Hi Ex, Your Uncle Is My Hubby Now - Chapter 114: Chapter 114

"Mr. Tucker, you're still in the parking garage?" Irene asked, recognizing the garage in the background behind Jeremy.
Hurrying into the elevator, Irene reminded Jeremy, "Wait for me a minute. I have something for you."
"I've got the pickled radish," Jeremy said.
"It's something else," Irene said with a smile.
She had no trouble finding Jeremy in the parking garage.
Aiden waited in the car, while Jeremy leaned against the hood, head bowed in thought.
Irene hurried over to him with quick, light steps.
Irene opened her bag, pulled a talisman from the inner pocket, and handed it to Jeremy. "Jeremy, this health charm was drawn by the pastor of St. Redhill Church in Viremont City. I had Grandma get it for you."
Jeremy studied the talisman, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "You actually believe in this stuff?"
Irene shrugged. "Think of it as a good luck charm."
She pressed the talisman into Jeremy's palm. "I'm off to work. See you!"
After watching Irene get into her car, Jeremy finally looked down and studied the talisman in his palm.
In the early years of his illness, Jeremy's mother also sought out health, safety, and good luck charms for him, hoping they would help.
But the one Irene gave him looked a bit different from the charms he'd seen before.
They were all just wandering spellcasters. It was perfectly normal for them to be different.
Jeremy folded the talisman carefully, hesitated for a moment, then slipped it into his wallet.
As soon as Jeremy and Aiden returned to Serenity Residence, they spotted a tall, athletic young man in a police uniform standing out front.
It was Noah.
As Jeremy finally returned, Noah offered a somewhat stiff smile and approached him with an envelope in hand.
"Mr. Tucker, hello. I'm Noah..."
Before Noah could finish introducing himself, Jeremy cut in, "I know who you are. You're Irene's eldest cousin, Noah Jackson, the youngest detective in Eldraeth City Criminal Investigation Unit."
After a pause, Jeremy added, "We've met at the Barnes' before."
When Jeremy mentioned the Barnes family, Noah felt distinctly uncomfortable.
Having witnessed how Jeremy had infuriated Dorian into a stroke and hospitalization, Noah began to feel a sense of wary respect and decided to keep his distance from him.
Honestly, if Austin hadn't asked him to handle this, Noah wouldn't want anything to do with Jeremy.
Jeremy eyed the envelope in Noah's hand and asked, "What's this?"
Noah explained, "This is an express delivery from my cousin Austin. He said it's a token of gratitude from his teacher to you."
"Mr. Patterson?" Jeremy was taken aback.
He then shot Aiden a look.
Aiden took the envelope. "Thanks for coming all this way, Mr. Jackson. Come in and have some tea before you go."
Noah waved his hands frantically. "No need, I have work this afternoon. I gotta go." He quickly ducked into his Jeep and sped off like a man escaping an awkward situation.
Under Jeremy's watchful gaze, Aiden carefully opened the envelope.
He was stunned the moment he saw what was inside.
"Man, this is weird," Aiden muttered. "Since when did talismans become the go-to gift?"
"What is it?" Jeremy asked, his curiosity piqued—especially after seeing Aiden's bewildered reaction.
"Mr. Tucker, see for yourself." Aiden held the envelope open toward Jeremy.
Jeremy looked down, momentarily taken aback.
He took out the crudely drawn talisman and recognized it at a glance. "This is a health charm."
Aiden said, "Mr. Tucker, this health charm looks quite different from the one Miss Irene gave you." It wasn't just a bit different, it was completely different.
Aiden shot Jeremy a skeptical look. "Could it be Miss Irene and her grandma got scammed by some street charlatan?"
Jeremy remained silent.
Without another word, he took the health charm and headed inside alone.
Back in the tea room, Jeremy pulled out the talisman Irene had given him from his wallet once again.
He spread the talisman flat on the table and opened Google Lens to scan it. Instantly, the screen populated with dozens of identical patterns.
Every single picture bore the same words.
Love Charm.
Jeremy's hand trembled, and his phone nearly slipped onto the table.
Jeremy quickly flipped his phone face down on the table, then turned to gaze out the tea room's floor-to-ceiling windows at the garden beyond, trying to steady his nerves.
The roses in the corner of the wall were blooming in a riot of color.
His heart was pounding chaotically, like popping candy crackling wildly on the tip of his tongue.