After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 187

Riley continued, “Look, | get that things might be awkward between you and Ryan. But if you can accept him

as Rebecca's dad, it could win her the most freedom from Jeffrey.”

“Whatever Ryan can offer, | can offer too,” Amelia said, her voice firm.

Riley fell silent.

Amelia didn’t hold a grudge over the past, but it wasn’t all water under the bridge.

“Besides,” she said, “he’s the one desperate to claim this relationship, not us. We don’t have to make the first

move. If he really wants this, he should cto us and prove he’s sincere.”

And honestly, the choice is ours. Why should Ryan, who threw down a seed and then crushed the first sprout,

have any right to the daughter I've poured my heart into raising?‘ she thought.

“You're right,” Riley agreed. “But just be careful. When Jeffrey gets really intense, he turns obsessive-nobody can

hold him back in those moments, and he has the kind of mindset to do things most people wouldn't even dream

of.”

Amelia's gaze flickered upward. She hadn't expected Jeffrey, who looked polite and humble, to have such a dark

side. In the end, she said, “Got it.”

Riley shared a few more things, and Amelia made a mental note of every detail.

Ten minutes later, their conversation was finally cut short when Jeffrey texted Riley: [How much longer are you

planning to stay down there?]

Riley paused, slipped her phone away, and got up to say goodbye.

Amelia, sensing she had something to do, didn’t try to keep her.

Neither Rebecca nor Amelia brought up the conversation about Ryan when they saw each other later.

Over the next few days, Rebecca kept up her usual routine, shuttling back and forth between Rebecca’s Manor

and the hospital.

She went hpartly to change clothes, and partly to make sure Jeffrey didn’t get suspicious.

They'd just talked a few days ago. If she did anything too obvious, Jeffrey might get desperate and end up doing

something reckless.

sok

Wednesday afternoon, after helping Amelia with her rehab for the day, Rebecca made a trip back to Rebecca's

Manor.

She picked a twhen Jeffrey would definitely be at work, quietly collecting her important documents and

starting to set the stage for her upcoming departure.

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Chapter 187

Victor greeted her as always, “Welchome, Ms. Jensen.”

Rebecca nodded in response.

“Mr. Hanson isn’t home,” Victor added.

“I know. | just dropped by to pick up a few things,” Rebecca said.

Savouchers

She headed straight up to the master bedroom, opened the closet, and pulled out her important papers and IDs.

After making sure everything was there, she tucked them into her bag.

Just as she snapped her bag shut and was about to slip out, steady footsteps echoed behind her-then Jeffrey’s

low voice rumbled, “What are you doing?”

Rebecca froze. ‘Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be at work?"

“Just picking up a few things,” Rebecca replied, masking her nerves as she turned to face him. She kept her tone

casual. “You're hearly. Weren't you supposed to be at the office?”

“I heard you left the hospital and chome,” Jeffrey said, his voice composed as his gaze landed briefly on the

bag in her hand. “I was worried you might need me, so | cback.”

Rebecca instantly picked up on it-he was letting her know he was watching her every move.

She replied with a cool tone, “You don’t need to cback specially for things like this.”

Jeffrey's voice was gentle. “I should always be here if you ever need me.”

Rebecca didn’t want to keep talking-the more she said, the greater the chance something could go wrong.

She quickly made up an excuse. “My mom has a rehab session later, | have to head out.”

“Wait.” Jeffrey reached out and caught her by the arm.

Rebecca was forced to halt in her tracks.

Jeffrey fixed his eyes on her aloof, detached look and asked quietly, “Do you hate being aroundthat much?”

Rebecca started painting a rosy picture. “Honestly, we've got all the tin the world to hang out. But my mom

needsfor her rehab right now-sthings have to take priority.”

“I checked with Timothy already,” Jeffrey said, exposing her excuse without a second thought. “Her rehab

session was done before you got here.”

Rebecca shot back confidently, “Yeah, the stuff on her schedule is finished, but Timothy gaveextra

instructions.”

Jeffrey demanded, “Like what?”

“Keep my mom talking,” Rebecca answered, calm and unfazed. “It helps keep her mind sharp.”

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Chapter 187

Jeffrey watched her carefully. Seeing her keep her cool, he abruptly shifted the topic. “Let's go.”

Rebecca looked confused.

Jeffrey said, “I'm going with you.”

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“No thanks,” Rebecca replied without hesitation. “You've got plenty on your plate. | can handle everything with

my mom.”

“I'm your husband; I should be there for your mom with you. Or was everything you said before just to brush me

off? And you're still thinking about leaving me?” Jeffrey said, making it hard for Rebecca to argue back.

‘Of course | want,’ she thought. But there was no way she could let that slip. This was not the tto provoke

another storm from Jeffrey.

“I just don’t want to get in the way of your work,” she said, trying her best to sound reasonable.

Jeffrey's eyes grew noticeably darker-Rebecca was dodging the real question.

“It won't get in the way,” Jeffrey replied, his voice steady and unruffled, not letting any emotion show. “Let's go.”

At that point, there was no use arguing. Rebecca could only follow him downstairs and out the door.

Just as they stepped out of the villa’s gates, before Rebecca could get into the car, Jeffrey's deep voice stopped

her. “Rebecca.”

“What's up?” Rebecca turned to him, puzzled.

“Today's July 10th,” Jeffrey said, his eyes fixed on her.

Rebecca was a bit thrown off. ‘What's with that question all of a sudden?’ she wondered.

“The courthouse said July 12th is the last day we can file for the divorce,” Jeffrey continued, his gaze never

leaving her. “Why didn’t you bring it up?”

Rebecca met his gaze, composed. “You know the answer.”

Jeffrey pressed, “If you want the divorce for real, I'll even go with you.”

Rebecca wasn’t about to fall for that twice. ‘So what if he goes with me? It’s not like he’ll actually see it through.

If I let slip that I'm set on leaving, God knows what kind of tricks or threats he’ll cup with.

“No need,” Rebecca said, forcing herself to be calm. “Let's just get in the car.”

“A few days ago, Riley said tothat if | truly care about you, | should actually talk to you instead of doing

things my way,” Jeffrey confessed earnestly. “So tellwhat do you honestly feel?”

Rebecca felt the walls she'd built around her emotions start to tremble at his words, a hint of turmoil stirring

deep inside.

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Chapter 187

Jeffrey was backing her into a corner now. He said. “If you really don’t likeand want to leave, I'll let yous

go.”

Rebecca took a deep breath. After a long moment, she asked, her voice laced with emotion. “You think this is

funny?”

She was certain that if she mentioned wanting to leave, he wouldn't hesitate to throw their recent agreement

back in her face.

The moment she showed the slightest resistance to his affection, he'd twist it around-accusing her of going back

on her word first, even though she was the one who promised not to leave.

She knew him too well-he was a total psycho.

“What do you mean?” Jeffrey asked, his voice steady.

“Nothing,” Rebecca shot back, her face icy and unreadable. “Just glad you're finally willing to sparea

thought. My mom's waiting, so let's not drag this out.”

With that, she stepped straight into the car without another word.

Jeffrey sat beside her, his gaze steady as he watched her-she wasn't taking the bait this time.

After Amelia woke up, Rebecca was like a whole new person. In the past, she'd grab any chance to break free.

But now, she was so cautious, covering every base so perfectly that Jeffrey couldn't spot a single flaw.

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