it might be a neighbor or a delivery."

Jean tried to make her voice sound light and ordinary.

"You sit tight, don’t move, mom will go have a look."