She sighed and ranted, “I don’t even know how things are going between him and Jewel. I’ve been haunted by regret for the past few days. Had I not brought it up, they probably would’ve made up already.”
Eugene consoled, “No need to blame yourself over that. The matter’s a ticking bomb anyway since Jewel would know about it eventually. Rather than surprising her in the future, she should know about it sooner. Making up or breaking up, it’s solely up to them. Besides, they wouldn’t be happy if their relationship was forced. Alex’s concerns aren’t unreasonable at all.”
With a sigh, Olivia continued, “I know, but still, I can’t get over it…”
He replied, “Alright, alright. Stop sighing. I’ll invite Mom with Jewel tomorrow so they’ll have more chances to get along. They’ll eventually move on, I believe.”
The next day, Hayden planned a banquet for his mother, Prunella Sanders, for her sixtieth birthday at Fairview Hotel. After all, it was a great event in so many years. According to his mother, who was sad over having no children- in-law or grandchildren, all her birthdays were simply brushed past. Therefore, he wanted to do something nice for her sweet sixty.
After Eugene and Olivia got off work, they immediately headed to Fairview Hotel, while Ellen purposely had Jewel accompany her, which the latter naturally could not refuse. As the party of guests arrived at the hotel, Hayden and Aubrey enthusiastically welcomed them.
“Mrs. Nolan, you’re here as well!” “You should probably head in there soon. Prunella was just talking about how she misses you.” Ellen said with a smile, “You’ve never changed, Aubrey. You’re still as young as ever.”
“What are you talking about? I can hardly walk now!” Aubrey laughingly jested. “Come. I’ll walk you in. Prunella is in the resting room; Stefanie’s here as well! A sisterly reunion for a sisterly catch-up, huh?”
Ellen was slightly taken aback when she was told that Stefanie was present. She turned around and held Jewel’s hand. “Jewel, why don’t you stay with Olivia for a bit? I’ll come back in a sec.”
Jewel answered, “Don’t worry about me, Godmother. Take your time in there.” After talking to Olivia for a minute, Ellen then entered the resting room.
Olivia was visibly suspicious. If Stefanie’s already here, where is Alex? She turned to Eugene with a confused gaze. He assured her, “He’ll come. He must be caught up in something else.”
Although Jewel did not hear Eugene mention any names, she figured it had to be Alex. She had seen the evidence he showed her, and if the woman was indeed her mother, she would be utterly speechless. Though, that was merely a baseless instinct that she was unlikely-even reluctant-to believe as it pertained to her mother.
Therefore, she persistently looked into the matter with Alex by her side. She knew that he did not care about the outcome. In the man’s opinion, the evidence was enough to convince him that her mother was the homewrecker, and the reason he was willing to accompany her in her investigation was that she insisted on digging further into the matter. She would not give up so easily no matter what!
Followingly, Eugene told Olivia and Jewel to grab some food for themselves. After all, as Hayden’s friend, he should not intervene in the matter.
After he left, Olivia and Jewel went to help themselves with the catering. The former then asked, “How’s the investigation going?”
Jewel shook her head. “No progress so far. We went to the journalists, cops, and my mother’s past residences and even tried to visit our old neighbors. Sadly, they either moved or passed away. The journalists and cops couldn’t find any useful information at the moment since the matter had taken place too far in the past.”
“So, are you going to continue?” asked Olivia. Jewel answered, “Of course! I can’t allow my mother to be known as a homewrecker for no reason!”
Olivia softly consoled, “Don’t fight or trouble yourself. You can probably see Alex’s attitude by now. He’s already chosen to be on your side.”
Jewel replied, “And that does nothing. He chose to be on my side, but that doesn’t mean he’d unconditionally accept me in the future. Should a feud arise between us, this will be a catalyst to a foreseeable disaster. Honestly, I don’t have the confidence to remain steadfast as I stay by his side.”
