Chapter 9
Rebecca collapsed, drenched in blood, and Jackson staggered toward me, shaking my shoulders. “Emilia, can we go back to how things used to be?”
“We can’t go back, not since the moment you let Rebecca be Barry’s mother,” I replied coldly..
He didn’t understand; Barry needed more than just a polished mother.
“It can work, I swear! I know I was wrong. Emilia, you’re so perfect, like a fairy dropped down to the world, while I feel so ordinary. You make me feel inadequate.”
I said, “So you could’ve bailed me out back then, but you didn’t.”
“Back then, the company needed money. I had no choice,” he muttered.
Jackson’s gaze dropped, and I could see he knew his excuses were weak.
I continued, “Even if you were broke, you could’ve turned to my grandfather for help.”
He had countless options but chose none.
“I did go to your grandfather, but he told me to stay away from
Chapter 9
you. He never respected me, so I…” Jackson’s eyes suddenly turned icy as he continued, “I pushed him down.”
2/4
Shock coursed through me, leaving me breathless. My stomach churned, and a wave of nausea hit me.
“Why would you do that? Jackson, why?”
“I just wanted to put you in your place,” he said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Put us in my place? My grandfather was only looking out for us!
“Do you even realize that he was the one who provided the startup funds for your company? Those orders you had for half a year? None of it would have happened without him! Do you really think big companies would partner with a nobody like you?”
Morton would have supported me unconditionally, regardless of the circumstances.
Jackson’s eyes widened in disbelief, and at that moment, his pride crumbled.
He was drawn to my independence, yet he wanted me to shed that part of myself to stay by his side.
“Jackson, you’re so contradictory,” I thought.
He turned and walked away, and I knew he was heading to
Chapter 9 confront Ryan.
3/4
When Jackson was arrested, his face was covered in blood. He had killed Ryan with a golf club in a warehouse, and Barry was forgotten in a cold storage room, his lifeless body sprawled out with my name scrawled on the floor beside him.
As Jackson was being taken away, his head pressed against the ground, he kept repeating, “Emilia, I’m sorry.”
I watched as tears streamed down his face.
Jackson was sentenced to death, hoping I would visit him.
But on the day of his execution, I didn’t show up.
Instead, I was on vacation abroad with Justin.
Justin had managed to gather evidence because he had represented the case of contract fraud years ago. He had violated legal ethics by leaking the files, which led to his disbarment.
I asked him, “You sacrificed your career just to help me? Don’t you regret it?”
“You’re a big–time designer. As long as I’m with you, I’ll never go hungry,” he replied with a grin.
“What if people call you a freeloader? No man wants to feel overshadowed by his woman.”
Chapter 9
Justin gave me a pitiful look. “Ms. Aniston, please take care of me!”
I laughed and playfully tugged at his shirt. “Show me those abs!”
With a smirk, he pulled up his white shirt, revealing his toned chest and abs. I couldn’t deny it was tempting. He said, “Ms. Aniston, if you’re not satisfied, I’ll just have to go home and inherit the family business.”
“What business?” I asked, intrigued.
“The Joseph Group.”
“You’re telling me the Joseph Group, the leading company in this city, is your family’s?”
That was indeed mind–blowing news.
Three months later, Justin and I tied the knot in a lavish ceremony fit for a fairy tale..
Not long after, I found out I was pregnant. I believed our little miracle was on the way.
The future looked bright.
The end
