Chapter 808 More Trouble
Jennifer shoved Carter away and slapped him so hard that she knocked him slightly off balance.
After taking a moment to reorient himself, Carter rubbed his swollen cheek as he stared calmly at her. “Jennifer, you can hit me all you want if it’ll help quell your anger. All I ask is for you to give me a chance.”
Jennifer didn’t know what else she could do at that point. Carter was simply too persistent for her to handle.
“Please leave me alone, Carter… I’m begging you…” she pleaded with her face buried in her palms.
Carter had a pained look in his eyes as he stared at Jennifer. This doesn’t make sense… I’ve finally mustered the courage to take a step forward, so why is she taking a huge step backward? I can sense that she still has feelings for me!
“I know I’ve wronged you in the past, Jennifer. But please just give me one more chance!” he pleaded.
Jennifer flashed him a conflicted look as she muttered through clenched teeth, “Carter… Do you love Amelia so much that you, who couldn’t care less about me, are willing to date me for her sake?”
Carter burst out laughing when he heard that.
“You think I’m doing all of this for Amelia?” he asked with a wry smile.
Jennifer simply stared at him in silence. Is that not the case? Why else would you suddenly fall in love with me when you were so cold to me before?
Carter felt his heart ache when he saw her reaction. He knew he was being punished for what he did in the past.
He tried taking a few steps forward, only to have Jennifer take another few steps backward in response. “It’s getting late. You should go.”
Realizing it was pointless to pressure her any further, Carter had no choice but to leave.
Jennifer let out a deep sigh as she watched him drive off with a helpless look in her eyes.
She was snapped out of her daze when an old man’s voice rang out from behind. “Jennifer?”
“What are you doing up so late, Dad?” Jennifer asked with a forced smile when she turned around and saw that her father was standing behind her.
Vincent walked up to her and patted her gently on the head. “You like Carter, don’t you? So why did you force him to leave?”
Jennifer lowered her head and let out a wry chuckle.
“My reputation in Tayhaven has been ruined, Dad. Given the wealth and status of the Scotts, do you think they would approve of Carter dating someone like me?”
“I’m sorry, Jennifer. I neglected you because I was busy with work all the time, and now… I pretty much put you in charge of the entire company due to your mom’s condition. I feel really bad for putting you through so much…” Vincent said apologetically with a pained look on his face.
Jennifer wrapped her arm around Vincent’s and said casually, “I’m your only child, so it’s only natural that you’d put me in charge of the company. Don’t worry; those videos won’t affect me too much. If anything, I should be the one apologizing here. It must be hard for you to carry yourself in front of your friends now. Dad, I really appreciate you not abandoning me in this time of need. I don’t know what I’d do if I were all by myself.”
“You silly girl! I won’t let you suffer alone as long as I’m around. Jennifer, I can tell Carter is sincere about courting you this time. Since you love him deeply, I think you should consider giving him a chance. It’s never easy dating someone from a wealthy family, but you shouldn’t give up so easily,” Vincent said as they made their way back inside the house.
Jennifer simply flashed him a bitter smile in response.
Those videos have nearly destroyed my life, and the memories of this incident will most likely haunt me for as long as I live…
“Jennifer, please think long and hard about what I said earlier. Your mother and I aren’t getting any younger, so we won’t be able to look after you for long. All we want is for you to be with a man who truly loves you,” Vincent reminded her.
“You should go to bed, Dad. Right now, all I want to do is focus on managing the company. I really don’t have the time to think about marriage. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be sure to take good care of myself!” Jennifer replied in the most carefree tone possible.
Vincent simply nodded and went back to his room without saying a word.
Jennifer, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep a wink that night.
That resulted in her being so tired the next day that she could barely focus when reading through documents at work.
Soon, she slumped against her chair and took a nap. About twenty minutes later, she was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing.
Seconds after answering the call, her eyes went wide with shock, and she dropped her phone on the floor.
After taking a moment to regain her composure, Jennifer grabbed her handbag and left the office in a hurry. Upon arriving at the hospital, she saw Vincent sitting on the bench with an empty look in his eyes. “Dad, why did Mom go bite a dog? Is she badly injured?”
Vincent was so weary that he looked like he had aged ten years overnight.
“What is going on with Mom? She was just fine yesterday!” Jennifer mumbled in frustration as she paced about. I thought Mom was slowly getting better! Why would she go attack a dog all of a sudden? This is driving me nuts!
The two of them had been waiting in the corridor for almost an hour, but Laura was still inside the operating room.
“Mr. Larson, Jennifer, how is Mrs. Larson? How did she get injured like this?” Carter asked as he came running toward them.
Jennifer simply flashed him a conflicted look and kept quiet.
Vincent pointed at the empty spot next to him and said, “Hello, Carter. Here, have a seat. She probably won’t be coming out anytime soon.”
Carter nodded and sat down beside him. He couldn’t help but feel a little worried when he saw how quiet Jennifer was.
“Don’t worry, Jennifer. I’m sure Mrs. Larson will be fine,” he comforted her.
Jennifer lowered her head and asked coldly, “What are you doing here?”
“I went to Larson Group earlier. Your assistant told me you left for the hospital, so I pulled a few strings and found out which hospital you went to,” Carter explained.
Jennifer fell silent once again, and the three of them continued waiting in the corridor.
About an hour later, the door to the operating room finally opened.
Jennifer rushed forward and grabbed the doctor’s arm as she asked anxiously, “Doctor, is my mom okay?”
“Don’t worry. Her condition has stabilized, so she’ll be all right. However, we found traces of a hallucinogenic drug in her body. We believe that may have caused her to attack the dog. I suggest you make a police report about this.”
The look on Jennifer’s face changed upon hearing that, and her eyes were instantly filled with rage.
“I will. Thank you very much, doctor,” she mumbled while desperately trying to suppress her anger.
The three of them then followed the nurses as they wheeled Laura into a single-room ward. Jennifer’s eyes slowly reddened as she knelt beside Laura’s bed.
Carter put his hand on her shoulder and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Jennifer. Mrs. Larson will be fine.”
Jennifer shook his hand off and replied coldly, “You should leave, Carter. I don’t think my mom would want to see you anytime soon.”
Carter was so stunned by her response that he just stood there with his hand frozen in place.
“Jennifer, I…”
“Get out of here! My mom wouldn’t have ended up like this if you had helped back then! Now, go! Go be with Amelia! This family doesn’t need your sympathy!” Jennifer yelled while glaring fiercely at him.
Carter felt his heart ache when he heard that. He was so shocked that he didn’t know how to respond at all.
“Don’t say that, Jennifer. Nobody wanted this to happen. Carter isn’t to blame,” Vincent reasoned.
Jennifer took a deep breath and turned to look at Laura in silence.
Vincent patted Carter on the shoulder and whispered, “Come with me, Carter. There’s something I need to tell you.”
The two of them then made their way out of the ward.
“Carter, Jennifer is just worried about her mother. She didn’t mean to lash out at you like that. Please don’t take her words to heart,” Vincent said after closing the door.
Carter shook his head in response.
“I’ll be honest with you, Carter. I’ve always thought of you as an ideal man for Jennifer, so I was a little disappointed when I saw that her love was unrequited. Even so, I still respect you and hope for you two to get married. All I ask is for you to not hurt Jennifer again. You know full well what she has been through.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Larson. I won’t hurt her.”
“That’s good to hear. If you want to be with her, then you must promise to protect her. Practically all of Tayhaven has seen those videos, so your parents are bound to use that against her. Are you prepared to deal with them?”
“Yes, I am,” Carter replied confidently.
Vincent breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.
Jennifer was still kneeling beside the bed when they returned to the ward.
“You should return to the office, Jennifer. I’ll stay here and look after your mother,” Vincent said.
Jennifer shook her head. “No, I want to spend some more time with Mom.”
Vincent knew there was no talking her out of it, so he had no choice but to return to the office.
Carter’s lips moved as he stood behind her, but he couldn’t find the right words to say.
I’m partly responsible for Mrs. Larson’s current condition. Had I helped beg Amelia for mercy back then, things might’ve turned out very differently, and Jennifer probably wouldn’t be treating me so coldly now.
After what seemed like forever, Carter turned around and walked out of the ward.
Jennifer, who had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed when she saw him leave.
She knew Carter wasn’t to blame for her mother’s hospitalization. She understood that he had his reasons for not helping Laura out back then and that she was in no position to get mad at him for it. However, the thought of her mother getting into a fight with a dog caused her to snap, and she lashed out at Carter as a result.
It was already evening by the time Laura came to. She grabbed Jennifer’s hand tightly the moment she woke up and mumbled anxiously, “Help me, Jennifer! Oscar is trying to kill me!”
The look in Jennifer’s eyes turned gloomy when she heard that.
Oscar again? Why is he still coming after Mom? Has he not done enough damage to her? Will he not stop until we’re all dead?
She tried her best to suppress her burning hatred as she comforted Laura, “I’m here, Mom. No one is going to kill you. You were just hallucinating because you weren’t feeling well. The doctor said you’d be all right.”
Laura gripped her hand tightly as she mumbled in fear, “No, Oscar wants to kill me! He was chasing me with an axe earlier! I tried to fight him off when he caught up to me, but he was too strong. I fainted when I saw him bring the axe down on me. I thought I was dead for sure, but it seems I somehow managed to survive. You’ve got to avenge me, Jennifer! You need to get him before he kills me!”
Jennifer gave her a hug and said, “Don’t be afraid, Mom. I’m right here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Laura slowly calmed down after hearing that.
Jennifer then served up the food that their housekeeper had brought over earlier. She fed Laura some oatmeal and salad until she was full before finishing the rest of the food herself.
Feeling a lot better after a meal, Laura rested her head against the pillow as she said, “You have to avenge me, Jennifer. You need to make Oscar pay for everything he has done to me, or my suffering would’ve been for nothing.”
Jennifer froze in shock when she heard that. I thought Mom had forgotten about what happened before, but she actually remembers everything…
“I will, Mom. Don’t you worry.”
Laura nodded and slowly closed her eyes.
Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her fall asleep shortly after.
