Chapter 510 I Don't Love You Anymore
Harper jumped up and yelled, "Why did you risk your neck to save me from that knife on the mountain? Why'd you jump off the cliff during the landslide, like you wanted to die with me?"
She hollered at his back, "If this ain't love, then what the hell is it?"
Harper looked like a total mess, but she didn't give a damn. If Francis hadn't put his life on the line over and over, if he hadn't cared more about her than himself, she wouldn't have had the guts to stand here after getting dumped.
The place was dead silent.
After what felt like forever, Francis finally said, "When I loved you, I wanted to move you, but now..."
Ignoring Harper's face getting paler by the second, Francis said coldly, "I don't love you anymore."
Just a few words, and it was all over. No complicated reasons, just plain and simple: the love was gone.
"Clinging on will just piss me off. Take care of yourself." With that, Francis walked out of the lounge without looking back.
The door slammed shut. In the empty room, the light felt cold and lonely. Harper curled up in a corner of the sofa, but it didn't do squat to warm her already frozen heart. Francis just left her there, not even caring how she'd get home. It was like he really didn't give a damn about her anymore.
Half an hour later, Harper dragged herself downstairs. She'd come in through the underground garage, so she had to leave the same way. But the car that was supposed to be waiting for her was long gone. She just walked to the garage exit like a zombie.
The night was freezing, and the rain was coming down hard. Harper didn't even have an umbrella and realized she forgot to call a car. She stumbled through the rain, the cold soaking her from head to toe, sending chills down her spine.
Suddenly, a car horn blared. Harper tried to move aside but slipped and fell forward. In a panic, she propped herself up with her elbows, scraping them on the sharp gravel.
The car behind her rolled down its window, and the driver yelled, "Are you blind? Think you own the road?"
Harper was clearly on the crosswalk. The driver was the one in a hurry and still had the nerve to yell.
But her stomach hurt so bad she couldn't even argue back. She just clutched her abdomen and sat down on the flower bed by the roadside, feeling humiliated.
Not far away, under the shadow of a tree, Francis stood in a sharp suit, with someone holding an umbrella for him.
Francis's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Get the details on that car. Didn't yield to pedestrians, ran a red light, and the driver was on his phone. Make sure he gets all the fines and points deducted. Don't miss a thing!"
"Yes, Mr. Getty." The assistant next to him was a new face, not the usual Victor. He pulled out his phone and noted everything down.
The vibe around Francis was seriously tense as he kept barking orders, "Also, dig into his background. See if his company or he himself has any violations. If you find anything, nail him with the law."
The assistant thought, man, this guy's having the worst day ever.
After a beat, Francis spoke again, "Get someone to give her an umbrella."
The assistant thought, 'She's been soaking in the rain forever, and now you think of an umbrella? She's already drenched.'
But questioning Francis wasn't his job, so he nodded and took off.
Francis stayed put, standing like a statue in the rain. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but if he stood too long, his whole body would lock up. If it weren't for sheer willpower, he'd have collapsed by now.
He had too much on his plate. Time was tight, so he could only give Harper what he thought was the best setup.
After she had been soaked and suffered, he hoped she'd stop being so stubborn.
After a kind passerby handed her an umbrella, Harper felt a bit warmer. She wasn't dumb enough to wreck her own health. A meltdown was enough. She wasn't alone now; she had babies in her belly.
Harper called the driver, but to her surprise, Jasper showed up to get her. He hadn't found Harper at the villa and was about to call her when the driver got her call.
Seeing her all wet, Jasper's heart broke. He took off his suit and wrapped her up, "Harper, why are you out here getting soaked without the driver?"
Harper sniffled and felt a bit warmer after sitting in the car, murmuring, "Jasper, don't blame the driver. I told him to go back."
Jasper looked around and said, "You went to see Francis again?"
"Jasper, I can't just give up." Harper's voice was small and shaky. After all the crap she'd been through, Francis wasn't hers anymore. Who could just let that go?
"Jasper, he said he doesn't love me anymore, but how can't I believe it?" Harper lowered her head, tears streaming down, "I don't believe he doesn't love me anymore."
"Harper," Seeing her like this, Jasper felt like his heart was being ripped apart, wishing he could go punch Francis right then and there!
"Jasper, I know I'm being pathetic right now, but I'm scared he's doing this because of some secret struggle. He's pushing everyone away and dealing with it alone. How exhausted must he be?" In front of Jasper, Harper didn't have to fake being strong and cried out, "Jasper, I don't want to regret it."
"Harper, no matter what you want to do, I've got your back." Jasper couldn't resist Harper's tears and caved in completely.
Harper choked up, "I always feel like he's got something going on. Promise me you won't give him trouble."
Jasper looked her in the eye, "As long as he doesn't hurt you, we can talk. But if he does, I won't stand by."
Harper's eyes stared blankly ahead, dim and lifeless, "He doesn't even want to hurt me anymore."
"Harper, don't always feel guilty because he saved you. Remember when you were little..."
A honk from behind snapped them out of it, and Jasper started the car, driving on. Seeing Harper so down, he decided to switch gears and talk about something happier. "Harper, I got some news about Mom."
"Really?"
"Yeah, a maid from Horizonia saw Mom about seven or eight years ago while working as a temp for a family. I checked with that family, but they had already moved. Since it was so long ago, no one knows where they went. Some say they moved to another country."
Even though they hadn't found her yet, this was a big step forward. Before, they didn't even dare to hope that Elodie was still alive.
The maid mentioned that Elodie was like a 'Sleeping Beauty,' spending most of her time asleep. Jasper didn't tell Harper this part, not wanting to worry her. He only shared the good news.
"That's awesome, Jasper." Harper's eyes were red, but she still looked happy.
Her mom was still out there somewhere.
Jasper ruffled her hair and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll find our mom."
After a thirty-minute drive, Harper finally got home. After a hot bath, she crashed, exhausted. A good night's sleep, and tomorrow would be a new day.
While Robert was in prison, Molly took back control of the company. The company had always been tied to the Koch family. The energy project had tanked under Harrison, but now Molly was reviving it in a new way.
The stain on Harrison's name would be hard to clear unless Robert admitted it himself. Even if it was cleared, the Koch Group could never go back to its glory days.
Molly had let go of those obsessions. Harrison's main goal was to do well in the energy sector and benefit the public. As long as she did well in the energy industry, she'd be fulfilling Harrison's last wish.
That day, Molly was busy at the company until late. As she was leaving, she ran into Kyle, who had been waiting for a while.
He was wearing a khaki trench coat, looking tall and handsome, catching the eyes of passersby at the company entrance. Molly suddenly remembered when Kyle was an intern at the hospital. Lots of girls liked him back then, secretly giving him food and gifts. But he was always so aloof and had made quite a few girls cry.
The evening sunlight cast a warm glow on Kyle's shoulders, making him look very gentle.
"Kyle, what brings you here?" Molly stepped forward and greeted him with a smile.
Kyle turned and smiled back, "Molly, waiting to have dinner with you."
"Dinner?" Molly asked.
"Molly, are you free tonight?" Kyle asked.
"Yeah, let's go."
Molly walked outside, and Kyle had already opened the passenger door, shielding the car roof with his hand for her to get in. There was a beautifully wrapped bouquet of white roses on the passenger seat.
Molly was surprised for a second and asked, "What's this?"
Kyle smiled, "For you, learned it from someone."
Molly didn't think much of it and happily sniffed the flowers. White roses did not carry as much symbolic meaning or emotional weight as red ones, and girls naturally loved flowers. No matter how much she'd been hurt, she'd come through it and should learn to enjoy life now.
On the way, Kyle asked, "Molly, what do you feel like eating?"
"Anything's fine," Molly replied absentmindedly while scrolling through the news on her phone.
The car pulled into a quiet restaurant's parking lot. Once seated, the food came out quickly, all light and easy on the stomach.
Kyle said, "Molly, I looked into Robert's case. The Mitchell family has taken two big hits, and with Adrian's recent mess, they had no choice but to go after him to protect the majority. With the evidence, there shouldn't be any mistakes this time."
On the surface, it seemed that way, but as long as Robert wasn't sentenced, Molly couldn't relax. After all, Robert had taken the Perot family from nothing to something in less than three years. Turning crises into opportunities was his thing. So far, Molly didn't dare to bring Taylor out in the open, fearing Robert had more tricks up his sleeve.
As the first trial approached, Molly felt more and more uneasy.
"We still need to keep a close watch on the Mitchell family," Molly reminded.
Initially, Molly didn't want to drag Kyle into this, but he had already submitted evidence of illegal transactions between the Scott family and the Perot Group, making it impossible for him to stay out of it. Now, the only thing they could do was protect themselves.
"Yeah, I've got someone keeping an eye on them."
Molly thought they shouldn't always talk about heavy stuff while eating. She switched to a lighter tone, "Has Mr. Scott been setting you up on dates recently?"
"A few," Kyle said, "Otherwise, he'd make a fuss."
Seeing his expression, Molly understood, "None of them worked out?"
She advised, "You should try to find a suitable girlfriend. Don't be like me."
Having been burned by love once, she no longer dared to venture into it.
Kyle peeled a shrimp for Molly and looked at her, "Molly, don't you know how I feel?"
All these years, he had never been interested in anyone else.
"I know, that's why I'm advising you." Molly straightened up, thinking that some things couldn't always be avoided and needed to be clarified.
She suddenly became serious, making Kyle a bit nervous, "Molly, I'm really not in a hurry."
"It's not about that," Molly said bluntly, "You should know that I can never get married."
Kyle's voice dropped, "Yeah, I know."
Molly said, "Then don't waste your time on me, okay?"
The smile on Kyle's face disappeared, and he said, "Then I won't find anyone. We'll just spend our lives like this."
Molly pretended to be angry, "You just don't want to let me be at ease, do you?"
Kyle took a sip of his drink and said, "I won't force you, and you can't force me either."
Molly sighed, "Kyle, I've always seen you as a brother and really hope you can be happy."
Kyle looked at her intently and said seriously, "Molly, I won't bother you."
Molly felt her advice had fallen on deaf ears. When Kyle was stubborn, he wouldn't listen to anyone.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this now," Molly said.
With Robert's matter unresolved, it was too early to talk about the future.
After dinner, Kyle drove Molly back to her apartment. After getting out of the car, Kyle called out to her, "Molly."
Molly turned to him. Kyle asked, "In your heart, you don't love Robert anymore, right?"
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