Neera's face turned a deep shade of red at Jean's words, embarrassment flooding her features like a sunset glow.
Her hand, which had involuntarily clung to him, seemed to scorch her upon contact. She quickly released her grip and pushed him away with irritation.
"Who... who says I'm taking advantage of you?"
Jean straightened himself, still holding her gently, unwilling to let her go.
"Are you sure? I heard you had a fever, so I came over to check on you. My intention was just to cover you with the blanket. But you ended up hugging me. I couldn't avoid it, could I?"
As he spoke, the triplets' heads popped up from behind Jean, one after another.
Harvey chimed in, "Mommy, what Uncle Jean is saying is right."
Sammy added, "Yeah, we can confirm that!"
Penny joined in, "Mommy, you did kind of take advantage of Uncle Jean. You should admit it."
The triplets had been hidden behind Jean, unnoticed by Neera until now.
Seeing them chiming in, Neera's embarrassment doubled. She avoided looking at them for a moment.
The situation was spiraling into chaos, and Neera felt utterly mortified. In a flustered attempt to clarify, she stammered, "Wha... What do you mean taking advantage? Don't talk nonsense. I was just dreaming. I didn't do it on purpose..."
Flustered, Neera could not find the right words. Sensing her embarrassment, Jean stopped teasing her and asked sincerely, "How are you feeling now? Your temperature's still pretty high from the hug earlier."
His earnest question only deepened Neera's blush, the heat reaching her cheeks.
Attempting to divert attention from the awkwardness, she lifted her hand and pressed it against her forehead, confirming that her fever had not subsided.
Concerned, Penny tiptoed and reached out to touch her forehead, her delicate eyebrows furrowing.
"It hasn't gone down yet, Mommy. Why don't we go to the hospital?"
"I think so too, it's better to go to the hospital for a check-up," Jean also added his voice to the suggestion.
However, Neera remained resistant.
"No, I'm fine. It's not serious enough to warrant a doctor's visit. It's just a mild cold and fever. I should be better by tomorrow after a little rest and some medication."
At this moment, Harvey stood up and explained, "Mommy's health isn't very strong. According to what Grandaunt told us, she went through a lot when she gave birth to the three of us. While she's improved over the years, when she gets overworked, her body tends to weaken more than that of an average person."
He spoke with a sense of understanding, his gaze subtly locking onto Jean.
Even though we can't acknowledge him as our Daddy yet, I need to let him know how much pain Mommy went through!
Jean understood him.
Just a few days ago, this woman had been tirelessly helping his mother get better. It was not surprising that she had fallen ill after being exposed to the rain.
A hint of unintentional pity stirred within him. He expressed his regret, "I'm sorry. You went through all this to help me. Thank you for your hard work."
Neera dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand. "There's no need to be sorry. I'm a doctor, and I must care for and heal the sick. There's no reason to shy away from it."
Jean realized that Neera was the sort of person who would not seek recognition for her actions. Everything she did came from her heart. His appreciation for her deepened further.
Respecting Neera's decision not to go to the hospital, Jean did not press the matter. Instead, he suggested subtly, "In that case, have something to eat first. If the fever persists, we can consider going to the hospital later."
Neera nodded in agreement rather than opposition.
Not long after, Ian came downstairs and instructed Auntie Zuniga to bring up the porridge and medication. Neera was feeling feverish and exhausted, so she remained in bed as she ate half a bowl of porridge and took the medicine.
As the warmth of the food spread through her, she felt a slight alleviation of her discomfort. Drowsiness set in, and she dozed off once more.
When she woke up again, it was past eleven o'clock in the evening.
Slowly sitting up, Neera sensed that her body felt somewhat lighter than before. Just as she was about to get up, she caught faint voices in the distance.
The voices seemed to be coming from near the door, likely Jean and Ian.
Neera found it somewhat surprising that they had not left yet as it was late.
While eavesdropping, she managed to catch the name "Sonny."
However, due to the distance between them and the intermittency of their conversation, she could not make out the exact words.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Enigmatic Return (Neera and Jean)
What kind of stupid confusion is this, how come she didn't know that the my bourvart they are talking about is Jean?...
Author uses too many words to describe useless things and then don't clarify others, who is this aunts friend. Neere went to play golf with who?...
Why is she keeping so many secrets from Jean?...
is it too much to ask, when are they going to know that Jean is the father of her triplets???? the man that night 6yrs ago is Jean???!!!!!!...
Chapter 328, did Alfonso not meet Jeann before, how does he not recognise him huh...
I'm a bit confused, does Roxanna not know that her sister is married..this chapter makes it look like she doesn't know but they already went to Jean for money huh...
Too many words to explain somethings, it's a waste.......
Good Day Dear Author! i just want to ask, why it cant read in normal format? the sentences for every chapter is cut, almost half of the sentence is cut thats why cant read it as whole. Thankyou....