Chapter 197
Jeffrey’s eyes bore into her, dark and intense.
Rebecca met his stare, unwavering, calm in her eyes.
The air between them grew heavy with tension.
Neither spoke; the silence stretched longer.
After what felt like forever, Jeffrey finally spoke up. He reached out, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his face calm as always. “I’ll do my best to win your mom over.”
Rebecca gave a half–hearted, “Mm.”
Jeffrey’s fingers slid from her ear to her cheek. “I’m heading out. Make sure to rest up while you’re at the hospital.”
Rebecca replied, “Mm.”
Jeffrey added, “Call me if you need anything.”
Rebecca answered in a dull monotone, “Okay.”
“So cold?” Jeffrey said, lightly pinching her cheek, his tone still doting. “I just got chewed out by your mom. Aren’t you even going to comfort me a little?”
Rebecca replied without a hint of warmth, “I wouldn’t know how.” “When I don’t love someone, I can’t hide it. “Just go home and rest up.”
Jeffrey’s expression didn’t change. “Fine. Whatever you say, Becky.”
Rebecca couldn’t even be bothered to respond.
Jeffrey knew she really didn’t want to talk to him, so he let it go. “Go on, get going.”
“Okay.” Rebecca didn’t hesitate; she just turned and walked away.
Jeffrey watched as Rebecca walked farther and farther away, never once looking back, until she slipped completely out of sight. For a brief moment, emotion churned in his usually calm, dark eyes–then it all faded, replaced by a cold indifference.
The driver quickly got out and opened the car door for him.
Jeffrey slid into the seat, face unreadable. He hadn’t even sat upright before he noticed there was someone already in the car with him.
“Hey,” Stanley said, forcing a smile.
Jeffrey furrowed his brow. “Why are you here?”
11:02 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 197
ชร
Stanley replied offhandedly. “Heard your wife’s real dad is the Chairman of Guzman Group, so I came over to nose around a bit. Who would’ve thought I’d land right in the middle of such an awkward situation?”
If I’d known things would get this awkward, I would’ve waited for the car to start moving before showing my face.
Jeffrey pressed his lips together, his gaze growing chilly.
The driver asked, “Mr. Hanson, do you want to go to the office or back to Becky’s place?”
Jeffrey replied, “The office.”
“Going to the office at this hour? It’s already past five,” Stanley said, glancing toward the dashboard clock. “You’ll probably get there just in time to watch everyone leave.”
Jeffrey didn’t respond.
‘If I don’t put in a few extra hours now, how am I supposed to play along with her runaway drama? And how else am I going to teach her a lesson–so she’ll think twice before trying this stunt again?‘ Jeffrey thought, his mood turning colder.
“So, the Chairman of Guzman Group really is your wife’s real dad?” Stanley asked, not bothered by Jeffrey’s silence, just smoothly switching topics.
“Yeah,” Jeffrey answered, offhandedly.
He pulled out his phone and told Gregory to send the money back to Amelia.
‘If I actually took that money, I’d have no face left,‘ Jeffrey thought.
Stanley kept poking, “So, it’s going to be hard to keep her by your side now, isn’t it?”
Jeffrey didn’t look up from his phone. “Whether she’ll stay has got nothing to do with her family background -it’s all on her.”
‘As long as she can’t let go of friends like Jessica and Ian, even if she reconnects with Ryan, she’ll always end up coming back to me, just because she’s worried I’ll mess with them too much,’ Jeffrey thought.
Stanley hesitated, wanting to say something but held back.
He considered telling Jeffrey to just admit he was wrong, say sorry, and let Rebecca go–but he knew better than anyone how stubborn Jeffrey could be.
“You can drop everything I told you to do before,” Jeffrey said as he put his phone away after Gregory responded, his tone calm and measured. “If she wants to leave, let her.”
Stanley stared, totally baffled.
He looked at Jeffrey like hell had frozen over. “Seriously? You finally changed your mind?”
Jeffrey shrugged, completely unfazed. “If she wants out, it’s not like I can stop her. But the way I see it–she
11:02 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 197
80
66 vouchers
walks out grinning now, she’ll be twice as anxious, twice as regretful when something happens to her friends. That’s just how it goes.”
Stanley fell silent.
‘Guess I was stupid to expect anything else from him,‘ Stanley thought.
“But what if she doesn’t regret it?” Stanley asked.
“She will,” Jeffrey said, absolutely sure of himself. He really thought he had her all figured out. ‘Rebecca only cares about a handful of people. If regret wasn’t in her nature, she wouldn’t have turned her back on Jessica and the others–all because of some threat, he thought.
Stanley fixed him with a serious look. “Come on, man!”
Jeffrey just stared, saying nothing.
Stanley couldn’t help speaking up for Rebecca. “Rebecca’s never owed you anything. You keep putting her through all this crap–aren’t you worried you’ll end up wrecking her heart completely?”
“Even if she’s dying, she’s not leaving me,” Jeffrey replied, disturbingly calm.
Stanley stared at Jeffrey, thinking this dude was really kind of nuts. “You…”
Ever since that incident, Jeffrey’s just never quite been the same.
He might look chill and polite on the outside, but deep down, he’s like a ticking time bomb–cross the wrong line and he could lose it any second.
It wasn’t until he started seeing Rebecca that Stanley finally saw that old fire and energy in Jeffrey again. Back then, he and Riley seriously thought he’d finally gotten over everything.
But looking at things now…
It doesn’t look like he’s moved on at all—if anything, he’s even crazier than before.
Stanley pressed, asking a rather blunt question, “What if she doesn’t care at all whether you’ll go after Jessica and the rest?”
“If she doesn’t care, it just means I haven’t taken things far enough,” Jeffrey replied, his voice just as flat as ever. “Push anything to the extreme, and there’s always a reaction.”
“Jeffrey…” Stanley began, trying to get through to him, hoping he might finally listen for once.
But Jeffrey coolly instructed the driver, “Stop the car.”
Stanley blinked in confusion, caught off guard by the abrupt command.
Jeffrey glanced at him, icy and detached. “Out. Now.”
Stanley stared at the long, straight stretch of road. “You kidding me? Out here–where the hell am I supposed
11:02 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 197
to go?”
Jeffrey, deadpan, replied, “Not my problem.”
80
255 vouchers.
“Just keep acting crazy, man,” Stanley muttered, getting out and grumbling to himself. “The day someone finally beats you into the ground, don’t call me to come deal with your corpse.”
“Better take a number if you wanna claim my body,” Jeffrey retorted coldly, slamming the car door shut and pulling away.
Stanley was so pissed he couldn’t even come up with a comeback.
Fuming, Stanley rang up Riley. “Dude, come pick me up. I just dropped you my location–Jeffrey is a total prick, he’s not even human! I’m done with his drama. Next time he screws up, don’t expect me to clean mess!”
up
his
Riley just laughed, totally chill. “Bro, you only have yourself to blame.”
Verify captcha to read the content
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: After the divorce he begged