Chapter 13
Outside the car window, the cold night wind of Washington mixed with drizzle seeped into the car, blowing James out of that suffocating memory. He lowered his head, looking at the phone tightly held in his hand. The cold light of the screen reflected in his deep, bottomless eyes.
His slender fingers slid across the screen, and in the contact list, Isabella’s name lay there quietly.
Fingertips hovered above the dial pad, trembling, slowly, about to press down.
At that moment
The mobile phone screen suddenly changed.
On the caller ID, the three words “Jessie” were flashing. James‘ pupils suddenly contracted, instantly becoming sober.
He frowned deeply, cursing himself in his heart for what he had just done.
He actually… almost called that woman! He took a deep breath,
suppressed the complex emotions surging in his heart, and answered the phone: “Jessie.”
On the other end of the phone, Jessie’s gentle voice came through: “James, the top doctor you sent over has seen me. My ankle is much better now. I’ve applied the medicine, and I should be able to walk on it tomorrow.”
After a pause, she asked cautiously, “Didn’t you go back to Washington in the morning? Why haven’t you come home?”
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Her voice carried a hint of probing and a touch of deliberate softness. “Is it because… of Isabella?”
James cleared his throat, feeling a bit dry.
He denied subconsciously, “No.”
“The company had some urgent matters to attend to.”
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
Immediately, Jessie’s voice rang out again: “James, I’m waiting for you at home.”
“I have something to tell you.”
The lights of the suburban villa appeared somewhat lonely in the drizzling night.
James got off the car, the cold night wind mixed with alcohol, making his. muddled mind slightly clearer.
He strode forward with long strides, heading straight towards the villa.
Just as I reached the entrance to the backyard, my footsteps suddenly
stopped.
In the dim light, Jessie was standing under a blooming evening primrose, wearing a thin cashmere shawl.
Beside her was the middle–aged maid who had been serving her attentively. “Madam Catley, you have been waiting here all day, your ankle is just a little better, don’t catch a cold again,” the maid advised anxiously.
“Since Mr. Keane returned to Washington in the morning, why didn’t you
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just go to the company to talk to him if you have to say?”
Jessie sighed softly, “The Keane Group’s entrance now, because of Isabella’s situation, those reporters haven’t left yet.”
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“If I had gone, I might have been photographed, and the next day I would probably have been on the front page of all the newspapers in Washington.”
The servant seemed puzzled: “Does Madam Catley not want anyone to know about you and Mr. Keane?”
Jessie played with the fringe of her shawl, her tone somewhat resistant: “After all, it’s something that can’t see the light of day, it’s better not to make it known to everyone.”
In the shadow, James’s eyes darkened, the slightly blurred gaze from alcohol instantly turning as cold as ice.
He stood there quietly until Jessie and the servant turned and entered the house, then he slowly followed in.
The living room was brightly lit.
Jessie was bending over to pull out a withered rose from the crystal vase when she heard footsteps, she turned around in surprise.
“James!”
She rushed up to James, holding her skirt and tightly embracing him.
The warm fragrance of soft jade lingers in my arms.
James’s body, however, stiffened like a board of iron, with no response and no pushback.
Chapter 13
Jessie pressed her cheek against his cold suit jacket and rubbed it. contentedly.
Looking up, his eyes were filled with joy.
“James, wait for me!”
She let go of him and quickly ran up to the second floor.
In just a few minutes, Isabella changed into her wedding dress and gracefully walked down the stairs.
James furrowed his brow unconsciously.
“Jessie, he began, his voice cooler than the night wind outside.”
“I remember the last time you told me that you followed my dad for seven years, unknown and unrecognized, never even wore a decent wedding dress, so I gave you Isabella’s.”
