"I hope so that they're a lot happier in their afterlife than they were when they were alive. They have
suffered a lot while they were alive, but now, they won't have to go through any of that."
James hissed with a sigh, as though he hated the past. Jacob stood up, but could not say a word.
"Forget it, Uncle James, it's all over now. Though the past has been a terrible and regrettable one, I am
with you now." Although Jacob said that, he did not find those words comforting enough, even for a
smart man like him.
"Sometimes, I wonder if she still blames me..." Hearing James' shocking words, jacob was speechless.
Everyone was persistent about something. Perhaps, she was James'.
"Do you miss her, Uncle James? You could go see her, right?" Jacob said with caution, after giving it
some careful thought.
"That would be pointless because I threw her ashes into the ocean after her death. She doesn't even
have a grave. The only place she lives is in my heart." Saying that, James placed his hands on his
knees and hung his head.
Jacob could see that he was in a lot of pain. He wanted to comfort him, but could not find the right
words to say to him.
"Never mind about me. Go to bed, Jacob. There's no need for you to boil the water, I won't be needing
it. I just want to sit here for a while. Good sleep has become a rare thing in my life. I barely get any
sleep at all these days,"
James said with a heavy sigh.
That moment, Jacob felt as though he had grown ten years older.
"I'll sit with you, Uncle James, I am not sleepy either," Jacob said as he walked over to the couch. He
could relate to the way James was feeling.
"I'm fine, Jacob, you can go to bed. There's a lot of troubles with the company too, lately. You should go
to work tomorrow,"
James said in a low voice. Easy life was a privilege that no one had. Everyone had their own pains to
deal with and James knew that better than anyone else.
"That doesn't matter. Besides, I am not sleepy yet, so let me sit with you for a while, Uncle." Jacob sat
down on the couch, unwilling to budge.
The two of them sat there in silence. Jacob had never been able to sit with someone who was older
than him in silence when he was younger, so he felt peaceful. Each person's life had its own problem
and everyone had their own difficulties that they needed to take care of. Jacob felt that he had to take
each step in life cautiously.
After sitting there for a while in silence, James stood up and looked out the window. "It's late, Jacob.
Thanks for sitting with me, but you need to get some rest. You have to go to work tomorrow early."
Jacob nodded seeing that his uncle was not as depressed as he was before.
"All right, Uncle, you go to bed, too." Saying that, Jacob waited until James went to his room before he
dragged his tired body upstairs.
It was early in the morning when Jacob entered his room and saw that Sara had kicked the blanket off
her body in her sleep. He couldn't help but laugh. However, he was glad that she was still there.
He was blessed to have her by his side, even though life had been miserable for both of them lately. He
had lost a lot, but at least he had her.
Jacob walked over to her side and turned on the bedside lamp, which glowed warmly. As the light hit
Sara's face, she frowned and covered her eyes.
She was so adorable that it made Jacob smile. Seeing her act like a child, he could not stop laughing.
Jacob bent over and kissed Sara on the forehead, until she stopped frowning.
"Good night, my darling Sara," Jacob said softly.
"Good night," Sara mumbled in her sleep before she turned over and fell asleep.
The next morning, after having breakfast, James and Jacob stood at the door, waving goodbye to Sara.
Jacob had no choice but to go to the company that day as the directors were already quite displeased
with him.
Throughout the way, James briefed Jacob on the company's strategies and Jacob nodded in reply.
Once they were done discussing, Jacob leaned against his seat. Since he had not slept well the
previous night, he was a bit drowsy.
"Uncle, what if Jonathan is still keen on making trouble? What should we do if he stirs up something
new today?" Jacob asked casually with his eyes closed.
"Let's wait and see what he would do. I believe that I can defeat him," James said in a serious tone,
unafraid of the issue they were facing.
"Uncle, didn't you ask me to be careful with him before? I don't think that he would do something to hurt
us," Jacob said, his eyes still closed shut.
"In fact, I did not say that in a serious way, I was just trying to warn you that we should not
underestimate him. He's nothing like we thought he was." James coughed twice, as though something
was caught in his throat.
"Well, I think that he might not be so good at scheming against us. Looks like we could easily change
him." Jacob's tone was calm, as though they were discussing about what food to eat for their next
meal.
"Anyway, according to my intel, he seems to be smart, but that might not be the case." James'
evaluation of Jonathan was quite accurate. In fact, he had judged him without any bias in the
beginning.
However, as time went by, his impression about Jonathan changed. According to James, Jonathan had
ruined his image on his own.
"I hope the conflict has settled down by the time we go to the company." After saying that, Jacob fell
silent.
James looked out the window. The morning breeze was cold at first, but after the warm sunshine came,
it was much more pleasant.
The driver looked serious about driving the car. Perhaps he would remember their conversation,
perhaps he would forget all about it.
Anyway, he knew that he should not be getting involved in the matter. As the CEO's driver, he had to
know how to keep secrets.
When they arrived at the company, Jacob saw many of the directors waiting for him. They were tired
and yawning, but once they saw Jacob, they felt a lot better.
Although Jacob knew that making them clock in every day was not the best way to discipline them, he
felt that it was necessary for the company's development.
Jonathan glared at them, feeling that he had been expecting such a situation.
"What brings our dear CEO to the company so early today? He's here before most people!"
Jonathan mocked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he looked at the directors who were waiting to
check in. He was standing in the middle in a queue full of directors, staring at Jacob.
"I don't think that it's under your control to tell me when I should come to work. Just do your job as a
good director. After all, there are so many directors in the company, and I can't manage them all. You
need to learn to manage things on your own."
Saying that, Jacob glanced at the directors in the queue.
Everyone looked nervous and quickly pulled themselves together.
"Jacob, now that you have enforced such a rule for us, I am hoping that you too, will follow it. Because,
if you can't do it, you can't ask us to do it, right?"
Jonathan retorted, glaring at him. However, to Jacob, it was just another day where Jonathan was
venting his anger towards him.
The directors around him seemed to be displeased with that. They glanced at Jacob, who was looking
ahead fearlessly.
He had been the CEO long enough to know that nothing was a surprise. It was impossible for his
subordinates to scare him away, so he remained calm.
"I don't think you know your place. You're just a director, so you'd better learn to do your job. And you
should only manage people that you're supposed to, not your superiors."
Jacob was much taller than Jonathan. Even though they stood apart from each other, Jacob still looked
intimidating.
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