Redmption 183


    1/2


    Instead, Bree preferred girls who were straightforward and kind. ording to her, petite girls


    usually were petty andcked generosity. Although it wasn’t right to judge a book by its cover, Bree


    was not too far off In this case; she’d umted a lot of life experiences, and her words carried


    wisdom.


    “I can’t help you.” I was direct.


    “Why?” Jewel showed panic.


    I pursed my lips lightly. “Bree is very opinionated and not easily swayed by just anyone.”


    “But she loves you. I’m sure she’ll listen to you to some extent.” Jewel lowered her eyelids as she


    spoke. She looked pitiful. “You know my situation. I don’t know how I’d live without Chris.”


    It was funny how I didn’t see her react this way when she lost her husband. Now, she couldn’t live


    without Chris?


    “I’m d you know she loves me; that should be enough to know that she’ll never ept you.”


    Because she wanted nobody else but me to be her daughter–inw, duh.


    Jewel was at a loss for words.


    “You should fight for the happiness you desire and not rely on others, Ms. Massey.” I rose to my feet


    after


    that.


    She murmured, “Will his family ept me if the baby isn’t in the picture?”


    Hearing that, I furrowed my brows. Wasn’t I clear enough earlier?


    I had no intention of continuing the discussion, so I left


    When Lisa heard my recount on Jewel’s request, she shook her head andughed. “She’s so


    shameless.


    I pouted, “Dating Chris might be possible, but marrying into the Gildon family definitely isn’t.”


    I knew Zack and Bree well. The former cared a lot about his reputation, so Chris could settle with an


    ordinary girl as long as she had a clean record. Thetter, on the other hand, would undoubtedly


    forbid her son to be a stepdad.


    “She ran out of ideas, so she went to you. You didn’t promise her anything, did you?” asked Lisa.


    I clinked with her wine ss. “Do you think I’m dumb?”


    Lisa chuckled and shook her head. “Chris has always seemed fine to me. I wonder what happened


    to himtely.”


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    “I know it’s none of my business anymore. Enough of him. He’s a killjoy I downed the wine ss.


    The red liquid–rich and sweet, yet slightly bitter–slowly seeped into my system… Although my


    alcohol tolerance was good, a few sses of red wine were enough to get me tipsy,


    Atst, Lisa helped me out of the restaurant. She wanted to send me back to her ce, to which i


    rejected. “I wanna go back to my ce,” I mumbled.


    Lisa nced at me. “What are you up to? nning to knock on Brandon’s door?”


    I nodded with a smile. “Yeah. But I’m not sure if he’s there tonight.”


    When Lisa sent me home, I saw that Brandon’s door was shut. Thus, I went over and mmed my


    hands


    on it. “Open up, Brandon. Don’t try to hide from me. I know you’re in there.”


    2/2


    “I don’t think he’s back,” Lisa remarked after we received no response.


    “He is. He’s just avoiding me. All I did was kiss him without asking! I can’t believe he’s actually


    bothered by it,” Iined to her.


    Lisa’s eyes brightened at the revtion. “You guys kissed? And you initiated it? Maddie, did you do


    it with him?”


    “I didn’t. It was just a kiss. If we’d really gone that far and he acted this way, I would’ve been


    furious.” I shook my head as I stated, “I can’t deal with this man. He’s way too serious.”


    She was shocked. “Maddie, are you actually into Brandon?”


    “I am.” I burped. As though the alcohol had boosted my courage, I rambled, “You know, Liz? I really


    wanna strip his shirt and look at his chest muscles, then touch his abs and…”


    Before I could finish, the door was suddenly yanked open. Brandon looked squarely at me as he


    dried his


    wet hair.