Chapter 1347: Here to take her back
When you hate someone, you remember them. Not just what they did, but every detail of their face. Every trauma they put you through, every emotion they made you feel.
And Jessa hated that woman—her brother’s woman—so much that she often had nightmares about her. She hated her and Jason so much that she wished for their deaths. And if they died, she knew she would laugh at their graves and celebrate.
They—Jason and Priscilla—took everything from her. Their parents, their home, her future—her life.
The rage and trauma took a long time to heal. A very long time, with the help of a patient man who was Jessa’s only saving grace. Had it not been for Lester, she knew that, if not prison, she would have ended up living a life far different from the one she had before meeting Allison. After all, she lost her parents because of her brother and that woman. And she lost her home because they sold it for their gambling addiction.
That was why Jessa almost couldn’t bring herself to take in the child said to be Priscilla and Jason’s. Because in that moment, it reopened all the scars she had painstakingly concealed. It dragged back all the trauma she had endured for years. Had it not been for Lester’s insistence, she would never have brought Penny home. She would’ve put her up for adoption instead. But Lester... he wanted to keep the child.
Fortunately, despite the rough start, Penny proved useful. She helped the family, so much so that Jessa almost saw herself in her. It wasn’t love at first sight—far from it. At first, Jessa only saw Penny as a tool, someone who could bring money into the household. But over time, she began to see that Penny was not Jason. Not Priscilla. And slowly, Jessa opened her heart to the little piglet, who seemed happy as long as she was fed.
It took time, courage, and heart for Jessa to understand that the child was innocent. That Penny did not deserve the anger her parents had caused. That was why she had been able to straighten Nina out—because she had learned from those thirteen years Penny had been under her care.
But... if an innocent child could rip open old wounds simply by existing as Jason and Priscilla’s daughter, what would happen if the very person who had ruined her life suddenly showed up at her doorstep?
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[Present Time]
"Priscilla."
A name Jessa never thought she would utter again slipped past her lips. Her eyes widened, pupils contracting as she held her breath in utter shock.