Chapter 700 Do Not Put Yourself Down
Carter quickly made his way toward Jennifer as soon as the banquet ended. “Let me send you back, Jennifer.”
With a conflicted expression, Jennifer glanced at him before retracting her gaze. Coolly, she said, “I won’t have to trouble you, Mr. Scott. I already have someone sending me home.”
June laughed as he tightened his grip on Jennifer’s waist. “Mr. Scott, are you interested in my partner? Sorry to disappoint you, but Jennifer is now with me; she even agreed to be my lover if I did something to help her family’s company. I doubt I’ll be able to let you have her.”
Carter’s eyes gleamed, his gaze locked on Jennifer.
“Is he telling the truth, Jennifer? Didn’t I tell you that you could always come to me with your company’s problems? I could help you.” Carter’s brow furrowed as he continued angrily, “You shouldn’t disgrace yourself no matter what the circumstances are.”
Jennifer scoffed. “You’re funny, Mr. Scott. I’m still a bachelorette, and June’s a bachelor. It’s none of your business if I willingly become his lover or get married to him. I no longer want to bother you. Don’t you love Amelia? Please continue with that. However, I respectfully request that you refrain from getting involved in my business. I’m the one to determine who I get involved with.”
Carter felt a tug at his heartstrings. However, he suddenly had the urge to snap back at her with cruel comments.
He didn’t like Jennifer putting herself down.
“Get Amelia out of your mouth,” Carter snarled. “You can’t compare to Amelia in any way. Even after experiencing so many horrible things, she didn’t degrade herself. How about you? You brought this upon yourself. Who are you acting like a sl*t for?”
Jennifer felt a pang in her heart. Furthermore, the sight of Amelia holding onto Oscar, the epitome of a happy family, walking toward her made her feel extremely humiliated. Fuming, she turned to June. “Let’s go, June. We shouldn’t stay and listen to a crazy person spouting nonsense.”
Carter tried to take Jennifer’s hand, but she quickly slapped his hand away.
Carter was irritated as he watched her leaving figure. He did not intend for this to happen. He only wanted Jennifer to keep her distance from June. However, his anger got the better of him and overcame his sense of reason, turning his words into knives.
Amelia sighed upon seeing the scene. How could Carter have such low EQ? I told him to pursue her, not piss her off. I don’t remember his EQ being this low in the past.
Amelia cocked her head to a side as she looked at Oscar. Amused, she said, “You should teach Carter a move or two on pursuing women when you’re free, Oscar. If not, he’s bound to be single for the rest of his life.”
“Sure,” Oscar agreed without further hesitation.
Oscar would be one rival down if he could bring Carter and Jennifer together. Amelia had no feelings for Carter, but there was no denying that having one less opponent would make Oscar feel better.
Carter turned around and was met with Amelia’s gaze. His face burned in embarrassment before chuckling bitterly. “Heading back, Amelia?”
Amelia nodded. “Mm. Tony is sleepy.”
“You guys should go then. I’ll be heading back too,” Carter replied.
Amelia called out to Carter, who was walking ahead, “Carter! You have to take your chances, or else you’ll really regret it when she’s no longer available.”
Carter stopped in his tracks.
Oscar, too, spoke up. “Mr. Scott, you’ve already blown your shot with Amelia. Your indecision has contributed to her becoming my wife. You should quit lying to yourself when you’ve finally developed feelings for another lady. June, in my opinion, is not a good person. As a result, I doubt Ms. Larson will be happy if she ends up with him.”
Carter’s gaze darkened at that.
Meanwhile, Oscar patted Tony on the back. Turning to Amelia, he said, “Let’s get going, Amelia. Some people need time to come to terms with their own emotions. But if they wait too long, the woman they want might end up in the arms of another man.”
With an arm around Amelia, Oscar and his family left.
Carter, on the other hand, stood motionless, staring at the silent night sky while lost in thought.
June was staring at Jennifer, who was sitting quietly in the passenger seat. Sneering, he inquired, “What? Do you feel bad about how you treated Mr. Scott earlier?”
Jennifer opened her eyes. Infuriated, she exclaimed, “Shut up.”
June shrugged before mocking, “Silly woman. Stop being naive. The man you love accused you of being cheap just by seeing you and me together. Why do you think he said that? Would he think you and I were messing around if it wasn’t for someone spreading false information to him?”
Jennifer was jolted by his words. “What do you mean?”
As if to add salt to her injury, June added, “Don’t forget who caused you to become like this. You, the daughter of an affluent family, are in this situation because of that woman’s actions. While you’re strolling down the street, people assume you’re soliciting customers. I even heard that your company’s directors had advised your father to allow you to use your body to satisfy those major clients. They claimed that because of your internet success and the attractiveness of your body, many men would be interested in you. Say, am I right?”
“Shut the heck up,” Jennifer spat, her anger failing to dissipate.
June smirked. “You’re getting mad over this?”
“Start driving. I don’t mind walking if you don’t want to drive.” With that, Jennifer unfastened her seatbelt and was about to get off the car. At that moment, June piped up, “I have no idea how you’re supposed to win against Amelia with how easily you lose your composure, Jennifer. Men adore her for a variety of reasons, including her beauty, elegance, and most significantly, her poise and ability to maintain control of the situation.”
Jennifer fell back to the passenger’s seat again and regarded June coldly. “What? Are you trying to tell me that you’ve fallen for her?”
“Not a chance. I merely admire her courage and elegance. The person I love is always Cassie,” June exclaimed with a shrug and a smile.
“Your love is quite cheap, huh? Even though you’ve been publicly expressing your love for Cassie, you have relationships with numerous other women. Don’t tell me this is your so-called love,” Jennifer retorted.
June shot her a glance. “You should take care of yourself. You aren’t qualified to give me a lecture.”
Jennifer slumped against the seat and said nothing in return.
When June received a call from Elizabeth informing him that Cassie had a fever and asking him to check her out, his car had already arrived in the town area. As a result, June had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road and tell Jennifer to get out.
While unfastening her seatbelt, Jennifer said, “Cassie has been telling me how much of a pervert you are—an inhumane animal, to be exact. However, she’s been extremely nervous when you’re with me, huh? She’s been coming up with a bunch of problems these few days. I swear she’s the one who’s always seeking problems.”
Much to Jennifer’s surprise, June had a satisfied smile on his face. “The more she seeks problems, the more valued I am in her heart.”
“The both of you are seriously a match made in heaven,” Jennifer scoffed. Before getting off the car, she reminded, “Help me tell Cassie that we’re allies. She doesn’t have to be wary of me and treat me as if I’m a foe.”
June’s answer, however, was to speed away right after Jennifer got off the car.
Jennifer felt slightly disheartened as she stared at the car’s disappearing figure.
Carter’s words from earlier were still replaying in her mind.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. At that moment, she was at a loss. She had been working hard, preparing for each move, and had even become involved with June. She felt dirty as she didn’t hesitate to give him access to her body. Even though Carter was the one she loved, she felt no guilt about having sex with other men.
To get her revenge, she gave up on her body. However, she wondered if it was right to do so.
Jennifer hailed a taxi to get home. She saw a tall figure standing by the entrance of the villa compound. The illumination of the street light had elongated his shadow.
A grim look flashed in her eyes as she stared at the figure not far away in a daze. If I could rewind time, I wouldn’t want to know him. He made me experience the bitterness of love and caused many terrible things to happen to my family.
It had not even been three years, and she was already exhausted by the effects of the so-called love.
Millions of thoughts raced through Jennifer’s mind before she finally decided to walk over with her head raised high and proud. She would not allow herself to show any signs of weakness in front of the man not far away.
Without sparing the man any glances, she strode toward the villa. The man reached out to grab her when she passed him. “Jennifer, I apologize for my harsh words earlier. Can we please talk?”
Jennifer turned around and stared at him as if she had just realized he was there. Mockingly, she said, “Oh? Mr. Scott? How did you end up here? I thought you went ahead to pursue your so-called true love. I didn’t expect you to show up here. It can’t be that you’re here especially to wait for me, the nobody who gets nothing in love?”
Carter frowned as he tried to keep his anger at bay. “You can get mad at me all you want, Jennifer. Just please don’t degrade yourself further. I’ve heard about your company, and I’ll help you. Don’t stray too close to June. I’ve done some research on him; his relationships are complicated, and he’s even entangled with Cassie. There’ll be no good outcome if you end up with him.”
Jennifer found Carter’s words humorous.
“Are you pitying me, Carter?” she retorted.
“I’m not, Jennifer. I’ve always thought of you as my little sister, and I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Carter explained.
Jennifer immediately freed herself from his grip and yelled devastatingly, “Get lost!”
Carter stared at her in shock.
She waved her hands in defeat as she pleaded, “I’m begging you, Carter. Stop appearing in my life. I indeed love you, but please stop giving me futile hope. I always feel extremely humiliated when I see you. So please, I beg you, stop appearing in my life.”
Carter was staring at her intently. He raised his hand subconsciously but soon lowered it weakly.
Jennifer spared him a last glance. Regaining her composure, she said, “I’ll head in first. I still have to go to work tomorrow.”
Carter nodded. “Sure. I’ll see you at work tomorrow. I believe you’ll have calmed down enough to listen to what I have to say.”
Jennifer only sighed helplessly. Without sparing Carter another glance, she turned around and went straight into the villa compound.
She had no extra energy to deduce the reason for Carter’s sudden appearance. The company, her scandal, her involvement with June, and Laura’s recurring illness had occupied most of her time. It was no longer of great importance to her whether Carter loved her.
What difference would it make even if she loved him?
