Jasper Milton squinted.
He saw resentment in her eyes.
It was bitter, disdainful, and self-mocking.
“Do you hate me?” Jasper asked.
Stella Grace did not deny it.
“Love became hate. I guess I can never be loved,” Stella said as she shoved his hand off and walked away.
Jasper frowned as he watched her leave, deep in thought.
They were still fine on the train yesterday, but she seemed to have become another person today.
He felt very uncomfortable with her cool, mean, and distant attitude.
However, there was one thing that was long overdue.
Jasper dialed a number.
Katty Davis picked up. She couldn’t believe it, Jasper never called her before. “Jasper.”
Jasper got straight to the point. “Katty, it’s unlikely that I will marry you in the future. You should break off our engagement.”
Katty was nervous. “What do you mean by that?”
“You know very well what you have been doing for the past three years. I may have chosen not to bring them up, but that doesn’t mean I was unaware of them.
Keeping a gigolo and soliciting the services of male prostitutes. Once this gets out, it would drag the Davis family down. Remember, your father is the Deputy Commander, and he is also a candidate for the presidency this year,” Jasper reminded her.
Katty clenched her fists. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m just trying to make things clear for you. We’ve been engaged for more than three years. If we were in love, we would have been married a long time ago. It’s better for you to break off the engagement. That’s all. I have something else to do.” Jasper was ready to end the call.
“Jasper, do you know what you have done?” Katty snarled.
“I will bear whatever consequences my actions may cause,” Jasper said firmly.
“You are so self-righteous and self-centered. Let me tell you, do you think that you were deeply in love with Bettany Hadley? No, you were not. It was someone else,” Katty shouted, hoping to wound him.
Jasper kept quiet but did not end the call.
“You must be very curious now. Who was it that you loved? Whenever I saw you thinking about Bettany Hadley, I felt relieved. You looked like a fool. There was a girl who got hurt more. She almost sacrificed her life for you,” Katty snarled with relish.
Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that? Be more specific.”
“I won’t tell you. I will let you continue hurting the woman you loved most. Do you know how pitiful she is? She tried to commit suicide because of you. I think she will never forgive you in this lifetime! And I will never forgive you too.” Katty ended the call.
Jasper thought of Stella’s wrist. He turned around and rushed to Stella’s room.
Stella was packing up when she heard a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and opened the door.
Jasper went straight in, grabbed her hand, and looked at the scar on her wrist. His eyes darkened.
He was finally sure that the woman Katty referred to was Stella.
Jasper’s eyes were watery, “I’m sorry I forgot about you.”
Stella was initially furious, angry, and resistant to him.
When he held her wrist, she really wanted to rage and shake his hand off.
The moment she heard him apologize, she held back all her emotions.
She took another trip down memory lane.
She felt wronged and sad.
She had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
But did it still matter?
The damage had been done.
Stella held herself back and said, “Let go of my hand. You’re hurting me.”
Jasper didn’t let go of her but loosened his grasp a little. He looked into her eyes. “We didn’t break up at all, am I right? We lost contact because I lost my memory, am I right?”
Stella knew that she couldn’t hide it anymore.
He was very smart and observant.
She was severely drained and wanted to bring everything to an end.
“Yes.” Blunt and concise.
Jasper held her wrist tighter and tried to put together the puzzle in his mind. “My parents didn’t let me find out about the past because they disapproved of us and kidnapped you. They threatened me with your safety so that I would marry Katty. And they were the ones who cut off your little finger?”
“Yes.” Stella looked straight at him.
“We didn’t separate because of them. For some reason, we were both investigating the massacre in Tavers Village. Was I with you before I got into the accident?” Jasper asked again.
He was recalling the cruel memories, bit by bit like how he would peel an onion, layer by layer.
She could still clearly remember when he went on the mission and the bursts of explosions that she heard.
The Jasper whom she loved, the Jasper who loved her, had died in that explosion.
She wouldn’t have known the person he was deeply in love with was Bettany Hadley if it was not for his memory loss. He was just trying to make up for his mistakes in the past.
Tears flowed from her eyes.
She really wished that she had died in that explosion too. At least, she would not have to face the cruel reality after that. At least she would die together with Jasper, thinking that he loved her the most. She would not feel as lonely now.
Jasper’s heart ached as he saw her crying. He wiped her tears with his thumb. “I will make it up to you,” he promised.
Make it up to her?
Make it up to her??
Make it up to her?!!!
Stella stopped crying and looked at Jasper with a stern look in her eyes.
She hated those three words.
He got close to her and stole her heart just because he wanted to make it up to her.
She gave him all her love, but why was she repaid in obligation and not love?
She didn’t want him to do that!
“There’s no need for that. From the moment I woke up at the hospital, I decided to go abroad and to stop loving you.
The Stella Grace who loved you died in the ignorance and stupidity of the past.
I’m a different person now.
If you really want to make it up to me, then let me go and stay away from my life. Let’s not pester each other from this point onward,” Stella said coldly.
Jasper frowned. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes,” Stella said firmly. “Don’t pester, don’t miss, don’t recall, don’t linger on the past, we should move on and look forward.”
Jasper looked at her blooming smile. He felt his heart shatter into pieces.
The pain was really intense. He couldn’t breathe nor speak…