?Chapter 1278:


    He didn’t want to see her suffer, and if protecting her meant giving up fatherhood, he had made peace with it.


    “What if…” Jesse hesitated, then spoke slowly, carefully. “What if she weren’t afraid of the pain? Would you still let her have children?”


    “That depends on her. If she truly wants it, then yes,” Noel answered without hesitation. “But don’t believe her when she says she’s not afraid. That woman wears bravery like a mask. She loves to act tough.”


    Jesse was quiet, lost in thought. Now, more than ever, he was certain Noel hadpletely misunderstood Greta. If she was scared of pain, then fear itself must be fearless.


    “I understand. Thanks for the talk,” Jesse said, his expression steady—even if his thoughts were far from calm.


    Noel let out a quiet grunt in reply.


    He told Jesse to make himself at home and to call if anything came up, then climbed the stairs to tackle some work.


    As for Jesse, now that he knew the real reason behind it all, a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.<fn2012> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? Find?Novel</fn2012>


    After horsing around with the kids for a bit, Greta came back—she understood full well that adults never quite belonged in a child’s world for too long.


    When Jesse noticed she returned alone, he immediately asked, “Where’s Nina?”


    “She’s ying hide-and-seek with Nick.” Greta walked over carrying two sses of water, handed one to Jesse, then asked, “Where’s Noel?”


    “Upstairs,” Jesse replied dutifully.


    Greta gave a nonchnt nod.


    She set her ss down and picked up one of Jesse’s books. When she saw it was written entirely in a foreignnguage, her brows rose ever so slightly.


    Well, damn. The kid was advancing fast.


    “Aunt Greta,” Jesse began, clearly about to ask something.


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    Still thumbing through the pages, she replied casually, “Yes?”


    “When Uncle Noel was chasing after you, did you ever pretend to be all delicate and helpless in front of him?” Jesse wanted to get to the bottom of things.


    “How’d you figure that out?” Greta looked mildly surprised, but then spilled everything like an overturned basket of berries. “Once, he chased me down with a bunch of burly bodyguards. I couldn’t exactly run, so I just crouched down and faked a cry.”


    Jesse stared at her, utterly speechless.


    As expected, sooner orter, everyone had to pay the price for the stunts they’d pulled in the past.


    “He told you about that?” Greta looked up, curious.


    “Yeah.” Jesse gave a nod.


    Greta flipped to another page, seemingly intrigued by the book. “Didn’t think he’d ever mention that to you.”


    “I asked him why he wouldn’t want to have kids,” Jesse admitted. “That’s when he told me all of this. I figured if I settled it now, I could finally go home.”


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