Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 642

Chapter 642: Train

[Present Time]

Quiet sniffles escaped Nina as she wiped her eyes with the bottom of her palms, trying to stop herself from crying. However, no matter how hard she tried to dry her tears, they kept flowing like a river. She didn’t want to come into the Cortez household crying.

"Hic!" she hiccuped, keeping her lips shut to minimize the noise. Suddenly, she heard ear-piercing sounds behind her, as if someone were opening the gates from the inside. Panic surged through her, and she wiped her eyes as quickly as she could.

But before she could succeed, the gate behind her flew open. Standing inside, Jessa arched a brow, her gaze slowly falling on the young woman sitting outside the gates.

"Hah..." Jessa rested her hand on her hip, her other hand holding the gates open. "This feels like déjà vu."

"Ahem!" Nina cleared her throat and forced herself to smile, looking back at her aunt. "Auntie."

Jessa raised an eyebrow. "Are you crying?"

"No! I mean, no, auntie." Nina shook her head, smiling. "It’s just... I got dust in my eyes."

"Am I dumb? You think I’d buy that?" Jessa tilted her head to the side, her eyebrow arching higher. "What’s wrong? Tell me who the bitch is that made you cry. I’ll give her a piece of my mind."

Nina’s smile faltered as she stared at her aunt, who seemed calm yet miffed. This woman had raised her since she was thirteen, so Nina knew her well, just as Jessa knew her.

"Tell me," Jessa said coldly and sassily. "Who is it?"

"Well..." Nina cleared her throat again, sighing. "I broke off the engagement."

This time, Jessa didn’t say anything as surprise slowly spread across her face. Deep lines appeared between her brows, wondering if she had heard her niece correctly.

"What happened?" Jessa quickly stepped out of the gates and sat down beside her. Although her face still carried its natural fierceness, the concern in her eyes was apparent. "Did that guy cheat on you? Did you find him sleeping with someone else?"

"Auntie... it’s not like that."

"Then why did you break off your engagement?"

Nina pressed her lips into a thin line, casting her eyes down. "He lied to me," she confessed, feeling a slight embarrassment about the reason.

She knew that if she told others about this, they would see her as petty. After all, Finn didn’t lie about anything significant. He lied about his location, but still, he had lied so smoothly. Even so, she was sure Jessa might scold her or call her out for it, but she trusted Jessa with this.

But after hearing this, Jessa realized Nina hadn’t figured it all out.

"Dear niece, come listen to your aunt." Jessa reached out for Nina’s hand, sighing and almost laughing at her niece. "You can’t just unlove people so easily. Even if they beat you up or hurt you, or even when they cheat or make a fool out of you, you’ll get angry. But anger doesn’t mean unloving. It doesn’t work that way. It’s not as easy as that. If it were that easy, then many people wouldn’t stay in the name of love."

"It takes time—plenty of time and a lot of courage," she continued, emphasizing her words to get her point across. "That’s why it hurts. But do you know what hurts the most? When they know the things they do will devastate you, but they do it anyway."

Nina’s lips quivered as her vision blurred with tears brimming in her eyes. Jessa let out another heavy sigh, leaning over to hug Nina and pat her on the back.

"You’re a smart girl—Jessa Cortez raised you," Jessa remarked, chuckling while still patting her back gently. "Nina, what does Aunt Jessa tell you all the time?"

Nina hiccuped as she buried her face in her aunt’s shoulder. "If... if I find myself on the wrong train... I... I should get off at the closest station."

"That’s right." Jessa nodded, smiling. "Get off as soon as you can because the longer you stay, the more expensive the return ticket will cost you. You’re a brave one, and I’m so proud of you—everyone is."

Nina chewed her bottom lip as she clasped Jessa’s clothes, dampening her aunt’s dress with her tears. But like always, Jessa stayed with her without complaints or anything like that. She just stayed... like always.

And somehow, Nina felt better, knowing that during these hard times, she had an aunt—a mother—who had her back.