Chapter 6 Jack Sutton

• The drive was an awkward one. But luckily for us, it did not take us long to reach the airport. Lucian kept receiving phone calls from work. At last, he instructed me to stay at the door and wait for Jack while he walked off to make some calls.
• Staring at his retreating back, I snorted. I got the feeling he was calling his girlfriend.
• Jack’s plane would be arriving at nine-thirty, so I stood a little off to the side and stared at the arrival gates. After a while, I saw a familiar figure. However, it was not Jack.
• It was Howard’s mother, Susan White!
• Beside her, Shannon was helping to carry her luggage. In the end, Lucian didn’t do anything to her at the bank yesterday because it felt wrong for a man to beat up a woman. However, he didn’t know about her framing me too.
• My heart ached when I spotted the woman in her fifties beside Shannon. She had always treated me quite well, even thinking of me as her daughter-in-law. It was just that she was completely oblivious to what horrible things her son had done.
• Lost in my thoughts, I did not manage to react in time. All of a sudden, Susan caught sight of me and shot me a warm smile. She waved her hand at me and called out, “Jennifer, I’m over here!”
• I froze in surprise and subconsciously turned around to leave. However, Susan hastily chased after me. “Jennifer, why are you walking so fast? It’s me, Mrs. Coffey!”
• Once I was clear of the crowds, I twisted my head to face her. “Mrs. Coffey. Why are you here?”
• She gave me a strange look. “Didn’t you know? Howard’s injured his leg, and it’s in a cast now. I came over to visit him.”
• I made a soft “oh” in acknowledgment. Although I knew the whole truth, I did not say anything.
• “Mrs. Coffey,” Shannon piped up, “Do you know how Howard injured his leg?”
• Her question had Susan befuddled, and that was exactly her intention. Pleased that Susan had fallen into her trap, Shannon then pointed an accusing finger at me and shouted, “It’s all because of this evil woman! She had someone beat Howard up! Now he absolutely hates her!”
• Surprised, Susan exclaimed, “That’s impossible! Jennifer has always been very thoughtful and understanding.”
• My brows furrowed slightly while my lips twitched into a grim smile. “Mrs. Coffey, what Shannon says is true. However, there’s something she’s not telling you. That wretched son of yours wanted to mortgage the house my mother left me to get a huge sum of money for himself. And you know what? He also cheated on me with her!”
• Susan was dumbfounded at my words. Gripping my arms tightly, she looked at me with her eyes wide open and uttered, “No, that’s impossible! There must be a misunderstanding here! Jennifer, let’s go and Howard together. He’ll explain everything to you, I’m sure!”
• I shook my head and pried her fingers off my arm. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Coffey, but Howard and I will never get back together. There’s nothing left between us but hate now!”
• Shannon tugged Susan away and sneered at me. “Mrs. Coffey, don’t listen to her! Everything out of that woman’s lips is a lie. In the past few years, Howard managed to earn enough money to buy a house. That greedy woman wanted to claim it as her own! Thankfully, he found out in time and stopped her!”
• “Shannon Gott, you’re utterly shameless!” My face was pale with anger at this point. But Shannon was not done as she continued, “Mrs. Coffey, you should probably stop trying to push her into meeting Howard. Otherwise, he might just kill her. The man who injured Howard? It was her lover! They plotted together to steal Howard’s house!”
• After Susan heard what Shannon said, she stared at me in disbelief. “Jennifer, is that true?”
• I sighed heavily, not wanting to explain further. When it came down to it, Susan and Howard were still mother and son. Hence, there was no way she would believe me over him.
• “Mrs. Coffey, I still have matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave now.” Taking one last look at the woman I had thought I would someday call “Mom,” I brushed past her and left.
• “Look at her, Mrs. Coffey, she must be feeling guilty!”
• Behind me, I could hear Shannon continuing her efforts in turning Susan against me. Yet, I did not feel the slightest bit of emotion. By this point, I was growing numb to all this.
• “Jennifer!” Right as I was about to return to the airport entrance, a low and annoyed voice rang out from the road beside me. “I’ve already gotten Grandpa. What are you doing over there?”
• Raising my head, I noticed Lucian standing with an elderly man, and the former was frowning deeply at me.
• Contrary to the young man beside him, the elderly man had a wide smile on his face.
• This was Lucian’s grandfather, Jack Sutton of the prominent Sutton family!
• I mentally berated myself for getting caught up in the Shannon-and-Howard drama that I had forgotten I was supposed to be waiting for Jack!
• Worried for his grandfather’s safety, Lucian had mobilized an entire convoy to protect Jack. Every single one of them was a newly-imported luxury car and gleamed brightly. Beside each car were two men in black suits. The impressive sight was catching a lot of attention from the rest of the people at the airport.
• Lucian’s Lincoln was right in the middle of the convoy, with the back door readily opened for Jack. However, he apparently refused to get in without me and insisted on waiting. Smiling, he gestured for me to hurry up. “Jennifer, come over quickly!”
• I hastened over to hold his arm. Satisfied, he ducked into the car before patting the seat beside him. “Come and sit beside me, Jennifer.”
• Even Lucian was getting a little jealous of how nicely Jack was treating me. I could see him shooting me glares from the corner of my eyes.
• “Jennifer!” A surprised shout came from behind me just as I was about to enter the car.
• Looking back, I saw Susan staring at me in shock. For the slightest moment, I hesitated. Then, I wrapped my arm around Lucian’s bicep and plastered a brilliant smile on my face. “This is the man Shannon was referring to earlier. Mrs. Coffey, do you seriously think I’ll care about your son’s house when I have this?”
• Obviously, nobody would care about that little bit of money when they were already with someone as wealthy as Lucian.
• Doubt entered the older woman’s eyes, and I watched as she interrogated Shannon, whose face was turning crimson. Shannon then turned to scowl at me viciously. Scoffing loudly, I entered the car and ignored the two of them.
• After that, Lucian made his way to the driver’s seat and sat down. I saw the bodyguards climb into their own cars before the whole convoy moved off.
• Ignoring both Susan and Shannon’s astonished expressions, I turned to the elderly man beside me and gave him a warm smile. Jack pulled my hand over to him and patted it gently. “Jennifer, I’ve missed you so much!”
• Even I had no idea why Jack liked me so much. Despite that, warmth rose in me at how much he cared. On the way back to Lucian’s house, Jack asked me about how I had been recently. I told him about random things that had happened to me, even weaving Lucian into parts of my story. This was so that Jack would think Lucian and I were actually dating.
• “You damn brat, you finally did something right!” Jack scolded Lucian after listening to my half-truths.
• All Lucian did was grin at him in response. When Jack was not looking, Lucian gave me a nod, indicating that I had done a good job.
• When we got back to Lucian’s house, he suggested Jack rest up first. However, the elderly man tugged me over to the couch and said, “Jennifer, do you mind playing chess with me? It’s been so long since I’ve played a game with you.”
• To be honest, I was feeling rather nostalgic too. I could remember back when I was younger, he would always drag me to have a game of chess with him whenever I went over to the Sutton family home. It was only later that I realized he was using chess as an excuse for me to stay by his side.