Chapter 23
Jennifer stood on the terrace, watching Clara watering the flowerbed in the yard.
Clara was wearing a pale yellow dress and humming an off–tune nursery rhyme as she skipped around, looking utterly joyful. “What are you thinking about?” A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. Kevin rested hi
chin lightly on her shoulder.
He still carried the faint scent of hospital disinfectant. It was clear that he had just come back from work.
“I was just thinking…” Jennifer hadn’t even turned around yet, but she was already smiling. “Thinking about the first time we met, when you brought Clara to buy picture books.”
Kevin chuckled warmly. “I remember thinking, how is she still so beautiful after so many years?”
“You’re so cheeky.” Jennifer laughed and lightly punched his shoulder.
Their laughter drew Clara’s attention from the yard.
Clara tossed her watering can aside and ran to them. “Uncle Kevin! Ms. Jennifer! What are you whispering about?”
Kevin bent down to scoop her up and kissed her dirt–smudged cheek. “I was asking Jennifer if she’d like to stay with us forever.”
Clara’s eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed onto Jennifer’s sleeve tightly. “Really? Ms. Jennifer, are you going to stay with us forever?” Jennifer felt her heart melt as she took Clara into her arms. She nodded under Clara’s expectant gaze. “If you’re fine with that.”
“I do! I do!” Clara cheered and wrapped her arms around Jennifer’s neck.
Then, she turned to look at Kevin. “Uncle Kevin, quick! Put a ring on her, just like they do on TV!”
Kevin’s ears turned slightly red. He fumbled in his pocket and took out a small red velvet box, then bent down on one knee.
His voice trembled slightly, “Jennifer, will you-”
“I will.” She didn’t even let him finish. Jennifer’s eyes brimmed with tears, but her smile was full of happiness.
They set their wedding for three months later.
The weather was uncharacteristically sunny on the day of the wedding.
Jennifer wore a simple white gown and held a bouquet of wildflowers that Clara had picked for her. She walked toward Kevin amid the blessings of family and friends.
When the officiant declared them husband and wife, Clara couldn’t wait any longer. She ran into Jennifer’s arms and called out brightly, “Aunt Jennifer!”
At the back of the crowd, three figures stood in silence, one adult and two children.
“I’ll handle it,” Kevin said gently, squeezing Jennifer’s hand.
“No, I’ll go.” Jennifer took a deep breath and lifted her skirt as she walked toward the entrance.
The moment the door opened; Yannick rushed up and said, “Mom, you look so beautiful today!”
Jennifer took a step back to avoid her hug and said coldly, “What are you doing here?”
Leonard looked past her at the wedding scene behind and said hoarsely, “We mean no harm. We’re just here to congratulate you.”
Jennifer replied calmly, “That won’t be necessary. Please leave.”
She spoke softly, but her tone was resolute.
Leonard’s face turned ghostly pale. He reached for the two crying children with a hopeless expression on his face. “Yan, Von, let’s go.”
“No!” Yvonne broke free from his grasp and clung to Jennifer’s leg, sobbing uncontrollably. “Mom, please look at me! Just look at me!”
Jennifer looked down at the daughter she once treasured so much. She didn’t bend down and only gently pried off those hands. “Goodbye, Yvonne. You too, Yannick Don’t come looking for me again. Go live your new life. I’m going to live mine.”
As she turned around, she heard Leonard’s choked sobs and the children’s heart–wrenching cries behind her.
But when she stepped back into the wedding crowd and saw Clara running toward her with a flower basket, as well as Kevin’s smile, those voices faded into something distant and indistinct.
Later, Jennifer heard from Neil that the Faron family wasn’t doing well.
After Samantha was driven out, the household fell into chaos.
Leonard was overwhelmed with work, and the children were sent to boarding school, where they became increasingly withdrawn,
They had once tried to come looking for her at Nimbus City again, but the security guards had kept them outside the residence.
Sometimes, Jennifer still dreamed of the past.
She dreamed of sitting by Yannick’s bedside all night when he had a burning fever, and dreamed of the first time the children called her “Mom” with bright smiles. Whenever she would wake up at night, Kevin would notice immediately. He would pull her into his arms and comfort her soothingly.
Once, Kevin asked with some hesitation, “Jen, do you regret it?”
Jennifer looked at the two stray cats playing in the yard with Clara and shook her head. “My life now is filled with happiness, and I feel like the future ahead of me is so bright. I won’t look back anymore.”
At that moment, Clara came running over with the kittens in her arms. There was grass on her face as she beamed. “Aunt Jennifer, they’re so cute! Can we keep them?”
“Of course,” she replied, stroking Clara’s face fondly. “You get to decide here.”
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a faint glow on the three of them. Those shadows that had once hung over her life would never touch her again.
