Chapter 657 Returning A Favor
“Oh, Mr. Carter, it’s you. I thought you were a reporter.” Jennifer turned around and smiled at him.
Carter gazed at her intently and asked, “Are you all right?”
Jennifer shrugged and chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m eating well and sleeping well. Besides, everything at work is going fine as well. You don’t look good, though, Mr. Carter. Your eyes are bloodshot. Didn’t you sleep well last night? Oh, wait. I know. You’re missing Amelia badly, aren’t you? You’re such a loyal lover, Mr. Carter.”
Carter was slightly annoyed by her sarcasm.
“Jennifer, can we have a decent conversation? Although we didn’t end up as a couple, we can still be friends. I heard about what happened to you, and I’m genuinely concerned about you,” Carter said patiently.
Jennifer felt nothing but embarrassment because she was reminded of how she was moaning and thrusting in the video. In front of strangers, she could act like she wasn’t bothered. In front of Carter, however, she couldn’t. After all, he was once, if not still, the love of her life. That was why she was utterly embarrassed by the fact that he had seen her explicit photos and videos. If she could choose, she would rather not see him at that moment.
“Carter, you’re here to make fun of me, right? Go on. Laugh all you want. I’m indeed that indecent, and I can’t live without the attention of men. What? You think I’m filthy, don’t you? Laugh all you want, okay? I don’t care.” Jennifer shrugged and pretended to be nonchalant.
Carter frowned and suppressed his anger. “Jennifer, you’re not that kind of person. Why must you speak so badly about yourself?”
In response, Jennifer chuckled coldly and retorted, “Oh? Are you saying that you know what kind of person I am?”
Carter was dumbstruck.
Jennifer pried his hand off. “A lot of people are laughing at me now, so I would be grateful if you don’t rub salt into my wound. I don’t wish to see you now.”
With that, she spun on her heels and left.
Carter followed her from behind.
Jennifer walked on the streets mindlessly and ignored the person behind her. Somehow, she ended up on a patch of grass with little to no passersby. She then sat down and looked up into the sky. At that moment, her heart was filled with an inexplicable sense of loneliness.
Carter took a glance at Jennifer and noticed how different she had become. It was a sight that jolted him.
He went up to her and sat beside her.
Jennifer merely cast a glance at him before shifting her gaze back toward the sky.
Carter kept mum as well and sat beside her quietly.
After some time, Jennifer said, “Carter, who would’ve thought you would be the one by my side now? I thought you would hope I stayed far away from you.”
“We’re friends.”
After everything I’ve done to win his heart, all I am is still a friend to him. Jennifer buried her head between her knees and said in a depressed tone, “Carter, scandalous photos and videos of me are all over the internet, and all the men are using derogatory words to describe my body. Do you think I’m a sl*t too? I used to be a desirable girl from a prominent family. Look at what I’ve become now. My family and friends are asking my parents about what happened to me. Indeed, I’ve brought shame to the Larsons.”
Carter raised his hand into the air and hesitated for a while before caressing her hair. “You’re a decent woman,” he uttered in a deep voice.
Jennifer lost her composure and burst into tears. After crying for a few minutes, she raised her teary eyes and looked at Carter. “Carter, I’m sad. I’m very sad. If only you could have talked to me so patiently two years ago, I doubt things would have turned out this way. In hindsight, I wish I had never met you. That way, I would still be a sought-after girl from a prominent family rather than a star in pornography. You’ve destroyed the latter half of my life. However, I can’t possibly blame you for that. If anything, I can only blame myself for loving you.”
Carter’s pupils constricted, and he could feel his heart aching when he heard that.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Jennifer shook her head in response. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’ve brought this upon myself. We don’t owe each other anything anymore. From now on, you should just act like you don’t know me. Since you don’t love me, stay away from me and stop giving me hope.”
Right then, Carter raised his head and looked up at the sky as well. In a low voice, he said, “I’ve already hired professionals to get rid of your videos on the internet. Besides, they’ve gotten control of the algorithm. In the meantime, I’ll get them to try their best to delete those derogatory comments. Don’t worry.”
Jennifer widened her eyes in disbelief. “That was you?”
Prior to that, she thought it was either her dad or June who took down the videos. She never expected it to be Carter instead.
A complicated look flashed across Jennifer’s eyes as she gazed intently at Carter. Why did he do that? Why did he help me?
“Why?” she mumbled.
“Consider it as me returning the favor. Back then, I refused to help you when Mrs. Larson was in trouble. If I were to stand by and watch while you’re in trouble this time around, I would feel guilty,” Carter explained.
Jennifer let out a wry chuckle as her hope died once again. What was I thinking? I spent two years trying to win his heart and failed. Why would he suddenly fall for me after I leave? That only happens in movies. In reality, nothing can change his mind when he doesn’t even love me in the first place.
Meanwhile, there was a gleam in Carter’s eyes that only he could understand.
Jennifer couldn’t help but lean on his shoulder. In a weak voice, she said, “Pretend like you’re my knight in shining armor today, okay? From tomorrow onward, I’ll stay out of your way.”
Carter didn’t refuse. Instead, he just sat there quietly and let her lean on him.
The two of them spent almost two hours sitting there on the grass. Although they didn’t talk to each other, the atmosphere was rather lovely.
I’ll just enjoy this while I still can. Soon, it’s going to end. After taking a deep breath, she said, “Carter, thank you for today. It seems like you will only be nice to me after we’ve become strangers. I shall go now.”
Carter stood up as well and grabbed her wrist. “Let me send you back.”
Jennifer accepted his offer.
They hailed a taxi and got into the car. On the way back, they didn’t talk to each other at all.
When they arrived outside the Larson residence, Jennifer exited the car and said, “Carter, go home, okay? I’m heading in.”
Carter moved his lips, but he didn’t know what to say. In the end, he merely nodded in response.
He only told the taxi driver to proceed after watching Jennifer enter the house.
When he arrived home, he received a phone call.
The person on the other end of the call said, “Mr. Carter, we’ve already tried our best to delete those videos, but someone powerful is stopping us from doing so. I think Ms. Larson has offended someone she can’t afford to mess with. Since neither you, the Larsons, nor the Adertons could stop the videos from spreading, I’m sure the person behind this is an incredibly powerful figure in Tayhaven. In that case, it might be Mr. Clinton. If it is then I’m sorry, but I’m no match for him.”
“I know. Just do whatever you can. I’ll get someone else to look into it,” Carter answered.
After ending the call, Carter stood by the window and looked at the brightly lit streets with his hands behind his back. He couldn’t help but think about what Jennifer said to him when she was crying.
“Oscar is the reason my mom became how she is today. She used to be a high and mighty noble lady. However, she now has intermittent memory loss. She only hit Amelia once. Even if she was wrong, she didn’t deserve to get sent to jail and to a psychiatric hospital. All of you are on Amelia’s side, but what about my mom? Who’s going to seek justice for her? Although she made a mistake, did she deserve to be punished so severely?”
After recalling what Jennifer said to him, Carter narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Suddenly, he made a decision. Before this, I didn’t help her mom, and that’s why she’s suffering now. I can’t stand by and watch this time around. I’m not a cold-blooded animal. After all, I’ve wronged Jennifer in so many ways.
Once Carter had decided what to do, he was no longer as conflicted as before. After all the bad things I’ve done to her, I should do something right by her for once. I don’t want to see her reputation and the latter half of her life ruined. Besides, she didn’t even do anything wrong. She doesn’t deserve such a severe punishment.
