Seeing that she did not say anything, Jackie paused for a moment and then said, “I'll pack up her things and put them in the second bedroom.”

As he spoke, he opened the door of the master bedroom and started tidying up.

Mara came over at this time, her eyes full of disdain. Jackie was busy packing her things and not paying attention to the outside. 

She leaned over to Clara's ear and said, “If you have the guts to leave, don't come back! Jack has been so happy with me these days.

“I am Jack's first love. Men always remember their first love. You may not know that he found me a few years ago.

“Without love, they can be husband and wife, but without love, they can never be lovers. Who do you think he loves more?”

There was a hint of sarcasm in Mara's eyes.

Then she shouted into the house, “Jack, I'd better leave first. You don't have to worry about my illness. I can take care of myself.”

Hearing the shouting, Jackie came out quickly and looked at me with dissatisfaction as he said, “You are old now, so you cannot live without someone else by your side.”

“No, Jack, I'm afraid Clara won’t welcome me either. After all, this is not my home.”

Mara covered his chest and left slowly.

Jackie was left behind, sighing as he cleaned the table.

‘Never mind, I do not want to argue with him,’ I just sneered in my heart and left him too.

A few days later, her daughter came back. As soon as she entered the house, she took Clara's hand and asked, “Mom, where is my dad?”

“Your dad went to South Park.”

Her daughter's eyes were wet and she was about to speak when she was stopped by Clara.

Children could not control their parents’ affairs and at that time, Clara really did not want them to worry about it.

She took out the jewelry she had worn over the years, including a pair of gold bracelets with diamonds on it, which her mother had given her when she got married. 

She also showed her several gold necklaces and gold earrings, which were all given to her by Jackie on birthdays and anniversaries over the years. 

Although they were all old styles, they were still very valuable items.

All these things together were worth at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. She gave them all to her daughter because she knew how hard her daughter had worked.

She also kept some cash for herself to spend for the next two months and gave it all to her daughter.

“By the way, this old house was left to me by your grandfather, so I'll leave it to your brother. It's up to him to keep it or sell it. He's the pillar of the family and the pressure is always greater, so don't think too much about it.”

In an instant, her daughter understood the meaning of her words, if they were her last words, so she could not stop crying. Her mother's forced smile and pretended relaxed look made her feel even more distressed.

When Jackie returned, his daughter had already left. Only the nutritional supplements and fruits neatly arranged in the living room proved that his daughter had been back.

“Has our daughter ever come back?”

“Um.”

“Why didn't you tell me that our daughter was coming back?”

But she just left him in silence. 

Usually, Clara cared most about the reunion day. So, she had been acting out of character lately, traveling alone and eating alone at the dining table.

She used to be the most timid person and never dared to go out alone. Jackie felt a little flustered for some reason.

He moved his lips, wanting to chat with Clara about something, but seeing that she was not interested, he closed his mouth again.

A moment later, Clara transferred the house to her son. This house used to be the old house of the Gallegos family after all. 

Since she was the only daughter of the family, she had lived there since her parents passed away, so it had always been in the name of Clara.

Jackie was not aware of it until he received a call from his son, “Dad, why do you and mom want to transfer the house?”

After completing the formalities, Clara sat in the living room, leisurely eating an apple.

“Clara, what happened? Why did you transfer the house to your son?”

He was breathing heavily and it was obvious that he had run back in a hurry.

“Nothing, we are getting older, so we have to plan early. Sooner or later, it will be theirs, so why not prepare early, just in case something happens to us?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Clara's words made his heart tighten. He had never thought about what if. When he thought about it carefully, they were already this old, had lived half of their lives, had both sons and daughters and were living an enviable life after retirement.

Since when did something seem different? Clara's abnormal behavior always came to his mind, as if she was hiding something. 

Jackie was inexplicably a little panicked. Could she be sick?

He spoke subconsciously, “Clara, are you feeling unwell? Why don't I go with you to get checked tomorrow?”

Clara looked calm when she answered, “No, I'm fine.”

Lately he seemed to be finding it increasingly difficult to understand her.

She did not ask about his daily behavior, did not care whether he had breakfast and tended her garden as usual. He always felt that she was strange.

After a while, the two sat in the living room in silence.

Jackie was silent for a while and could not help but say, “Clara, we are not only lovers, but also relatives. If there is anything, you must tell me, don't force yourself.”

He wanted to say that he still cared about her, but he still married another woman with great fanfare after she left. 

Even though her body was still warm and even though his children objected, he still threw his oath to Clara to the winds.

So no one knew how sincere he was.

After that day, he no longer went to South Park for a walk early in the morning and returned late at night, but always hung around in front of Clara.

While she was cooking in the kitchen, he would light the fire, boil water, cut vegetables and fetch bowls; while she was shoveling the soil in the yard, he would water the flowers. 

In the morning, when he got up, he would just walk to the gate, turn around and come back.

The two of them were busy and harmonious, as if the days of their love for each other had returned again.

During this time, his cell phone kept ringing. He pressed the button again and again and finally it was turned off.

He picked up the morning paper and read it while discussing with Clara, “Our country won again in table tennis. It is worthy of being the national sport. These kids are as good as the veterans. 

“Especially that one, he has a righteous face. I see many little girls are very enthusiastic about him.”

Clara did not say anything. He thought she was still angry because he went to look after Mara so many times. 

“Clara, Mara is alone here. I am just looking after her. If you don't like it, I will not care about her anymore.”

Clara sneered, “I don't dislike her. I know you just want to take care of her, that's all.”

He understood the meaning of the words, but Jackie's face still darkened. The corners of his mouth twitched but he did not say a word.

Clara smiled and said again, “You can also bring her home, I don't mind, I can even give up the master bedroom.”

His breath was choked and the hand holding the newspaper trembled slightly.

No matter how well he covered up his dirty thoughts, he could not deceive his eyes.

Looking far away, Clara said slowly, “Jackie, do you remember how we met?”

Jackie also put down the newspaper with a deep look in his eyes. 

He had just broken up that year and was walking on the street bored. At the corner, a girl in a white dress and pigtails caught his sight. 

The girl had fair skin and a bright smile and he seemed to be missing Mara, with whom he had just broken up. No, she was more beautiful than Mara.

When she was about to leave, he hurriedly chased after her and thus an unforgettable relationship began.

In the early years, the woman stood strong while the man remained fragile and Clara's family had always been kind. 

He was a fledgling boy from the countryside, yet Clara wholeheartedly supported his ambitions, choosing instead to stay home, care for their family and embrace motherhood.

Decades passed in a flash and the once lovely girl had traces of time on her face. He thought that the two of them would be together until the end of their lives, supporting each other.

But that day in South Park he met Mara, his first love. His heart, which had calmed down for a long time, was like a tranquil lake that was stirred up again. 

He thought he had hidden it well, but he was still discovered.

From Clara 's alienation during this period, he knew that he had been discovered.

He wondered if Clara was Mara's replacement. Her appearance just happened to fill the missing feelings after breaking up with Mara. 

But when she gradually became distant and behaved strangely, he realized that after years of companionship, he had long been unable to leave Clara. 

Some people lightly tease his calm heart, while some people were engraved in his bones and could ot be separated.

When he came to his senses, Clara had already returned to her room. Jackie knocked on the door gently as he called her, “Clara "

There was no response, so he had to go back to the living room. That night, Jackie sat on the sofa all night.

Only to wake up by a rapid knock on the door in the early morning, “Jack, Jack "

Mara sobbed and her wrinkled face looked inappropriately weird because of her coquettishness. 

The moment Jackie opened the gate and she threw herself into his arms. “Jack, why have you not answered my calls recently? I've been waiting for you to find me. You said you would take care of me.”

Clara stood at the door and watched all this coldly. Jackie awkwardly pushed Mara away from his arms and explained, “Mara, if you feel uncomfortable, you should call the child. It's not good to be alone.”

Mara looked surprised. She asked in sobs, “Jack, what did you say? You... don't want to care about me anymore.”

Mara glared at Clara with resentment and then cried pitifully, “Okay, I don't need you to care about me. Tracey does not care about me and you do not care about me either. Just let me die of illness.”

She ran away crying. Jackie wanted to chase her but he was in a dilemma because he had to consider the person in front of him.

“Clara, I'll be back soon. I'm really worried that something might happen to her.”

In the end he chased after him.

Tears fell without Clara noticing. The inner defense that she once thought was indestructible was actually fragile. 

‘Jackie, this is the last time I will cry for you,’ Clara muttered to herself.

The frequency of chest pain became more and more frequent. She knew it was a sign of an impending illness. 

Her breathing became difficult and heavy and the feeling of suffocation made her realize that she was dying.

After calming down, Clara made herself a hearty breakfast with lots of delicious food to share.

A sudden ringing of a bell broke the tranquility of the early morning.

“Hello, are you Ms. Gallegos? This is the local Red Cross. We have received your application for body donation on the official website. 

“Now we are informing you that you can bring the paper version of the materials in three days to go through the donation registration procedures and receive the donation certificate and donation card.”

“Okay, I will pick it up on time.”

“What are you going to get?”

Just as she was about to hang up the phone, Jackie's voice suddenly sounded behind her and Clara hung up the phone in a hurry.

“Nothing,” she said casually, not wanting to waste time talking to him.

Jackie felt uneasy for some reason.

The third day passed quickly and Jackie happened to be out, so Clara took the materials to the local Red Cross to go through the formalities.

When Clara came out, she saw Jackie accompanying Mara shopping. She was walking in front and he was following behind, looking very much in love.

Looking at them coldly, Clara no longer felt any waves in her heart.

It took another month to deal with these things and she had less and less time.