Chapter 124

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Jennifer had already wrapped the ravioli while Teresa helped her cook them . There were two fillings : beef and pork .
While serving the ravioli , Jonathan’s image flashed in Teresa’s mind . She remembered the time he ate spoiled ravioli and ended up in the hospital with acute gastroenteritis . It was the start of winter , and now it was almost Christmas .
The next time they eat ravioli , it would be New Year’s Day .
The piping hot ravioli was served . Teresa and Jennifer liked theirs with tomato sauce , while Cheryl and Michael preferred without .
“ Mommy , there’s so many ravioli . Can we invite Mr. Lime to eat ? ” Michael’s gentle words suddenly made Teresa frown . She put down her fork and exchanged a glance
with him .
Michael crossed his arms , snorting , “ Hmph ! I was just asking . Don’t look at me like that . ”
Cheryl chuckled . “ Exactly . Can’t the kid ask ? After all , kids are powerful in their persuasion . ”
Teresa glanced at Cheryl , who immediately fell silent . Shifting her gaze back to Michael , she said , “ He’s too busy to come . Isn’t it enough for you to have three beautiful women to keep you company at dinner ? ”
Michael sniffled , “ Mr. Lime always eats without any beautiful women to keep him company . How pitiful ! ”
Jennifer interjected , “ Mr. Lime ? Could it be … ” She trailed off, looking at Teresa , who nodded in silence .
Teresa ruffled Michael’s hair and sighed , “ Didn’t we agree that you’re going to be obedient ? ”
Michael lowered his head , saying , “ I’ve been very obedient and patient . I’ve only sent Mr. Lime a simple greeting text message ! ”
Teresa immediately got anxious , wondering what he had sent . This kid was always sneaking around and causing trouble for her .
Michael explained that he used his own phone to send it because he had Jonathan’s number . He sent Jonathan a message with a cheering emoji : [ Merry Christmas . ]
It was sent fifteen minutes ago , and Jonathan still hadn’t replied .
Just as Teresa was reaching for his phone to take it away , Michael’s ringtone chimed in .
“ Mike ? ” A deep , magnetic male voice came through . Teresa remained silent and reluctantly handed the phone to Michael .
Michael happily put his phone to his ear . “ Mr. Daddy Lime ! Why aren’t you replying to
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my messages , huh ? ”
“ I just saw your message . Merry Christmas to you too , ” Jonathan said .
Michael chuckled goofily . “ Mr. Daddy Lime , have you eaten ? Did you have
any ravioli ? ”
It was quite noisy on Jonathan’s end as he mentioned he was eating .
Michael asked again , “ What kind of ravioli did you eat ? Who did you have them with ? Are there any pretty ladies with you ? ”
Teresa discreetly poked Michael’s shoulder , hinting for him to stop talking nonsense , but Michael ignored her .
Jonathan replied that he was having ravioli with his mother , grandfather and family members , and that he had seafood and beef ravioli .
Michael frowned , saying , “ Then you should eat more ! A man needs to eat well to have the energy to work ! ”
Jonathan smiled faintly and replied , “ Have you eaten ? Are you still staying at Miriam’s place ? ”
Michael said , “ I’ve eaten ! I’m not staying there anymore because Mo- ” Under Teresa’s watchful gaze , Michael corrected himself , “ I’m staying at Ms. Johnston’s house now . We’re at Rosary Estates . ”
Jonathan was silent for a few seconds . “ I see .”
He suddenly asked , “ What did you all have for dinner ? ”
Michael got excited . “ I had ravioli too ! Mo- I mean , Ms. Doctor came over to make them . Three beautiful women ate with me . Bet you don’t get that kind of treatment ! ”
“ Doctor ? ” Jonathan’s usually calm tone became quite unsettled . “ Is Ms. Johnston’s cold not better yet ? ”
Michael huffed , “ Ms. Doctor is Mo- , I mean , a friend of Ms. Johnston’s . I don’t know how they know each other . ”
“ Okay , ” Jonathan said . “ I’ve got something to do here , so I’ll hang up now . ”
“ Goodbye , Mr. Lime ! ” Michael said .
After the call ended , Michael was on the verge of tears . He threw himself into Teresa’s embrace , his fists pounding her arm . “ It’s all your fault ! You made me call you Ms. Johnston , so I was stuttering . Mr. Lime must’ve hated me . ”
Teresa noticed Michael cared so much about his image . Who did he inherit that from ? He didn’t even stutter earlier and spoke just fine .
Michael covered his ears , refusing to listen . He was very angry right now , and there was no way to soothe him .
To calm him down , Teresa went to the bedroom and brought out an item . Jonathan had brought a necklace with a pendant representing Michael’s zodiac sign for him
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from a business trip .
“ This is what Mr. Lime got for you during his business trip to Shaville . Are you happy now ? ” Teresa asked .
Only then did Michael stop crying and examine the necklace . “ So beautiful ! Why are you giving it to me only now ? ”
Teresa protested , “ Miriam just gave it to me today . I was planning to secretly put it around your neck tonight . ”
Michael fell asleep contentedly , hugging the necklace .
Jennifer was about to leave , and so was Cheryl , as her family had called , asking her to return home for dinner . She couldn’t stay at Teresa’s place tonight .
Jennifer said , “ I’ll drive Cheryl home . ”
Cheryl replied without hesitation , “ Thank you , Dr. Nelson . I can’t drive . Otherwise , I would’ve had Teresa take me . ”
“ Mmm . ” Jennifer felt sorry for Teresa , so she offered to drive Cheryl home .
At Cheryl’s house , Donald was preparing to pick up Cheryl when he saw Jennifer’s red Toyota and paused for a moment .
It wasn’t until the headlights flashed in Donald’s eyes , and Cheryl got out of the car , that he completely ignored her and fixed his gaze directly on Jennifer .
“ How did you end up driving Cheryl home ? ” Donald asked .
“ It was on my way, ” Jennifer said . “ I’ll be leaving now . ”
Donald grabbed her wrist , saying , “ Come in and have dinner before you go . ”
Jennifer pulled her hand back coldly , replying , “ No need , I’ve already eaten . ”
She drove off , and Cheryl waved her hand in front of Donald several times before he snapped back to reality . Cheryl seemed to have discovered something significant .
“ Do you like Dr. Nelson ? Wow , I just remembered , you also work at Nareigh Maternal and Child Health Hospital . Dr. Nelson is your colleague , right ? ” she asked .
Donald tapped Cheryl lightly on the head , asking , “ How do you know Jennifer ? ”
Cheryl replied , “ It’s becausé Teresa knows Dr. Nelson, so I met Dr. Nelson through her . Come on , tell me . Do you like Dr. Nelson ? Do you have feelings for her ? ”
Donald was speechless at / Cheryl . He pinched her cheek and changed the subject , saying , “ Did you go see Teresa again ? She hasn’t remarried Jonathan yet , so stop bothering her every day . ”
Cheryl grinned playfully . “ Well , if I can’t bother Teresa , can I bother Dr. Nelson instead ? ”
Donald was speechless . He reached out to ruffle Cheryl’s hair and said , “ You little rascal . ”
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