Chapter 613
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Liora looked at Sanford . The anger he once showed when talking about Jonathan was gone . She could see he had grown up a lot . She took his hand gently .
She said , “ I hope you won’t keep living in the past . You have a long future ahead . Live your
life happily . ”
Sanford didn’t say a word . He just squeezed her hand and gave it a soft pat . Liora kept staring out the window . Memories from the past came to her like vivid pictures . In that moment , she felt a deep happiness .
At the Lynn residence , Irene came by and started searching through a storage room . After a while , she found an old box that had been tucked away for a long time .
She opened it and saw photo frames , her marriage certificate with Yorick , a handwritten letter from Yorick promising he wouldn’t blame her , an audio tape , and a medical report .
Seeing all these things brought back a flood of memories . Clutching the box , Irene broke down and cried out loud .
“ Yorick , how am I supposed to accept anyone else ? People call me a widow . I want to move on , but how could I, when you’re gone like this ? ” Her voice echoed through the quiet house .
She heard footsteps behind her and slowly turned around . Jonathan was standing there . He had come back earlier on a different flight .
Now he was right there . Irene didn’t try to hide the box . She wiped her tears and stood up . “ These are your father’s things . I kept everything in this box . ”
Jonathan stepped forward slowly and took the box from her . The first thing he saw was a photo of his parents . Irene’s pregnant belly was clear in the picture . She was happily holding Yorick’s arm .
Irene sighed and said , “ This was taken when I was eight months pregnant with you . My belly was huge , almost ready to give birth . It was your grandpa’s birthday , so we took this picture . ”
Jonathan said , “ You both look so happy in this . ”
“ Yes , that was the happiest year of my life . Your dad was a good man , Everyone who knew him had nothing bad to say . He was honest , kind , and devoted to his family .
“ When he found out I was pregnant , he was so happy . He told me he wouldn’t let me suffer during pregnancy . And he kept his promise .
“ He treated me so well all through the pregnancy and even after you were born . He was grateful that I gave birth to you . He promised to raise you right . But … ”
Irene’s voice cracked and she sighed deeply . “ If only your dad had lived longer , It would have been so much better .
“ He could have watched you grow up instead of leaving you without a father’s love from the start . Leaving just the two of us in this world . ”
She knew better than anyone how tough it was for a woman to raise a kid alone , the money struggles , the emotional pain .
Jonathan looked at Irene . “ You said that was your happiest year . What happened after that ? ”
Irene didn’t answer . She furrowed her brow in pain . Jonathan took a deep breath . “ You still won’t tell me ? Then Liora will have to say it . I’m ready to listen . ”
Irene lifted her head . Her worn face showed worry . “ Jonathan , it’s not that I don’t want to tell you . I’m just scared you’ll be di wanted to let you down . I’ve worked so hard raising you all these years . ”
ted in me . I never
“ Stop . ” Jonathan cut in , saying , “ Raising a kid is a huge responsibility . How could I not recognize you ? Those are two totally different things . You still
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need to tell me what I need to know .
“ Maybe if you’d told me sooner , I could’ve found out who Sanford was earlier . We wouldn’t have all this confusion or dragged so many people into it
But Irene stayed silent , not ready to speak . Jonathan gave a bitter laugh . “ Liora may have hidden the truth , but she was willing to be honest for Sanford’s sake . I envy Sanford for that . At least his mom cared about how he felt . ”
Jonathan had to handle rumors at work and calm Irene down over the whole mix – up that Sanford was Yorick’s son . But nobody cared about how he felt .
Nobody cared about his pain . Feeling disappointed , he turned and started to walk away . “ Wait , ” Irene finally called after him . She took a deep breath .
“ Okay , you want to know . I’ll tell you . You’re right . Since it all has to come out , it doesn’t have to be Liora who tells you .
“ I don’t want her to make things worse between us . ” Irene took the box from the storage room and sat down on the couch .
She emptied everything onto the table until it was full . One handwritten letter caught Jonathan’s eye . He picked up the yellowed paper , Irene said it was written by Yorick himself . Jonathan began to read .
After a few lines , his brow furrowed . He asked , “ My dad said you poisoned her . That can’t be right . What does that mean ? ”
Irene pressed her lips together and said slowly , “ I was stupid enough to think about killing Liora . ”
“ What ? ” Jonathan asked .
Irene recalled the past . When she and Yorick got married , and when she was pregnant and gave birth , she was really happy . But everything fell apart when Liora showed up .
After Werner’s birthday party , Yorick told Irene that a rich young woman was interested in him . She kept asking him to dance . He said no .
She demanded his phone number . He told her he already had a wife and a kid . Only then did she back off .
Irene always felt a little insecure . Even though she and Yorick grew up together , he was smarter and worked harder . He had more admirers .
Irene came from a humble background . When she found out a rich woman liked Yorick , she panicked . She was scared she’d lose him .
So she kept pressing Yorick about the woman . Yorick insisted many times that nothing was going on , and he didn’t even know the woman’s name .
Irene warned him , “ I just had Jonathan . Don’t hurt me or I’ll hold Jonathan and die to prove it .”
Yorick said seriously , “ Don’t you trust what kind of man I am ? If I really liked her , I wouldn’t have told you . ”
Irene felt a little better . But she never imagined that the rich woman wouldn’t just give up . One day , Irene got a call . A soft voice said she’d dialed the wrong number .
A few minutes later , the same number called Yorick’s phone while he was in the shower . Irene answered and asked , “ Who is this ? ”
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