You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 802

“A son from the mistress? What makes him so special?”

Patricia couldn’t believe Emerson was even thinking about giving that woman money. She’d barely stopped herself from going after her already.

Money? For what? Might as well hand over some fake bills.

“Because your dad still can’t stop thinking about her.”

“That’s just wishful thinking.”

Patricia touched the scratch on her nose, her lashes fluttering as she lowered her gaze. “So now what? He put me in charge of this whole mess. I can’t just ignore it.”

“Did you threaten my dad or something?”

Ruby shook her head. She just couldn’t believe Emerson would actually do this.

Patricia shrugged, pointing lazily at the door. “Go ask him yourself.”

Emerson was a piece of work. Didn’t care one bit about the mother who raised him, but he was obsessed with some son he’d never even met. His own mom got dumped in a run-down nursing home by social services and he never gave her a cent. But he was losing sleep over a kid who was basically a stranger.

If the word “unfilial” fit anyone, it was him.

Would Ruby really go and ask him?

No. She knew she wouldn’t dare.

Deep down, she knew Emerson had always wanted a son. Or maybe he just wanted a son with that woman he’d never gotten over.

As soon as Patricia walked out, Ruby dropped onto the bench in the entryway. She buried her face in her arms, shivering all over. It felt like every freezing winter wind was blowing right through her.

A long time passed before she felt a small, warm hand on her arm, stroking her gently.

She looked up to see the man next to her, his voice soft. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”

...

“Miss, do you think Ruby’s really going to leave?”

“That man’s been staying at her place lately. The three of them actually look kinda happy.”

“If she could just settle down, life like that wouldn’t be so bad.”

Patricia leaned her head against the window, spinning her phone in her fingers. “Do you really think she can settle down?”

Jackson thought about it. “Who knows.”

Ruby had always been jealous, even as a kid. If she could really settle for what she had, she wouldn’t have messed around, wouldn’t have made such a mess of everything. She could’ve just stayed with her childhood sweetheart, dated him, married him. With the Newton family’s money, she’d have lived an easy, wealthy life.

But that wasn’t enough for her.

She wanted more. That’s what started all of this. That’s why her family fell apart.

“It’s all in the genes, isn’t it? Emerson and Ruby—neither of them could be satisfied, that’s why things turned out like this,” Aiden said, hands tight on the steering wheel as the van moved forward. “Jealousy, competition, it all gets passed down.”

No one said a word after that.

Sometimes Patricia wondered: if Emerson hadn’t gone off the rails, if he hadn’t done what he did, if her parents were still alive… maybe their family would be happy too.

“Why, am I not allowed to be here? Do you really hate me that much? I carried you for ten months, you know.”

Jackson didn’t want to hear her guilt trip. It was always the same—she’d go on and on about her hardships, trying to dump it all on him.

But what had he ever done wrong? It wasn’t like he’d asked to be born.

He pulled his arm away and took out his phone to pay.

Cecilia tried to snatch the phone, but Jackson just lifted it out of reach.

“You were the one who took the money. Half a million. You promised to pretend you never had me. What’s this now, trying to get more?”

“Does your new husband and son know you have a kid out here?”

Cecilia’s face turned ugly. “No matter what, I’ll always be your mother.”

“Yeah, I took the money. But you never acted like a mother. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have lost his job.”

The vendor was watching the drama unfold as he slowly packed the chestnuts, but Jackson shot him a look that made him hurry up and hand the bags over.

Cecilia tried to catch up as Jackson walked away. She’d been searching for him for a long time, and now that she’d found him, she wasn’t about to let him go so easily.

In the car, Aiden looked back at Patricia. “Ma’am, looks like Jackson’s getting hassled.”

Patricia glanced over and saw Cecilia grabbing at Jackson in the middle of the street. Her brows knitted together.

“Go help him. Don’t hold back if you need to get physical.”