By then, it was already dark in Oceaton. It was obvious that Anneliese was staying at Jessica''s ce.


    Zane had guessed most of it right.


    What he never expected was that Anneliese was not staying there because of Jonathan, but rather, it was because of him.


    Jonathan let out a coldugh at Zane. "My wife and I are doing great. We''re happy together."


    Zane took it as him being stubborn andughed it off.


    "Alright. Then, help me to ask her why Jessica blocked me. Better yet, hand your phone to Jessica so I can ask her myself."


    At that moment, the elevator reached the first floor, and the doors opened.


    Jonathan ignored himpletely.


    He took a long step out of the elevator. "I don''t have time."


    Zane got anxious and put down the milk he was holding. "Don''t leave. Go back up once more. It''ll only take three to five minutes. I swear. D*mn it, do you even hear me? Why are you walking faster? Are you seriously showing off those long legs to me right now?


    "Jonathan, you can''t do this. Are we still friends or not? You''ve got no loyalty at all. Fine. I''m begging you, alright?"


    He kept shouting, and the screen shook wildly.


    Jonathan walked out of the apartment building, got into his car, and mmed the door shut. He didn''t agree, nor did he hang up either.


    Zane started to wonder whether he had offended Jonathan somehow, and the man was doing this on purpose.


    Jonathan heard the clear edge of panic andpromise in Zane''s voice. He finally lifted the phone again.


    He sat in the driver''s seat and leaned back.


    He loosened the Windsor knot of his tie before speaking. "Zane, if you''re not


    serious, then stop messing with Jessica. Otherwise, we won''t even be able to stay friends."


    He said it harshly.


    Zane froze. "What do you mean? How does the situation between Jessica and me affect our friendship?"


    "You know what I mean," Jonathan said in a low voice.


    Zane knew very well about the rtionship between Jessica and Anneliese. He also knew how important Anneliese was to Jonathan. Nothing could shake that.


    If Zane truly cared about Jessica and valued their friendship, he wouldn''t mess with her so casually.


    Because of that, Jonathan hadn''t hesitated at all these days as he was on Jessica''s side.


    It was only when he saw that she had already packed her bags and was ready to leave with the baby that Jonathan decided to give Zane onest chance.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have said any of this.


    On the other side of the screen, the careless look on Zane''s face slowly faded. He felt oddly frustrated and irritated.


    He stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "No, what more do you want from me? I haven''t been with any other woman since I got together with her.


    "I turned down every blind date my family set up. You can''t expect me to marry her, right? We''re not at that point."


    Jonathan answered sharply. "If this keeps going, did you ever think about marrying her?"


    Zane froze again. He really had never thought about that.


    Things had started with a drunken night.


    On top of that, Jessica was


    breath of fresh air


    He had helped her deal with issues involving the Johnson family a few times. Without realizing it, he started to feel protective toward her.


    Their bodies were also in sync with each other.


    Because of all that, he contacted her more and more. He couldn''t deny that he was happy with her.


    He probably did like her, but she didn''t have a college degree. She had only finished high school. She also didn''t have a proper job. Those were facts he couldn''t ignore.


    That bit of affection clearly was not enough for Zane to give up everything and marry Jessica.


    That was why he had never thought about marriage. Even the image of the wife he imagined was definitely not someone like Jessica.


    Zane frowned. "Jonathan, did something happen?"


    He avoided answering the question directly.


    Jonathan understood that clearly, so he didn''t answer either. He asked instead, "Is the case settled?"


    Zane saw him change the topic. He assumed Jonathan didn''t want to talk about Jessica anymore after hearing that he had no ns to marry her. He nced at the time. The hearing is in two hours There''s a celebration event this afternoon. If everything goes smoothly, I''ll fly back tonight."


    Jonathan gave him onest reminder Changingwyers shouldn''t pose much of an effect. If you want to know what happened, you cane back now and ask Jessica yourself