Chapter 69: Jealous?

Last night, Elara had been unusually irritable, which was why they had spent hours taking care of her. They had cradled her, fed her, walked her around, and tried every trick they could think of to calm her down.

Eventually, Kai took over and told Jean to get some sleep.

Still flustered by his earlier confession, Jean could only nod and quietly head to bed.

She had wanted to talk to Kai about it. She really had. But between the chaos surrounding Elara and the thoughts racing through her own mind, she never found the right moment. Most importantly, her heart was in complete disarray.

And before she even realized it, she had fallen asleep.

Now...

"It is already morning," she murmured.

Jean remained lying on the bed, her eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling.

She still could not believe that Kai had gone out of his way to prepare such a romantic dinner, gathered the courage to confess his feelings, and then received absolutely no response from her before she fell asleep as though it had been an ordinary night.

She slowly sat up and looked toward her dearest.

Elara was sleeping soundly beside her, one arm resting loosely at her side. Her fists were only half closed, and her head had tilted slightly upward in sleep.

Jean’s expression softened.

"What happened to you last night?" she whispered.

Kai had said she was hungry, and he had been right. After feeding her and walking her around for a while, Elara had finally calmed down.

Yet she still had not been ready to sleep. She had become so moody that every time they sat down while holding her, she would fuss and threaten to start crying all over again.

Jean narrowed her eyes at the sleeping girl.

"You’re becoming quite spoiled these days."

She shook her head fondly before checking Elara’s diaper. Once she was satisfied that everything was fine, she quietly got out of bed.

It was only seven in the morning.

She decided to prepare breakfast and surprise Kai.

But the moment she stepped toward the kitchen, another thought surfaced.

What am I supposed to say?

There was no doubt that she liked him.

How could she not?

She was already attracted to his charm. More importantly, she had watched the way he treated their daughter. Kai was kind and patient with Elara, always attentive to even the smallest change in her mood.

It was more care and affection than anyone might have expected from a man so young, especially one who had never been prepared for the responsibility of raising a child.

And then there was his personality.

He was perhaps the kindest person she had ever met, yet he was also remarkably rational. He could remain calm when everyone else was panicking, make difficult decisions without hesitation, and still show an almost absurd amount of tenderness toward the people he cared about.

Jean pressed her lips together as she thought about him.

Perhaps that was what made everything so difficult.

She didn’t merely like Kai.

Somewhere along the way, he had become someone she could no longer imagine leaving behind.

She might have been seeing him through a lens, much like her friends whom she used to tease in the past.

But that did not make it any less true.

"Hmm?"

Still lost in her thoughts, Jean reached the kitchen and immediately stopped.

She had expected to find a mess from the previous night, but instead, the entire room had been cleaned. Kai had not only cleared away the remnants of their dinner and returned everything to its proper place, he had also prepared breakfast.

The fragrance of bacon and eggs drifted through the kitchen.

She stepped farther inside.

Every dish had been washed. The counters had been wiped clean. Even the living room had been restored to its usual state, as though their romantic dinner had never happened.

Jean rested both hands against the counter and stared at the spotless kitchen.

"Exactly how early does he wake up?"

As a grown woman, she was beginning to feel a little embarrassed that Kai kept seeing only her lazy and disheveled side.

This can’t continue.

She clenched her fists with quiet determination.

I need to improve myself.

First, she would freshen up. Then she would exercise before eating breakfast.

Yes, she was already thin, and according to the numbers, she was even slightly underweight. But she had been eating far too much delicious food lately. Just yesterday, she had eaten two entire bowls of rice.

She couldn’t keep letting herself indulge like this.

Jean tied her hair into a bun and walked toward the window near the entrance. She wanted to let some sunlight into the house.

However, the moment she pulled the curtains aside, she froze.

Just outside the main gate stood Kai.

He was wearing a dark tracksuit and appeared to have just returned from a morning run. The sight of him should have made her heart flutter.

Instead, her eyes narrowed.

There was a woman standing beside him.

A beautiful blonde woman, dressed in a tracksuit as well. Judging by her appearance, she had probably been out running too.

Who is she?

Jean’s gaze sharpened.

Wait... did they run together? No, that can’t be. Kai doesn’t know anyone in this community.

The woman was smiling as she spoke to Kai, occasionally laughing at something he said.

Jean’s lips tightened.

That laugh is a little exaggerated...

There was something about the woman that felt artificial to her, though she couldn’t quite explain why.

Then she saw it.

A hand.

A shoulder.

Contact.

The woman casually placed her hand on Kai’s shoulder while laughing.

Jean’s expression changed.

Kai did not look particularly comfortable with the contact, but the woman seemed to take his hesitation as an invitation. She edged closer, until their shoulders were almost touching.

Kai shifted away slightly.

The woman followed.

Jean’s eyes narrowed further.

She took a slow breath.

Then she opened the door.

Click.

The sound carried clearly through the morning air.

Both Kai and the woman turned toward her.

Jean said nothing.

She simply stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable.

The blonde woman seemed to have remembered that she needed something urgent to do and said,

"Then... I’ll see you around."

She gave Kai a quick smile before turning and leaving.

Kai barely paid attention to her departure.

His entire focus was on Jean.

She stared at him for several seconds.

Then, without saying a word, she turned around and walked back inside.

A faint smile touched Kai’s lips.

He followed her.