Stella Grace knew that he had misunderstood her.
“I meant you and your fiancee.” Stella regretted the words even as she said them.
After he married his fiancee, they would have a baby.
She couldn’t stop that from happening, right?
Jasper silently stared at her.
Stella dared not look into his eyes. She felt very embarrassed and didn’t know how to clarify herself.
Jasper let go of her.
Stella jumped to her feet and backed away from him.
Her stomach was growling, partly because she hadn’t had lunch but also probably because of their intense workout earlier.
Jasper saw through her. “Have you eaten?”
Stella felt no need to deny it. “I came in a hurry, I didn’t have time to eat.”
Jasper made a call, “Go to the restaurant and ask the chef to make me four dishes.”
He looked at Stella. “Any special orders?”
Stella felt like eating something heavy. “Do they have something like buffalo wings, or hot and spicy chicken and so on?”
Jasper frowned slightly. “You like spicy food?”
Stella shook her head and said, “No, I just feel like having those right now.”
“Ask the kitchen to make buffalo wings, hot and spicy chicken, scrambled eggs and some barbequed pizzas, please.” Jasper ended the call after having made the order.
Stella sat on the sofa while waiting for her food.
Jasper didn’t say anything and got back to work.
She felt a little bored. She picked up her phone and casually browsed the internet.
Jasper’s eyes fell on her face, as if he was thinking about something.
Stella came across some news.
The police in Valley City had rescued more than two hundred children and were asking their families to take them home.
Her heart sank.
If her child with Jasper was still alive, he would be five by now. Was he one of them?
Frederick Addington once said that he might have found the child. But it had already been three years and there had been no progress. If he found something, he would definitely approach her to bargain.
Stella looked up. “Is Valley City far from Riverside?”
She was so focused on the matter that she didn’t notice the look in Jasper’s eyes.
Then again, Jasper was always unfathomable, she probably wouldn’t have noticed anyway.
“Half an hour by train. Why?” Jasper asked.
Stella nodded. She wanted to drop by the police station in Valley City to try her luck after the case was closed. “Just a random question.”
Jasper turned back to his laptop.
Stella sat on the sofa in a daze.
When her baby was born, he looked nothing like her.
The baby’s biological father was Jasper. If he didn’t look like her, would he look like Jasper?
There was a knock on the door.
Stella got up and answered it.
One of the soldiers at the door brought in a dish.
Jasper shut his laptop and put it on the tea table. He cleared the work table and said to the soldier, “Put the food here and go get two bottles of drinks.”
“Is there beer?” Stella asked the soldier.
The soldier looked at Jasper.
“Bring me a few bottles,” Jasper ordered.
“Yes.” The soldier retreated from the room.
Stella sat next to Jasper and started on the buffalo wings.
It was crispy, salty, and spicy.
“I haven’t eaten buffalo wings for so long. I’ll make some for you sometime in the future, I’m good at it,” Stella said casually.
Jasper looked calm, but there was a hint of joy in his eyes. “Have you cooked for me before?”
“Yes.” Stella was in a good mood today.
“Make me some dishes you are good at after we are done with this case. I haven’t really had a good appetite recently,” Jasper said in a deep voice.
Stella looked at Jasper concernedly. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“It’s been like this since I got discharged. There were a lot of things going on. I missed out on the memories I lost. I needed to adapt to everything.
For example, adapting to be the Chief of the special military forces. There were a lot of objections from the government. I had to prove my capability in order to survive.
I also needed to get used to complicated relationships, like with my fiancee.
Everyone told me that I loved my fiancee very much.” Jasper stopped abruptly and did not continue.
He had told her a lot about himself.
He wasn’t sure why but he trusted Stella.
Stella lowered her head.
She hadn’t experienced it, but she could only imagine what he had gone through.
Along with his memories, he also lost his experience and part of his capabilities.
Given his high position, he must have faced powerful and intense opposition. In order to prove his abilities, he must have put in a lot of effort.
Especially with Katty Davis.
This was equivalent to a lie.
And the ones lying to him were his loved ones, his friends, and everyone whom he had once trusted.
It must be very difficult for him to live a life riddled with lies.
Stella felt sorry for him.
No wonder he became so mean, ruthless, cold, and vicious.
The soldier brought twelve bottles of beer, two glasses, and a bottle opener.
Stella opened a bottle of beer and poured it for him.
Jasper held her hand and gazed at her. “Can you tell me honestly, why did we break up?”
Stella looked at Jasper.
She didn’t want to lie to him anymore.
Poor guy.
But she did not want to push him into hell as well.
“It was fate,” Stella replied ambiguously.
Jasper’s eyes dimmed and he gulped down the beer in his cup. “Even now, you still refuse to tell me. Stella, what do I have to do to unlock the secret in your heart?”
“Just let bygones be bygones, Chief. You don’t have to linger on it too much. If you can, you should claw your way up to a place where no one can hurt you anymore,” Stella said.
Worried about more questions from him, she immediately changed the topic. “Chief, let’s play a game. Let’s play the drinking order.”
Jasper could tell that she was trying to dodge his questions. That annoyed him a little. “It’s boring. Let’s play cards. It’s simple and straightforward. The loser has to drink.”
Stella was a little worried. “What if I get drunk?”
“Just sleep it off if you do. You should be up by the time we reach Riverside. What are you afraid of? I’m here,” Jasper reassured her.
“I’m here.” It sounded very familiar, as if she had heard Jasper saying it.
She looked at Jasper with sparkling eyes. She was very touched, as if she had found the Jasper she first knew.
Even if that Jasper only appeared for one or two seconds, it was still enough to move her.
She now knew why she could still stay alive.
She could only feel his existence if she was still alive…