Love Me Or Leave Me

Chapter 229

"I get what you're saying," Stacey responded quickly, sensing the underlying concern in her mother's voice.

Debra nodded, her eyes slightly moist as she gazed at her daughter. "All right, I'll let you be then. You and the kids need to rest up," Debra said gently. Turning to Lillian and Kevin, she added, "Lily, Kev, make sure you're both good and don't bother your mom too much. Let her get some good rest."

Lillian, with wide eyes full of seriousness, looked up at Debra and asked, "Granny, does letting Mommy sleep mean she can really rest well?"

Debra, caught slightly off guard by the question, smiled and nodded affirmatively. "That's right," she explained. "Sleeping is the best kind of beauty treatment. If you sleep well, you'll feel refreshed and energized."

"Then let's all go to sleep!" Kevin exclaimed enthusiastically.

In no time, Lillian and Kevin were bubbling with excitement about going to bed, making it difficult for Stacey to finish their bedtime story. Under the cheerful insistence of her children, Stacey had no choice but to abandon the book and join them in rest. Observing how considerate her grandchildren were being, Debra departed with a sense of peace.

*****

Elsewhere, at the Edwards Villa in Maeloria, Theodore was wrestling with troubling developments concerning the company's projects. It was deeply suspicious how several bids, which were almost guaranteed wins for the Edwards family, were now unexpectedly falling into other hands.

Initially, Theodore had suspected interference from the Carter family. Yet, recently, he had observed some unusual behavior from Jenny. His suspicions were confirmed today when he discovered irrefutable evidence that Jenny was the real saboteur! She had been stealing information from his computer, leading to a series of poor judgments and significant losses for Edwards Group. Theodore was left reeling. 'Why is this happening? I don't understand!' he mused.

Throughout their six-month marriage, Theodore had come to trust Jenny implicitly. She had always been there to support him, providing comfort whenever he was stressed or feeling low. Despite her inability to cook, she had thoughtfully hired an excellent chef who prepared meals exactly to Theodore's liking. On particularly hectic days, she would even personally deliver meals to his office, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by his colleagues, who often remarked on how blissful his married life appeared.

This care had gradually diminished the pain of his previous divorce from Rebecca. 'All that troubled me were these unexplained setbacks in my career,' Theodore reflected. He had been determined to elevate the Edwards family's status above the Carter family's, partly to make Rebecca regret leaving him. But now, to his dismay, he realized that the person undermining him was the one closest to him.

Jenny had just finished copying a file from Theodore's laptop in his study. After shutting down the computer, she was preparing to leave when she unexpectedly came face-to-face with a tall figure in the doorway. Startled, her face momentarily lost color, but she quickly regained her composure, slipped her phone into her pocket, and greeted Theodore with a calm, sweet smile. "Theodore, you're back early. I was just tidying up your office," she said smoothly.

"Give me your phone!" Theodore demanded, his eyes piercing through her facade.

Jenny, taken aback by his abruptness, managed a strained smile and responded, "Theodore, why are you asking for my phone all of a sudden? I-" "I said, give me your phone!" Theodore interrupted, his voice firm and commanding.

Tears welled up in Jenny's eyes as she looked at him, wounded. "Theodore, do you suspect me of something?" she murmured, her voice quivering. Without indulging in further conversation, Theodore reached out, intent on grabbing her and retrieving the phone himself. Surprisingly, Jenny's demeanor shifted dramatically. She swiftly raised her leg and delivered a forceful kick to his abdomen. Theodore grunted in pain, caught completely off guard by her sudden aggressiveness. Seizing the moment, Jenny broke free from his grasp and fled from the room.

Theodore, in a state of panic, leapt

to his feet to chase after Jenny, but the acute paint from her blow to his abdomen significantly hindered his pace. Jenny's movements were unexpectedly precise and swift, almost as if she had received some

form of training. By the somet

Theodore reached the stairwell, he caught a glimpse of Jenny already reaching the ground floor. He

hurried down just in time to see her start the car and speed off, leaving him far behind before he could even approach her.

With a darkened expression, Theodore dashed to the Edwards Villa's extensive garage. Faced with a selection of vehicles, he chose one at random and sped out, only to find that Jenny's car had already disappeared from view. Frustrated, he pulled over and slumped in the driver's seat, his face etched with a grim determination. He took out his phone and attempted to call Jenny multiple times, but to no avail, as each call was met with silence.

Meanwhile, as Jenny drove away, she frequently checked her rearview mirror to ensure that Theodore was not in pursuit. Only when she was confident that she had lost him did she allow herself to relax. Assured of her escape, she then changed her direction and drove toward a predetermined destination with clear intent.

After he failed to reach Jenny by phone, Theodore drove to the police station to report the incident. Coincidentally, the officer on duty was none other than Bryce, the brother of his ex-wife. Theodore's face went through a gamut of emotions as he sat down, but he composed himself enough to formally file a report.

Bryce, despite personally finding the situation slightly amusing given Jenny's clever maneuver against Theodore, remained stoically professional. He processed the paperwork and organized the investigation with a neutral demeanor.

About an hour later, they located

Theodore's car abandoned in a dilapidated neighborhood of

Maeloria, devoid of any surveillance cameras. Although the vehicle was found, Jenny was nowhere to be seen. With no further leads and the case not deemed critical enough to warrant overnight work, the investigation was paused until the next day. After his shift, Bryce couldn't resist sharing this "exciting news" with his family in their Family of Eight group chat.

Over at the Carter Villa, Stacey was roused from her afternoon nap and instinctively reached for her phone, only to be greeted by over 99 notifications from the family group chat. Perplexed, she opened the app and began scrolling through the barrage of messages. It took her some time to get to the beginning of the conversation, but it became clear that the discussion revolved around Theodore and Jenny. 'So, Jenny has left Theodore? And it seems everyone is quite pleasedExclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

about it,' Stacey noted, her

confusion mingling with realization.

As she pieced together the events from the chat, Stacey recalled a previous conversation with Gifford that had prompted her to ask Adrian to look into Jenny's background. 'There was always something peculiar about Jenny. Maybe her interest in Theodore wasn't out of love but driven by some

hidden agenda,' Stacey mused.