Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 156

"If you put it that way, I'm Toby's father. Shouldn't I bear even more of the responsibility?"

That was exactly the response Vivienne had been angling for. She needed to constantly remind him of his status and his obligations, cementing them into his very bones. That way, if his mind ever started to wander, he would pull himself back from the ledge and keep his impulses in check.

"That's not what I meant," Vivienne said, squeezing out a few strategic tears. "I just feel so awful for Toby. We rarely have time to spend with him, and even when he's sick, he doesn't throw a fit. If I hadn't noticed, he probably wouldn't have even told me."

Julian felt a sudden pang of guilt. Lately, he really hadn't been paying them much attention. He pulled out a tissue and gently wiped her tears. "Alright, I understand. I'll make sure to carve out more time for you both. I'll try my best not to schedule work on the weekends, okay?"

"Really?" Even though she had achieved her goal, Vivienne kept up the charade just to be safe.

"Of course."

"That's wonderful. I'm sure Toby will be thrilled when he wakes up and hears the news."

Back on Willow's end, since the negotiations with Julian had completely fallen apart, she didn't bother lingering outside and headed straight home.

Jade Yates wasn't there. When she left early that morning, she had mentioned having a court hearing, and Willow hadn't thought much of it. Glancing at the clock, she figured Jade would be back soon and started preparing dinner.

An hour later, Jade walked through the door right on cue. Seeing the feast Willow had laid out on the dining table, her eyes widened in shock. "What's the special occasion? Why all the amazing food?"

Willow emerged from the kitchen, carrying the final dish. "No special occasion. I just wanted to say thank you."

"Jade," Willow sighed, gently pushing her down into a chair and looking at her softly. "I know everything. Julian already came to see me."

Hearing that, Jade's first reaction wasn't to worry about her own situation. Instead, she instantly fired back, "Julian came to see you? What did he want? Did he try to bully you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Willow reassured her. "Calm down. Forget about him for a second; he's not important. What I want to know is, why didn't you tell me something as massive as losing your job?"

Brought back to the topic, Jade instantly felt defensive, her voice dropping a few octaves. "It's just a job. People quit all the time; there was no need to mention it. Telling you would have only given you something else to stress over. Besides, I'll find a new gig in a few days."

Willow shook her head. "But this happened because of me. And worse, it's dragging your parents down too."