Always Been Yours (Tessa and Nicholas)

Chapter 1144 Shortened Lifespan

“Yeah, Gregory’s the best.” Tessa was quick to calm the boy down. Once Gregory was no longer throwing a tantrum, Tessa turned to smile at Nicholas. “Mr. Hall called because he was talking to me about Gregory joining a calligraphy competition,” she explained.

“A calligraphy competition?” Nicholas raised an eyebrow puzzledly. Tessa nodded before telling him what Quinton had told him earlier that afternoon. “I figured that it’d be a good idea since Gregory has talent in calligraphy and since he wants to join it.”

“In that case, I’ll give you a reward if you get first place,” Nicholas said as a promise to Gregory. He meant it as a form of encouragement. Gregory was pleased to hear this, and he widened his bright eyes as he looked at Nicholas. “Can I ask for any reward?” the boy asked.

“Of course. Anything at all.” Nicholas nodded.

Gregory grinned as he stuck his chest out. “Then I’ll be sure to get first place!” Tessa couldn’t help but praise her son when she saw how confident he was. “You’re an outstanding student, Gregory. I’m sure you’ll get first place. I’ll reward you when that happens!”

“What are you going to give me, Mommy?” Gregory looked at his mother with anticipation in his eyes. Tessa thought about it for a while before acting all mysterious. “Well, you’ll find out when the competition is over.” Even though her response was rather disappointing to Gregory, he was still filled with motivation to work hard. “I’m going to win first place just so that I can receive your reward.” Gregory clenched his fists as he cheered for himself. The sight of him doing so was unbearably adorable.

…

The next morning, Tessa headed to the hospital after Gregory started his classes. Tessa brought the soup that the chef had prepared over to Amber’s ward. To her surprise, Amber was extremely worked up the moment Tessa walked in. “You little brat! How dare you come now? You disappeared for so many days—how dare you say that you would take care of me? You were just giving me empty promises all along!”

Amber glared at Tessa angrily—she looked as if she was about to eat Tessa up. However, Tessa simply acted as if she hadn’t heard anything as she passed the soup to the maid in the room. After all, Tessa figured that there was no point in fighting with Amber. But Amber only got more infuriated when she saw the way Tessa was ignoring her.

“I’m talking to you, you brat. Do you even care about your grandmother at all? What was going on with all the news on the Internet? Were you ruining my reputation on purpose? I’m already in this state, yet you’re still trying to disgrace and shame me in public. How evil can you be?” Amber pointed her finger at Tessa as she cursed. “I want you to clarify things on the Internet right now. You have to tell everyone that the media was the one who created all the rumors!”

Tessa simply felt like laughing when she heard Amber’s words. She looked up at the old lady as she spoke in a sarcastic tone. “Do you even need me to do anything for your reputation to be ruined? Don’t you know what’s going on? How dare you call them rumors? Do you think everyone else is blind?”

“I don’t care. Would all those things have gone public if you hadn’t talked badly about me on the Internet? I want an explanation from you right now.” Amber was too ashamed, so she started to become angry and defensive.

Tessa let out a scoff. “What’s this? You had the guts to do it back then, but you’re not admitting to your actions now. What they said on the news was the truth, wasn’t it? Would you dare to swear on your life that you haven’t done those things?”

Amber was speechless for a moment, and her cheeks were red with fury. Her chest was heaving as rage boiled in her. Tessa frowned as she gave the old lady a warning. “By the way, I’m being nice by dropping by to visit once every few days. You shouldn’t overstep your boundaries. Furthermore, if you want to live for a while longer, perhaps you should contain your emotions. If you’re so emotional all the time, you might just die a little earlier. I wonder if that’s the reason some people live such short lives, huh?”

Amber stiffened right after hearing Tessa’s words. “Stop using your groundless statements to scare me,” she hissed.

“I’m not talking nonsense. I—” Before Tessa could finish her sentence, a nurse happened to walk in, so Tessa seized this opportunity to question the nurse. “If you don’t believe me, perhaps you could ask this nurse. Is it true that some patients’ conditions deteriorate when they get too emotional?” Tessa asked coldly.