Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Last year, when Estrella had called him, he distinctly remembered the moment. He was in the middle of a meeting and had asked Drew to call her back. She said it was nothing. Then he had to leave on a business trip.

Seeing Jason’s face turn sour, Jesse glanced at Estrella and said, “Estrella, you should get some rest. I’ll swing by later to check on you.

The moment Jesse left, Estrella faced Jason’s icy silence with her usual grace. “Come on, lighten up. With a low-maintenance wife like me, you should be counting your blessings.”

She added, “But lay off the small talk about Jesse. There’s a lot you don’t know, and you’re just picking at her scars by bringing it up.” Strangers had no right to speak of it, and even less so the man by her side.

Estrella’s nonchalance was met with Jason’s hand suddenly gripping the back of her neck, pulling her close, “Estrella, do you even care at all?” As he looked down at her, considering her stubborn nature-how she would learn from her mistakes and never make them again-Jason felt a twinge of fear. He worried that one day he might become the obstacle she chose to avoid.

At his question, Estrella chuckled, “How could live if I didn’t care?” She then scolded him playfully, “Here I am, sick, and you came empty-handed, only to give me attitude. Shame on you, Jason.”

With a few teasing words, Jason slowly let go of her neck. His hand gently caressed her face as he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about something so big?”

Any other woman would have held onto it, brought it up time and again, but Estrella never mentioned it, not even once.

Wearing her hospital gown with its simple stripes, she shrugged it off with a smile, “It’s all in the past, and I wasn’t really hurt.”

The more she downplayed it, the more Jason felt a thorn in his side. No matter their relationship’s strains, he was still her husband, Estrella tried to remove his hand from her face but Jason pulled her closer, causing her to stumble slightly into his embrace.

As she looked into his eyes, which seemed to hold a deep affection, she wrapped her arms around his neck and teased, “Figured it out, have you? Ready to have kids?”

Jason retorted, “Is that all you think about?”

Estrella, on her tiptoes, nudged his forehead with hers, coaxing, “Let’s have one. Life’s so dull otherwise.”

Jason insisted, “No kids.” She was still naive like a child herself, her heart a maze yet to be 15:22 deciphered.

“Jason.”

“Mhm?”

Their moment of intimacy was abruptly interrupted as the door swung open and Kristin’s voice burst in, “Estrella, how on earth did you get sick?”

In the room, they quickly let go of each other.

At the doorway, Kristin paused, looking puzzled. After a moment, she asked uncertainly, “Are you two fighting or being affectionate?”

Estrella didn’t respond but instead asked, “Kristin, you came to see me?”

Her question made Kristin forget her own, and she replied, “I rushed over as soon as Bryce told me you were ill.”

Estrella reassured her, “It’s just food poisoning. A couple of days on IVs and I’ll be fine.”

Just as she finished speaking, a nurse came in with her medication.

Kristin sat by the bed, chatting with Estrella, while Jason busied himself peeling fruit for them. As they talked, Estrella dozed off on the bed..

Kristin said with a touch of concern, “She’s lost weight from the sickness.”

Then she turned to Jason, “Jason, transfer that Serene girl out of here, as far from Ravenwood as possible.”

Jason handed her a slice of orange, “There’s nothing between Serene and me, Mom. Why can’t you let it go?”

“I don’t have an issue with Serene. I’m just afraid Estrella might feel upset or uncomfortable, and I don’t want her to suffer. Put yourself in her shoes. If Korey came back and hovered around her all the time, would you like that?”

The mention of Korey visibly changed Jason’s expression. He stuffed the half-eaten.

orange slice into his mouth and looked back at Estrella on the bed.

Kristin whispered, “Now that you’re married to Estrella, you should keep your distance from other women. And let me tell you, son, that Serene isn’t as simple as she seems. Don’t be fooled by her.” In Kristin’s eyes, no girl could hold a candle to Estrella.

Jason responded flatly, “I don’t have those feelings for her.”

“Then why can’t you bear to transfer her away? And last time, I asked Estrella to give her a check.

She actually refused it. Estrella was right to say that my advice was pushing her towards trouble. Now I think I underestimated that Serene girl.”

15:22 Chapter 17 Jason suddenly turned to Kristin. “Was it you who told Estrella to give the check to Serene?”

He thought Estrella wouldn’t do that. He assumed she was purposely trying to annoy him, but, it turned out to be his mother’s idea.

What made him more upset was that while he threw the check back at her, she never mentioned his mother.

There were many times when Jason would rather have Estrella argue with him, like any other woman. It would make him feel a bit better.

She was always so generous, and it only made him feel irrelevant.

Kristin replied, “Yeah, that was my own private money.”

As Kristin rambled on, Jason’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Estrella blinked awake as the midday sun streamed through the window, only to find that Kristin had already left. Jason, however, was still there, lingering in the room.

With her arm thrown over her forehead like a makeshift visor, Estrella squinted up at him and drawled, “Aren’t you busy today?”

It wat genuine surprise. Jason always seemed to be caught up in a whirlwind of tasks mitments, his schedule as packed as a subway train during rush hour.

ар Wheth today,”

replied nonchalantly, then with a hint of curiosity, he cocked his head Tha eck for Serene, it’s from Mom, right? Why didn’t you tell me?”

in answer, Jason’s mind drifted back to that recent conversation. y claimed that with twenty million in hand, she could easily have up their divorce papers.

sa sincere sentiment or a joke, Jason was unsure.

15:22