Chapter 8

Serenity waited until nine o'clock at night, but Jack still did not show up. She was worried that something might have happened to him, but she could not even call him because he had no cell phone with him. Serenity simply walked out of her home and went to the gate area, constantly looking around, hoping to see the figure she was expecting soon. She did not know how long she had waited until she saw a familiar figure walking toward her. "Jack!" She finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him. Jackson was a little startled to see the figure running toward him. He watched her running up to him panting slightly, her face red from the cold, but her beautiful eyes sparkling brightly. "Great, you're finally back," Serenity said. Jackson looked at her and asked, "Sis, were you... waiting for me?" He gently brushed her cheeks with his hand, and he could feel the coldness on her cheeks through his fingertips. It seemed like she had been waiting outside for quite some time. "Yeah. I was so worried because you were still not home, and it's gotten so late. Fortunately, you’ve come back safe and sound," Serenity answered with a warm smile. Jackson's eyes wandered slightly. Serenity was worried about Jack, not Jackson Valor of the Valor Group. He wondered if that would change when she discovered that he was Jackson Valor. Would she still be so worried about him? "I was running late distributing flyers," Jackson explained with a small smile. "Your hands must be cold. Let me warm them up." Jackson held her cold hands in his palms, and he imitated what she had done previously and rubbed the palm of his hands against the back of her hands to warm her up. Serenity's palms gradually warmed up. It was such a cold day, but it felt so warm. "Jack, it's good to have you around." She murmured. Jack smiled. "I hope you remember this and don't regret saying such a thing." "I won't." She then urged, "Alright, my hands are warm now. Let's go home. I’ll warm up the food." Serenity dragged Jackson into the apartment, not noticing the black car parked at the corner of the street near the gate. At the same time, Connor, who was in the car, could barely believe what he had just seen, and his thoughts came to a halt. Had Jackson Valor been trying to warm Serenity’s hands with his actions earlier?! Connor had never seen Mr. Valor act this way with any woman, not even his late fiance Mira Hall. However, Mr. Valor treated Serenity differently. Furthermore, Serenity was the perpetrator of Mira's car accident! Connor then remembered the night that Mr. Valor had personally picked up the drunk Serenity at the club, and he felt even more perplexed. 'What was Mr. Valor thinking?' Connor thought, 'Also, how much of a place does she hold in his heart?' *** The next day, in the CEO's office, as he was reporting on the itinerary and work matters, Connor could not help but continuously glance at Jackson's hands. Jackson had beautiful hands with long fingers, and as a man, even Connor found his boss's hands truly beautiful. Nevertheless, Connor had seen these hands relentlessly choke someone's neck, almost killing that person. Jackson did not mind letting the dripping blood flow all over his hands, making people tremble and shiver in fear. However, Connor had never seen these hands warming another pair of hands, especially the hands of a woman who had just gotten out of prison. "What's wrong with my hands?" Jackson's voice suddenly rang in Connor's ears. "Oh, it's nothing." Connor came back to his senses and hurriedly averted his eyes. He then handed an invitation over to Jackson. "This is an invitation from the Hall family. Jenny Hall and Zeke Shaw will get engaged in two weeks, and Mr. Hall is hoping you can attend." "Engagement?" Jackson glanced at the invitation. Jackson immediately understood the Hall family's intention of inviting him. After all, the Hall family's eldest daughter, Mira Hall, was his late fiancee. Meanwhile, Zeke Shaw's former girlfriend, Serenity, was the cause of Mira's death. The Hall family probably wanted to see his attitude on this matter. "Let's go check it out, then," said Jackson. Connor took note of it. That afternoon, Connor accompanied Jackson to a private hospital in the city. This was an exclusive private hospital that served only the rich and powerful. Connor stood waiting outside the ward as Jackson pushed the door open and walked in slowly. Connor knew the old man in the ward. Zack Valor was once a great man. He was all-powerful in Solaria, but his only son had run away from home for a woman. Years later, all that returned to the Valor family were his only son's ashes and a young child. Meanwhile, in the ward, Jackson looked at the old man in the bed. Zack was whom he should call his grandfather. He was dressed in a hospital gown and had an IV drip on the back of his hand. Zack was getting weaker day by day, and he looked a little frail. Zack looked at his only grandson and said, "There you are." "Yeah. I came to visit," Jackson responded. The grandfather and grandson faced each other quietly like this. The two seemed to be accustomed to such silence. It took a while for Zack to break the silence. "I heard from the secretary. Is it true that the Hall and Shaw families are getting united in marriage?" Zack might be hospitalized, but his secretary would continue to report on important matters daily. "They're getting engaged in two weeks. They sent the invitation," Jackson answered. "Are you going?" "Why not?" he asked in reply. Zack's eyes suddenly perked up. He stared at his grandson for a long time and suddenly laughed. "Great. That’s good. You're not like your father." Ever since Mira's death, Jackson had not been involved with any woman over the past three years. Zack had been worried that his grandson would be just like his son and that Jackson had been deeply in love with Mira and was unable to accept the Hall and Shaw family's marriage. After all, Zeke's ex-girlfriend was the one who had killed Mira. Jackson naturally understood Zack's concern and what he meant. "Yeah. I'm not him, and I won't be like him." Zack suddenly grabbed Jackson's wrist. With his old wrinkled fingers, he grabbed Jackson's wrist with all his might. "Remember what you’ve said today. Never be like him. If he had listened to me, things wouldn't have been..." Zack ground his teeth as a glint of hatred flashed in his eyes. He squeezed his fingers on Jackson's wrists so hard that red marks appeared. Jackson did not seem to feel the pain. Then, a mocking half-smile slowly appeared on his lips. Jackson would never give up everything for a woman, let alone bow or grovel.