As soon as Kevin settled in the car, Grandpa Harper called immediately, asking about his marriage progress with Jessica.
"How is it going? Have you two done the registration? Where is Jess? Let me speak to her."
"We've got the certificate, but I'm on my way to the company now. She's not with me."
Hearing this, Grandpa Harper was instantly furious and shouted incredulously, "You brat, Jess is a young little girl who just got a flash marriage with you today. She must be worried about all these things. Why don’t you stay with her? What could be so important at your work?"
Kevin stayed silent, rubbing his temples.
In the end, Grandpa Harper let it slide. After all, Kevin agreeing to this marriage was already a big step backward for him. Pushing him more might make things worse for Jessie.
"Alright, give me Jess’s number. I want to talk to her myself!"
After Kevin had sent him the number, Grandpa Harper ended the call.
On her way back, Jessie received a call from an unknown number. She answered out of curiosity, hearing Grandpa Harper’s voice from the other side.
"Hello? Is this Jessie? It's Grandpa Harper speaking."
She recognized the familiar voice and replied, "Hello, Grandpa Harper, thanks for calling. What's the matter?"
He responded cheerfully and tried his best to comfort her at the same time, "Jess, Kevin may get really busy from work sometimes, but he shouldn’t have run off right after getting the certificate. But don’t be sad, I've already scolded him for you."
"It's fine, Grandpa. Besides, I have my things to do as well."
After all, they didn’t really have much of a relationship. As long as Kevin respected her and didn't cross the line, she didn’t mind these matters.
It was enough for her that they had mutual respect and lived peacefully in the future.
"Don’t worry, Jess. If Kevin ever mistreats you, just let me know. Grandpa is always on our side."
Kevin was already in his thirties, and he didn’t even have a potential partner to marry for a long time. Now that Grandpa finally got a granddaughter-in-law by accident, he wouldn’t let anyone scare her off.
"Sure. Thank you, Grandpa." Jessie nodded obediently.
She was nodding but confused, though. Kevin was Grandpa Harper's biological grandson. They are a blood-bonded family, so why would Grandpa defend her as an outsider?
She didn’t really believe it.
When Laura remarried William, he treated her very well at first. Even his parents treated Laura like their own daughter, not even minding that she had a daughter as they praised her constantly.
Alas, not only did they fool her mother, but they also fooled her.
After getting married for a while, William began changing, along with his parents. They were quick to blame her no matter the situation and turned picky and rude to her. Due to this, Jessie deeply felt like her mother had gradually lost her energy.
In the end, blood is thicker than water; the gap between where she stood and Kevin in Grandpa Harper’s heart couldn’t be bridged.
"When you are free, I’ll have Kevin pick you up so we can all have dinner together, alright?"
"Kevin already told me about this plan before, but his hands have been full lately. It’ll probably take him some time to be free. Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’m sure we’ll have a chance for dinner soon."
"Alright, alright. Just take care then, Grandpa won't disturb you any longer."
After hanging up, Jessie decided to head home. She hadn’t got a chance to tell Laura about her flash marriage. She needed to tell her to understand everything before moving out.
Although Laura had been pushing her to marry, how could she not worry about her being her mother and raising her all this time?
When Jessie got home, William was not there. Laura was left alone at home, sweeping the floor, cleaning the living room. She looked haggard, worn down by years of neglecting herself. Although she was only in her forties, she looked much older.
Hearing the sound, Laura turned around, looking at her with worry and concern. Despite that, her words were impatient.
"Where have you been? I heard you cheated and broke up, and your father was worried sick! Don't you realize how old you are? When I was your age, you were already walking around. If you keep acting like this, who will ever want to marry you?"
This time, Jessie didn’t retort loudly as she used to. Instead, she stood there, patiently listened to her, and then gently hugged her mother.
"Don't worry, Mom. I understand."
Laura was surprised by her action. The words she wanted to say were swallowed back because of this sudden hug. After a bit, she sighed deeply.
"Jess, I'm sorry... I got too anxious just now. Your dad wasn’t pushing you away on purpose. He is the only breadwinner in this house, so of course, he feels pressured."
Jessie didn't respond, knowing her stepfather’s thoughts all too well.
Laura used to run a small shop when she was young, earning as much as William did monthly due to her friendliness and gentle looks. However, William didn’t want her exposed to the public. He persuaded her to close the shop and become a housewife instead, promising to look after both her and Jessie.
Jessie couldn't understand how her mother, a once-independent woman, could be so easily swayed by her stepfather.
She knew that most of the arguments between her and Laura were caused by William’s interference, and that’s also because she worried for her mom.
From the moment she could earn her own money, she gave Laura one thousand dollars every month. She asked her to keep eight hundred secretly in her pocket and only hand the rest to William to cover her living expenses in the house.
William didn’t know of this, so his dissatisfaction with her limited contribution to the family only increased.
Before marriage, he promised to treat Jessie like his own daughter. But afterward, all he did was criticize her.
It was her mother’s silent support that kept her from being pushed out.
Jessie knew her mom had been bearing a lot of pressure silently, and she didn’t want her to endure any longer because of her.
"Mom, I've returned to pack up. I just got married, so I’ll be moving out. My husband got me a place in Quiet River Community; it’s close to my workplace, and it has good transport there."
Laura was instantly shocked, her voice rising several decibels.
"What did you say? You got married?"
She looked at Jessie in disbelief.
Although she always told Jessie to find a husband as soon as possible, she mainly wanted her to marry a good man, a decent family.
But how could Jessie suddenly get married without any heads up?
"Don't worry, Mom. He's very good to me," Jessie said, handing over the marriage certificate to her mom as proof.
In shock, Laura opened the certificate quickly. She saw the official stamp and the handsome man in the photo, her eyebrows furrowing even further.
"Tell me, what's going on here?"
"He's been pursuing me for a while and treats me well. He's a good person, so I thought of marrying him. When he proposed to me, I agreed, and we registered our marriage. That’s it. He wanted to see you before, but he’s being plagued with work right now."
Her mom’s eyes reddened as she stared at her.
"Jess, I'm sorry. It's all my fault that you've suffered all these."