Jasperâs lips stretched into a thin line. âShe has Jameson now, besides her throng of brothers. I donât need to kiss her ass even more. Thatâs embarrassing to a man of my stature.â
Xavier quickly cried, âBut Mr. Jasper, youâre not even in her neutral books at this point. This is the only way.
to win her back!â
Jasper glared at his secretary, making the man shut up instantly.
âWeâve divorced. Thereâs no use trying to revive anything. I donât intend on getting her back either.â
Jasper cleared his throat, his voice hoarse.
âWhatâs mine would never leave me, and whatâs not, well, thereâs no point chasing after it once itâs gone. I have never regretted leaving her. Never.â
Sophia stormed back to Seaview Manor, bursting into tears even before stepping into the study. She clung onto Javier, sobbing and crying her misery out.
âHow could Jasper do this to his own sister? What a cruel child! He didnât want to help. Thatâs fine. But how could he dismiss Betty from her post?
âHow could she ever regain her footing in the company now? He canât do this just because heâs CEO!
Heâs been disrespecting you more and more ever since you promoted him to this post!â
âI was the one who gave that order.â Javier pushed Sophia away, feeling irritated. âI was the one who instructed Jasper to dismiss Betty.â
How strange. Whenever Sophia behaved like this in front of him, he would always feel unbearably eager to appease her and make her happy again. His defenses would cave in like butter to a hot knife.
But all he wanted to do right now was stay far away from her to get some peace of mind.
Javier found himself reminiscing about Jasperâs mother more and more these days, of how proud and independent and strong she had been.
She never once shed a tear nor pleaded so pitifully to him as Sophia did, trying to win his favor.
Javierâs greatest regret in life was probably the fact that he never actually won Jasperâs mother over.
It was during that time of his life that Sophia had appeared, fulfilling his masculine pride and desire.
If only Jasperâs mother had been gentler with him. Maybe they wouldnât have ended up like this. After all, he had truly loved her back then.
âW-What?â Sophia gazed at him in utter shock. âWhat did you say, Javier?â
âHow could you expect me to keep her in the company when she has made such a terrible mistake?
Where would that make me stand, being the president of the company? What would the world think of us?
Javier asked sternly.
Sophia retorted, âIs your pride as the company president more important than your own child?â
âI am Bettyâs father, and Iâm also the one steering this company forward!â Javier exclaimed, angry now.
He continued, âYou can spoil your daughter all you want, but I cannot sit by and tolerate her actions at the companyâs expense!â
âHow could you say something like that, Javier? Do you hate me? Do you not love me anymore?â
Sophia cried, inquiring the most inopportune question to pose to a man.
âI do not have time to deal with this foolishness right now! Winston is declaring war against us because of Alyssa, and I need to deal with this. Theyâre threatening to take this to court!â Javier angrily shoved Sophia away, making her fall back onto the couch.
He added, âIf you have so much time to whine and sob before me, why donât you teach your daughter how to behave? Do you have any idea how much trouble Betty has caused us for all these years?
How many times do I have to clean up after her? Sheâs 25 years old, Sophia. How much longer do I have to clean up her mess?â
Sophia was frightened. âJ-Javierâ¦â
âI donât understand it. Sheâs my child too. Yet why is she so drastically different from Anneâs son? Look at Jasper. Heâs never caused me any trouble and always kept the company in check.
âHe even spearheaded the companyâs development way beyond that of the Schmidt Group!
âOn the other hand, your daughter has always found some way to be either useless or troublesome to us.
So youâd better think about what youâve done wrong in raising her!â
Javier then stormed out of the study, slamming the door behind him.
Sophiaâs eyes welled up with angry, hurt tears once more, and they cascaded down her cheeks.
âAnne⦠That fucking bitch⦠You still havenât gotten over her, have you? Hahahaha! So what? I still killed her in the end⦠I still killed her! Sophia cried hysterically, cackling and sobbing like a mad woman.
Recalling Jasperâs words to her earlier today, her anger upped to no end. âI wonât stop here, Anne⦠Iâm going to make your precious, darling son fall to ruins in my hands!â