Zed sat, eyeing Jean with a worried face, the dim glow from the streetlight casting a yellow glow about her face. He didn't know whether he should say something to stop her plan to deal with Juan. But he was afraid of making her angry. Night had fallen and he could see how she struggled to sleep but her head was full of endless thoughts.
Left with no choice, he gave up the struggle of deciding what to say after a while and decided to tackle it later.
About 7 in the morning, Jean got up from deep slumber by a phone call. Groggily, she picked up and said Hello but no one answered. She felt disoriented, unsure whether she had been dreaming of something or not in her sleep.
Nevertheless, she decided to go downstairs and start the day.
She abruptly stopped rubbing her eyes with the silk gown she was wearing when she spotted Juan sitting impatiently on the living room sofa, dressed neatly in a white shirt and grey pants. He got up as soon as their eyes met. "Tina's plane will arrive tonight at 12, Jean," he said hastily. "So, for you to have more time and energy to make her leave me, I asked Zed to arrange for your stepmother to meet her daughter this morning. You need to have breakfast quickly, and then we'll pick your stepmother up, okay?"
Jean was still just trying to process all of this. She was wide awake now, the last traces of sleepiness eliminated upon hearing Juan's words.
She just looked at Juan in shock.
She wondered if Juan had really asked Zed to arrange the meeting. She didn't see a chance of Zed skipping to tell her about it, if he had.
And it definitely wasn't arranged earlier, so the only logical explanation was that Juan arranged it secretly last night.
'What makes him lie about Zed arranging it?' she thought. She found such plain lies extremely irritating, especially coming from Zed's friend.
Did he really think he could deceive her like this?
Jean didn't comment on it yet, instead yawned and followed Juan into the dining room.
They ate, mostly quiet as the morning sunlight encompassed them in a peaceful silence. She quickly got ready after that and Juan anyway looked more than ready to leave since she first saw him.
"Well, let's go!" Jean said, leading him out towards the parking. She sat in silence in the car, occasionally smiling faintly which was beyond Juan to unde
“Let's go and register our marriage on your birthday!”
Marrying Daniel should have been her best birthday gift, but everything was ruined the moment when she caught him sleeping with another woman on the day before her birthday.
“He’s going to marry that woman! She... was my best friend!"
pearing on her lips.
"Shirley, let's let the past go. If it hadn't been for Jean, we wouldn't have been able to see each other today. Also, you should be reformed and well-behaved here. Only if you behave well will you completely pay back for Mr. Qi and Jean's kindness to us."
"I know, mother." Shirley nodded and held her hands tightly. Her beautiful eyes were filled with sparkling tears. "Why do you look so thin, mother? Are you suffering? Please, don't worry about me, mother. I'm fine here. You just have to take good care of yourself. Don't give me cause to worry for you."
Finally, Shirley gave up the resistance and sobbed like a child.
"You silly child..." Joy wept on and on, hugging Shirley tightly. "I will take good care of myself, and you do the same..." she said, stuck to her body.
"Umhmm..." was all Shirley could say back. She pulled back and held her mother by her shoulders, nodding vigorously.
The tears were endless. Both of them wept similarly, no less, no more. Jean's eyes almost watered.
Joy had always loved Shirley very much. Although she preferred sons to daughters, she loved her as much as she loved Winner.
Joy couldn't accept the fact that Shirley had in fact, killed Winner. There were months of yelling and beating but in the end, she forgave Shirley.
She was after all, a mother and Shirley was now the only child she had.
Leaving Shirley alone at this time was tantamount to kill her. Shirley couldn't live without Joy.
And yet, Joy's life barely had enough days remaining to spend with her daughter.