Chapter 92 – Until You Say Sorry Novel

The last thing Niamh could ever have expected was Jackson running into her arms, calling her his mom.

Jackson must have been feeling terrified and insecure.

He buried his tiny physique deep into her arms. It was as if the only way to lessen his fear was to hold her tight with both his hands while his eyes remained shut.

Niamh felt her heart clench at the signs of distress on his small cheeks. It had been a long while since she had felt such an intrusive stab of pain eating its way out of her chest.

She lifted a hand to lightly pat the back of Jackson’s head, her voice soft.

“It’s alright now, Jack. It’s alright.”

With her comforting words, Niamh saw Jackson relax and calm from his previous upset state.

“Is Jackie okay, Mommy?” Lily walked over and asked innocently.

“He’ll be alright. Don’t worry.” Niamh smiled. “Mommy made you some snacks. How about you share some with him?”

“Okay!” Lillian reached out a hand to Jackson. “Come on, Jackie, let’s go eat some snacks together! Mommy’s cake is the best!”

At her words, Jackson seemed to finally pull himself out of that mindset.

He blinked open his round eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering as he looked up to stare at Niamh Delgado. Slowly but surely, a red blush of what looked like embarrassment tinted his handsome little cheeks.

“Sorry.” He suddenly apologized.

The words echoed with familiarity in Niamh’s ears.

She smiled warmly and gently caressed Jackson’s small cheeks. “What are you apologizing for, silly? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

A quick flash of envy left as fast as it came in Jackson’s eyes as he took in Niamh’s gentle, kind smile. He envied Lillian for having such a warm and familiar mother figure.

Niamh found herself sighing an inexplicable breath of relief when she saw that the state of Jackson’s emotions was back to normal.

Mirth washed over her chest as she watched the two children sitting next to each other while eating the snacks she made.

Especially when she watched Jackson caringly wipe off the butter smudged on the corners of Lillian’s mouth.

Her heart clenched again, this time reminding her of the child she lost.

Right then, Lily got up to use the bathroom. Only when she was conveniently out of earshot did Niamh dare to ask, “Hey, Jack. How does your mother normally treat you?”

Jackson hesitated as he drank his orange juice, the light in his eyes slowly dimming.

The answer to the question was clear as day.

Three years ago, she had watched Nevaeh heartlessly slash Jackson’s cheek with a fruit knife.

Nevaeh scared her more than any demon for being able to remain aloof in the face of her son’s tears.

How could such a woman who preyed on her own son for status and wealth exist in this world?

To the point that Jackson would act in such a weird manner. What had she done that warranted so much fear in him that he ran into her arms and called her his mom?

Had Kendrick never paid Jackson any attention? Had Kendrick left Jackson to deal with Nevaeh’s torture alone?

Jackson’s silence had Niamh putting a hold on her questions. Ruffling his adorable head, she changed the subject.

“You think that I look a lot like someone you know who’s named Niamh, right?”

At her words, Jackson’s gaze bore heavily into her before he nodded. “I thought you were Niamh in the beginning.”

Niamh smiled. “What if I am this Niamh? I’m sure your mother told you that Niamh was a horrible woman, didn’t she? That this Niamh had hurt you before, Jack.”

Jackson’s expression grew solemn when he heard her words. Then, he started to shake his head vigorously.

“Niamh definitely isn’t a horrible woman. She would never hurt me.”

His words were certain, and his eyes were exceptionally determined.

Niamh was stunned as an indescribable feeling started to bubble in her heart.

To have Jackson Waldburg trust her so much despite his young age was something Niamh had never expected.

“Can I call you Big Sis Vera from now on?” Jackson looked at Niamh expectantly.

Niamh nodded and smiled, her mind wavering at the memory of Jackson calling her ‘Mom’ moments ago.

“Of course.”

Hearing her reply, a smile finally graced Jackson’s features.

This was the first time Niamh had seen Jackson smile, be it three years ago or three years later today.

Two dimples appeared by the corners of Jackson’s mouth as he smiled. He looked warm and adorable, just like Lillian.

Niamh felt warmth flood into her chest at the child’s angelic smile.

Not too long after, Kendrick arrived.

He wanted to enter the house, but Niamh held him off outside.

“Please do take better care of your son, Mr. Waldburg. He is, after all, the precious child of you and your beloved.” There was more to Niamh’s words that met the eye. Turning around, she fired Jackson a gentle and light smile. “Come on, Jack, your father’s here to fetch you home. You can always come again next time.”

“Okay.” Jackson nodded and slowly shuffled to stand beside Kendrick.

Instead of greeting his father, Jackson remained silent by his side.

The father-son duo gave her a strange and distant feeling.

“Thank you, Miss Vera.” Kendrick expressed his gratitude. He wanted to say more but was interrupted by an untimely phone call.

Looking at the caller ID, he realized that it was from Nevaeh.

Kendrick spent a few seconds hesitating before accepting the call anyway.

When the line connected, Nevaeh’s complaints and wailing drifted in from the other end. “Kendrick! I just went to pick Jack up from the kindergarten but the teacher told me a woman called Vera Quinn had already taken our son away! What does she want? Why did she kidnap Jack? What are we supposed to do now, Kendrick? I’m scared. What if Vera Quinn hurts Jack? Kendrick…”

There was no way Niamh could not catch a word with how loud Nevaeh was being.

She chuckled as she watched Kendrick frown with his lips apart, ready to respond. However, Niamh reached out to take his phone and placed it by her ear instead.

Nevaeh’s high-pitched screams continued to sound from the speaker. “Kendrick, Kendrick, can you hear me? Ken—”

“Miss Delgado? You’re correct, I’ve kidnapped your son. In fact, not only did I kidnap your son, but I also have your fiancé with me. You want to save them, don’t you? So how about you bring the ransom to my house? Oh, and call the police too while you’re at it.”

“…”

Nevaeh froze when she heard Niamh’s voice, slowly taking in the other woman’s words.

Imagining Nevaeh’s embarrassed and pissed expression, Niamh smiled and returned the phone to Kendrick.

“This must be the legendary love of Mr. Waldburg’s life. Quite the high maintenance, I’d say.”

Niamh waved Jackson goodbye with a warm smile. “Bye-bye, Jackson. See you next time.”

Jackson smiled and waved back. “Bye-bye, Big Sis Vera.”

Niamh nodded and quickly closed the doors.

She let out an ironic smile when she saw the grim expression Kendrick wore from her peripheral vision.

The following day, Kendrick caught Niamh by surprise as he found her working in the shop as usual.

In a tailored suit, Kendrick’s divine aura attracted numerous envious gazes.

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