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Chapter 202
Chapter 202
Estrella was about to speak when Jason, seemingly exhausted, rested his head on her shoulder. She turned to look at him as he said, “The end of the year is crazy with meetings, and none of them can be pushed aside. It’s been a week of either rushing from a shot to a meeting or from a meeting to get another shot, and I’ve had this persistent fever. The doc says there’s a shadow on my lung.”
“I’ve been meaning to call you, but every time I thought about how you’d want to discuss divorce as soon as we met, I’d put my phone away. And there’s nothing between me and Holly. Nothing now, and there won’t be in the future.” If he had wanted something with Holly, he’d have signed the divorce papers long ago.
Estrella was about to push him away, but her hands just hovered in the air, frozen by his words. She knew Jason too well after all these years. He was not the type to show weakness, and yet here he was, playing the sympathy card.
She stared at him sideways and asked with a touch of sarcasm, “What’s this? Playing the sad puppy?”
Jason furrowed his brow. “For God’s sake, I’m thirty. What am I supposed to be whining about?”
“Well, then get up if you’re not tired,” challenged Estrella.
“I’m just a bit weary. Let me lean on you.”
“Jason, I’m not falling for this.”
Despite her words, Jason didn’t move his head from her shoulder but didn’t press any further. “You know I don’t respond well to pressure. If you talked to me nicely, maybe I wouldn’t make the divorce so difficult.”
Just as Estrella was about to interject, Jason continued. “Things have been hectic, so let talk about this after the New Year. You’ll need my information and my presence to handle the paperwork, so I’ll go with you.”
“That sounds even more painful than getting a divorce certificate,” she quipped.
“Divorce is something to consider seriously, to be accepted internally. We’ll talk after the New Year.”
“You’re stalling with me now?”
Jason replied, “We’ve been at this for six years and a few more months won’t make a difference. If you don’t make a fuss during this time, you might just get a surprise.”
“A surprise?” Estrella laughed. “Are you going to split your fortune with me?” During their time together, he had never spent much on her Would he be generous in a divorce?
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“I might.”
“Don’t tease. Get up now.”
“My head hurts.”
“Jason, I’m not joking with you. The IV’s backflowing.”
Jason instantly lifted his head from her shoulder and checked her IV, indeed seeing the blood had returned. Quickly, he opened the door and bellowed for a nurse.
Soon enough, a nurse arrived, and Estrella felt a wave of embarrassment because the blood had already retreated from the syringe. “It’s fine now. Just stay still during the IV, and you’ll be okay.”
“Sure.”
After the nurse left, Estrella told Jason, “I definitely can’t agree to your post-New Year plan, but I won’t bother you while you’re sick. You should head back now.”
The nurse, recognizing Jason as the patient from bed 18, scolded him, “You need to stop wandering around and go back to your room. And you still haven’t had your shot today. If you keep this up, who knows when you’ll be discharged.”
With those words, the plump nurse ushered Jason out of Estrella’s room.
No sooner had Jason left than Bryce sauntered in. He plopped down onto a chair beside Estrella and asked, “What did Jason just say to you?” Bryce had tried eavesdropping from the next room but hadn’t caught a thing. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Estrella casually said, “He said we’ll talk about the divorce after the New Year.”
Skeptical, Bryce stared at her until she threw a pillow at him. “Bryce, what’s with that look?”
Unconvinced, Bryce held her gaze until she said to him, “I didn’t agree, okay? I didn’t sa yes to him.”
Only then did Bryce’s expression soften, and he tossed the pillow back onto the bed. “That’s more like it.”
If Jason knew that after three years, Bryce was still tirelessly persuading Estrella to divorce, he’d probably be livid.
Afterward, Bryce stayed with Estrella until her IV was done. He checked her forehead to ensure she didn’t have a fever again before he could relax.
Bryce decided to stick around in Estrella’s room, video chatting with Isaac or playing two-handed card games with Estrella to pass the time.
Jason popped in a few times, sometimes bringing fruit, other times soup. Seeing Bryce glued to Estrella’s side made Jason’s blood boil, so he stayed as well, and the three of
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them played cards together.
The next day, neither Jason nor Bryce showed up. Estrella was video chatting with Isaac, seizing the chance for some mother-son bonding.
“Sweetheart, listen to grandma at home. Mommy will come back to you as soon as I feel
better.”
“Honey, why the tears? Don’t be sad. We’re strong.”
Estrella’s heart ached seeing Isaac pouting with red-rimmed eyes. It had been over two years since Estrella spent a night away from her son.
When they were abroad, Estrella usually avoided business trips to take care of Isaac, and on the rare occasions she did travel, she took the nanny and Isaac with her.
Tears welled up in Estrella’s eyes as she watched Isaac clutching his hands tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks. Isaac’s pout grew more pronounced, and he became even more resolute in his silence.
As Isaac’s emotions ran high, Estrella found herself struggling to keep it together. She wiped at her own eyes and said, “Mom, why don’t you just take Isaac out for some fun? I
can’t bear to see him so distressed.”
Autumn, witnessing the scene, felt a mix of helplessness and frustration. “This child is too attached to you. He can’t stand being apart from you for even a moment. He was so down last night when you didn’t come home, he wouldn’t eat, drink, or speak. It took all my tricks just to get him to drink his milk before bed.”
At her mother’s words, Estrella felt her eyes sting even more, but she tried to hide her emotions and responded, “Isaac has never been away from me since he was born. He’s just not used to it.”
In truth, she wasn’t used to it either.
“Mommy.” Hearing Estrella’s voice, Isaac called out to her with a whine that conveyed al his hurt feelings.
Isaac’s call of “Mommy” sent a rush of emotions through Estrella’s heart, but she quickly regained her composure, her expression softening as she started chatting with Isaac. That was until the door to the hospital room was suddenly pushed open and Jason walked in. Estrella quickly wrapped up the conversation and ended the video call.
At the doorway, Jason noticed how abruptly Estrella hung up the phone, and his senses immediately sharpened with suspicion.