After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 196

Jeffrey, cover and have a chat,” Amelia called out to him. She caught the look in his eyes when he glanced

at Rebecca.

Jeffrey walked over and sat down.

Amelia kept a polite smile, but she didn’t pull any punches. She asked, “So, have you made up your mind about

what we discussed before?”

Jeffrey replied firmly, “I already told you. Rebecca is my wife, and I'm not divorcing her.”

Amelia pressed, “Even if she’s unhappy with you?”

Jeffrey said, “I'll do everything | can to make her happy.”

Amelia locked eyes with him and asked, “And if she’s still unhappy after all your efforts?”

Jeffrey said, “We'll cross that bridge when we cto it. But right now, the bigger question is whether you want

Rebecca to acknowledge Ryan as her father. From what I've heard, he’s been making preparations for that since

he returned to Honnala.”

Amelia shot back, “What does that have to do with me?”

Jeffrey said, “Rebecca is his daughter.”

Amelia asked, “And where's the proof?”

Jeffrey paused for a second, a little stunned.

Amelia continued, “A private DNA test isn’t legally binding. Even if he tries to take it to court, he'll lose. He

doesn’t stand a chance with this.”

Jeffrey didn’t say a word. His question was just him probing, trying to see if Rebecca would ever admit Ryan was

her dad-and working out his next move.

Amelia saw right through him but didn’t expose it. Instead, she added, “But if anyone tries to mess with Rebecca,

I won't hesitate to use him to shield her.”

Jeffrey glanced up and thought, ‘Amelia is just too clever for her own good.

Just then, Rebecca walked over after finishing her chat with Timothy. She asked, “What do you mean by using

him?”

Amelia replied, “Nothing. Why don’t you arrange for a couple of cleaners to ctidy up our place later? Since

we're leaving the hospital next week, it'll be nice to go hto a fresh house.”

Rebecca replied, “Okay.”

Jeffrey said, “Rebecca’s Manor has a dedicated team of nutritionists and rehab specialists. You should just

11:01 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 196

move back there.”

Amelia shot back. “No. I've got zero interest in a place that keeps swapping owners.

Jeffrey wanted to say it was only something said out of frustration, but quickly realized Amelia wasn't just hung

up on the past-she was also quietly planning for their departure.

If they stayed at Rebecca’s Manor, it would be too obvious when they decided to leave.

Jeffrey said. “Then I'll have the nutritionist and rehab specialist cover to your place. You've only just woken

up, so you need to be careful with what you eat.”

Rebecca said, “I've already got everything arranged. Really, you don’t need to bother.”

Jeffrey said. “It’s my job as your husband to help out with these things. Why don’t you showthe nutritionist

you've hired? Letmake sure they're good enough.”

Rebecca just gave him a long, silent stare.

For once, Jeffrey had no idea what had made her so angry. He asked, “What's wrong?”

Rebecca hesitated for a moment, but ended up swallowing her true feelings. She just brushed it off, saying, “It's

nothing.”

Everything Rebecca had gone through recently had her so on edge that the smallest thing Jeffrey said-if it

rubbed her the wrong way-could make her snap at him without even thinking.

The moment she heard his words, she couldn't help but feel that Jeffrey didn’t trust her, like she was hopeless

and couldn’t do a thing right. But the truth was, she was overthinking it. In reality, it was just him trying to care

about her.

Since Rebecca didn’t want to talk, Jeffrey let it go. When mealtrolled around, he had dinner delivered, ate

with them, then headed back to work.

After that, he made a point to drop by every single day. Even though Amelia didn’t really want him around, he

kept coming no matter what. And when it was tfor Amelia to leave the hospital, he sent someone to pick her

up.

If anyone was happier than Rebecca when Amelia got discharged, it was Timothy. He was genuinely overjoyed to

see Amelia fully recover, and couldn't help but feel moved knowing that all of Rebecca's tireless efforts had

finally paid off.

Before they knew it, the end of the month had rolled around.

After dinner that night, Amelia and Rebecca took a stroll through the villa’s garden.

Amelia noticed that Rebecca seemed happy on the surface, but something was weighing on her. She asked, “I'm

pretty much back to normal now. Do you want to leave soon, or wait a bit longer?”

Rebecca asked, “Are we really going to Honnala?”

11:01 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 196

Amelia nodded.

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55 vouchers

Rebecca's expression was conflicted. She asked, “But weren't you always saying you hated that place?”

Amelia replied, “I used to, but now | just feel indifferent.” Moving to Honnala was not something she decided on

a whim-she gave it a lot of thought.

Whether it was education, healthcare, or starting a business and finding jobs, Honnala was the best place after

Jelasburg.

Rebecca asked, “Why?”

For Rebecca, if Amelia was only doing this for her and Samuel-suppressing her real feelings-Rebecca wouldn't

hesitate to choose another city. She didn’t want Amelia to sacrifice so much for her, especially when Amelia

hadn’t truly moved on.

Amelia said, “I used to be so stubborn. | thought | couldn't go back just because the people | hated were still

there.

“Now I've figured it out-the ones at fault are they, not me. Why should | be the one who leaves? They're the

ones who should feel ashamed when they see me.”

Back when she was young, Amelia was way too stubborn for her own good. That stubborn streak stuck with her,

even as she got older.

But seeing what Rebecca had gone through-and how Ryan had call this way for her—Amelia understood.

The ones she cared about would always be close. The ones she couldn’t stand would still pop up sooner or later.

So she figured she might as well pick a good place, stay with loved ones, and forget all that old baggage-just

focus on living the good life.

“Once you and Richard get the divorce certificate, we'll leave,” Rebecca said. She hadn't been able to get her

own, and she didn’t want her mom to miss out, too.

Amelia nodded and said, “Alright.”

Once all that was settled, Rebecca just acted like everything was normal, keeping up appearances through the

rest of her days.

Jeffrey cby every day, sharing a room with Rebecca, saying “I love you” over and over again. Sometimes

he'd bring her gifts-flowers, or squirky little thing he'd stumbled across.

He kept treating her with the sdevotion he’d shown all throughout their five years of marriage.

But Rebecca just couldn't bring herself to love him back. A wall had grown between them, thick and

impenetrable; no matter what he did, it was never enough for her.

She'd find herself shutting him out without even thinking about it, her heart drifting further away every day.

Before they knew it, August 16th had arrived. The mandatory cooling-off period before Amelia and Richard's

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Chapter 196

divorce was just about over.

Rebecca had already booked their flights out of Jelasburg, and Amelia took extra steps to hide their booking

information so Jeffrey wouldn't be able to trace their departure.

That night, Jeffrey got off work early. After dinner, he gently took Rebecca’s hand and led her into the garden for

a walk. He could tell from her absent-minded look that she was no longer truly with him-her heart had already

drifted away.

“Rebecca,” he called softly.

Lately, Rebecca’s attitude toward him had been gentle but distant. She replied, “Yeah?”

Jeffrey squeezed her hand and said, “There's a dinner on Monday night. Cwith me?”

Rebecca paused.

Monday was August 19, the day Amelia and Richard were to finalize their divorce. Once it was done, Rebecca

and Amelia would be leaving with Samuel.

Jeffrey pressed, “You said you couldn't handle being close to me, but that you'd still calong to events if |

needed. It’s just showing up for a bit, nothing serious-half an hour, tops.”

Rebecca finally said, “I'm busy that day. I've got something else | need to do.”

Jeffrey frowned and pressed, “What exactly?”

Rebecca replied, “We're celebrating Mom and Richard's divorce.”

“Dinner’s at five. We'll just swing by, make an appearance, and get back in tto party with your mom. Sound

good?” Jeffrey replied, totally unfazed, like he'd already mapped out every detail.

Rebecca frowned.

Jeffrey fixed his gaze on her and suddenly cut straight to the point, “Or do you mean the real celebration is you

heading out with Amelia and Samuel?”

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