After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 287

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Jeffrey’s face darkened. Just as he was about to scold Gregory, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened,

and Rebecca walked in, dressed in casual clothes.

Jeffrey turned at the sound, and when his eyes landed on the person at the door, his pupils dilated in surprise.

Rebecca... Jeffrey thought, his heart skipping a beat.

She looked thinner than before.

There was also a newfound calmness about her, as if she had weathered life's storms and cout stronger.

What has she been through during all this time?‘ Jeffrey couldn't help but worry to himself.

“Oh, Ms. Jensen, you're here!” Gregory called out, concern clear in his voice. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

“Yes,” Rebecca replied.

Gregory said, “Mr. Hanson hasn't had breakfast yet. Would you like to...”

Rebecca looked up, right into Jeffrey's intense gaze.

Their eyes met and locked.

She was cool and distant, like the moon hanging high and out of reach, while he was burning with warmth, like

sunlight breaking over the horizon.

Noticing the tension, Gregory quietly stepped out and gently closed the door behind him.

Jeffrey pressed his lips together, his voice still a bit hoarse from sleeping too long. He couldn’t bring himself to

look away from her. “You cby yesterday, didn’t you?”

What he'd sensed in that darkness hadn't been a trick of his mind.

It was really her-she’d been there.

“Mm, Rebecca said, her tone carefully restrained. Her gaze flickered over the untouched breakfast, cold and

distant. “Co ahead and eat first. Whatever you want to say, let's talk after you've finished.”

Jeffrey started eating.

He couldn't tear his gaze away from her the whole time.

She was the one who told him not to barge into her world, but now she’d walked right into his. So this didn’t

count as him crossing any lines.

“Rebecca,” Jeffrey blurted out, unable to stop himself. His voice was gentle, steeped in affection.

Rebecca lifted her eyes, her look as distant as ever, as though he were nothing more than a trivial presence in

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Chapter 287

her life.

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But Jeffrey didn’t mind. For him, having her close-even just being able to see her-was enough. Even if loving her

tore him apart, he'd welcthe pain without regret.

“How’ve you been these days?” Jeffrey asked, straightforward as ever. “Everything alright with the Quinn

family?”

Rebecca answered, her tone distant and businesslike, “I'm managing. It's under control.”

Jeffrey said, “If you need anything, just letknow.”

Rebecca said, “Eat first.”

Jeffrey said, “Okay.”

Ten minutes later, Jeffrey finished his breakfast.

Rebecca opened the door and called for Gregory. Seeing that the breakfast was all gone, Gregory finally felt a

weight lift off his shoulders. Before leaving, he leaned in and whispered to Rebecca, “Mr. Hanson usually gets

nauseous about half an hour after eating. If that happens, could you letknow?”

“Every day?” Rebecca asked, her tone unusually curious.

“Most days,” Gregory replied.

“Okay,” Rebecca replied.

She kept watching Jeffrey closely for the next thirty minutes, ready in case anything happened, but he seemed

perfectly fine the whole time.

Jeffrey glanced at Rebecca, noticing she’d said hardly two words to him since she'd walked in. After hesitating a

moment, he finally blurted out the question he probably shouldn't ask: “Did Gregory or Stanley tell you to come

see me?”

“No, Rebecca replied.

A flicker of emotion crossed Jeffrey’s eyes.

So she actually chere on her own?‘ he thought, surprised.

“Stephen Hanson toldto come,” Rebecca said, the words hitting like ice. “We had a deal before—I'm just

here to follow through.”

Jeffrey's eyes grew darker.

‘She really doesn’t care aboutat all. She won't even sparea comforting lie,” Jeffrey thought, bitterness

rising in his chest.

But since she was here, there was no way he was letting her go.

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Chapter 287

“I really missed you,” Jeffrey said, his voice low and filled with longing.

“I didn’t,” Rebecca shot back, blunt as ever.

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“I've already filed a lawsuit against Andrea Scott,” Jeffrey reported, his voice low and steady despite the

hoarseness. “For impersonating you and profiting from it. The Hanson Group's lawyers can make sure she does

serious time.”

Rebecca's tone remained flat. “Mm.”

Jeffrey said. “If there's anything you want to add, just tell me. I'll take care of it.”

Rebecca showed no interest. “This is enough.”

Seeing how detached she was from him now, Jeffrey couldn't help a twinge of pain. She used to always stick by

his side, always adored him.

Rebecca didn’t shy away from his eyes; without any nonsense, she asked directly, “Gregory and Stanley told me

you've been having a miserable month-can’t eat, can’t sleep.”

“Yeah.” Jeffrey admitted, not bothering to hide it.

“Why?” Rebecca asked.

“Because | missed you, but | couldn't see you,” Jeffrey admitted, his deep eyes filled with complicated emotion.

“That conflict and the stress of not seeing you really got to me. It started taking a toll onphysically, too.”

Rebecca hadn't expected him to be this straightforward.

In the past, he always kept things from her-partly so she wouldn't worry, partly because he just wanted her to

love him without being weighed down by anything else.

This was the first the’d ever spoken his true feelings to her so directly.

“But you really don’t have to worry,” Jeffrey said, voice flat but quietly determined. “I'll try to put myself

together. I'm not going to let things spiral.”

Rebecca sized him up, her eyes flickering over him more than once. “This is what you call putting yourself

together?”

Jeffrey was at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Gregory and Stanley were eavesdropping.

“Honestly, | thought Jeffrey would just coldly say he’s fine and push Rebecca out the door as soon as he woke

up,” Stanley whispered, having cearly just in case he needed to step in. “But he didn’t say a word.”

‘Knowing Jeffrey, he’d never be okay with Rebecca showing up just because Stephen asked... To be real, he

doesn’t want anyone else controlling Rebecca-not Stephen, not anyone but himself,” Stanley thought.

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Chapter 287

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Honestly, for Jeffrey, the only way Rebecca would ever show up is if she still cared-if spart of her heart still

missed him, still loved him and couldn't let him go.

“He might have pulled that in the past,” Gregory said, nodding like he'd seen it all before, “but trust me, that

ship has sailed.”

Stanley shot him a curious look. “How can you be sure?”

Gregory replied, with the kind of quiet authority that comes from experience, “Because Mr. Hanson knows full

well Ms. Jensen's heart isn’t with him anymore. If he keeps clinging to his old ways, he'll be lucky if she ever

even speaks to him again.”

Back when he was still living at Rebecca’s Manor, just knowing she used to spend tthere made it a little

easier for him to get through the days.

No matter where he looked, there were memories of them together everywhere.

But after he moved out, it was different-his new place didn’t have a single sign she'd ever lived there. All he had

left was his longing and those memories. Even falling asleep got so tough, he ended up needing meds just to

barely make it through the night.

“Let’s wait until they're done talking before we go back in,” Stanley said, finally feeling at ease. “It’s not the right

tto interrupt them.”

“Yeah,” Gregory agreed, sharing the sthought.

They both straightened up and turned around.

As soon as they spun around, they practically ran face-first into Mark, who'd been standing right behind

them.

Mark gave them a side-eye, like he couldn't believe the mighty assistant to the Hanson Group's CEO and the

Garcia Group boss were stooping to eavesdropping behind hospital doors.

“You didn’t see a thing,” Stanley said, whipping out a wad of bright red bills and handing them over. “And as far

as you know, we were never here.”

Mark sized up the cash.

Looked like more than a dozen crisp hundred-bill notes.

‘First offer and it’s already that high-man, they must be seriously desperate to keep this quiet,’ Mark thought,

smirking to himself.

“Yeah, looks like | can squeeze a better deal out of this, he figured, starting to plot.

“Oh, | totally saw everything,” Mark said, voice casual but with an obvious hint of gloating.

Stanley was momentarily speechless, just staring.

Gregory couldn’t even cup with a response.

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Chapter 287

Stanley gritted his teeth. “Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see anything?”

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Mark glanced at the cash in Stanley’s hand, blunt as ever. “That little bit? Not enough to maketemporarily

blind, man.”

Stanley just blinked, totally confused.

Wait, is he actually trying to haggle for a bigger bribe?’ Stanley wondered, a little stunned.

“What'll it take for you to pretend you didn’t see anything just now?” Stanley asked, trying to play it cool.

Mark didn’t even hesitate. “Five times as much.”

“Deal. What's your account number?” Stanley shot back immediately.

Mark handed it over without a word.

Stanley wired the money over in a flash-didn’t even blink.

Once Stanley saw the money had landed in Mark’s account, he shot him one last look. “Alright, the money's

yours-just remember to keep your mouth shut.”

“About what just happened...” Gregory started, then trailed off, realizing how overly serious they'd been about

the whole thing. “Honestly, even if Ms. Jensen and Mr. Hanson find out, it's not like it’s the end of the world.”

AD

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