Chapter 9

Once she got over her disappointment, Jade calmly completed the discharge procedures and went back home. After that, she entered the bedroom and pulled the wardrobe open.

She did not bring many things when she moved over and stayed with Zephaniah. So, in less than half an hour, she managed to pack all of her stuff into two luggage bags. However, some of her overcoats were too heavy and thick, so she tossed them back into the wardrobe.

Jade looked at the apartment that she had stayed in with Zephaniah for the last time, and she found that it was as if their memories filled every corner. She left the key on the shoe shelf. Then, with her luggage bags trailing behind her, she left without the slightest bit of reluctance.

Ever since the woman picked up Jade’s phone call to Zephaniah and since their meet up last night, Jade knew that the woman likely knew everything. Jade may not have been able to make the man warm up to her after three years, but that did not mean other women were incapable of doing so.

Besides, the marriage was a mistake in the first place. She should have just ended it earlier.

After she left Zephaniah’s residence, Jade brought her luggage to her mother’s home. She did not want to live with Zephaniah anymore, but she could not afford to live in a hotel with her current financial situation.

Jade rang the doorbell but got no response even after she waited for a long time. She frowned and called her mother.

The call soon went through.

Jade heard a noise from her mother’s side, and she could not help but ask, “Mom, you’re not at home?”

Jade’s mother spoke falteringly, “Hmm? I’m not. I’m exercising outside. Jade, is this about something important? If it isn’t, I’ll call you later.”

Jade refused to believe her, and she seized the chance to press for answers. “Mom, where are you exercising? I’ll go over and find you.”

“It’s best that you don’t. The place is quite far away.”

While Jade’s mother continued to speak vaguely, Jade keenly noticed someone shouting from the other end of the phone,

“Hey! The customer has already left! Why are you here making calls and not tidying up the table?!”

“Mom, I heard that!” Jade squashed down the fire burning in her and calmly said, “Give me the address.”

Jade left her luggage in the care of the family living across her mother’s house. She gave the family five hundred dollars and quickly took a taxi to the restaurant her mother had told her about. When she entered the restaurant, she saw that her mother was cleaning a table with her back bent.

Here was the wife of South City’s top judge, serving others in a restaurant despite the fact that she had been living comfortably for most of her life. Jade felt tears pool in her eyes when she witnessed this, and she could not even move. “Mom.”

“You’re here, Jade?” When Jade’s mother saw her, she felt a little embarrassed. She quickly cleaned up the table, informed her team leader that she was leaving for a little while, and went to a corner with Jade.

Jade saw that her mother’s left hand had become red and swollen. She grabbed her mother’s arm and asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing. I just scalded myself a little.”

Jade's mother tried her best to hide the truth and said that she was not bothered by it, but Jade could not bear the sight. She dragged her mother out of the restaurant, called a taxi, and headed toward the hospital.

Fortunately, she made the right decision. The doctors told her it was a major burn. If they did not treat it properly, it would probably start festering.

“Mom, didn’t I ask you to stay at home?” With the medication she was given, Jade treated her mother’s burn. Her sobs choked her when she spoke, “It’s not like I can’t afford to take care of you.”

“I’m quite free at home. Besides, if I work in the restaurant, I can earn a few hundred dollars a day.”

Jade's mother was unable to stop herself from crying as she said, “If your father hadn’t done something so stupid, we would still be living happily now. I wouldn’t have to be so anxious every day to the point that I can’t sleep.”

“Quit your job. Don’t go there again. If you’re running out of money, I can give you some. No matter how bad our situation is, I will not let you suffer. I’ll think of a way to handle dad’s situation as well,” Jade said.

“How can I let you bear such a heavy burden?” Jade’s mother felt comforted by her daughter’s thoughtfulness, but she wept again because of the money. “Two million dollars… Just let your dad die in prison. We shouldn’t care about him anymore!”

Jade knew that her mother was just speaking out of anger at that moment. She was still worried about her father. “Mom, I promise you that I’ll get the missing money before the deadline. Stop worrying so much.”

Jade's mother came from a rich family, and she got to know Jade’s father when she was eighteen years old. She married into the Redfern family when she was twenty years old, and after she gave birth to Jade, she focused on taking care of her. Jade’s father was the one solely responsible for putting food on the table, and now that he was gone, she panicked. Luckily, her daughter was calm enough.

Jade's mother could only nod when she heard what her daughter said.

After getting a week’s worth of medication from the pharmacy in the hospital, Jade left with her mother. But right after they got out of the elevator, they saw an unexpected scene.