?Chapter 1242:


    “You were scared, weren’t you?” n asked, trying to read his face.


    Jesse didn’t look up. “Were you scared when you were a kid?”


    “Me? Never,” n said proudly. “Forget roller coasters—I’ve bungee jumped.”


    Jesse went quiet. He definitely wouldn’t dare try that.


    n leaned in. “Come on. Be honest. Were you scared of the rides?”


    “No.”


    “Really not?”


    “No.”


    n raised a brow. “You know liars don’t grow tall, right?”


    That did it. Jesse’s brows pulled together, and his normally sweet face shifted. The air cooled a few degrees. His eyes met n’s head-on—calm, sharp, ice-cold. He spoke slowly, each word aimed with precision.


    “I think I finally get why you’ve been single for years. No one wants you.”


    n blinked. “Who told you no one wants me?”<fn605b> Follow current nov?ls on find?novel</fn605b>


    “Statistically speaking,” Jesse continued, “no woman’s signing up for a guy who constantly jabs at people’s insecurities.”


    The hitnded—clean and effortless. Especially since Jesse’s height was one of the few things he was sensitive about.


    “You being single,” Jesse added coolly, “makes perfect sense.”


    n froze. Theeback was right there—on the tip of his tongue—but it never came out. He wasn’t single because no one wanted him. He was single because he chose to be!


    “Believe it or not,” n huffed, trying to reim some pride, “if I said I wanted to get married tomorrow, there’d be a line of women wrapping around the block.” And honestly? That wasn’t even a stretch.


    Even in his thirties, n still had it—good looks, sharp suits, and the title of president of the Briggs Group to top it off. He wasn’t exactly hurting for attention.


    But Jesse? Jesse cut right through it like a hot knife through ego. “Even if they lined up, they wouldn’t marry you for love. They’d do it for your face. Or your status.”


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    n narrowed his eyes. “Why does a kid your age know so much?” He was increasingly convinced Jesse wasn’t normal. “You’re only four.” Jesse just looked at him, totally unbothered.


    n finally gave in. He should let it go. No point in arguing with a child.


    That night, Jesse and Nina went to bed on time, like always, after finishing their assignments and evening routine down to the minute.


    In the days that followed, the same rhythm continued—sses, homework, meals on schedule.


    And n, tagging along for all of it, found himself weirdly invested. Watching them—so smart, so sweet, so full of life—he couldn’t help wondering… If things had turned out differently with his ex, would he be raising kids like this now? The thought barely surfaced before he shut it down. Nah. That wasn’t their path. It never would’ve worked.


    A few dayster, the kids finally had a weekend with no sses—no schedules, no deadlines.


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