6
At that moment, Nora’s previously worried expression lit up.
She suddenly remembered the look I gave her at the hospital–it didn’t seem like a simple goodbye; it felt like a farewell.
With that thought, her anxiety grew.
“It can’t be; Jasper wouldn’t do anything reckless. He’s probably just upset with us.”
At this moment, Declan, who had been in the hospital room, came out and offered Nora a cup of hot water, reassuring her quietly.
“Let’s sit down and talk things through. Have some water first. Anyway, my brother is an adult. He can take care of himself. Maybe he’s just playing a prank on us.”
His words seemed to trigger something in Nora.
She suddenly turned to my parents. “Uncle, Aunt, did you know that Lu Jasper had gambling debts of a hundred thousand? People came to the hospital last night to collect. They looked like troublemakers. Do you think they might have taken Jasper?”
Hearing this, my parents exchanged glances and looked at Declan, who was too scared to speak. My mom couldn’t hold back any longer.
She rushed up and hit Declan. “You ungrateful child, aren’t you going to tell the truth now? Are you waiting for something serious to happen?”
Nora instinctively stood in front of Declan. “Mom, Dad, what are you doing? Declan is injured. Please don’t act rashly!”
My dad also looked at him with disappointment. “Nora, stay out of this. It’s all because of this brat. What did you promise us before? You said if you gambled again, you’d cut off your own hands. Now, why is a creditor coming to us? And you even have the nerve to let your brother take the blame for you!”
This left Nora completely stunned.
“What did you say? Declan, you owe a hundred thousand?”
Only now did Nora fully realize that she had never believed in me from the start, yet I chose to remain silent every time she wrongly accused
- me.
At this moment, Nora was desperate to find me, to explain everything in person. But she couldn’t reach my phone and had no idea where I was.
She took two steps back in disbelief, almost falling.
Declan, wincing from the pain, finally gave up and spoke with a defeated spirit.
“Yeah, I’m addicted to gambling. So what? I’m your son, so you’re stuck bailing me out for life. Besides, Lu Jasper is about to marry a rich heiress. Can’t he pay a bit for me? Now he’s playing missing. What’s he being so dramatic about?”
“You ungrateful child, see if I don’t teach you a lesson today!” My dad, furious, clutched his chest and fainted on the spot.
The scene turned chaotic. Nora, feeling numb, walked up and grabbed Declan by the throat, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
“You owe the debt and didn’t pay, and you only got close to me for money. So you jumped off the building yesterday to avoid debt?”
He sneered, figuring that since things had fallen apart, there was no need to pretend anymore.
“Yeah, I jumped off the building to threaten Lu Jasper for money. But that guy never picked up the phone, so I had to scare you a bit.”
“You claim to love me and would do anything for me, but when the debt collectors showed up, you didn’t want to admit it, did you?”
Before he could finish, Nora slapped him.
7:48 AMO
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“Bastard!”
Then she hurriedly left the hospital, persistently calling me on her way home.
