Chapter 23

Leandre is in his room, working on paperwork. He took the rest of the unfinished office work home with him. His busy night was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Please come in," he says.
Cheska entered as the door opened.

"What are you up to, Uncle?" she asked.

"I'm finishing up some office work," he replied.

"Really? As far as I know, that's only done at the office, so how did it get here at home? Aren't you tired? You should rest. Mommy told me you have a fever, so this is what I'll come to," Cheska said as she ate ice cream.

Leandre did nothing but put his work aside. He knows that if he doesn't stop working, Cheska will insist.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"Your wife is downstairs with a baby boy, they say it's her son. Does she have a son?" Cheska asked, smiling. "And the boy is so cute I gave him ice cream. I'll tell mommy and daddy to give me a baby brother."


Leandre laughed, but what surprised him was why Jade came to see him today. So Leandre went out, with Cheska close behind. He was also perplexed as to why the house was quiet and why they seemed at ease when they saw Jade. He noticed her in the living room, where she was facing her mother, who was on her phone. The boy smiled at him, and he returned the smile.

"Jade, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nothing. I didn't come here to fight; I came to visit," Jade replied, smiling.

Leandre smirked. Why are people suddenly being nicer to Jade? Emerald then emerged from the kitchen, carrying food.

"Eat first, Jade," Emerald said with a smile, setting the food on the table.

"Thank you very much, Emerald."

Emerald sat beside him.

"Do you still live in the province?"

"Yes."

"That's right, and thanks for the mangoes and raw bananas," Emerald said.

"What other fruits do you have in your province, Jade?" his mother asked.

"Quite a bit, mommy," Jade replied.


Leandre followed his mother as she stood up to find out what was going on.
"What's up, mommy? Why are you suddenly being nice to Jade?" Leandre asked.

"We have already discussed that from now on he will let you do whatever you want because he said that what happened was really his fault, and then we can forgive him and stop being angry with him, and we will let him visit here at home, because who are we not to do that?" his mother replied.

"That's why the atmosphere is so good," Leandre explained.


His mother fixed her gaze on him.
"We want to help you move on with Jade. We want you to forget your feelings for her and that you see her all the time. We don't want to see you avoiding her who gave you depression. Just keep living. At the end of this path of yours, you will find the woman for you waiting for you there," his mother said with a smile.


He is optimistic. Leandre hopes he's happy. For the first time, he felt at ease when he saw Jade. When he saw her, he was no longer enraged. He might have forgiven himself and Jade.

His mother kissed him goodbye before walking into his room. Leandre went to the back of the house, near the pool. He was sitting on a plastic chair, looking out at the clear water of the pool.


"How are you doing? Emerald told me you have a fever," Jade said as she moved away from him.


It was the first time they had spoken calmly to each other.

"It didn't work because I took two tablets," explained Leandre. "Has your father returned to the province yet?"


"Yes, we're from there as well, and I was thinking of coming out here again because you know I get bored easily in the province, but I'm not going to disturb you. Your family spoke to me well, so I gave them what they wanted to happen. I'm happy because I feel I hope they don't hate me anymore," Jade replied.

"It's good. So that we can live in peace. That we don't hate each other anymore. Have a seat, Jade. I'm not that bad to let you just stand there until we finish talking." said Leandre.
Jade sat in the seat next to him.
"Thank you."
Silence prevailed between them both. Leandre looked at the sky.
"I'm sorry. The sin I committed against you is so great. No matter what I do if I sue and ask for forgiveness, I will not be able to correct my sin." Jade said out of nowhere.
"I don't know what I can answer to our conversation like this. After what happened, I just now became calm in front of you. I don't understand why all this happened to us. I used to love you so much, right? But why did you fool me and hurt me face-to-face? If you didn't tell me about your past with the father of your child, I would still accept it, but seeing you had sex with another man is not acceptable. But anyway, it's all over and what should happen has happened so it's not right for us to talk anymore. All I want is closure and for you to sign immediately if I ask for a divorce. My life is not like this forever. I want also be happy." Leandre said firmly.
Jade was silent and suddenly ran into the house without telling her. A woman who is guilty and has committed a great sin will not feel comfortable talking about her sin. So Leandre entered the house and went straight to his room.
After Alondra ate, she washed the dishes and went into her room, but she found out that Mathilde had not slept.

It folds clothes and things are placed inside the bag.
"Why are you still awake?" she asked.
"I can't sleep yet. I'm still organizing my things for school," answered Mathilde.
And he saw her sniffing.
"Why are you crying? What's wrong with you?" she asked and sat next to Mathilde.
"I was overwhelmed by the feeling that this is all my things and I go to school. Because of all the days that God has made, I have only now experienced having something like this," answered Mathilde.
Alondra forced a laugh.
"You don't have to cry all the time. Just be happy because our life will continue like this. So all I want is for you to study hard." Alondra said.
"Yes. I'll study hard and I'll be good." Mathilde said and lay down on the bed with her eyes closed.
Alondra nuzzled it and kissed it on the forehead.

Leandre left the room and went into the kitchen because he was not going to be visited by sleep. He noticed the wall clock had passed ten o'clock in the evening. So he grabbed a beer from the fridge and cracked it open. He had many thoughts while drinking. His life would have been more peaceful if he had talked to Jade sensibly earlier.


"Are you still awake?" Nicholas asked him.
"Damn you! Why do you suddenly come in without saying anything?" he asked.
He was so engrossed in his drinking that he didn't realize that Nicholas came inside. He wondered why he was here now.
"I was here at your mom's house a while ago," replied Nicholas and took a beer from the fridge.
"Why didn't I know?"
"How would you know? You were in your room and they said you had a fever," answered Nicholas who sat next to him.
"What do you need from me?"
"I don't need anything from you. I will talk to Geo," replied Nicholas.
"Why?"

"It's all about the business proposal, and I found out that the sister and her family will be staying here permanently," Nicholas explained.
"Yes, have you spoken with Geo?"
"It's over. Earlier in the back house. And your ex-wife is also here? You two are backed with each other? Because Emerald and Aunt Lucille is fine with her staying in here."

"They've already talked about not interrupting me and respecting my decision, and Jade and I have also talked about not yelling, and she admitted she was at fault," Nicholas responded.

"Of course. She's the one who cheated on you, and now you'll have no trouble getting a divorce from her just in case," Nicholas said.

Leandre just nodded. Then they noticed that Jade entered the kitchen wearing only a thin night tie.
"I have to leave; take care, Leandre," Nicholas said, winking at him.
He rushed out of the kitchen and walked right past Jade as if he didn't recognize her.
"Are you going to get something, Jade?" Leandre asked.

But Jade didn't seem to hear anything, instead staring at him as if she was about to swallow him whole.

"What's the matter?" he asked once more.

"Huh? Nothing. I just want to drink water. You're here, so I'll just go back to my room," Jade responded, puzzled.

"Get some water from the fridge; I'm done with what I'm drinking," Leandre said as he walked away from the kitchen.