Chapter 39
The last time he saw Lillian was about two years ago.
Back then, she was a lively kid. No one would’ve ever thought she was associated with Autism.
“It wasn’t an overnight thing. It’s been building up for years,” Sally said, her face clouded with worry and pain. “I heard her dad started treating her terribly after her mom went to prison. Beating and yelling at her became the norm.”
A cold, dangerous look flashed in Jaxon’s eyes. “I only knew her husband was a gambler. I didn’t realize he was abusive, too.”
That’s what the director told me. It was said that he hit Lillian all the time,” Sally sighed softly. “Lillian has such a rough life.”
Hearing her sigh, Jaxon turned to look at her profile.
The way she genuinely cared about others really struck him.
Sally seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head away.
Jaxon quickly looked away, staring straight ahead.
From what I’ve heard, Sienna’s sentence is about to be carried out…” He skipped over the details and then asked seriously, “Are you planning to keep Lillian with you long–term?”
“Yes! Her dad abandoned her ages ago. I adopted her from the orphanage. Once I’m officially divorced and out of the Zale family, she’ll be my foster daughter in name,” said Sally.
She made a point to put extra emphasis on those two words, adopted daughter.
Jaxon hadn’t seen that coming.
He thought she was just taking Lillian in for a while. It turned out that she was actually adopting Lillian.
Jaxon said, “If nothing unexpected happens, Brad is going to have someone look into Lillian. I’ve already tried to keep things under wraps, but I can’t promise every rum mor will be shut down. If he finds out anything and comes asking, just stick to the story that Lillian is my daughter.”
Sally froze for a second. “Mr. Zale, are you…”
She didn’t dare finish her sentence.
“If you admit to adopting her now, it’ll only make your divorce messier. No point in making things harder for yourself.” His tone was calm, his face unreadable.
“But Brad has been having people watch Windmere Estates. If he really digs into this, his people will definitely notice me bringing Lillian home, How am I supposed to explain that?” asked Sally.
“I don’t have time to look after her, so you’re helping me out. That’s all you need to tell him.” Jaxon’s expression was dead serious.
Sally stared at him, completely stunned.
Just like that, he had taken on all the problems she was supposed to deal with.
A wave of restless emotion surged up inside her.
She looked at him, eyes full of gratitude. “Mr. Zale, thank you for helping me again and again. I really don’t know how to thank you enough.”
Their eyes met, and for a split second, Sally thought she saw something complicated flicker in Jaxon’s gaze,
His gaze unconsciously dropped from her eyes to her lips.
Jaxon’s lashes gave a sudden, involuntary tremble.
“Mr. Zale, is something wrong?” asked Sally.
Sally noticed he kept staring at her without saying a word, and curiosity sparked in her eyes.
“Don’t drink again next time.” Jaxon quickly looked away, refusing to meet her gaze.
Just hearing him bring it up made Sally’s heart skip a beat.
The memory of that night flashed vividly in her mind. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t shake it.
1/3
11:54 AM
Chapter 39
“Okay.” Sally didn’t dare keep talking to him, and with things at the clinic waiting for her, she hurriedly said goodbye and got out of the car.
Jaxon watched her walk away, his eyes suddenly growing darker.
He quickly reached up and brushed his fingers over his lips.
Until now, no one knew about the kiss they shared, not even Sally…
She slept like a baby that night. Even if she was half–awake, she probably wouldn’t remember a thing.
Sally stopped by the clinic to meet with the workers and go over which areas needed to be renovated.
The contract had been delivered and signed a couple of days ago, but she still hadn’t met the landlord in person.
The workers said it would take about a week to finish, so Sally planned to use that time to get everything else the clinic needed.
All the paperwork was done, so once the renovations were finished, she could open for business.
The next evening, Howard called and asked her to come by and check on his recovery again.
Sally grabbed her medical kit and headed straight to the Zale family estate.
As Sally reached the front gate of the Zale family estate, she overheard two people talking.
It was Brad and Lauren.
Right then, in the living room.
“Are you sure that’s what he said?” asked Lauren.
“Yeah!” Brad replied seriously. “Everyone was there. He admitted right in front of us that the little girl was his daughter.”
“So, did you have someone look into it? Who did Jaxon have the kid with?” asked Lauren.
The shock in Lauren’s eyes suddenly deepened.
“We checked but came up with nothing. The only thing we found out is that the kid is living at Windmere Estates.”
Brad’s face turned grim, his whole vibe getting downright intimidating.
“Windmere Estates? Isn’t that Sally’s place? Why would Jaxon’s daughter live there?” Lauren’s brow furrowed. “Don’t tell me there’s something going on between Jaxon and Sally…”
“No way!” Brad shot down Lauren’s suspicion right away. “That kid is definitely from some other woman, not Sally.”
“Of course, I know the kid can’t be from Jaxon and Sally,” Lauren said, her voice cold. “But if Sally is helping Jaxon with the kid, maybe there’s something fishy going on between them. Otherwise, why would she help him out?” Lauren’s face was as dark as it could get.
At this point, Sally couldn’t hold back anymore.
This was exactly how rumors got started.
It looked like Jaxon really saw this coming. No wonder he made sure they had their story straight ahead of time.
Sally didn’t hesitate for a second and strode right in. “If you don’t know what’s going on, quit running your mouth behind my back.”
The second she stepped into the living room, the two people on the couch whipped their heads around to look at her.
“What are you doing here all of a sudden?” Lauren looked like she’d just been caught red–handed, her eyes darting everywhere, not daring to meet Sally’s gaze
“I came to check on Howard’s health, but instead I walked in on you two gossiping.” Sally said, a cold smile tugging at her lips. “If you’re so curious or have something to ask, just say it to my face!”
“Sally, we were just talking about Jaxon’s daughter. We didn’t mention you at all… Lauren put on the airs but shot Sally an annoyed look.
Brad strode over, grabbed Sally by the wrist, and started pulling her toward the backyard. “Come with me. I need to talk to you.”
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