Chapter 894 An Unbridgeable Abyss
“Obviously, I called you here to discuss what to do about Oscar. However, if you’re willing to offer yourself up for slaughter, you’re welcome to walk out that door anytime,” June said, pointing at the main door.
Glancing at the door, the troubled Noah began to calm down. “June, not only have you lost your company trying to take Oscar down, but you have also vanished into thin air. Do you really think you’re still a match for him?” Noah sneered while crossing his legs.
June fiddled with his fingers and pretended not to have heard the snide remark.“I didn’t vanish into thin air. All I did was return to my country undetected and borrowed some powerful resources from my family. My lying low was part of my plan to launch a more devastating counterattack.
As of now, I want him to feel smug about himself so that when he lets down his guard, that’s when we’ll strike.” June’s tone brimmed with confidence as if he could already envisage Oscar’s defeat at his hands.
After giving June a doubtful look, Noah was certain of his evaluation of the former’s strength—it wasn’t enough to take Oscar down.
“Mr. Walker, you have no other choice but to work with us if you want to save your company from ruin. The dire circumstances you’re in couldn’t be more obvious to me.” June’s lips curled into a smirk.
With a slightly darkened expression, Noah took a small sip of wine. “I didn’t reject the idea of collaborating with you although this is clearly a Hail Mary. That said, you have to tell me what your plan is first.”
“I’m in no hurry at all. We’ll wait till your company is on the brink of bankruptcy before we return to this topic. That will allow you to rise from the ashes,” June said in a nonchalant tone.
The response triggered a fit of rage from Noah. F*ck you and your rise from the ashes talk. As of then, he was being driven up the wall by government officials who were incessantly blackmailing him by conducting daily checks on him. Every time they did, he had to treat them to a meal in a luxury hotel and every meal cost a bomb. Despite being fully aware that he was being extorted, he remained helplessly at their mercy.
“June, it’s clear to me that your offer was never sincere. I’ll be taking my leave now. Come back when you’re really serious. There’s a big mess in my company waiting for me to clear up, so forgive me if I don’t have time to waste on listening to you and Ms. Larson rattle on,” Noah replied. He then got up and left.
June made no effort to stop him.
Once he was gone, Jennifer sat upright with an insidious smile on her face. “He’s leaving. Aren’t you going to stop him?”
“Why should I? It’s his company that’s going bankrupt. He’ll come back if he intends to save it. There’s little I can do if he insists on continuing on the path of destruction. Anyway, how is that girl whom you paid to get plastic surgery doing? If I recall correctly, her name’s Rory Sanders. It’s time to put her to good use. Otherwise, the money spent on her will be nothing but a waste,” June said, taking another sip of wine.
“I’ve already put her to work behind the scenes. As a rising star, she has plenty of opportunities to attend banquets together with rich businessmen, making it easy for her to run into Oscar. Also, you can rest assured that she’s a cunning girl who knows her way around men.” Jennifer got to her feet and walked up to the window. As she gazed at the colorful neon lights outside, her eyes narrowed and her face turned cold.
June sneered and gave Jennifer a thoughtful look.
“Jennifer, you’d better not have groomed an ingrate. After using your money for plastic surgery and leveraging your network for movie roles, she has now become a starlet. In the event she becomes too big-headed and refuses to obey you, your efforts would have gone to waste. Don’t you forget that.”
A vicious glint flashed across Jennifer’s eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’m no longer the same person I was before. I’d failed to protect my mom because I wasn’t ruthless enough. Now that she’s dead, I’m not going to let her dying wish be unfulfilled. After giving Rory everything she has, I obviously have my way of keeping her on a leash. I have in my hand nude photos of her and pictures of her before and after the surgery. And I keep close tabs on her family too. If she doesn’t want to be exposed or see the lives of her family threatened, she’ll have no choice but to take orders from me. Do you really think that I’m foolish enough to groom a stranger without any countermeasures?”
Giving Jennifer’s silhouette an approving look, June curled his lips to reflect the good mood he was in.
“Jennifer, you have grown more devious, but I like the way you are now. You used to be so indecisive, causing your mother to lose her life,” June said as he walked up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.
No sooner had his hands made contact than her body froze. When she tried to struggle free, he responded by tightening his hug.
“Let go, or that’s the end of our cooperation.”
June refused to comply. Instead, he planted kisses on her pale and slender neck.
Narrowing his eyes, he murmured, “Jennifer, your scent is as fragrant as ever. Compared to Cassie, you’re just like a porcupine with a body that’s covered in spikes.”
His words caused Jennifer’s hair to stand on end and her eyes to glisten with resentment.
After bursting out of his grasp with all her might, she followed up with a slap on his face.
“June, please watch yourself, or you can kiss our partnership goodbye,” Jennifer snapped.
Holding his painful cheek, June raised his head and looked daggers at her.
“Jennifer, you hit me again. Don’t forget we men have our pride. You’d better be wary of me forcing me on you,” June threatened.
Jennifer shot him a look of disdain before grabbing her bag and storming off.
Staring at her leaving silhouette with his fiery eyes, June stroked his cheek subconsciously. “Jennifer, you’ll be mine sooner or later. When that happens, let’s see how I’m going to make you suffer.”
Obviously, Jennifer was unaware of his designs for her. She got back into the car and slammed her hand on the steering wheel, overwhelmed by disgust. If not for revenge, she wouldn’t have involved herself with a person like June. Every time she saw him, she would be filled with nothing but contempt.
After all, it was hard for any woman to love a psycho like him.
Jennifer’s eyes gradually reddened as she stared out the window in boiling rage.
She had morphed into someone that even she failed to recognize.
Tossing her head side to side to get a grip on herself, she knew now wasn’t the time to wallow in her sorrow. Now that she had sacrificed everything for revenge and passed the point of no return, there was no turning back for her.
With that in mind, she turned on the engine and drove back to her mansion.
After parking her car and walking to the door, she was greeted by the sight of the last person she wanted to see.
Both of them stood a distance apart, gazes locked until Jennifer retracted hers and proceeded to open the door.
“Jennifer, you’re really back. I’ve been dropping by every day to check and didn’t expect to be lucky enough to finally see you,” Carter said softly as he came forward to grab her hand.
Jennifer shoved his hand aside and strode right in.
“Jennifer, we went through a lot before getting together. Are you really willing to abandon our relationship just like that?” Carter questioned, following her from behind.
Taking a deep breath, Jennifer suppressed the pain within her as she answered, “Carter, it’s over between us. Please leave. You’re not welcome here. I don’t want the angry spirit of my deceased mom to come after you.”
Carter gazed deeply at her, his eyes brimming with indescribable agony.
“Jennifer, clearly you still love me. Will you come back to me?”
“Sure, on one condition. Have Amelia drink the contents of this bottle and I will agree to reconcile.” Jennifer returned to where Carter was standing and handed him a purple bottle she had retrieved from her bag.
As Carter lowered his head to look at the bottle in her hand, an unfathomable glint flashed across his eyes.
He didn’t reach out to take it. Jennifer—unsurprised—retracted her hand. Perhaps I’ll never be as important as Amelia is to him.
If it was in the past, she would have been saddened by his reaction. But now, such emotions had been buried in the depths of her heart.
“Carter, you should go. Don’t ever come back to see me. There’s no way I can ignore my mom’s last wish. Amelia and Oscar are fated to be my enemies. Since I must have my revenge and you have always taken Amelia’s side, there’s no way we can ever bridge this chasm between us.”
Jennifer looked up at him as if she could see right through his heart.
“Carter, to be honest, you have never forgotten Amelia, have you? Despite your repeated claims of loving me, I’m nothing but a replacement for her. At the end of the day, I’ll never take her place in your heart. You might have feelings for me, but she’ll always be the one you truly love.”
Staring at her intently, he had no words to rebut her with.
It was true that Amelia was irreplaceable in his heart. After so many years of longing for her, it was impossible for him to forget her entirely. Nonetheless, he had learned how to turn the romantic feelings he had for her into platonic ones.
“Jennifer, let’s cast the past away and start all over again. I swear I’ll treat you like a queen to make up for the wrong I have done you. Please don’t do anything foolish. I can’t bear to see anything happen to you.” Carter diverted the topic.
Sniggering in response, Jennifer gave him a sorrowful yet contemptuous look.
“Carter, you should go. It’s really over between us,” she reiterated wearily.
The night she returned to the country, her father had told her not to hate her mother who, on her deathbed, had continued to object to her relationship with Carter. The latter feared that her daughter would never truly be loved by him.
Carter had someone else in his heart whose importance outweighed that of Jennifer. A relationship with him would bring nothing but misery.
Cognizant of her mother’s concern for her, Jennifer didn’t blame the former for her stance. Instead, the emotional struggle she was going through simply wore her out.
In the end, there was an unbridgeable abyss between Carter and her.
However, the gap had nothing to do with her mother. It was instead caused by Carter’s failure to let Amelia go. The deeper Jennifer’s feelings were for him, the more she was bothered by Amelia’s place in his heart. The issue was a ticking time bomb bound to explode.
Considering the circumstances, she felt it wiser to break up now.
Carter watched as Jennifer went upstairs. His lips parted, but he failed to find a reason to persuade her to stay.
In the end, a sigh of resignation was all he could manage before he left the mansion.
He was clueless as to how he could prove his love to Jennifer and demonstrate to her that she didn’t play second fiddle to Amelia.
Upon returning to his car, Carter drove straight home.
As he took the elevator up, he was greeted by the sight of Nina the moment the doors opened.
He approached her and asked, “When did you arrive?”
Nina flashed a smile at him.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Carter invited her in and made her a cup of coffee.
“Thank you.”
Having settled down on the couch opposite her, Carter asked, “It’s really late. Why didn’t you call me first? If I hadn’t returned, you might have had to wait outside for a very long time.”
“Not to worry. I only waited for a couple of minutes. Anyway, I just dropped by to say my farewell.”
Carter cocked a brow. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll be heading overseas for some time to avoid an overzealous pursuer and will return once he has calmed down,” Nina said flatly.
“It’s a good idea as long as you come back,” Carter commented.
“Of course, I will. Don’t forget that my parents are still here,” Nina replied in a nonchalant tone. “Carter, is it really over between you and Ms. Larson? I noticed that you looked troubled for the past year and barely made any progress at work. If you really love her, you should renew your pursuit of her.”
Her words elicited a wry laugh from Carter as he wondered how he should explain to her that the issue couldn’t be solved just by courting Jennifer.
“You should just enjoy your time overseas. There’s no need to concern yourself with my affairs.”
“You’re important to me. Of course, I care about you.” Nina changed the subject. “Fine. This is your life, and I’m sure you know what you’re doing. Also, I have no intention of nagging you as if I were your mother. I just need you to do something for me. Can you go to the hospital and tell James that I don’t love him? It’s his relentless pursuit of me that I’m trying to avoid. Tell him that I’m willing to be his friend, but he should drop the idea of us being together.”
“So he’s the one you’re trying to avoid. I find him to be pretty eligible, to be honest.”
“I don’t deny it, but I just have no feelings for him. I still prefer true blue Chanaeans.”
Carter burst into laughter. “It’s good that you have come to a decision.”
He found talking to Nina a comforting experience. Not only was she composed, but she knew where to draw the line when it came to probing someone’s privacy. Her discretion in the way they interacted was why he genuinely saw her as his sister.
