When Jasper Milton returned to the guest room, Stella Grace had already taken a shower and changed into a white dress.
“Where are you injured? Can you take a bath? The wound might get infected,” Jasper said worriedly.
She didn’t want to answer him.
“Let’s push the meeting to tomorrow. You have something to do today, and I don’t have the energy for the meeting. I’ll rest for tonight, I’ll be fine then,” she said weakly.
“We’ll talk about it after a good rest. There’s no need to rush the meeting. What should I do with these medicines?” Jasper asked.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve done the drip for today. That is for tomorrow. You should leave. I’ll sleep after I take the medicine.”
Jasper went out and poured a glass of water. Stella had already put all the medicine she needed in her palm.
She took the glass he handed to her and washed the pills down with a big mouthful of water. After that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Jasper sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her sleeping face. He frowned and touched her forehead with his hand. It was so hot that it made his palms sweat.
Jasper’s cell phone rang again. It was Bettany Hadley. He rejected the call and turned to a soldier. “You, go to room No. 2108 of the St. Regis Grand Hotel. I need you to help me take care of someone,” he ordered.
“Yes sir.” The soldier hurried out.
Jasper’s cell phone rang again. This time it was Simon Davis.
“Your mother said you and Stella are getting married?” he asked in surprise.
Jasper felt like a hand was squeezing his heart. “She doesn’t want to marry me anymore.”
“Ah? What happened?”
“I received a notice yesterday, saying that a mentally ill woman has been shouting to see me. So I went. That woman was Bettany,” Jasper explained.
Simon was even more shocked. “So Bettany isn’t dead?”
“Well, 30 percent of her face was burnt and she’s been undergoing skin grafts. 90 percent of the other half of her body was burnt as well. Her mental state is unstable and she had been locked up for treatment since. It wasn’t easy for her to escape, and she is very afraid of getting locked up again. She is in constant panic and she’s very insecure,” Jasper explained.
“Who locked her up? Didn’t they say only Hale survived?”
“Back then, when we were trapped in the house, Bettany asked me to take the judge away first. When we got out, the beams of the house collapsed and she was trapped inside. We were being pursued, so I didn’t have enough time to get her out. I had to escort the judge to the plane first. When I returned, the house had been burned to ashes. I saw her being dug out, her body was burned. I thought she was dead,” Jasper said in a choked voice.
Simon was suspicious. “So, the terrorists had her all these years?”
“She was detained for three years and suffered from mental problems. Later, she was rescued by the special forces and was brought directly to the military committee. After a unanimous decision, they concealed the news of her rescue and locked her up in the laboratory for treatment.”
“Who are those people you’re talking about?” Simon had a bad feeling.
“The President, your father, my father, and the Deputy Commander.”
Simon understood. “So, the reason why Bettany managed to escape this time was that our fathers let her out on purpose. Is this a way to prevent you and Stella from getting married?”
Jasper was silent.
“What are you going to do?” Simon was worried.
“I have to take care of Bettany. She suffered almost nine years of pain because of me. I can’t just ignore her.” Jasper was certain.
“What about Stella?” Simon asked tentatively.
“I love her,” Jasper said firmly.
Simon understood. “I didn’t expect you to fall in love with her again after you lost your memory. As your brother, I can only support you.”
“Simon, there’s something else. I don’t know if you know about this, but did I force myself on her before?” Jasper didn’t remember anything.
“More than six years ago, you were on a mission, but you were drugged by the enemy. Stella happened to be kidnapped too, and you two became intimate. You were upset about this matter. After that, Stella never got her life back on track. You thought it was your fault, which was why you got close to her. Then, you were slowly attracted to her,” Simon explained.
“I had a child with her. Did you know about that?” Jasper asked immediately.
“You had a child with her?” Simon was shocked. “I didn’t know about this, but where is the child? Where is he or she now?”
“Stella said that the child is dead.” Jasper’s eyes dimmed.
“I didn’t know about that. I was already training at the Air Force at that time. Do you want to investigate the matter? What really happened? How did the child die?” Simon fired off the questions.
Jasper also wanted to know the truth of the child. He hated himself for losing his memory. Otherwise, he would have been able to piece the puzzles together by now.
“If the child is not dead, maybe you and Stella are really meant for each other. God doesn’t want you two to be separated,” Simon suddenly said.
Jasper’s eyes lit up.
He should start investigating from that mission.
He turned on the computer, entered the secret archives, and typed in “Jasper Milton”.
There were only four years worth of information on his file, nothing he didn’t already know.
He also heard from his father that he became Chief four years ago. In other words, his authority only started four years ago.
But that mission was completed six years ago.
Six years ago, he was a still soldier and was under the leadership of the old general, Titan Charles.
Four years ago, the old general had retired and returned to his hometown.
Jasper checked Old General Charles’ hometown, Yale City.
Yale City and Sun City were in the same state. It would take him only two hours to reach there.
It was time to visit the old general.
Jasper wrote down the contact information and turned off the computer. Then he came out of the room and went to the guest room to see Stella.
She was still asleep. Her nose and forehead were full of sweat, dripping down her neck.
Jasper wiped the sweat off her body with a dry towel.
She had already taken intravenous drips today and could not do it again for the rest of the day. He could only use physical methods to help her cool down.
He filled a basin with cold water from the bathroom and soaked the towel. He dried it and wiped her palm, forehead, and feet. Then he threw the towel into the basin and lifted her skirt.
Only then did he see the shocking scars on her body.
There was one which was very deep. She had covered it with gauze.
Jasper’s hands trembled as he opened the gauze.
The wound had cracked again, it looked like it was still recovering. There was a large welt forming around the wound. It must really hurt.
His eyes were wet with tears. His heart felt as if it was being hit by a truck, crushing him endlessly.
She was so seriously injured, yet he didn’t even know…