They Want Me Back When It's Too Late (Jessica and Brian) novel Chapter 263

Chapter 263

Just thinking about it made Jessica’s chest ache.

She wondered, ‘Will Jake really grow so distant that he’ll keep life events like marriage and children from me? Is this truly what I want?‘

Tears spilled over again, and she spent the night awake.

The next morning, she stood before the mirror, staring at the woman with puffy and bloodshot eyes, exhausted to the bone.

She wondered, ‘Is this really me? How did I end up here?‘

‘Maybe I should fight for custody of Jake? No, Jake doesn’t even like me as a mother. What good will custody do? He might resent me more.

‘This is fine as it is. If he never calls me Mom again, so be it.‘

Jessica squeezed her eyes shut, forcing down every trace of weakness. When she opened them, she was the confident Jessica again.

“I have my own path, and so does Jake. Nothing to grieve over,” she repeated this to herself, but the sadness wouldn’t lift.

Too low to eat, she sipped warm water, grabbed her bag, and left.

The streets were still quiet from her early start.

She reached the office smoothly, but as she headed for the elevator, someone pulled her back.

“Let go!” The familiar scent of cool perfume hit her nose. Without looking, she shoved. She knew it was Brian.

“Stop moving, Jessi. Were you crying this morning? What’s wrong?” Brian’s worry showed as he saw her puffy eyelids, barely masked by makeup.

“None of your concern.” She pushed him harder.

But Brian wouldn’t budge. Before she could react, he scooped her up and carried her to his car.

Jessica seethed. As soon as he set her down, she shuffled to the farthest edge of the seat.

Brian resisted the urge to sigh. “Jessi, you don’t have to shut me out like this. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, especially not when it comes to

our kids.”

Jessica scoffed, thinking, ‘Of course, always about the kids. Every bit of your ‘kindness‘ is just for their sake.‘

When she didn’t respond, Brian let out a sigh and reached for the paper bag beside him. “Fine, keep your secrèts. But you need to eat something. You look terrible. If you go to the office like this, De… Mr. Grant will be worried.”

The moment the smell hit her nostrils, Jessica gagged. “Ugh, what is that? Get it away from me!”

She seethed. ‘Has Brian’s cooking really gotten that bad? Bringing me something like this. It’s almost as if he wants to make me sick.

She fumbled with the car door handle, desperate to escape.

“But this was your favorite,” Brian sounded confused.

Seeing how violently she reacted, he quickly stuffed the bag out of sight and rolled down the windows.

Fresh air rushed in, clearing the nauseating odor.

Once she could breathe again, Jessica rounded on him. “You must remember wrong. This smell makes me nauseous. There’s no way it was ever my

favorite.”

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Chapter 263

Even as the words left her mouth, she felt no sense of victory.

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She thought, ‘Isn’t this exactly how it used to be? Brian has never bothered to remember my likes and dislikes, no matter how many times I’d told him.

Jessica, you fool. How could you have expected anything different? Heh, you were just

fooling yourself‘

Her mood soured further, and her tone turned cutting. “If you can’t cook, don’t bother. Stop trying to disgust me.”

Brian didn’t lash back. Instead, he studied her in silence, his eyes filled with worry.

He noticed that since Jessica got in the car, her eyes had kept drifting unconsciously to the pack of chewing gum he’d left beside him. He remembered she’d always hated this flavor.

Combined with her sudden nausea at the food she’d once loved, Brian thought he’d figured it out.

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“Sorry, I was careless. Jessi, what do you feel like eating? Let me go home and make it for you, okay?” Brian apologized earnestly, pulling out his phone to open a recipe app and showing it to her.

Without thinking, Jessica pointed to a few dishes.

Brian noted they were all the food she’d previously disliked or rarely eaten, confirming her tastes had changed completely.

This made sense. He remembered reading in a pregnancy book that some women experience sudden craving shifts and mood swings during pregnancy.

Relieved to figure out the reason, Brian said gently, “Okay, I’ll make these and bring them to you at lunch.”

But Jessica snapped at him. “I said no! Are you not listening?”

She yanked hard on the car door handle. “Open the door now. I need to get out. You’re infuriating me!”

She seethed. ‘Why does everyone keep hassling me?‘

Brian stared in silence at the raging Jessica, barely recognizing her.

When he didn’t move, she shoved him roughly. “I said open the door! Are you

deaf?”

Closing his eyes briefly, Brian took her hand. “Calm down, I’ll open it.”

At the sight of his weary expression, Jessica froze, suddenly aware of her outburst. Her face paled with a mix of shame and realization.

She wondered, ‘Since when have I become so harsh, irritable, and irrational?‘