Chapter 10
I didn’t know when Jason left.
As I went out, I noticed a bank card left on
the coffee table.
What was that supposed to mean?
Was he feeling guilty or just trying to buy me
off?
I thought for three seconds, then took it. You
can never have too much money.
<
I deserved it anyway.
I went back to my quiet life with my cat.
Jason and Sarah were gone.
Only Mark would check in with me every now
and again, hinting at what was going on with
Jason and Sarah.
Like the fact that Jason hadn’t told his family
or Sarah that he had come to see me.
Or that he hadn’t taken Sarah home but had
put her up somewhere else.
Then, how Sarah had thrown a tantrum, had
given Jason the silent treatment for three
days before trying to pull the disappearing
act again.
Except this time, Jason didn’t go after her.
She just had to come back on her own.
Mark asked me what I was going to do now. I
thought about it carefully, but I didn’t have
any plan.
Life went on. Life didn’t stop for anyone.
The frustration had disappeared.
I just wanted to live my own life.
Chapter 11
But then Jason’s grandfather showed up on
my doorstep, with Jason’s mother in tow.
I remembered talking to Mark last night, when
he started to speak, then changed his mind.
<
I knew what was up.
I looked at the two old people sitting on the
sofa opposite me, I was annoyed and also a
bit guilty.
Was this emotional blackmail?
When I was still in the Sterling family, Jason’s
grandparents had been really good to me.
Especially when Sarah was involved. Jason’s
grandfather had done so much to try and
keep Jason and me together.
This was not easy for the Sterling family’s
respected head.
“Lara, come home with me. I won’t force your
to get back together with him.”
く
“I’ve known you since you were a little girl.
I’m an old man now, who knows how long I’ve
got left? Just humor me a little.”
“As for you and Jason, it’s up to you to
decide what happens.”
I felt tears stinging my eyes. Jason’s
grandfather had been so kind to me. He was
already in his eighties.
His health was failing. What was going on
between Jason and me shouldn’t have
affected other people.
Jason’s mom sighed and stared at my flat
stomach, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Lara, are you doing okay? Do you have
enough money? Have you been taking care of
L
She handed me a bank card:
“Take this. If you don’t want to come home,
buy something nice. All that matters is that
you are healthy.”
“Your parents have never been around. I’ve
been watching you grow up. If you and Jason
are where you are now, I’m partly to blame.”
I declined their kindness.
As they left, Jason’s mother looked like she
wanted to say something, but nothing came
out.
In the car, she called her son.
“She’s fine now. You made your choice, just
let her go now.”
く
“And the baby? Is it really…. gone?”
Jason asked quietly. He wasn’t sure why, but
he had felt so lost when he had gone to see
her.
It was like he just wanted to know what was
going on in her life, but the words came out
wrong.
When he heard she had actually gotten rid of
the child, he felt a terrible emptiness.
He didn’t know what that feeling meant. He
had known her for so many years, he knew
her inside out.
She had a big mouth, but she was a softie.
No matter how harsh her words were, it was
just her way of showing how much she cared.
L
So he thought that she was just trying to
make him sweat when she said she had
gotten an abortion.
He never thought she would actually do it.
