Chapter 8 Chaos
Magnus couldn't help but doubt her claim. "You have that good a memory?"
"Yes! Mom says I got it from Dad! My dad's a genius!" she beamed with pride.
"A genius with an exceptional memory?" Magnus asked, slightly taken aback.
"That's right! What about it, Sir?"
Magnus didn't really care; he was just making small talk. For all he knew, the kid was just boasting. True geniuses were few and far between. Still, seized by a whimsical impulse, he decided to test her and rattled off his phone number quickly. "Got that?"
The girl nodded earnestly, "Got it! Sir, wait till I introduce you to a gorgeous gal!"
Magnus, of course, didn't take her seriously.
Glancing at his wristwatch, he realized he had just spent twenty minutes entertaining an inconsequential conversation with a child.
He stood up and patted the girl's head, "I've got to go; you should head back to your room too."
Jennifer waved obediently, "Goodbye, Sir!"
His bodyguard followed him into the elevator.
As the elevator doors were about to close, Magnus cast one more glance towards the little girl who kept waving at him. A hook seemed to catch the softest part of his heart.
If Juniper hadn't betrayed him... his own child with her would have been about the same age by now. After all, he had planned to marry Juniper right after graduation, working hard to give her the best of everything.
But 'if only' didn't exist.
There would never be a lovely and well-behaved child with Juniper. Not in the past, not ever in the future.
With an indifferent look, Magnus turned his gaze away from the child.
The elevator doors closed.
At the same time, Juniper finally found Jennifer and hugged her, breathless and panicked.
"Jennifer! Why did you wander off? You scared me to death!"
"Umm... Mom, you're hugging too tight! I can't breathe!"
Juniper took a moment to calm herself, "What are you doing sitting out here? Isn't it chilly?"
Jennifer pouted her lips, "Mom, what took you so long? I was so bored, but luckily I met this handsome guy who talked to me for a while!"
Juniper's eyebrows furrowed with concern. Could he be a scam artist?
"Yep! He just left! If you'd come earlier, you could've seen him! He was so good-looking!"
Right now, Juniper didn't have the time to ponder that. She quickly took her child back to the hospital room and admonished, "Don't talk to strangers from now on, okay? What if someone had taken you away?"
Seeing her mother so worried, Jennifer could only shrug her small shoulders and say, "Okay."
Back in the room, while Juniper was washing her hands in the restroom, Jennifer stealthily noted the man's phone number in her little sketchbook.
Hmph, that man underestimated her, thinking she couldn't remember the number. She'd text him tomorrow to prove her memory was indeed sharp!
When Juniper came out of the restroom, Jennifer asked with a frown, "Mom, how much longer do I have to stay in the hospital?"
"Not long now, sweetie. You'll have a small surgery and then you'll be all better. Then, how about mom takes you to the amusement park to ride the merry-go-round?"
Tonight, she'd asked the manager of the Floating Life Nightclub, who, despite his sharp tongue, was kind-hearted and knew she was a single mother with a sick child. He had introduced her to a lucrative gig—she could make a fortune in tips alone, reportedly in the tens of thousands.
At the exclusive Comte de Brando Hotel in the Imperial Capital, only the rich and elite could afford to negotiate deals there, and they were known for their generous tips.
If all went well, she'd raise the money for Jennifer's surgery in no time.
"Mom, I'm scared it'll hurt. Will the surgery be painful?"
Juniper embraced her tenderly, kissing her daughter's forehead, "Don't worry, I'll be right there with you."
After Jennifer drifted off to sleep, Juniper finally noticed a magazine on the bedside cabinet.
It was Time magazine, with Magnus gracing the cover.
Juniper's slender fingers gently traced the man's distinctive features in the image. Now, he was an unattainable business magnate, basking in unequaled limelight.
Last night, Ophelia sent her Mary's profile on WhatsApp.
She scrolled through it; Mary, a rising star singer who had recently shot to fame. Most importantly, Mary belonged to the Sinclairs, a family not as prominent as the now-famous Magnus in the Capital, but they were still a family that held sway.
Mary was beautiful, a perfect match for Magnus when they stood side by side.
Curiosity is human nature, and Juniper couldn't help but wonder, would Magnus dote on Mary the same way he used to dote on her?
The thought alone clenched her heart in pain.
Juniper tossed the magazine into a drawer, out of sight and out of mind.
...
Night fell over the Capital, its opulence dazzling, the downtown area awash in the golden glow of indulgence.
From the luxury suite in the grandiose Comte de Brando Hotel, the air conditioning sent shivers through Juniper.
She never expected to encounter Magnus so soon.
And she was even more surprised to find that the man discussing business with Magnus was David, her former fiancé.
Six years ago, right after Magnus was incarcerated, Alexander Beaumont arranged a match for her with the heir to the leading enterprise of X City, General Group—David.
Alexander Beaumont aimed to use her, marrying her into the Clarks to solidify his position as governor.
Back then, she was already pregnant with Magnus's child, and Alexander Beaumont heartlessly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy. She fought tooth and nail to break free from the Beaumonts, reaching out to David and confessing her premarital pregnancy, carrying the child of another man.
David, after all, was an heir of the Clarks—a man of status. How could he possibly marry a woman who had lost her purity before marriage?
Just like that, Juniper's engagement was ended by the Clarks. Deemed worthless by Alexander Beaumont and Isolde Whitaker, she was driven out of the Beaumonts, cast out of X City.
She was in a daze when David's teasing voice broke through, “I heard that after the Clarks calling off an engagement, Mr. Alexander kicked her out of the Beaumont household. But I gotta say, I never expected Miss Beaumont to end up in such dire straits.”
Each encounter she had with Magnus seemed to happen in the most awkward of circumstances.
Juniper pressed her palms together, feeling the cold sweat, yet she managed a faint smile. “Maybe it’s divine retribution—for turning down your marriage proposal back in the day.”
Her tone was light, almost dismissive, but it put David in an awkward spot.
He claimed it was the Clarks who called off the engagement.
But Juniper countered that it was she who had refused to marry him.
David was a prideful man, one who held grudges. His eyes narrowed, a sneer broke out, “If we’re talking punishment, maybe it's the heavens punishing Miss Beaumont for not recognizing a gem when she had one and betraying a man like Mr. Blackwood!”
Juniper stiffened...
She instinctively glanced at the reserved man sitting at the head of the table, who hadn't said a word.
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