Chapter 32

“Contact me when you get back. If you blacklist me again, you will never be able to contact me or see your daughter and grandmother again,” Sammie said before hanging up the phone.

Angelia’s chest heaved, as she thought she could start a new life after the divorce, but instead, Sammie pulled her back into the depths of hell.

She wanted to cry but held back because she knew it wouldn’t help.

Shaking, she opened the app and saw a flight to Columbia at 12:10 pm.

Her eyes became even redder.

She bought a ticket for the flight and then slumped her shoulders.

She knew the outcome was already set, but something inside her was still struggling, like a seed that was about to break the soil and see the light but was pulled back into the darkness, forever separated from the light.

It was a feeling of despair.

But even in despair, she had to keep living because she had responsibilities.

She stood up, quickly packed her bags, took the jewelry out of the wooden box, and put it in her suitcase.

This was her life.

She slammed the empty box heavily on the bed, and it fell to the ground with a loud bang.She kicked the empty box under the bed, opened the door, and went out. Jerome heard the sound from her room and walked over, seeing her dragging a suitcase, and asked, “What’s wrong?” “I want to go back to my country,” Angelia said coldly without expression. “I’ve already had the French side send a plane over. We should be able to leave tomorrow night and take a private plane back the day after tomorrow, which should be more comfortable than a commercial airline.”

Angelia looked at Jerome and said firmly, “I want to go back, now, immediately.” Jerome noticed something was wrong and asked, “What happened?” Angelia pursed her lips and walked towards the door. Jerome grabbed her arm, but Angelia shook him off. She wasn’t angry with him, but with herself and her fate.

Jerome frowned and said, “I didn’t say you couldn’t go back, but there must be a reason. How can I feel at ease with you like this?” His words hit her tearful point directly. She used to bear everything alone because she knew no one would help her. Jerome was the first person to make her feel warm in her heart. For a moment, she wanted to let go of her guard and rely on him. But it was only for a moment.

Sammie was a person without a conscience who could do anything. He had the courage not to let his grandmother see a doctor, but she was afraid of losing her grandmother. The mist gradually covered her eyes. “My grandmother is sick, and I want to go back to see her. I’m afraid something will happen to her.”

Jerome reached out, pressed the back of her head, and comforted her in his arms, “Don’t worry, I’ll call Mr. Hernandez right away and have the best doctor sent to see your grandmother. She will be okay.”Angelia did not struggle, enjoying the warmth of the embrace, just as she had hoped for Jerome’s affection.

But liking someone is like dopamine, a chemical that will be consumed with metabolism and will be completely gone in about three months.

She couldn’t ignore her grandmother and Alyssa because of this vague feeling; they were her responsibility and the most precious people she couldn’t afford to lose.

“Jerome, thank you,” Angelia said meaningfully, stepping back and looking at him with clear eyes. “Sammie has already called a doctor.”

Jerome looked at her eyes with hidden worry.

“I’ll accompany you back.”

Angelia shook her head. “You have a lot of things to do here. I’ll be fine alone.”

“I’ll accompany you back,” Jerome said in a declarative sentence that could not be refused.

Angelia was really moved, but their ending was already determined, and she didn’t want to burden him.

“Jerome, don’t accompany me back. My grandmother fainted, and it should be related to Sammie. I feel very guilty and sorry now. If you follow me back, it will increase my burden. I understand your kindness, and I am grateful for your help, but I must bear it alone. Do you understand?” Angelia said, her eyes becoming misty and flickering.

“It’s not your fault, you don’t have to blame yourself. If you didn’t pretend to find me at the beginning, your grandmother would have collapsed long ago. You did it for her good,” Jerome comforted.

Angelia was originally guilty and sorry, and she was responsible for deceiving her grandmother, which caused her grandmother to faint again.

Jerome was good, mature, responsible, handsome, generous, and cultured.However, he was so perfect that he didn’t belong to her, and could never belong to her, to the point where she couldn’t even say she liked him.

“You’re working here, so you have to solve the problems. Your previous project manager ran away, so there must be a lot of messes for you to handle. Don’t leave any hidden dangers for yourself, don’t eat lobster, and also, take care of yourself. Make sure to have at least six hours of sleep and keep your body healthy. Don’t get sick,” Angelia advised.

Like a farewell, the mist gathered into tears and flowed down.

Seeing her tears, his heart also tightened.

When she was kidnapped before, in such a dangerous situation, she didn’t cry and could still smile and say she was okay.

But now, she cried so defenselessly in front of him, showing how truly upset she was.

How could she feel at ease with him like this, saying things that sounded like a final goodbye?

He wiped away her tears with his fingertips and said, “I’ll take care of the work and won’t delay anything. I know what to do. You get air sick too easily, and I’m worried, so let me send you back first.”

Angelia shook her head repeatedly.

If Sammie found out that she had told Jerome about her grandmother’s illness, she would definitely go crazy.

“I’ll keep in touch with you while I’m on the plane,” Angelia said.

Jerome figured it out…

She was absolutely against him sending her back!!

“I understand. What time is your flight?” Jerome asked.

“12:10. I have to go now, or else I’m afraid I won’t make it to the airport,” Angelia said, glancing at the time. It was already ten past ten.

Jerome nodded. “This flight arrives in Columbia at North Carolina time in the early morning. I’ll have someone pick you up.”

“Okay,” Angelia didn’t refuse anymore. “Then I’ll go now.”

“I’ll have someone take you to the airport,” Jerome said firmly.

Angelia nodded.He watched her get on the car and leave, then made a phone call and ordered, “Arrange a first-class ticket departing at 12:10 pm today to North Carolina Columbia.”

“Jerome, didn’t you book two tickets for a piano concert in the afternoon?” Jerome’s assistant asked in confusion.

“Not needed anymore.” Jerome hung up the phone, packed his luggage, and went to the airport.

Angelia was in the economy class and couldn’t enter the VIP reception room. With some time left, she bought two breads and her contact information rang.

It was a message from Jerome, “Did you bring the credit card I gave you? You can use it to enter the VIP reception room. Remember to eat something, you haven’t had breakfast yet. You bought an economy class ticket, and there isn’t much food on the plane. You will be upgraded to first class later. This is a business trip and can be reimbursed.”

Angelia looked at Jerome’s message and felt a warm flow in her heart, followed by a sour and bitter feeling. The more beautiful things are, the harder it is to let go when you lose them.

She went to the VIP room and handed over the credit card, and was indeed allowed to enter. She ordered some food, but didn’t have much appetite, worried about her grandmother’s condition.

She sent a video invitation to Sammie.

Sammie answered the call.

“I’m already at the airport now. How is my grandmother? Is she doing better now?” Angelia asked anxiously.

Sammie raised her eyebrows and turned the camera towards the hospital bed. Angelia saw her grandmother lying unconscious with an oxygen tube inserted, and her heart tightened. “Did the doctor say she passed the critical period?”

“No, she’s still unconscious. But the doctor told me that there shouldn’t be any problem getting her through the critical period. What time is your flight?”

Sammie asked lazily, sitting on the sofa and turning the camera towards herself.

Angelia looked over there and didn’t think it looked like a hospital room, but more like a presidential suite.

She furrowed her brow and asked, “I have a flight at 12 o’clock and I’ll arrive in Columbia early in the morning. Is my grandmother in the hospital now?”

“At dawn? Your grandmother is in Detroit. It’s too late at dawn. I’m staying in room 1806 at The Orange Grove in Detroit. Just come find me directly,” Sammie replied.

“Is my grandmother in the hospital?” Angelia asked again.

Sammie confidently said, “Of course not in the hospital. Don’t worry, the medical facilities here are much better than in the hospital. As I said, everything for your grandmother is the best. After all, she is also my grandmother now, right?”

Angelia stared at Sammie firmly. If he really thought that way, he would appear when she needed him, and there would be no need for Jerome to pretend later.

“What about Alyssa?” Angelia frowned and asked.

“Your daughter, of course I took good care of her. Let’s talk about it when you come back. Oh, by the way, you didn’t tell Jerome, did you?” Sammie looked at Angelia.

Angelia sarcastically replied, “If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it. Are you afraid of him?”

“I’m afraid you’ll do something you regret. After all, your grandmother’s life and Alyssa’s life are in my hands,” Sammie warned coldly.

Angelia gritted her teeth in anger. She used to think Sammie was just a brainless rich second generation. Now, he was not only despicable, but also mean.

“I won’t let you go if anything happens to them,” Angelia said disgustedly and hung up the video call.

After the call, she lost her appetite in anger. But she had to eat something. She had to enter battle mode as soon as she returned. She couldn’t lose, refused to lose, and wouldn’t admit defeat. Even in the darkest moments, she would do her best to break through.

She took a big bite of cake and stuffed it into her mouth one by one. Half an hour later, the flight attendant smiled and said in fluent English, “Hello, passenger. You can board the plane early now. Please follow me.””Thank you,” Angelia said, following the flight attendant to the plane.

In the economy class, the seats were no longer high-end space chairs, but rather ordinary chairs that were still spacious.

Subconsciously, Angelia resisted the idea of sitting for 16 hours and overcoming motion sickness and jet lag. However, she had no choice. Just like she had to face Sammie, she had to overcome this difficulty as well.

The aircraft commander walked up to her and smiled, “Are you Angelia?” Angelia nodded, “Yes, what’s up?”

“Your seat has been upgraded to first class, please follow me,” said the aircraft commander.

Angelia was moved. She estimated that it was Jerome’s arrangement, as only he had the ability and power to do so.

Thinking about sitting for more than ten hours and feeling uncomfortable with motion sickness, she did not refuse and followed the aircraft commander to first class, where she saw Jerome and was stunned for a moment.

Jerome glanced at her. Angelia couldn’t describe the strange feeling in her heart, but it was definitely overwhelming. She sat next to him, looking at Jerome’s handsome and cold profile without saying a word.

“There’s an emergency on Sloan’s side, and I need to rush back to handle it,” Jerome said.

Angelia looked at him, pursing her lips without saying a word. She didn’t think there was an emergency on Sloan’s side, but rather that he didn’t want to burden her with an excuse.

Jerome noticed that she was silent and looked at her. Angelia continued to look at him, her breathing becoming more and more irregular.

“What’s wrong?” Jerome asked.

Angelia turned her head. The better he treated her, the more reluctant she was to let go. The more reluctant she was to let go, the more agonizing it became, and the more agonizing it became, the more upset and restless she felt.

Restless, she didn’t want to deal with any reason or future. As a person, she never had a future. She didn’t care about etiquette, decency, or moral constraints.

She turned around to face him.He didn’t have his eyes on the computer, but was worriedly looking at her.

She felt heartbroken, hesitated and struggled.

He said he didn’t like married women, but she might be a married woman for the rest of her life.

“Jerome.” Angelia called his name.

“Hmm,” Jerome responded.

That “hmm” was like the end of a cello note, heavy on her heart.

She didn’t want to go through life without seeing him, even if it was just occasionally.

Angelia smiled and said, “It’s nothing, just wanted to call your name.”

“Hmm,” Jerome responded again, his gaze back on the computer.

“You probably haven’t had lunch, I didn’t see you in the VIP room.” Angelia took out a bread from her bag and handed it to him, saying somewhat embarrassedly, “I bought it before boarding the plane.”

Jerome took the bread from her hand, unwrapped it, took a bite and said, “Do you really not need me to find someone to check on your grandmother?”

It’s not that she didn’t need it, but she had no idea where Sammie had locked her grandmother up. How could she find her?

Angelia shook her head, “If I need it, I will ask for your help.”

“Just let me know if you need my help.” Jerome finished a piece of bread.

He never used to eat these things, but now he tried it and it wasn’t bad.

Angelia leaned back in her chair, looking at his profile, printed in the halo, he really was good-looking.

Oh, right, when they were at the restaurant before, he took a picture and sent it to her.

She didn’t check it later when she was in a bad mood.

She pulled out her phone, checked the message he sent and pulled up the photo, enlarging it.

Jerome not only had good features, but was also very photogenic, as if there was no dead angle in 360 degrees.

One of them showed him smiling, full of sunshine.

She liked that smile, with a smile in his eyes.

She saved the photo and continued to look at it.Jerome saw her looking at her phone for a long time, and he didn’t know what she was looking at.

He unconsciously looked at her phone and saw the photo he took last time.

He smiled slightly and asked if she wanted to take a few more photos.

Angelia, who had been staring at his photo for a long time, blushed and nodded.

Perhaps in the future, she could only look at the photos to remember.

Angelia led her bag to the bathroom and spent ten minutes putting on makeup before coming out.

Although Angelia had good features, her skin was too fair, and her eyelashes were very light in color.

After putting on makeup, she was stunning.

Jerome asked if they should use his phone or hers to take the photos, and Angelia initially said hers, but then changed her mind and said his would be better.

Jerome asked if she wanted to take single photos, and Angelia said yes without hesitation.

She now understood why Darcey wanted to take single photos of Jerome to cherish.

At that time, she actually had no feelings for Jerome and even hoped he would leave early.

If she could go back to that state of mind, she wouldn’t be so regretful, unhappy, and sad.

After taking a few poses, Angelia grabbed Jerome’s phone and took photos of him.

Jerome didn’t take many photos, and he rarely smiled.

Angelia took a few shots and tried to make him smile.

She asked if he was ticklish, and when he didn’t respond, she tickled his waist.

Jerome dodged and Angelia continued to tickle him.

It is said that men who are ticklish are afraid of their wives, but Jerome didn’t seem like that kind of man.

Angelia continued to tickle him.”Okay, okay, stop scratching.” Jerome dodged and frowned. If it were someone else, they wouldn’t dare to scratch him, let alone get close to him.

“Jerome, look over here.” Angelia said.

He looked towards her and Angelia took a few snaps, making faces to make Jerome laugh.

He looked at her steadily, without any change in expression.

Angelia was helpless, “You have a high sense of humor.”

“It’s okay.” Jerome answered seriously.

“Smile for the camera, come on.” Angelia made a peace sign.

Jerome felt fond of her and smiled, patting her forehead affectionately.

Angelia quickly took several snaps and looked at her phone.

Jerome’s smile was absolutely breathtaking and pure, like the cleanest sunlight, “You look beautiful when you smile, so smile more often in the future.”

“Is it okay to just smile for no reason? Don’t you think it’s silly?” Jerome took his phone and scanned through the photos Angelia took. They were actually pretty good.

He turned the camera towards himself, “Come here.”

Angelia leaned on the armrest of his chair and looked at the camera.

Jerome felt like she was a gentle little kitten, not doing anything but lying obediently, making him feel itchy inside.

He reached out and touched her hand, taking a few snaps.

His aesthetic and photography skills were quite good, and the photos that came out were like carefully crafted works of art.

Angelia leaned closer to him, propping up her chin to look at the photos, “I want all of these, send them to me.”

“Do you want to take more?” Jerome asked.

Angelia shook her head.

She was already satisfied with all the photos they took.

“Thank you.” Angelia said.