Chapter 825 Relapse
Jennifer was driving and feeling a little upset. At the intersection, she made a turn and went in the direction of Carter’s office.
When she arrived, she walked in straight. She had worked there in the past, so the receptionist did not stop her.
Jennifer took the elevator and went upstairs. Carter’s secretary was shocked to see her, but she was still very polite to Jennifer. “Ms. Larson, are you here to look for Mr. Scott? He is still in a meeting. Why don’t you wait for him in his office? Mr. Scott has told me that you are allowed to wait in his office if you ever show up.”
When Jennifer heard that, a gloomy look flashed across her eyes.
After that, she went into the office to wait for Carter.
Although she had been in that same office many times, it felt different this time around.
For some reason, things were not the same anymore.
When Carter finished his meeting, his secretary informed him that Jennifer was waiting for him in his office. He was delighted to hear that and rushed in immediately.
When he saw the person he had been missing for a long time sleeping on the couch like an abandoned child, he was heartbroken. He walked over, got down on his knees, and studied the harmless-looking Jennifer while she was fast asleep.
A smile appeared on his face. After Laura became ill, Jennifer acted like a ferocious porcupine. Once in a while, she would attack him with some sharp words.
In the past, Jennifer was always trying to please him. She took better care of him than his own mother. Back then, her care and concern annoyed him, and he could not wait for her to get lost. However, now that Jennifer treated him harshly, he ended up being worried about her. In fact, he had been keeping an eye on her in secret just in case anything bad happened to Larson Group. He did not want her to shoulder the burdens all by herself.
Sometimes, he suspected that he might be a masochist. The more someone treated him badly, the more he cared about that person. In the past, it was Amelia. Now, it was Jennifer.
He shook his head in amusement and brushed his fingers along Jennifer’s face. Unfortunately, that woke her up.
Jennifer was still in a daze when she first opened her eyes.
It took her a few seconds before she regained full consciousness and looked into Carter’s eyes. “Are you done with the meeting?”
“It just ended. Why didn’t you give me a call and tell me you are coming? The air-conditioning here might cause you to catch a cold,” said Carter with concern.
Jennifer got up from the couch and felt a bit embarrassed.
She noticed the bandage on Carter’s hand and her eyes darkened as she asked softly, “Does your hand still hurt?”
Carter took one look at his arm and replied, “I’m fine. When I went to the construction site, a small rock fell from the top and hit me. The doctor gave me ten stitches. The stitches can be removed after a short while. Don’t worry about it.”
Jennifer pursed her lips. He’s so careless.
As Carter took note of her expression, he wanted to say something, but instead, his eyes suddenly lit up with pleasant surprise.
“Jennifer, you have come here all the way because you heard about my injury, right? Does that mean you are worried about me?” he asked hopefully before waiting for Jennifer’s reply with bated breath.
Instinctively, Jennifer avoided his gaze. “I bumped into Ms. Yates at the hospital. She told me you are injured, and yet, you are still working like a crazy man. She is quite worried about you, so she asked me to check on you. It’s hard for me to turn down a request from such a beautiful woman, so here I am. Now that I can see you are alive and bursting with energy, I shall make a move first.”
Carter grabbed onto her hand and said, “Jennifer, why won’t you admit that you are worried about me? You’re just using Nina as an excuse. You’re still in love with me. Why are you running away? If you don’t love me, you won’t have rushed over in such a hurry.”
Jennifer paused in her steps and was filled with mixed emotions.
After a long while, she said, “I’m just worried that if you die, your mom and dad will be very upset. That’s all.”
Carter stared at her intently before pulling her into his arms. He buried his face in her neck and whispered, “Is it so difficult for you to admit that you still have feelings for me?”
Jennifer shut her eyes to conceal her true feelings.
She pried Carter’s arms away from her waist and said, “Carter, don’t be like this.”
Carter tightened his embrace and said, “Because of a few words from Nina, you came to look for me. That means that I still matter to you. Why won’t you admit it? Let’s start over again. If you are worried about the video incident, I can deal with it. Given my current financial standing, I can definitely help you handle the Scotts.”
Jennifer leaned in his embrace as tears flowed out of her closed eyes.
It was easy for Carter to say that. However, the actual feat was almost impossible. If they failed to deal with the Scotts, there would be no future for the two of them.
On the other hand, she could not forsake the Larsons. Carter might not be able to forsake the Scotts either. After all, his family was extremely wealthy.
“Let go of me first,” uttered Jennifer gently.
Carter thought about it and released her.
Jennifer took a deep breath before meeting Carter’s eyes. “You really want us to start over?”
Carter’s eyes lit up hopefully.
Jennifer continued, “Fine. I will do as you say if you promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Help me deal with Amelia and Oscar. I hate them. If you can do that, I’m willing to give you another chance.”
After she said that, silence ensued.
Jennifer’s heart turned cold when the silence prolonged.
At the end of the day, Carter was still on Amelia’s side. Even though Amelia is now married with a child, I’m still nothing compared to her in Carter’s eyes.
Jennifer looked at him with a half-smile before saying, “Seems like you will never agree to this condition. In the end, I’m still not as good as her.”
Carter grabbed her hand and said hurriedly, “Jennifer, that’s not true. Both of you are very different.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you never had a thing for her?”
Carter was speechless.
Jennifer pulled her hand back and said dismissively, “Forget it. I can’t be bothered to fight with you about this. In the past, we couldn’t be together because of her. It isn’t a surprise that she is still the reason why we aren’t together now, is it? Take care of yourself. I’ll make a move first.”
After a pause, she continued, “Stop pestering me in the future. I don’t want to know anything about you anymore.”
With that, she retreated to the door and bolted.
Carter stood there transfixed as he watched her leave. The light in his eyes dimmed after she left.
Jennifer got into her own car and leaned back against the car seat dejectedly.
“Amelia, oh, Amelia. Why are you always getting in my way? Carter claims he loves me. But in his heart, I’m nothing compared to you. Because of you, Oscar made me nearly go insane. Carter has rejected me so many times because of you. When you are in my life, nothing goes smoothly for me,” muttered Jennifer to herself. The expression on her face became increasingly malicious.
She stepped on the accelerator and sped away.
When Jennifer returned home, she saw Laura with bloodshot eyes chasing after everyone. She even tried to pounce on the housekeepers, seemingly insane.
Jennifer was shocked and quickly questioned the housekeepers, “What’s going on? How did my mom become like this?”
One of the male bodyguards who was safe from Laura’s assaults told her, “Ms. Larson, we have no idea what happened to Mrs. Larson. After she had her soup, she started behaving like this. She chased after the housekeepers and kept saying that Amelia wants to kill her so she will kill Amelia first.”
Jennifer’s expression darkened in an instant. She yelled, “Are all of you stupid? There are so many of you. Why didn’t any of you grab hold of her? If anything happens to my mom, I will sue all of you in court.”
Those bodyguards rushed forward to try to restrain Laura.
Alas, Laura threw her punches at anyone who came close to her. Those bodyguards could not do anything because they were afraid of hurting her.
Jennifer was sad when she saw her mother in that state.
“Mom, it’s me. Jennifer. Look at me. Can’t you recognize your own daughter?” pleaded Jennifer.
Laura, who had been chasing others, seemed to have heard her, and she turned around. As she walked toward Jennifer with her head tilted, she uttered uncertainly, “Jennifer?”
Jennifer was delighted and became excited. “Mom, can you recognize me? Shall we go home? It’s not so fun outside.”
Laura stared at her blankly before collapsing straight to the ground.
“Mom!” Jennifer ran to her and shouted angrily at the bodyguards, “Why are all of you standing there? Come over and help. If anything happens to my mom, I will kill each and every one of you.”
A few bodyguards came and carried Laura into the house.
Jennifer summoned the family doctor over to attend to her mom.
The doctor took a look and told Jennifer, “Ms. Larson, I think it’s better that you take Mrs. Larson to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup. We suspect that someone has drugged her again. That’s why she lost her consciousness and wanted to hit others.”
Jennifer froze, thinking there must be a spy among the housekeepers they hired.
After bringing Laura to the hospital, the doctor told her that although the drug had already dissipated, it was still harmful to the body. Furthermore, Laura was quite elderly. If that went on, it was only a matter of time before she would lose her mind and suffer nightmares at night. The combination would cause her to age quickly and shorten her lifespan as a result.
When Jennifer heard that, her hands that were holding Laura’s began to tremble.
She took Laura back home and got the family doctor to dispense the best medicine. Jennifer also engaged a nutritionist to prepare nutritious meals for her mother. As for the housekeepers and bodyguards at the mansion, she dismissed all of them except for a handful whom she could trust.
After settling all those matters, Jennifer went to the study and saw Vincent perusing some documents. She said, “Dad, I think someone is trying to mess with our family. Their motive is to cause internal turmoil so that we can’t focus on the company’s affairs. There’s no one I can trust right now. Do you know anyone who can go to the village and find some trustworthy people to look after Mom? Given Mom’s condition, she will require round-the-clock care.”
Vincent put down his documents before saying, “I have already sent someone to look for help. I believe we should be able to get somebody very soon. But, I intend to take your mom abroad for recuperation, and I will go with her. You will be in charge of the company alone. Can you manage it?”
Jennifer pondered about it and felt that it was a good idea, so she nodded in agreement.
“It’s a good idea to take Mom away for a while. There’s so much tension in this house. If she goes to a peaceful place, her condition might improve. When I have the time, I will go and visit her.”
Vincent stood up and approached his daughter. He said guiltily, “Jennifer, it’s our fault. It should be our job to protect you. You should be getting married by now. Instead, you have to take over the company. It’s my fault. I have let you down. I’m old now, so it’s not easy for me to accomplish a lot of things.”
“Dad, don’t talk like that. This is my responsibility. As your only daughter, I should be the one running the company. If not, who do you intend to pass it on to? But, I’m responsible for the chaos within the company. If it hadn’t been for me, the share prices wouldn’t have fallen, and the shareholders wouldn’t have sold their shares. I should be the one apologizing. Thank you for not blaming me for it,” said Jennifer sincerely.
“Silly girl.”
Both father and daughter went to check on Laura.
She had already woken up.
“Mom, you’re awake,” said Jennifer as she ran over to hold her mom’s hand.
Laura held her hand too and started panicking. “Jennifer, Amelia came to our house and forced a bitter medicine down my throat. She’s even worse than Oscar. You must take revenge for me. If they don’t die, they will torture me to death for sure.”
Jennifer was heartbroken.
She consoled her mother in a gentle voice, “Mom, don’t be afraid. Dad will take you out of the country in a couple of days’ time. I will come and see you when I’m free. No one will harm you when you are abroad.”
Laura nodded. “That’s good. I want to leave the country. I don’t want to come back anymore.”
“Okay,” responded Jennifer as she held back her tears.
Laura began mumbling, “It’s good to go abroad. It’s good to go overseas. This way, Oscar and Amelia cannot kill me anymore.”
Jennifer looked at her mother with sadness and mixed emotions.
