Chapter 776
“I don’t know how I fell in love with you back then, but why do you think I would fall in love with you now?” Jonathan’s voice unconsciously rose, seemingly an attempt to mask the embarrassment that had crept over him.
Jonathan’s elevated tone stirred Jennifer, who had been dozing on his back.
Jennifer blinked sleepily, her eyes half-open. “Daddy, I’m still sleepy. Please don’t wake me up!” With that, she planted a kiss on Jonathan’s cheek as if to soothe him.
Jonathan’s body stiffened, and an uncomfortable sensation coursed through him.
“All right, Jen, Mommy will take you to another room to rest. Daddy has to work.” Rosalie took a couple of steps closer.
Jennifer readily agreed, her tiny arms outstretched.
Rosalie scooped Jennifer from Jonathan’s arms, and Jennifer settled on Rosalie’s back, sliding back into slumber.
With Jennifer’s absence, Jonathan felt an unexpected void in his arms. He had wished for Jennifer to be taken away earlier, but when it happened, he found himself inexplicably disheartened.
“What’s come over me today? Why am I acting so strangely?”
His emotions had been stirred up by the mother-daughter duo in front of him.
“Well, I’ll leave you to your work for now,” Rosalie said in hushed tones, taking care not to wake their daughter.
Just as she turned to go, she paused and looked back at Jonathan. “Oh, by the way, Jon, I’m still your wife, right? I mean, I’m very much alive, so technically, we’re still married. It’s only natural for me to hope you’ll fall in love with me again, isn’t it?”
With those words, she left the study, cradling their sleeping daughter in her arms, not waiting for his response.
Jonathan pursed his lips, gazing at the door in contemplation. “It’s only natural? Am I being taken for granted by the woman who left me five years ago? But why does it make me feel so strangely content to hear her say that? It’s peculiar.” Jonathan lowered his head, studying his own hands. Even if he had tried to forget her, it seemed his body still held onto those memories. Faced with her, his reactions were undeniably unpredictable.
He placed his hand over his heart, sensing its rapid, excited rhythm. It had been a long time since he had felt this way, and he couldn’t help but wonder if her presence was the cause.
“Is it because of her mere presence?” he wondered.
Jonathan lowered his head, studying his own hands. Even if he had forgotten her, it seemed his body still held onto those memories. Faced with her, his reactions
were undeniably unpredictable.
“Rosalie, why did you come back? Do you really want me to love you?” Jonathan muttered, his whisper carried by the still air.
Rosalie met her son Guillermo that evening.
She had assumed that her son and daughters would resemble one another, given that they were triplets. However, as she gazed upon Guillermo, she realized their faces were remarkably distinct.
In fact, Guillermo was the spitting image of Jonathan! Rosalie recalled having seen a childhood photo of Jonathan, which bore an uncanny resemblance to
Guillermo.
There was no doubt that the child would grow up to resemble his father, attracting the attention of Strico’s young ladies.
“Are you my mommy?” Guillermo’s first words upon seeing Rosalie took her by surprise.
She had prepared a lot of opening lines, but now none was needed.
“How do you know that?” Rosalie was taken aback, for she hadn’t introduced herself to Guillermo yet.
“Did Gary and Carlos tell him?” she wondered. Rosalie turned to look at them and noticed their equal astonishment.
“Daddy took me to visit your grave. There’s a photo of you on the tombstone,” Guillermo said.
Rosalie was taken aback and choked on her own saliva. “Visit my grave? The picture on my tombstone?”
Rosalie glanced at Jonathan, who was seated on the couch. “I wonder how that would have played out, taking our son to visit my grave?”
“Why did you visit Mommy’s grave?” Another voice chimed in, the puzzled face of Jennifer now part of the conversation.
“Because Mommy passed away,” Guillermo replied.
“But Mommy is alive.”
“Everyone said Mommy died.”
And so, the two children began to argue passionately about whether Rosalie was dead or alive.
Rosalie couldn’t believe her ears and hurriedly interjected, “Okay, stop! Mommy is still alive. It was all a misunderstanding! Guille, Mommy is back. I’m sorry I left for such a long time, and I promise I’ll never leave you again.”
Rosalie’s eyes welled up, and her voice trembled with emotion.
She remembered how the triplets were in her belly and the impression they had on her every time they moved.
She thought she had only Jennifer, but now there was also Guillermo.
Compared to Rosalie’s overwhelming excitement, Guillermo’s expression remained stoic. It appeared that, for him, whether his mother was alive or not held little significance.
It was as though his mother was merely a symbol to him.
“It doesn’t matter if you leave,” Guillermo stated, his tone closely resembling Jonathan’s.
Rosalie’s eyes welled up with tears. She hadn’t fulfilled her motherly duties for five years, and it was only natural that Guillermo was treating her with such aloofness
now.
“I’m not leaving. You’ll see me every day from now on. Come on, call me Mommy!” Rosalie exclaimed, opening her arms to hug Guillermo.
Guillermo appeared somewhat uncomfortable-and was on the verge of resisting. Despite his young age of five, he wasn’t accustomed to being embraced by others, especially considering he had just met his mom today.
“Didn’t you leave me already? Why… do you want me to call
you Mommy?” Guillermo questioned, unconsciously biting his lower lip. He felt that he didn’t need his mom and had been doing just fine without her.
“It’s just… Is this what it feels like to be hugged by Mommy?” He remembered how, when watching cartoons, the little mouse in the animation liked to be hugged by its mother. At the time, he had found it strange, as there was never an occasion for him to be hugged.
He didn’t want such a hug!
However, his mother’s embrace was so warm that Guillermo felt hesitant to push Rosalie away.
“I never meant to leave you!” Rosalie said hurriedly. “Guille, you’re my baby. How can I leave you?”
Nevertheless, when she said that, Jonathan, who was sitting on the couch, suddenly frowned. At this moment, two figures flashed in his mind.
The figures were intertwined,
“Do you want me? If you do, I’ll give you everything.” One of the two figures spoke in his voice.
