Jonathon didn’t say anything, and Jennifer finally got into her car and drove away.

Jonathon stood where he was, watching Jennifer’s car disappear into the distance, and sighed lightly.

Several days ago, Jennifer had approached him.

It turned out that while he was investigating Jennifer’s miscarriage, she had found out.

Jennifer asked him to keep the facts he discovered a secret, and she told him everything that had happened between her and Skyler Jones.

After much consideration, he gave the revised investigation document to Christine.

Seeing Christine’s relieved expression at that moment, he knew he had made the right choice.

Loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean being with them; as long as she’s happy and content, that’s enough.

Christine Quinn and Skyler Jones had clearly reconciled, yet there still seemed to be a barrier between their hearts.

At night, they lay in each other’s arms, but they were very aware that neither of them was asleep.

She could only pretend to be asleep, hoping that by daylight everything would be clear and bright again.

Perhaps thinking she was asleep, in the middle of the night, he gently moved her hand away from him, carefully got up, and pulled the quilt over her.

Hearing his light footsteps leaving the room, she slowly opened her eyes...

She followed him out of the room and saw him smoking alone on the open-air balcony of the villa.

The dim yellow light on the balcony cast his silhouette in a way that made him look even more lonely and desolate. She was about to speak to him when a voice suddenly came from the other side of the balcony.

"Bro."

It was Howard Geoffrey.

Skyler Jones turned his head to glance at his brother, his voice as calm and indifferent as usual, "Not at the hospital with Becca, what are you doing here?"

Howard sat down and smiled, "Becca was afraid you and Christine might have a disagreement, so she asked me to come back and keep an eye on things."

Skyler flicked some ash from his cigarette in mild annoyance, "There’s nothing wrong between us."

"If there’s nothing wrong, then why are you out here smoking alone in the middle of the night?"

Skyler was silent for a few seconds, then extinguished his cigarette and looked into the distance, "I don’t know why we..."

Howard listened patiently.

"It’s like we can’t go back to what we were before."

"Being apart for so long, getting back together, of course there will be a lot of discomfort," Howard said.

Skyler shook his head, "It’s not discomfort... it’s because being with her, we can’t regain the ease and comfort we once had. Now everything is more careful and cautious."

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t know... I’m always afraid she’ll leave me the moment I turn around."

Howard said, "Christine isn’t like that. Since she’s chosen to be with you, she won’t give up easily."

"I know, but I can no longer fathom what’s in her heart, which makes me cautious when speaking to her, now and in the future."

"If Christine heard you say this, she would think you don’t love her."

"No, I love her... I want to give her happiness, but I don’t know why this invisible gap has formed between us, one that we cannot cross."

"Bro, is it that after being with Christine, you realize that she is very different from the woman she was thirteen years ago?"

Skyler didn’t answer immediately, but after a few seconds, he nodded slightly. "I can’t let her leave me again, but I fear if we can’t resolve this gap, we’ll both be exhausted in the future."

"Actually, neither you nor Christine has changed. The only thing that has changed is that as time passed, the past hurts between you formed an insurmountable gulf in your hearts. Whenever you see each other, you become cautious; you’re both afraid of losing each other, so you can’t be at ease. I believe Christine feels the same way."

"I can’t tell her this... I don’t want her to overthink."

Howard nodded, "Maybe with time, this gap will eventually disappear on its own..."

Skyler said, "That’s what I think too... no matter what, I won’t part with her again."

"By the way, how’s the situation with Jennifer?"

"She and Charles Douglas won’t bother us anymore."

"Good to hear that..." Howard stood up and patted Skyler, "Go back to bed, and work on building your future with Christine."

Skyler said nothing, just nodded.

Howard then returned to his room.

Christine Quinn didn’t know how she got back to the room, only that when she heard the conversation between him and Howard, her heart felt like it had a hole pierced through it, hurting so much.