bChapter /bb452 /b

    62%

    But when she thought about actually saying that out loud, it would sound like she was just being jealous, so she decided to keep quiet.

    “Maybe. I don’t really know,” Jessica said instead.

    “That’s probably it then. I won’t buy this stuff anymore so you don’t have to suffer through eating something that makes you feel sick,” Brian concluded, talking more to himself than to her.

    Jessica looked down at the floor. ‘You won’t buy it for me anymore, but you’ll still buy it for Madeline, won’t you?‘ she thought bitterly. ‘After all, she’s carrying your child too.’

    Jessica was starting to hate herself. She’d promised to keep her distance from Brian, but she couldn’t seem to follow through. Instead, she had to deal with Madeline making her sick every single day. ‘What kind of mess has my life be?‘ she thought.

    “Whatever.” Jessica was too frustrated to look at Brian’s face anymore. It just made her emotions even moreplicated. She got up and headed to the bathroom to rinse her mouth.

    Brian could tell she was upset, and it seemed like it was his fault again. He didn’t dare follow her, so he just gave Jake a look that said “go with her“.

    Jake caught Brian’s signal and gave him an OK gesture before jogging after Jessica.

    Left alone in the living room, Brian quickly cleaned up everything, then went to the kitchen to make some oatmeal. Since Jessica had just thrown up, something light would be better for her stomach.

    After finishing everything, he didn’t stick around for dinner like he usually did. Instead, he just called out a quick goodbye to

    Jessica and left.

    At that moment, Jessica was discussing hertest painting ideas with Jake. She froze when she heard Brian’s farewell, and it wasn’t until she heard the door close that it really hit her. He was actually gone.

    She stared at the closed door for a long time, unable to snap out of it. Jacob noticed and tentatively asked, “Should I go call Dad

    back?”

    He preferred it when all three of them ate together. It made him feel like their family was back to the way things used to be.

    Jessica snapped back to reality and replied without thinking, “Call him back for what? If you miss your dad so much, just go home

    with him now.i” /i

    Jake’s eyes immediately dimmed when he heard this, but he forced a smile and said, “No, I want to stay here with you, Mom. I don’t miss Dad at all.” He needed to stay and take care of Jessica.

    Brian had mentioned that Jessica’s morning sickness was getting really bad and she needed someone to look after her. With Brian not around, this was exactly when Jake needed to step up and help.

    Jessica could tell he wasn’t beingpletely honest, but she didn’t call him out on it. “Whatever you want,” she said, closing her sketchbook and getting up to head to the dining table.

    She nced over the spread and saw that all the dishes were light and nd, but every single one was perfectly suited to her recent cravings.

    16:27 Fri, 22 Aug.

    For Brian to whip up all this food in such a short time wasn’t easy.

    Even though Jessica was annoyed with him, she couldn’t find anything toin about.

    ? ???b, /b62%

    This carefully prepared meal actually helped lift Jessica’s mood after Madeline had made her feel so sick earlier. ‘Maybe a lot of things in life are like this,‘ she thought. ‘As long as you don’t dig too deep, you can just get by, right?‘

    Jessica tried to convince herself of this, but it wasn’t really working. The next morning, she left early again to avoid Brian.

    +15

    Brian quickly picked up on the fact that she was dodging him, and without hesitation, he decided to force his way into her life even more aggressively.

    But after several attempts, Jessica’s attitude toward him remained lukewarm at best, making him question whether any of this was actually working.

    Another Friday rolled around, and Brian had to miss picking up Jessica due to ast–minute business dinner. As soon as he finished, he rushed straight home. Back at the apartment, he knocked on her door out of habit.

    Given Jessica’s usual schedule, she should have been asleep hours ago, so Brian wasn’t expecting much when he knocked. But after just two taps, the door swung open.

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