Episode 18

Jed had woken up in a terrible mood, and the arrival of his lawyer and friend Leo did not help at all. The information was clear: Isabella Ana Grant had no weak spots. She was a professional, financially stable, with a considerable sum in the bank under her son's name. She was a respected and appreciated member of the community. As for her love life, there were no rumors, although it was said that the father of her child was a military man missing in combat. Although she was often seen with Julian O'Brien, a single man of good reputation and Stefano's godfather.

"So, that idiot is my son's godfather," Jed murmured.

"Seems like there's nothing we can do about that. No judge will grant you custody of the child. If you want, we can request a DNA test and, once paternity is proven, we can seek visitation rights," Leo advised.

"I don't need that, I know he's my son! And I don't want to just see him a few days. I want him to live with me!" Jed exclaimed.

"My advice is to try and calm down and reach an agreement with her. Going to court won't portray you in a good light. These messages and pictures put you at a clear disadvantage. On one side, we have a dedicated and selfless mother, and on the other, a womanizing bachelor who threatened a pregnant woman," his lawyer advised.

"I never sent those messages!" Jed shouted.

"Find the person responsible. That would be my advice," Berni, his lawyer, suggested.

Leo would take care of that. For now, he was working on the operation to follow Isabella. Early in the morning, they had seen her loading a bike and suitcases into her car. Jed's initial instinct was to go and confront her, but his lawyer prevented him.

"You have no right to intervene. And if she requests a restraining order, it will only make things worse for you," his lawyer advised.

And so, there he was, waiting for the custodians' call.

Isabella woke up to Stefano's shouts and jumps. It was the long-awaited day. They got up and had breakfast. The previous night, she had prepared everything. After kissing Julian, she couldn't sleep. He wasn't indifferent to her, and even though she had initiated the kiss, it wasn't quite right. It lacked passion, unlike the kiss from the conceited Italian. So, she had been thinking about that. She hadn't heard from Jed, which was a good thing, and now she would be free from him for 15 days.

After much thought, she concluded that passion wasn't necessary. She had received plenty of passion from Jed, but there was no love and respect. So, she concluded that she would rather base a relationship on respect and love. If everything went well, she would marry Julian upon her return. They got into the car and started their vacation.

Finally, the call came, and Jed packed a bag and headed to the airport. He didn't intend to drive; he would take advantage of the relatively short flight to work. Some issues had arisen at the Italy branch, but he couldn't focus on that. He could only think about his son. He wouldn't push him aside for his businesses; he would send someone to take care of them. Marixa was the perfect person—she was close by. Everything was going perfectly in London; he would ask her to handle it.