?Chapter 1282:


    “Jesse, will you help me?” Nina pleaded, her voice turning soft and syrupy.


    “I’ll help, but you need to think of the reason,” Jesse said, indulgent as always when it came to her.


    Nina’s eyes welled up and she pouted, clearly growing more and more frustrated. “I just can’t think of anything.”<fn7d2d> Chapters first released on find?novel</fn7d2d>


    Jesse was about to say no again, but then he noticed her teary eyes. She was putting on a whole performance—pouting, ying sweet, even tearing up.


    “Fine, I’ll help.” Jesse sighed, rubbing his temples. She had worn him down. “Go tuck yourself in. I’ll wake you up in the morning.”


    “Okay!” Nina broke into a bright smile. “Thank you, Jesse!”


    She skipped off toward her room, ncing back to wave at him with a sparkle in her eyes before shutting the door.


    Once she was asleep, Jesse closed his own door and, after thinking it over, sent Jerome a quick message: “We’re home now. Want to go to the aquarium tomorrow?”


    The reply came back in seconds: “NO.”


    Since Jerome was clearly still up, Jesse decided to give him a call.


    To be honest, he wasn’t thrilled about Nina being so attached to another boy. But when he remembered her tears—even if some of it was an act—he couldn’t just ignore how she felt.


    “What?” Jerome’s voice was a little sulky when he picked up.


    “Are you mad at Nina?” Jesse asked, leaning against the bedframe.


    Jerome didn’t say anything right away. Then he finally muttered, “NO.”


    “Good, ’cause she’s mad at you,” Jesse said tly, throwing his little sister under the bus without a second thought.


    Jerome soundedpletely confused. “She’s mad at me? She’s the one who didn’t want to hang out with me!”


    “Let’s say you’re over at a friend’s house, having fun with other kids, and Nina calls you, saying you bettere y with her. If you don’t, she says you can forget about talking again. How would that make you feel?” Jesseid out the situation for him.


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    Jerome gave it some thought. If it were him, he’d probably drop everything and go back to her. But it did seem like Nina loved to y with kids. Maybe he’d been a bit too harsh.


    “She’s kind of stubborn,” Jesse said. “She wants to be around you, but she doesn’t want to say it because she thinks she’s right. That’s why she asked me to reach out.”


    “Is she asleep?” Jerome asked.


    “Yeah,” Jesse replied coolly, not about to let him call in the middle of the night.


    “I see,” Jerome murmured, then hung up.


    Whatever Jerome decided to do now was entirely up to him. Jesse wasn’t going to push it.


    He was just a kid himself, yet somehow he ended up ying peacekeeper between these two.


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