Ethan helped her into the car, and almost the moment the engine started, her quiet sobbing filled the space.
Quincy glanced at her worriedly. “Mom, if leaving Jasmine makes you this sad… why don’t you go back and stay with her tonight? I’m a grown-up now – I’ll be fine!”
Lillian shook her head through her tears, unable to stop crying.
Ethan pressed his lips together. “Quincy… let your mom have some quiet time.”
Right now, she just needed to be alone.
Any attempt to comfort her would only break her down further.
She wasn’t just crying for her current self – she was crying for the Lillian from eight years ago… the one who had never had her love returned.
Meanwhile, Conrad waited until their car disappeared down the road before getting into his own.
Jasmine’s face scrunched with worry. “Daddy, why did Mommy hit you? Did you say something wrong again? Does Mommy not want us anymore?”
“Of course not,” Conrad said firmly. “Daddy will never give up. I’ll win Mommy’s forgiveness, Jasmine. We’ll work hard together, okay?”
The little girl stared at him for a moment – then her face lit up with a bright smile. “Okay! We’ll work together and bring Mommy home! High five!”
“High five!” Conrad grinned.
After their hands clapped together, Conrad completely wrapped his daughter’s tiny hand in his own.
He had never felt clearer than he did at that moment – he knew exactly what he needed to do and how to do it.
Meanwhile, Melissa sat in George’s car, listening to them recount the past. She was shaking with anger.
“Even grinding his bones to dust wouldn’t be enough to ease my hatred!” she fumed.
But that Frank… he had been an orphan, a scumbag with no morals. None of the women who followed him had ended well.
Those women were innocent too – targeting them would be even more despicable.
“Ugh, Frank deserved to die,” Hogan sighed. “But look how many years those two have wasted because of him. Poor Jasmine… what’s going to happen now?”
Gordon chimed in, “Judging by what we just saw… things didn’t go well?”
“Give Lillian some time to calm down,” Melissa said. “Besides, you guys think chasing a woman is as simple as apologizing and saying ‘I love you’? Look at Ethan – five years by her side. Even if they’re not lovers, they’ve become like family, supporting each other through everything. If Conrad’s serious, he’d better show some real effort.”
“He gave her the entire Brown Family Group. Isn’t that enough?” Hogan asked, surprised.
“Lillian doesn’t even want the Brown Family Group!” Melissa shot back. “Ugh, you men are so shallow. What she needs is time and persistence. What woman just stands in place waiting for you guys to come back?”
She shot George a sharp look. “If you ask me, figuring out a solid plan to win her back would be smarter than just sitting around worrying. Look at Ethan – he’s practically about to win her over. But I did some digging today… and as for their relationship? Well… I’d say Conrad still has a chance.”
Lionel caught the key point. “Wait… so what you’re saying is… you’re on Conrad’s side now?”
Melissa thought for a moment, then said, “We’ll see how you perform… nothing’s set in stone.”
The men exchanged looks – they all knew what that meant. More or less… she was on their side.
Now everything was ready – all they needed was for Conrad to step up and prove himself.
******
By the time they returned to Hillside Villa, Nancy came out to greet them and gasped when she saw the group’s dusty, disheveled appearance.
“What happened to you all? Should I start preparing guest rooms right away?”
They looked like they’d just come back from mining – even their shoes were caked in mud.
“Yeah,” Conrad replied with a nod.
This wasn’t the first time they’d stayed over at Hillside Villa. Back when Jasmine had just come home from the hospital, they practically took turns coming by after work to help take care of her – they almost fought over who got to bring her home.
The third floor had basically become their hangout spot ever since.
When Conrad finally showered, changed, and came downstairs to put Jasmine to bed, he found the whole group waiting for him in the living room.
Jasmine had even dressed up in her wizard robe, complete with the round glasses she’d bought for Halloween.
“Alright! Our final student has arrived!”
Conrad raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
“What do you think?” Hogan said, patting the chair in the middle of the room. “This is your emergency training session. Have a seat, Special Trainee Conrad.”
Melissa turned on the big screen. “Now… let’s break down the current situation.”
Conrad glanced at the chart on the screen – a side-by-side comparison of himself and Ethan.
“Height… While you do have a slight advantage in appearance, Ethan’s 6 feet is plenty tall enough. So… let’s just call this one even.”
“Looks… That’s subjective. While you’ve got no major flaws, Ethan’s not exactly unattractive either. Another tie.”
“Personality and values… You’re way too intense. Unless the woman’s head over heels for you and completely lacking a personality of her own, she’s not going to put up with that. Minus ten points for you.”
Conrad’s eyelid twitched.
“Ethan’s personality? He can get along with anyone, so that’s a solid +10 points. According to statistics, personality accounts for a whopping 69% of marital stability. So if we ignore family assets and earning potential, Ethan’s got this in the bag,” Melissa said.
“Now, let’s break down the weaknesses. First off, you need to fix that bad habit of talking like a robot. A guy can flirt, can joke around, but there’s a time and place for that nonsense.” Melissa jabbed her finger at the screen. “This part requires intense training!”
Conrad pressed his lips together, about to argue that if Ethan was so perfect, why had his wife left him?
Lionel stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. “I know what you’re about to say. However according to our research, the divorce wasn’t because of relationship issues – Ethan’s wife developed postpartum depression after giving birth. She felt like the baby had stolen her freedom; it had nothing to do with their love for each other.”
“If he was so great, she wouldn’t have had postpartum depression,” Conrad sneered.
“Think what you want,” Lionel said, “but our target here isn’t Ethan’s wife – it’s Lillian. So you need to quit holding back and start expressing your feelings more openly. Other than that, just be yourself.”
Jasmine nodded hard. “Yeah! Mommy loved you just the way you were.”
Melissa sighed dramatically. “As much as I hate to admit it, that’s true. So just unlock about 20% of your emotional intelligence, and you should be fine.”
If Conrad changed too much, would he even still be Conrad? Might as well just replace him with Ethan at that point.
Besides, Lillian didn’t seem to have romantic feelings for Ethan anyway. Clearly, Ethan’s charm wasn’t working on her.
Now that sounded reasonable. Conrad nodded in satisfaction. “I was planning to fix that part anyway.”
“Since Mr. Conrad agrees,” Melissa said with a grin, “let’s move on to the next topic.”
Conrad nodded. “Go ahead.”
Melissa flipped to the next slide. “This one’s a must-pass question. Jasmine, go sit with your dad and listen together.”
“Okay!” Jasmine climbed down from her tall chair, ran over to Conrad, and was promptly scooped up onto his lap with one arm.