Chapter 657

Chapter 657

The birthday party was about to start. Alyssa smiled. She felt glad to see Winston and Newton

engaged in

an animated conversation at the front.

"Oh, is this real? That's Newton Beckett!” a guest exclaimed.

"Hey, you're right! He looks great for his age.”

“Newton is quite close to Mr. Taylor. It's uncommon to see such good friendships these days. One

might

mistake Mr. Taylor for Mr. Beckett's son!”

“I heard that Javier Beckett's wife is hosting her birthday celebration at Berenike Hotel tonight. It's

quite intriguing to see Mr. Beckett attending Lyla Nelson's birthday party instead of attending his

own family

event.”

The guests shared hushed chuckles and snorts.

“Mr. Beckett obviously doesn’t approve of his daughter-in-law, Sophia Kirkman. She's been

embroiled in bribery and counterfeit scandals for the past six months. Besides, her niece cheated on

Jasper Beckett.

Of course Mr. Beckett dislikes Sophia.”

“I think Jasper Beckett and Alyssa Taylor would make a great couple. I read about the auction, and it

seemed like he stood up for her. Do you think they might date?”

Alyssa furrowed her brows as she overheard this conversation, and the guests continued to gossip.

“Well, I doubt it.”

“Why is that?”

“Things got pretty messy between Jasper Beckett and his ex, Liana Gardner. They were a

laughingstock. I can’t see someone as dignified as Alyssa Taylor settling for less.”

Alyssa quietly nodded at that remark, which she thought was sensible.

"Well, it's best to turn a blind eye to your partner's romantic history. But there's always that nagging

fear that the past could resurface unexpectedly, like opening a can of worms. Even if you try not to

care, it's

hard not to be affected by it.

“Jasper Beckett is a decent man, but Alyssa Taylor has plenty of other options. She doesn't need to

get

with a problematic guy.”

Alyssa nodded in agreement. Yup, that was right.

Suddenly, Jasper interrupted her thoughts with a mischievous remark. “Enjoying the

eavesdropping?”

Startled, she swiftly looked up to find him standing beside her, gazing down at her with a tender

smile.

“I-l wasn't!” She hurriedly looked away and bit her lower lip angrily. She had been caught red-

handed

He sat down beside her and remarked, “Well, they had it mostly right, except for one thing. Yes, I

might be

a man with a complicated past, but you're part of that past too.”

“Is that something to be proud of?” she retorted, crossing her arms and smirking.

Noticing her frustration, he smiled wryly and said, “Lyse, I don't have an ego when it comes to you.”

His confession caught her off guard.

“All I have is regret,” he added, his voice becoming hoarse.

His expression darkened. “I regret how poorly I treated you, and I regret not introducing my wife to

the

public.”

Alyssa looked away and responded coolly, “You don't have to carry that regret, Jasper. I'm relieved

that no one knows I was your wife for three years. I feel fortunate that you didn’t publicize our

disastrous

marriage.”

Their disastrous marriage.

Jasper felt a pang of pain in his chest. Even after all they had been through, he remained a stain in

Alyssa’s past.

“That helped me move on from our failed marriage. I could simply pretend it never happened,” she

continued with a chuckle, adding, “We were never truly together, anyway.”