Chapter 360

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Teresa pushed him away . “ Seriously ? With all these people around , you have to say this to me ? ”
Jonathan looked at her intently . “ Have you ever loved me ? Even just a little ? I mean , after I came back after everything I did for you . Was there ever any love at all ? ”
A faint , unreadable smile tugged at Teresa’s lips , one Jonathan couldn’t decipher .
She had already turned away , her eyes stinging , but her voice was steady . “ Jonathan , I want to move forward . We both should . ”
The afternoon sunlight spilled across her shoulders . Jonathan swallowed hard , twice . “ I get it , ” he said quietly .
He turned and walked away , the two of them heading in opposite directions .
Not even the passion they shared last night could keep them from parting ways today . If she hadn’t come yesterday , he probably would’ve spent the night curled up alone in bed .
Teresa leaned her head against the airplane window , her eyes fixed on the two rings .
“ Jonathan , marrying you was my biggest regret ,” she had claimed .
Memories flooded back . She could still feel the icy water soaking her ankles as she fished for the ring . That night , she truly thought marrying him was her biggest mistake . If only she hadn’t gone through with it .
At the same time , Jonathan sat in his office , staring at the engagement ring he’d picked out for Teresa long ago .
Back in March , before she left Nareigh , he’d just returned from a business trip . If nothing had gone wrong , he’d planned to propose – maybe even at the airport , with this very ring . But now , there was no point .
An hour and a half later , Teresa was back in Nareigh .
She was about to head to the office when someone called her name at the airport entrance . She turned and saw Donald , which left her a bit confused .
Donald said , “ Hey , Teresa . Jonathan gave me your flight info and asked me to pick you up . He was worried you might not be able to get a cab . Don’t worry ; I didn’t tell Jennifer . ”
Teresa got into Donald’s car and said calmly , “ Just drop me off at the Teresouth Group parking lot . Tell Jonathan that from now on , there’s really nothing left between us . ”
“ Alright , ” Donald said , dropping Teresa’s name . He took the chance to apologize . “ Sorry about how I called you the other day , I- ”
“ It’s fine , ” Teresa rubbed her forehead . “ I’m not your cousin – in – law anymore . You can just call me by my name . I don’t mind . ”
Donald gave a small smile . “ I still have to call you my cousin – in – law . Even if I don’t , I can’t just use your full name . Otherwise , it feels like I’m disrespecting Jonathan . We almost had a falling out over this , you know . ”
Teresa didn’t say anything else .
When they got to Teresouth Group , Donald brought it up again . “ There’s a Lynn family dinner tonight . Jennifer’s going too. Why at you come with us ? ”
“ I’m not going ,” Teresa said as she got out of the car “ I’ve already told my sister I won’t be at any Lynn family dinners . You two go ahead . Don’t worry about me . ”
037
08:53 Mon , 26 May
359
M
Teresa was wrapping up at work when she suddenly got a call from the police station .
“ Hello , is this Ms. Teresa Johnston ? Are you Jennifer’s sister ? ” asked a police officer .
“ I’m not her sister . You’ve got the wrong person , ” Teresa replied , her irritation obvious .
But then she could faintly hear Irene’s voice in the background . “ Teresa , don’t you dare try to deny it ! Get over here right now and see how I deal with you and your sister ! ”
With a sigh , Teresa hurried over to the police station .
When she arrived , Jennifer immediately pulled Teresa behind her , her face expressionless . She knew Teresa was pregnant and didn’t want Irene to suddenly lose control and hurt Teresa .
Teresa was completely confused , wondering , ‘ What on earth is going on ? ‘
Irene , fired up , snapped , “ You said you’d stop seeing Jonathan , but then you went to that party with him ! And you two were hugging at the airport ! ”
She flung a stack of photos in Teresa’s face – shots of Teresa clinging to Jonathan’s arm at the party , playing along with his act , and another of him hugging her at the airport , looking like he couldn’t bear to let go .
Teresa had no idea where these photos came from , so she told the truth . “ Your son said some woman was pestering him and asked me to help him out . At the airport , he was the one who hugged me . That was our final goodbye . ”
“ Yeah , right , ” Irene said with a mocking sneer . “ Jonathan didn’t come back to Nareigh , but you did . Then you two just happened to meet up in Everport , and now you’re telling me my son was the one who made the first move ? ”
“ Believe it or not , that’s how it is . It’s really over between me and your son . ” Still , Teresa couldn’t help but wonder why Jennifer was at the police station with Irene in the first place .
Jennifer finally explained . After work , she’d wandered around near Rosary Estates , wanting to check in on Teresa , and just so happened to run into Irene , who was clearly spoiling for a fight .
Things escalated fast . The two of them clashed , and Jennifer lost her cool . She slapped Irene , and Irene called the cops on the spot .
“ I’m calling Donald right now . Just you wait , ” Irene said with a cold laugh . “ Let’s see what he thinks of his girlfriend’s sister after this . See if he still wants to be with you . ”
Jennifer had been calmly talking to Teresa , but the second she saw Irene pull out her phone , she snapped . She lunged , snatched the phone from Irene , and smashed it to the ground .
this . See if he still wants to be with you . ”
Jennifer had been calmly talking to Teresa , but the second she saw Irene pull out her phone , she snapped . She lunged , snatched the phone from Irene , and smashed it to the ground .
She hissed , “ Go ahead , try calling him . I swear , I won’t let you off the hook . ”
Teresa was stunned for a moment . She could clearly see the panic and desperation in Jennifer’s eyes .
Jennifer quickly tried to fix her messy hair . She’d always kept up a good image in front of Donald , and there was no way she was going to let him see her looking like a wreck at the police station .
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