<b>Chapter </b><b>568</b>
<b>Rowan </b><b>was </b><b>only </b><b>this </b><b>patient </b><b>when </b><b>dealing with </b><b>Jenny</b><b>. </b><b>Although </b><b>he </b><b>couldn’t </b><b>see </b><b>Jenny </b><b>and </b><b>could </b><b>only </b><b>hear </b><b>her </b><b>voice </b><b>on </b><b>the </b><b>phone</b><b>, </b><b>he </b><b>could </b><b>imagine </b><b>how </b><b>heartbroken </b><b>she </b><b>must </b><b>be</b><b>.</b>
<b>She </b><b>was </b><b>a </b><b>woman </b><b>who </b><b>could </b><b>effortlessly </b><b>elicit </b><b>sympathy </b><b>from </b><b>others</b><b>.</b>
<b>“</b><b>He </b><b>sees </b><b>you </b><b>only </b><b>as </b><b>a </b><b>sister</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Rowan </b><b>rified </b><b>further</b><b>.</b>
<b>Jenny’s </b><b>voice </b><b>seemed </b><b>to </b><b>crack </b><b>with </b><b>tears</b><b>. </b><b>“</b><b>Did </b><b>he </b><b>really </b><b>say </b><b>that</b><b>? </b><b>Did </b><b>he really </b><b>say </b><b>there’s </b><b>no </b><b>room </b><b>for </b><b>a </b><b>third </b><b>person </b><b>at </b><b>Gxy </b><b>Vi</b><b>?</b><b>”</b>
<b>When </b><b>she </b><b>decided </b><b>to </b><b>return </b><b>to </b><b>Jipsburg </b><b>City</b><b>, </b><b>she </b><b>had </b><b>nned </b><b>to </b><b>live </b><b>with </b><b>Joe</b><b>. </b><b>She </b><b>wanted </b><b>to </b><b>see </b><b>him </b><b>daily </b><b>and </b><b>understand </b><b>how </b><b>het </b><b>felt </b><b>about </b><b>Skr</b><b>.</b>
<b>She </b><b>wondered </b><b>if </b><b>Joe </b><b>only </b><b>married </b><b>Skr </b><b>to </b><b>make </b><b>Gloria </b><b>happy</b><b>, </b><b>not </b><b>because </b><b>he </b><b>genuinely </b><b>liked </b><b>her</b><b>.</b>
<b>But </b><b>now</b><b>, </b><b>Joe </b><b>had </b><b>outright </b><b>rejected </b><b>her</b><b>. </b><b>It </b><b>proved </b><b>he </b><b>cared </b><b>more </b><b>about </b><b>Skr</b><b>.</b>
<b>“</b><b>Yes</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Rowan </b><b>confirmed</b><b>.</b>
<b>Jenny </b><b>burst </b><b>into </b><b>tears</b><b>. </b><b>“</b><b>Rowan</b><b>, </b><b>is </b><b>Skr </b><b>really </b><b>that </b><b>amazing</b><b>? </b><b>Is </b><b>she </b><b>worth </b><b>him </b><b>hurting </b><b>me </b><b>just to </b><b>protect </b><b>her</b><b>? </b><b>He </b><b>doesn’t </b><b>want </b><b>me </b><b>staying </b><b>at </b><b>Gxy </b><b>Vi </b><b>because </b><b>he’s </b><b>afraid </b><b>Skr </b><b>might </b><b>misunderstand</b><b>. </b><b>Even </b><b>before </b><b>Skr </b><b>said </b><b>anything</b><b>, </b><b>he </b><b>had </b><b>already </b><b>preemptively </b><b>excluded </b><b>me</b><b>. </b><b>He’s </b><b>clearly </b><b>protecting </b><b>Skr</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>Rowan </b><b>was </b><b>momentarily </b><b>at </b><b>a </b><b>loss </b><b>for </b><b>words</b><b>. </b><b>“</b><b>Even </b><b>without </b><b>Skr</b><b>, </b><b>you </b><b>and </b><b>Joe </b><b>would </b><b>never </b><b>work</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>“</b><b>I </b><b>have </b><b>other </b><b>things </b><b>to </b><b>take </b><b>care </b><b>of</b><b>. </b><b>I </b><b>hope </b><b>you </b><b>don’t </b><b>let </b><b>Joe </b><b>know </b><b>I</b>
<b>called </b><b>you</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Jenny </b><b>said </b><b>before </b><b>hanging </b><b>up</b><b>.</b>
<b>Rowan </b><b>stared </b><b>at </b><b>his </b><b>phone</b><b>. </b><b>After </b><b>a </b><b>moment</b><b>, </b><b>he </b><b>clicked </b><b>his </b><b>tongue </b><b>in </b><b>frustration</b><b>.</b>
<b>When </b><b>Natalie </b><b>called</b><b>, </b><b>Skr </b><b>had </b><b>just </b><b>started </b><b>her </b><b>workday </b><b>and </b><b>was </b><b>preparing </b><b>for </b><b>her </b><b>tasks</b><b>.</b>N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
<b>“</b><b>Skr</b><b>, </b><be </b><b>over </b><b>to </b><b>my </b><b>apartment </b><b>after </b><b>work </b><b>today</b><b>. </b><b>I’m </b><b>off </b><b>today </b><b>and </b><b>don’t </b><b>want to </b><b>have </b><b>dinner </b><b>alone</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>“</b><b>Sure</b><b>, </b><b>I’ll </b><b>bring </b><b>dinner </b><b>tonight</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>“</b><b>I’ll </b><b>be </b><b>waiting </b><b>for </b><b>you</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>On </b><b>his </b><b>way </b><b>to </b><b>the </b><bpany</b><b>, </b><b>Joe </b><b>nced </b><b>at </b><b>his </b><b>phone</b><b>. </b><b>As </b><b>expected</b><b>, </b><b>there </b><b>were </b><b>no </b><b>messages </b><b>from </b><b>Skr</b><b>.</b>
<b>This </b><b>only </b><b>confirmed </b><b>his </b><b>assessment </b><b>that </b><b>Skr </b><b>was </b><b>indeed</b>
<b>heartless</b><b>.</b>
<b>However</b><b>, </b><b>there </b><b>were </b><b>a </b><b>few </b><b>missed </b><b>calls</b><b>.</b>
<b>The </b><b>calls </b><b>were </b><b>from </b><b>Jeremy</b><b>.</b>
<b>Jeremy </b><b>wouldn’t </b><b>call </b><b>unless </b><b>it </b><b>was </b><b>something </b><b>important</b><b>. </b><b>Hence, </b><b>Joe </b><b>returned </b><b>the </b><b>call</b><b>.</b>
<b>When </b><b>the </b><b>line </b><b>connected</b><b>, </b><b>Joe </b><b>asked</b><b>, </b><b>“</b><b>Is </b><b>something </b><b>wrong</b><b>?</b><b>”</b>
<b>“</b><b>I </b><b>was </b><b>looking </b><b>for </b><b>you </b><b>to </b><b>reach </b><b>Skr</b><b>. </b><b>After </b><b>you </b><b>missed </b><b>my </b><b>call</b><b>, </b><b>I </b><b>managed </b><b>to </b><b>get </b><b>in </b><b>touch </b><b>with </b><b>her </b><b>this </b><b>morning</b><b>, </b><b>and </b><b>the </b><b>matter </b><b>is </b><b>resolved</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Jeremy </b><b>replied </b><b>briefly</b><b>, </b><b>leaving </b><b>out </b><b>the </b><b>details</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>There </b><b>was </b><b>an </b><b>unspoken </b><b>understanding </b><b>among </b><b>them</b><b>. </b><b>For </b><b>straightforward </b><b>issues</b><b>, </b><b>there </b><b>was </b><b>no </b><b>need </b><b>for </b><b>borate</b>
<b>Chapter </b><b>568</b>
<b>3/3</b>
<b>exnations</b><b>.</b>
<b>Joe </b><b>now </b><b>recalled </b><b>that </b><b>Jeremy </b><b>had </b><b>mentioned </b><b>Skr </b><b>earlier</b><b>.</b>
<b>“</b><b>Looking </b><b>for </b><b>Skr</b><b>? </b><b>What’s </b><b>up</b><b>?</b><b>” </b><b>Joe </b><b>asked</b><b>.</b>
<b>Jeremy </b><b>was </b><b>somewhat </b><b>surprised </b><b>but </b><b>still </b><b>truthfully </b><b>exined </b><b>how </b><b>Annabelle </b><b>had </b><b>tried </b><b>to </b><b>deceive </b><b>him</b><b>.</b>
<b>In </b><b>the </b><b>end</b><b>, </b><b>he </b><b>praised </b><b>Skr’s </b><b>skills</b><b>. </b><b>“</b><b>Skr </b><b>is </b><b>impressive</b><b>. </b><b>I </b><b>just </b><b>spoke </b><b>briefly </b><b>with </b><b>Mr. </b><b>Gardner </b><b>Senior</b><b>, </b><b>and </b><b>even </b><b>he </b><b>had </b><b>some </b><b>gaps </b><b>in </b><b>his </b><b>knowledge </b><b>about </b><b>this</b><b>. </b><b>He </b><b>didn’t </b><b>fully </b><b>understand</b><b>. </b><b>But </b><b>Skr </b><b>was </b><b>able </b><b>to </b><b>determine </b><b>the details </b><b>from </b><b>the </b><b>photos</b><b>. </b><b>You </b><b>should </b><b>cherish </b><b>her</b><b>.</b><b>”</b>
<b>Jeremy </b><b>was </b><b>about </b><b>to </b><b>remind </b><b>Joe </b><b>not </b><b>to </b><b>be </b><b>manipted</b><b>, </b><b>but </b><b>then </b><b>he </b><b>recalled </b><b>Skr’s </b><b>words</b><b>. </b><b>All </b><b>confusion </b><b>ultimately </b><b>depended </b><b>on </b><b>the </b><b>strength </b><b>of </b><b>one’s </b><b>willpower</b><b>.</b>
<b>Over </b><b>the </b><b>years</b><b>, </b><b>many </b><b>people </b><b>had </b><b>tried </b><b>to </b><b>drug </b><b>Joe</b><b>, </b><b>but </b><b>he </b><b>had </b><b>always </b><b>resisted</b><b>. </b><b>He </b><b>relied </b><b>almost </b><b>entirely </b><b>on </b><b>his </b><b>willpower</b><b>.</b>
<b>Even </b><b>at </b><b>the </b><b>charity </b><b>g </b><b>a </b><b>few </b><b>days </b><b>ago</b><b>, </b><b>he </b><b>was </b><b>able </b><b>to </b><b>see </b><b>through </b><b>Annie’s </b><b>trick </b><b>and </b><b>ended </b><b>up </b><b>with </b><b>Skr</b><b>.</b>