On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 53

Just then, the door opened and Lance walked in, carrying Catherine in his arms.

Catherine leaned on his shoulder as he set her down. “I’m so sorry,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I twisted my ankle, and Lance was worried I might have fractured it, so he took me for an X-ray.”

Helen snorted. “What a convenient time to get injured.”

Catherine tried to hop on one foot but stumbled dramatically. Lance immediately caught her, one hand on her arm, the other steadying her waist. “Don’t push yourself,” he said, scooping her up effortlessly.

“I’m really fine,” Catherine protested, blushing. “You don’t have to worry so much. I’m not Amy.”

Lance gently placed her on the sofa, then pulled a box of pain-relief patches from his pocket and handed it to Helen. “Put this on her ankle.”

The housekeeper took the box and knelt down. “Where does it hurt, Ms. Brown?”

Catherine pointed to her ankle.

Helen’s finger hovered over the spot. “Here?”

“Ouch!” Catherine cried out. “Helen, please, be gentle. It hurts.”

Helen stared at her, exasperated. She hadn’t even touched her. Was she some kind of psychic healer who could inflict pain from a distance?

Lance frowned, shooting a harsh glare at Jessica, as if blaming her for his housekeeper’s attitude. Jessica, who had been watching silently, was baffled. Was everything her fault now?

Lance walked over, unbuttoned the bottom button of his suit jacket, and knelt down. He placed Catherine’s foot on his knee and gently pressed. “Here?”

Jessica’s gaze was distant. “That’s what I did six months ago,” she said with a humorless laugh.

The housekeeper fell silent, her expression softening with pity. “If you can’t live like this, then don’t. Your mother raised you to be a princess, not to be miserable in someone else’s home. If you get a divorce, I’ll come with you and help you raise the baby.”

For the first time in a long time, Jessica felt like she had an ally. She looked at Helen, her heart full of a quiet, desperate gratitude.

“Thank you, Helen,” she whispered.

Later, Jessica slipped out and bought a spy cam from a sketchy street vendor’s stall. Now, she just had to figure out how to install it in Amy’s room.

When she got back to the hospital, Catherine was feeding Amy, who was glued to a cartoon on a tablet. Amy had always been a good eater; by the time she was three, she was already feeding herself. This new habit of being fed while watching cartoons was entirely new. Jessica didn’t mind her watching cartoons, but she knew that eating while distracted was bad for digestion.