AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She found Matt’s habit of leaving little handwritten notes to her one of the cutest things about him. He could have just texted but seeing him put in this effort was something she found very charming.
When she got to the main hall of the second floor, she was told that Matt and Annalyse were out on the terrace. There was a table that had been set outside. The view alone was enough to make Jessica forget all about eating, but the table laid out a big breakfast, and Matt and his mother were just about to get started. They greeted her when she came out to the terrace.
“Good morning, Jessica! Sleep well?” asked Annalyse in her usual cheery tone.
“Yes. How was your day with your friends yesterday?” Jessica asked her.
“Oh, wonderful! What a bunch of lovelies my friends are. We were out all day, so I went to bed early last night because I was exhausted. I told them all about you, and they are all asking me to let them meet you at once! I told them that I was giving you some time to get settled into your new life and that they could wait.” Annalyse giggled. She had fine laugh lines on the outer corner of her eyes, which indicated that she was a woman who smiled a lot. Jessica loved that about her, the fact that she was such positive energy to have around. Annalyse could light up any mood by just being in the room.
“That’s alright. I would love to meet them sometime,” Jessica said with a smile. She sat across Matt on the table. He poured her some coffee that she was grateful to take a sip of. Her day could not start without that first cup of morning coffee. They ate their breakfast, conversed about Annalyse’s wild adventures with her friends, and Jessica shared some of her stories from when she attended nursing school. Annalyse was delighted to hear anything she had to say. Matt was too because he seemed very interested in her stories. The three of them talked and laughed. When he asked for a helping of pudding, Jessica served it on his plate.
“You guys make such a good couple. You remind me of when I was young and had Richard by my side,” Annalyse said, giving them a look of pure admiration that made Jessica blush. Matt smiled a little sadly at the mention of his birth father and reached out to pat his mother’s shoulders. “Dad loved you a lot,” he said. After finishing his pudding in a rush, he got up, gave a quick kiss on Annalyse on the cheek, and announced that he had to go to his office. He said he had a lot to work on today and would be home late. After hearing that Jessica’s heart fell a little, but she was glad to get the chance to use this time to bond with Annalyse, who she hadn’t gotten to know that much since she came, and she was glad that Annabeth would be here later so that their day would be fun even though Matt wouldn’t be present for most of it.
Jessica hesitated a little before asking, “Annalyse, tell me about your first husband. From what little I have heard, he sounds like he was a wonderful person.”
Annalyse’s face took on a sad but softened look. Jessica noticed both Matt and Annalyse took on that same expression when they talked about the late Richard Miller. “Oh, he was a very wonderful person indeed,” she said. “The best husband a girl could ask for. Our marriage was arranged by our families, but we had a prolonged courtship, and Richard had used that time to make sure I was thoroughly in love with him. By the time we were married, I knew that fate had matched me with my soulmate. I felt like the luckiest girl alive. We were both young, and first love has its own special place in your heart, you know?”
Jessica wondered what it felt like to have such a strong bond with someone, what it felt like knowing you were in the right place with the perfect person in your life and loving someone with complete confidence that they were the one. She had believed she loved Spencer for such a long time, but she couldn’t recall ever feeling anything close to what Annalyse was describing, and it wasn’t even that Spencer was the first partner she’s been with. She’d had a few boyfriends before him, but she was too young back then for anything long-lasting, and she had never been in love with any of them.
Annalyse used Jessica’s silence to continue, “We were in our early twenties when we got married and had Matt. Richard was an amazing father to him. Growing up, Matt treated him like his hero and admired him in every way he could. To him, his father was the best person in the whole world. Richard took great care of the kids —always made sure to spend lots of time with them and participate in raising them, even though we had a lot of servants who could have done it. Usually, that is how it is with families in our circle, but Richard made sure he was involved in his children’s upbringing. We were a close-knit family, happy in our bubble, and Matt was always following Richard around.”
“Yeah, I can already understand that he loves his father deeply,” Jessica said.
“Matt was the best kid one could ask for. Even though, growing up, he had a lot of privileges, he was never arrogant. That was one of the things everyone will tell you about him, that he is very humble with the staff.”
“Yes, I noticed that about him. Every person on the staff I’ve met so far seems to genuinely love and respect him. It is the same in his office and hotels,” Jessica provided.
“That’s because, growing up, we taught both our kids to treat the servants with respect and kindness. Matt just resonated with it perfectly because he is a kind person from the heart. He was the apple of the eye of his nanny, the butler, and just about everyone around the house. Of course, that rubbed off on Annabeth too. Both were well-loved by the staff because of how they treated them. I’ve seen a lot of my friends’ kids turning out to be bratty and who have not an inch of regard for the people that serve them, not my Matt and Annabeth, though,” Annalyse said, sounding proud of her kids.
Jessica smiled at her mother-in-law and said, “You have done such an amazing job with your kids. Both of them turned out to be wonderful people.”
“Thank you, my dear. You are quite a wonderful person yourself. I know I said it just a while ago, but I truly do think Matt did the right thing in marrying you. No one cares what circumstances he married in. The fact that he had the eye to pick out the perfect woman for himself makes me proud to think that I’ve raised him right,” Annalyse said to Jessica, her eyes, earnest. Jessica felt warmth spread across her chest.
“Oh, you over speak,” she said, feeling shy.
“Not in the least. I’ve seen the two of you. I’ve seen how you care for him even when you don’t say it, and I’ve seen how he is around you. It’s like he’s a different person now, more mature and responsible. Just like a man who knows that he loves his wife. Thank you for bringing that along with my son.”
Jessica didn’t know what to say. She was overwhelmed by such words coming from Annalyse. Just then, a voice behind them said, “What did I miss? Got here as fast as I could.”
Annalyse and Jessica both turned around, interrupted by Annabeth’s sudden voice. They were so lost in their conversation that they hadn’t heard her come up.
“Annabeth! You are finally here!” Jessica exclaimed and took Annabeth in a tight hug. Letting her go, she looked behind Annabeth and saw three of the most beautiful children she’d ever seen—two little boys and a girl who seemed to be older than them. Behind the children were two other young women, who she assumed to be their nannies. Annalyse got up and hugged her grandchildren. They were delighted with her and ran into her hug, all three of them at once.
“They are crazy for their grandma. She spoils them to no end,” Annabeth said and smiled, looking at her mother and children.
“Oh, hello there!” she called out to the children.
“Kids, come and say hello to your auntie. This is Jessica. Remember I told you about her?” Annabeth asked. The boys just stared at her with wide eyes, but the girl nodded. Annabeth introduced them, “This is Andrea. She’s five years old, and these are Ethan and Noah. They’re both three—twins.”
Jessica gently offered her hand. The kids hesitated at first, but then Andrea gingerly took her hand, and Jessica shook it. “Nice to meet you, Andrea. You have such a beautiful name.”
“Nice to meet you too, Auntie Jessica. You are pretty,” Andrea said in her little voice.
“Aww… do you think so, Andrea? Your auntie is really pretty, isn’t she?” Annabeth said and hugged her little girl. Turning towards Jessica, she said, “Wait ‘till they open up to you a little. You’ll have your hands full then. They’re such a handful. Right now, they are shy around a new person. These are Magda and Susan, their nannies. It would have been impossible to handle the three of them without them. The children love them, and they do a good job taking care of them.”
Jessica nodded politely to the nannies. Annabeth told them to see to the kids if they needed to go to the washroom after their car ride from home, and they took the kids and went downstairs.
“Did you have breakfast, Annabeth? If not, then please join us at the table,” Jessica offered.
