Chapter 63
When Jared brought Hilda home, he realized Chloe was still at his house chatting with his parents. Initially, he had planned to let Hilda regain her composure before sending her back. But now, they had been sighted. The moment they saw Jared and Hilda coming home together, Chloe and Gary were surprised. Only the blind Hannah was oblivious to what had just happened. She asked, “Jared, are you back? Why did you come home so late?”
Gary quickly gave Hannah’s hand a tug. “Jared is with Hilda. They have returned together.” Gary was all smiles when he spoke. After Hannah heard Gary’s words, her face lit up in delight. “Jared, you could’ve just told us that you were going to see Hilda. There’s no need to be so secretive about it. Are you trying to give us a surprise?” Just when Jared tried to explain, he realized he didn’t even know where to begin. Only Chloe noticed that Hilda was looking out of sorts as if she had just cried earlier. Knitting her brows, she asked, “Hilda, did you have to work late? Why did you cry?
Moreover, you reek of alcohol.” Bombarded by Chloe’s questions, Hilda panicked and was lost for words. “Mrs. Wallace, Hilda wasn’t working overtime. She just went drinking with her colleagues. However, some of them were trying to get her drunk. Luckily, I happened to be there, so I brought her back instead.” Jared quickly cooked up a story. The moment she heard it, Chloe got to her feet and checked Hilda’s body. With a concerned look in her eyes, she complained, “What kind of colleagues are they? How could they make you drink when they knew you have low alcohol tolerance?
They went too far.” When she saw how worried her mother was, Hilda couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. Hugging Chloe, she burst into tears again. Chloe comforted, “Hilda, if you’re unhappy at work, why don’t you just quit? Especially since you have terrible colleagues.” Chloe thought that her
daughter was feeling indignant after being bullied by her colleagues. After all, Hilda had just started work recently and was considered new.
It was common for newcomers to experience such treatment. “Hilda, stop crying. At most, you can just quit your job. Tomorrow, Gary is going to get a friend to help Jared find a job. Why don’t we ask around for you too? Since you’re a university graduate, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a job,” Hannah quickly reassured Hilda. Gary added, “I’ll ask him about it tomorrow. It shouldn’t be a problem because he’s an old comrade of mine.” The more everyone consoled her, the harder Hilda cried. Unfortunately, only Jared knew the real reason why she was crying.
Powerless to do anything, Chloe had no choice but to take Hilda home. “Jared, you should sleep early too. Tomorrow, we’ll take you to Mr. Saunders’ house and get him to find you a job. We’ll also ask him if he could help Hilda land a job. She really has it tough.” Hannah sighed before she continued, “You should treat her better instead of bullying her.” The man Hannah spoke of was Franklin Saunders. He used to serve in the military together with Gary.
Ever since they were discharged from the military, Gary went on to work as a civil servant, while Franklin used his pension to start a business. As of then, he had done well for himself and was living a good life. “Mom, I—” “Enough. Go to sleep now.” Not bothered about what Jared had to say, Hannah walked right off. Jared was in a dilemma. He had always treated Hilda as a sister and never had romantic feelings for her.
But now, he had no idea how to break it to his parents. Shaking his head in resignation, Jared returned to his room. For the time being, he couldn’t return to Dragon Bay because he didn’t want to anger his
parents. The next morning, Hannah yelled, “Jared, get up quickly and dress presentably for once instead of looking sloppy.
Mr. Saunders has taken a day off on purpose.” “I know,” Jared replied as he opened his eyes. After having a simple breakfast, the three of them left home hurriedly. They hailed a taxi and headed to Franklin’s house together.