Chapter 368 Serve Me for a Lifetime
The big bed in the bedroom suddenly dipped.
The perfectly made sheets got all wrinkled up.
The view outside the window shifted from golden sunlight to an orange-red sunset.
Francis scooped up Elissa and headed to the bathroom.
Working out on an empty stomach probably meant heating up food in the middle of the night.
Elissa, who also hadn't eaten, was too lazy to even lift a finger, while Francis was buzzing with energy.
He helped Elissa into a silk nightgown, tucked her under a blanket, and then quickly took a shower.
After that, he went to the kitchen to heat up some food and wiped the red wine stains off the dining table.
He set the table and went back to the bedroom to carry Elissa out.
Elissa immediately stuffed a mouthful of food into her mouth, finally feeling alive again.
Francis served her a bowl of soup, "Drink the soup first."
Elissa downed it in one gulp, instantly warming her stomach.
"Slow down." Francis looked at her with affection, and wiped her mouth with a napkin, "No one's going to take it from you."
Elissa glared at him, "How dare you say that."
Francis smirked, "After the second time, I said we should eat first, but weren't you the one who wouldn't let me get up?"
He dared to say it; if he hadn't deliberately tormented her, would she have clung to him?
Elissa just wanted to eat.
Francis sipped some red wine, leaning back in his chair, watching her.
Elissa squinted at him, "Aren't you hungry?"
Francis replied, "I'm fine, I just ate too."
Elissa quietly ate her meal.
Francis waited for her to finish, then got up to carry her, but she refused. "I'm too full; having sex again would be uncomfortable."
Francis chuckled, "I need to rest too. How about you take care of it yourself?"
"Get lost!" Elissa slapped his smiling face and pushed him away. She got off the dining chair, intending to tell him to get some work done.
But as soon as her feet touched the ground, she knelt down.
Francis, as if expecting it, caught her.
Elissa grimaced, "Francis!"
"Here."
Francis carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed, kissing her forehead, "Sleep for a while. I'll go eat and make a work call."
Elissa had some work to do, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was really sleepy.
She just wanted a light nap, "Wake me up in an hour."
"Okay."
Francis closed the bedroom door.
He ate quietly, then went to the balcony, closing the balcony door before making the call.
As soon as the call connected, Simon started reporting without waiting for him to speak, "Mrs. Peterson is still protecting Jessa, asking you to come back and take responsibility."
"The surveillance has made no progress. The repairman said not to get your hopes up; it's a self-destruct program, and even the person who designed it can't guarantee data recovery."
"The person who hurt Ms. Wilson has taken the bait. With your command, their entire family can be wiped out."
"But there's no direct evidence linking that person to Jessa. The men Jessa has been in contact with abroad are all normal relationships; there's no sign of them conspiring to harm Ms. Wilson together."
"Efren has been on set these past few days and at his grandmother's nursing home. Tonight, he was at the community gate."
"He wasn't spotted by security, hid behind a tree, stood for a while, and then left."
Francis glanced in the direction of the electric gate, but couldn't see anything from his position.
Besides, Simon mentioned Efren had already left.
Then Francis commanded, "Keep a close eye on Efren, push for progress on the surveillance, don't let up on Jessa, and handle the other matters cleanly."
The other matters referred to the person who hurt Elissa.
Simon replied, "Yes, Mr. Peterson."
Francis hung up the phone, wanting to smoke, but realized he was only wearing a towel.
He opened the balcony door and went inside, grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge, and drank half of it.
If the surveillance couldn't be recovered, he'd have to use other means, as Jerry suggested.
Efren would be easier to deal with. Given his grandmother, it would be easy to get him to talk about that night.
But Jessa would be more troublesome; their statements had to match.
When Elissa woke up, it was already dark.
She looked beside her, finding it empty, and took a turn around the living room, but no one was there.
Their clothes were hanging on the balcony to dry.
She found her phone and called Francis.
Just as she dialed, she saw the note on the table.
The note read: [Went home for a bit. The food is still warm. If you don't want to eat that, let me know what you want, and I'll have it delivered.]
At that moment, the call connected.
"Awake?"
Elissa responded, "What's going on at your place?"
"Nothing much." Francis's voice was relaxed, "Had a headache and insisted I come back."
He didn't say who, but Elissa guessed it was Wesley.
"Alright, go ahead. I'll hang up."
"Okay, I'll come to you when I'm done."
Elissa laughed, "Take a break, Mr. Peterson. Aren't you afraid of wearing yourself out?"
Francis also laughed, "I'd die happy."
Elissa shivered, "Pervert, hanging up now."
Francis reminded, "Remember to eat."
"Got it. I never realized you were this nagging. Weren't you the quiet type?"
"Not when it comes to you."
Elissa's smile grew wider, "I gotta go."
She hung up before Francis could respond.
Francis shook his head helplessly.
"Look at you, all happy," Rainey said, "It's just a relationship."
Francis put away his phone, his smile fading, "It's my first relationship, and I have to say, it's pretty nice."
Rainey gritted her teeth, "I shouldn't have let you focus on work all the time. If I'd let you meet more girls earlier, you wouldn't be treating her like a treasure."
Francis's smile disappeared completely, "She hasn't done anything to you, so don't talk about her like that."
"Am I wrong?" Rainey was a bit angry, "You smile when talking to her, but you're cold-faced with me. She took my son away; how has she not wronged me?"
Francis rubbed his forehead, "Mom, if you still want me to be filial, I don't want to hear this again."
Rainey couldn't do anything about Francis; he was her only son. She just asked, "What are you going to do about Jessa?"
"Nothing." Francis answered without thinking, "There's nothing between us. I know exactly who I've slept with."
Rainey shouted, "You believe her but not me?"
"If you want to take responsibility, you do it. I have a girlfriend now and don't want to upset her."
Rainey was almost furious, "You want me to end up in the hospital too."
Francis just said calmly, "I've said everything I need to say. If you don't listen, don't blame me if I cut ties with you."
"What nonsense are you talking!" Jacob walked over quickly, raising his hand to hit Francis.
Francis stood still, his eyes calm and cold as he looked at Jacob.
Rainey stopped Jacob with her hand. "Talk it out!"
Jacob shouted, "Is this his idea of talking it out?"
Francis brushed off imaginary dust from his clothes. "Are you going to hit me or not? If not, I'm leaving."
Jacob ordered, "You're not going anywhere today!"
Francis couldn't be bothered to argue and walked towards his own room.
At the door, he saw Jessa.
Francis ignored her; he still needed to explain to Elissa why he couldn't come over tonight and didn't have time to waste.
"Francis." Jessa blocked his way.
Francis took a step back to create some distance, his voice extremely cold, "If you can tell the truth about that night, then I'll stand here and listen to you. If not, I don't have time to hear you out."
Jessa looked shocked, "Francis, what are you talking about? What truth about that night? Are you accusing me of lying to everyone?"
Francis didn't say anything, but his silence was an admission.
Jessa's tears immediately started to flow, "Francis, do I need to lie about my virginity?"
Francis looked at Jessa coldly, realizing he hadn't known how malicious she had become beneath her innocent exterior.
Francis said, "I now suspect that your claim of almost being assaulted by that man was also staged by you. Jessa, no matter how well you cover up what you've done, there will always be traces."
Jessa's body wobbled as if she was about to faint, "Francis, how can you think of me like that? Why would I do such a thing?"
Francis glanced at his watch, having no interest in watching her act.
If it weren't for wanting to hear the truth from her, he wouldn't want to say another word to her.
"To make me and the Peterson family feel guilty towards you," he explained.
Jessa's hand, hidden in her pajama sleeve, clenched tightly.
Everything had been going so smoothly; why had it suddenly changed?
It was all because of that bitch Elissa!
If it weren't for Elissa seducing Francis, how could Francis have slept with her and be with her now?
"I can't believe you actually think of me like that," Jessa said.
Jessa suppressed her emotions and choked up, "But since I returned to the country, have I made any demands? Haven't I spoken up for you and the Peterson family?"
She added, "And about that night at the hotel, did I ask you to take responsibility? If Rainey hadn't forced me, I would never have said anything."
After hearing Jessa's words, Francis only said indifferently, "Jessa, you can choose not to tell the truth, but when I find out, I guarantee your end will be miserable."
Jessa wanted to say more, but Francis didn't give her the chance and went into his room.
Jessa didn't linger and turned back to her own room.
The moment she closed the door, all her pretense shattered.
Jessa's face twisted with rage, and her eyes, which had been full of tears, were now filled with malice.
Judging from Francis's current attitude, if the surveillance couldn't be restored, he would definitely use other means to question her and Efren.
Jessa wouldn't say anything under any condition, but Efren had the weakness of his grandmother.
Jessa couldn't just sit and wait.
If she couldn't have Francis, then neither could Elissa.
Jessa quickly composed herself, returning to her innocent and harmless appearance.
She left her room and went to Rainey's room.
Francis saw this on the hallway surveillance and sneered.
As expected, he didn't pay much attention and called Elissa on video.
Elissa had just finished some work and immediately answered Francis's video call.
"Why are you calling on video? You're not coming over?"
Francis nodded, "Yeah."
Elissa understood, given the situation at his place.
Sometimes she thought, even though having so many relatives could lead to conflicts, the Peterson family's atmosphere was relatively good.
Hope had told Elissa that as long as it didn't harm the Peterson family's reputation and interests, the family could be described as harmonious.
But Elissa's family was different; she had no family.
She suddenly felt that having parents and grandparents like Francis's, even if they were strict, was pretty good.
At least they wouldn't abandon their child or beat them to death.
Elissa said, "You should stay home and spend time with your grandfather. Work and earn money when you need to, but you don't have to keep coming to see me."
Francis deliberately lowered his voice, "Already tired of me?"
Elissa also played along, "Yeah."
"Hang up then, don't keep me from chatting with other handsome guys."
"I dare you."
Elissa laughed, "You think I won't?"
Francis was annoyed but couldn't bear to get angry with her.
He had been harsh with her before, and now that he had finally won her over, how could he be as harsh as before?
The usually cold Francis actually said, "I'm begging you."
Elissa laughed, "Since Mr. Peterson is begging me, I won't chat with anyone else. By the way, how's the surveillance situation? And what about Jessa? How do you plan to handle her?"
Francis didn't intend to hide anything. After a brief silence, he told her the truth.
He knew that whatever Jerry found out, he would tell Hope, and then Elissa would know.
If what he said didn't match, Elissa would definitely be angry.
Francis said, "The chances of recovering the surveillance are very low. If it can't be restored in a few days, I'll use other methods to investigate. As for taking responsibility for Jessa, that's nonsense. There's nothing between us."
Elissa responded with a mischievous look, "Nothing? Then why take her on a trip, feed her fruit, and hold her hand in the hospital?"
Francis thought for a moment, replaying what Elissa had said in his mind, and then explained, "The trip was out of guilt. She was sent abroad because of me and almost got assaulted. But now I think that incident might need further investigation."
He added, "And I didn't eat the fruit she fed me. You just didn't watch long enough to see the whole picture. You saw a snippet and jumped to conclusions."
"Are you blaming me now?"
"Let me finish." Francis continued, "In the hospital, she was holding onto me. She had injured her hand, so I couldn't just shake her off. That was my fault."
Elissa raised an eyebrow, "I had almost forgotten until you explained it. Wasn't it because she slipped in your house?"
Francis cursed Jerry under his breath.
Who else could have told Elissa about that?
Francis said, "I was wrong. I didn't keep my distance before. I promise it won't happen again."
"Mr. Peterson, can you really make promises? The more you promise, the more likely it is to happen."
Francis, "I only trust myself."
Elissa nodded, "Then I'll record this. Say it again. If you break your promise, how will you make it up to me?"
Francis sat up straighter, his eyes full of determination. "If I break my promise to Elissa, then I'll..."
Before he could finish, Elissa interrupted, "If you break your promise, you'll serve me for life."
Francis's eyes filled with deep amusement, "Alright, you'll be the boss at home."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
