Chapter 651 Can't Give Up
Jake seemed off tonight.
"Who is it?"
Jake cautiously glanced at the door.
"It's me." Sophia stepped in, pushing the door open.
Jake's face softened instantly, a smile lighting up his eyes.
"It might get chilly tonight, so I brought you a blanket," Sophia said.
Jake took the blanket. "Thanks."
Sophia turned to leave.
"Sophia." Jake tossed the blanket to Micah and walked over.
"Yeah?"
Jake wanted to ask if she and Gabriel had patched things up but was too scared to hear a yes. After a moment of hesitation, he let it go.
"Are the kids asleep?"
"Yeah, they are."
"Then you should get some rest too."
"Okay, good night."
"Good night."
Jake watched Sophia head back to her room, then closed the door. The light in his eyes faded away.
'She didn't hear anything, right? Good thing we didn't say much,' Jake thought to himself.
In this unfamiliar place, Jake couldn't sleep, especially with both Sophia, who he loved, and Gabriel, who he despised, around.
In the middle of the night, Jake started to get a fever.
Micah noticed first. He couldn't wake Jake up and there was no medicine in the guest room, so he went to find Sophia.
Gabriel was the first to wake up.
Since Jake was here, Gabriel had been sleeping lightly, waking up at the slightest noise.
"What's going on?" Gabriel asked, his voice deep.
"Mr. Lancaster, sorry to bother you, but Mr. Hughes has a fever and is out of it. Do you have any fever meds?"
Sophia also came out of her room, hearing the commotion.
When she heard Jake had a fever, she rushed over to check on him.
Annoyed, Gabriel found the medicine box.
When he walked into the room with the meds, he saw Jake holding Sophia's hand!
Gabriel was livid. He stormed over, dropped the medicine box, and yanked Sophia's hand away.
Sophia looked at him, confused.
Gabriel, still angry, said, "Don't catch his fever."
His words were harsh, but Sophia sensed something else.
'Is Gabriel jealous?' she wondered.
Sophia pressed her lips together. Then she told Micah, "Quick, give him a fever-reducing pill."
Micah hurriedly found one in the box.
As Jake took the medicine, his eyes half-opened, filled with confusion.
He felt like he was burning up.
He had no idea what time it was.
In his feverish state, Jake seemed to drift back to his childhood, to when his mom was still around.
He had a fever alone in a cold rental room, not knowing where his mom was. No one took care of him. He was thirsty and wanted water but couldn't get any.
He had no strength, fell off the bed, and couldn't climb back up.
He harbored deep resentment. He hated the Lancasters and his mom.
He hated his mom for giving birth to him but not taking responsibility, always leaving him alone in that rental room to fend for himself.
He was so miserable, he wished he could just die.
But his body wouldn't give up.
After that high fever, he learned to cherish his life.
In his sleep, Jake clenched his teeth tightly, seemingly going through some particularly painful experience. His face was covered in sweat, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
This scene deeply moved Sophia.
Maybe Jake wasn't as carefree as he seemed. He must have a lot of painful memories buried deep inside."It's late. You should get some rest. Staying here won't help," Gabriel said, pulling Sophia's hand and leading her out of the room.
With Micah taking care of Jake, Sophia went back to sleep, feeling at ease.
The next morning, the sky, freshly washed by rain, looked like a painting. Jake's fever was gone, and apart from feeling a bit weak, he was fine.
After hearing from Micah about his fever last night, Jake's mood soured.
'Damn it, I actually got a fever here! Now Gabriel's gonna have a field day with this,' Jake cursed silently.
Early in the morning, the repairmen came to fix the car, and Jake said goodbye to Sophia.
"Are you feeling better?" Sophia asked, concerned.
"Yeah, much better. Thanks for taking me in last night." Jake flashed his signature smile. "I'll treat you to a meal when we get back to City B."
Seeing he was in good shape, Sophia didn't insist on keeping him.
Once the car was fixed, Jake and Micah left.
The three kids, unaware of what happened last night, were bummed when they didn't see Jake in the morning.
After breakfast, Sophia and Gabriel also took the kids back to City B.
On the way, Gabriel noticed the car that had been tailing them again.
As they got closer to City B, Gabriel managed to shake off the car.
He first took Sophia and the kids home, then rushed to the office.
"Alex, have you found out about Sawyer Morris?"
Alex followed Gabriel into the office and quickly said, "Tiffany bribed Sawyer Morris to follow you, trying to keep tabs on you."
'Tiffany still hasn't given up and does these things!' Gabriel thought, his aura turning icy.
"Resolve this within a day."
Gabriel sat down, staring at his computer screen, thinking about Jake's appearance last night.
He didn't believe Jake's appearance was a coincidence.
'How does Jake know our itinerary so well? And what's his real deal?' Gabriel wondered.
At the Lancaster Manor, Ruth learned from the kids that Gabriel and Sophia had stayed in one room with the kids the first night, and she was grinning from ear to ear.
Sophia received a phone call in her room.
"Dylan's been acting suspiciously lately, sneaking around doing something."
Sophia's heart tightened. "Keep a close eye on him."
"Okay."
For some reason, Sophia had a vague sense of unease, like something was about to happen.
It was still early, so Sophia decided to visit The Blackwood Manor.
Colin was home today. After chatting with Celeste for a while, Sophia went into the study.
Colin handed her a document.
"Here's what I found out about Tiffany in Country M."
Sophia flipped through it, her worldview almost shattered.
Colin frowned slightly, his eyes full of disgust. "Tiffany would do anything for money. We're pretty sure she and Alfred worked together to make Sam's condition worse back then."
Sophia had never given up investigating this matter, but with Alfred dead, there was no evidence left.
They were combing through every detail, clinging to the hope that they might find something that could help.
Sophia clenched the document in her hand.
'I must get to the bottom of this and make Tiffany pay!' she mused.
That evening, Ethan excitedly took his iPad to find Gabriel.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
