Chapter 404 Warmth
"Mom." James grinned and called out to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn froze, totally caught off guard. James showing up out of the blue was a lot for her to handle, especially since she still felt guilty about everything. By the time she snapped out of it, her eyes were already red, and her voice shook with a mix of guilt and excitement. "James, about what happened before, we owe you an apology."
James shrugged it off. "Mom, that's all in the past. I don't blame you and Dad."
Kaitlyn's eyes welled up even more, her guilt deepening.
She hadn't been feeling well these past few days. She wasn't a heartless person. When James was seriously hurt and needed care, she and Dennis had forced him to sign the divorce papers. It was a pretty cruel move.
"James, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Kaitlyn grabbed James's hand, tears streaming down her face.
James had felt some resentment, but seeing Kaitlyn cry like that, filled with guilt, made it disappear. He quickly said, "Mom, please don't cry. I'm back now. Besides, Jennifer and I never even got divorced. Just think of it as a business trip." He tried his best to comfort Kaitlyn.
Jennifer, standing nearby, felt a lump in her throat too. She held Kaitlyn's hand and said, "Mom, James is back now. Our family will be fine from now on, and we won't be separated again."
"That's good to hear." Kaitlyn nodded quickly, breathing a sigh of relief.
Just then, Dennis's voice came from inside the house, "Kaitlyn, who's here? Why are you taking so long to drop the trash?"
Dennis came out of the study and saw James at the doorway. His eyes went wide with surprise.
He trembled as he quickly walked up, grabbing James's hand tightly. "James, you're finally back. I was such a fool. I made a mistake. Please don't hold it against me. I've regretted it so much these past few days. Jennifer hasn't been eating because of you and has lost a lot of weight. I really regret it. I'm so foolish!"
Dennis was full of regret and remorse.
He was about to slap himself, but James quickly stopped him. "Dad, stop it. You and Mom did it for Jennifer's sake. I get it. Now that I'm healed, let's leave the past behind!"
With James's words, they finally noticed that the scars on his face had disappeared, and he looked even better than before. They were all shocked.
"James, how did your face recover?" Dennis asked, astonished. The doctors had said burns that bad were impossible to heal. But now James was completely fine. It was unbelievable.
James wasn't about to tell them the truth and cause unnecessary worry. He just made up a story about meeting a mysterious doctor who used special medicine to heal his face.
Dennis and Kaitlyn found it hard to believe, but they didn't push it. To them, how he was healed didn't matter. What mattered was that James was back and looking like his old self, and Jennifer wouldn't be as distressed anymore. That was enough.
James's return was a huge surprise for everyone. They were all super excited and went out to buy a ton of food, prepping a big meal for him. They kept serving him food, treating him like their own son.
James felt the genuine care from Dennis and Kaitlyn, a far cry from how they used to look down on him. It gave him a warm, homey feeling he'd never experienced before.
Jennifer looked at him with such gentle eyes, like he was her whole world. This sense of home made James really happy, and he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Sure, he was born into a wealthy family, but he'd never felt this kind of warmth. The Smith Family might have been rich, but it was cold. Relationships were full of schemes and plots, not the pure connections you find in regular families.
The bigger the wealthy family, the more ruthless it got. Especially since James was so outstanding, he got the most jealousy.
The meal dragged on for over an hour, with James eating more than his fair share. Luckily, he had a big appetite; anyone else would've been stuffed.
After the meal, Jennifer, being super considerate, went to wash the dishes, while James and Dennis chatted over tea in the living room.
As they talked, Dennis brought up the last dinner with the Leopold Family and cautiously asked James how he knew someone like Kieran, a big shot in the community.
James was a bit surprised. He didn't expect Kieran to have helped him out. Initially, he thought of Kieran as just a small-time thug. But since Kieran had helped save his family once, James felt he owed him a favor.
James briefly explained that he had once saved Kieran by chance, so Kieran was very respectful to him.
This explanation sounded a bit off, as Kieran's behavior that day seemed more like he was trying to please James, not just repay a favor. But Dennis now trusted James immensely and didn't dwell on it, quickly accepting his story.
Jennifer hadn't slept well the previous night. After washing the dishes, she went to rest. After sleeping for an hour and a half, she felt refreshed and went to the clinic with James.
Compared to being at home, going to the clinic made James feel much more relaxed.
When they arrived at the clinic, the staff were also very surprised to see James, especially noticing that the scars on his face were gone. They were super curious about how he had recovered so completely.
James just said he had gone abroad and used the most advanced medical techniques to heal, and since he represented authority, they didn't doubt him.
Jennifer then changed into her doctor's coat and got to work.
As soon as James came out of the consultation room, he saw a beautiful figure walking in from the entrance, making him freeze.
The next moment, the person also saw him, and her expression instantly stiffened, the lunchbox in her hand falling to the ground with a dull thud.
Immediately, she spread her arms and rushed towards James, hugging him tightly.