Chapter 150 Time to Pay the Debt!
When Scarlett brought Adeline and Sebastian to Jasper's office, Mrs. Foster was still throwing a fit on the couch.
"Jasper, I'm feeling quite hurt because of what Adeline did. Don't you feel sorry for me? "
"And you just casually compensated a painting worth ten million dollars!"
"Do you have any idea? With ten million dollars, I could buy a whole set of jewelry designed personally by Master Moon!"
Standing outside, Sebastian listened to Mrs. Foster's rant, his eyes cold.
He shot Adeline a scathing look. "I never knew Mrs. Foster was such a fan of yours."
Adeline scoffed silently, offering no retort.
Scarlett knocked gently on the door and entered. "Mr. Foster, Director Adeline is here."
Jasper, sitting in his executive chair, raised a hand to his aching forehead. "Come in."
The door swung open, and the two of themtwo men walked in.
Jasper furrowed his brow, looking up only to meet Sebastian's gentle, smiling eyes.
The moment their gazes locked, one was deep and hostile, the other warm and slightly provocative.
But in an instant, both men averted their eyes.
"That harlot!"
Mrs. Foster looked up and shot a cold glare at Adeline, prepared to say something, but her attention was diverted by the man standing beside her.
Her eyebrows knitted together suspiciously as she stared at Sebastian. "And you are? "
"I'm her friend," Sebastian replied with an easy smile, making his way to sit beside Mrs. Foster on the couch, "It seems you might be misunderstanding my friend here?"
Faced with such a congenially smiling young man, she found it difficult to remain angry. "Are you here to play peacemaker?"
"Something like that."
Mrs. Foster huffed, "Fine."
"Your friend, out of jealousy, deliberately ruined my granddaughter-in-law's favorite painting by her favorite artist. And then she made dared to expect my grandson to compensate her!"
"That painting cost my grandson a whole ten million!"
She whipped out her smartphone and brought up a news story that had been circulating all day, "Look, it's already hit the news!"
Sebastian offered a faint smile, "So what is it that you're demanding of Adeline now?"
"She needs to pay back the debt!"
"Resign immediately! "
"And she must apologize to my granddaughter-in-law!"
Mrs. Foster didn't mince words when she laid out the three demands.
After speaking, she cast a scornful look at Jasper, "I've no idea what sorcery this Adeline has cast over you, my grandson, to have you deny all my requests!"
Jasper sat in the armchair, his eyebrows twisting as he regarded her, "I've told you, things aren't as you imagine."
"And how are they not?!" Mrs. Foster was livid as she pointed to a video on her phone, "You saw Adeline ruin Stella's favorite painting with your own eyes!"
"And eTo cover for this woman, even though you saw it, you chose to lie and say you didn't! "
"And the enchantress here, what spell did she cast for you to shell out ten million without batting an eye?"
"If I'd known you were like this, I never would have just run Adeline out of Blue Bay; I should have banished her from Denver, from the country!"
"To prevent you from stirring up our house over and over again for her sake, causing chaos!"
Jasper couldn't contain his frustration any longer, his brow furrowing, "The one causing chaos at home is clearly you!"
Without Mrs. Foster, so many things would never have happened!
Indeed, if Mrs. Foster hadn't relentlessly pushed Adeline to have children, Adeline would not have been seeking treatment everywhere, living her days in sullen sorrow.
How could Mrs. Foster have anticipated being accused by Jasper in such a way?
The older woman glared at Jasper, her gaze fierce before finally shifting towards Adeline. "This is all your fault!"
"Jasper has never gone against me!"
Adeline wanted to laugh at Mrs. Foster's statement.
Blatant lies.
"When has Mr. Foster ever refrained from opposing you? "
"Didn't he adamantly refuse to marry Evelyn Quinn when you forced him to and instead resolutely took Adeline as his wife?"
"After Adeline's death, you still wanted him to marry Evelyn, yet he got engaged to Molly, didn't he? "
"You hoped he'd settle down with Molly, but their engagement was called off."
Finishing her point, Adeline looked indifferently at Mrs. Foster. "Hasn't Mr. Foster always been at odds with you? When did he ever follow your wishes?"
Adeline thought her words would leave Mrs. Foster speechless, allowing her to vent the frustration of having her design drafts torn up.
But unexpectedly, Mrs. Foster laughed.
"What you're saying was never my intention. It was his father who wanted him to marry Evelyn Quinn, not me!"
"You probably don't realize how much Jasper listens to me."
Mrs. Foster boasted further, "When he was with Adeline, I asked him myself. I wanted a great-grandchild; Adeline didn't want to conceive; what could I haveto done? "
"He told me himself, 'I'll follow your lead.'"
"Adeline was in poor health, so I urged her to try all sorts of remedies. "
"Adeline always assumed I was doing this behind Jasper's back, but she didn't know; Jasper approved of it all."
Mrs. Foster then sighed, "Who would've thought my remedies would actually work? Eventually, Adeline really did have a child. "
"No, it's not right to continue calling her Adeline; she should be called Stella."
"The name Stella is lovely, and it saves her from sharing a name with a lowly woman like you."
Mrs. Foster's words chilled Adeline's heart, one beat at a time.
She stared blankly at Mrs. Foster, feeling her breath steadily being siphoned away.
Those scoldings she received in front of Mrs. Foster, the punishments, those home remedies she was forced to swallow...
They were all vivid in her memory.
During that period, her stomach suffered severe damages, often leaving her in pain that kept her up all night.
Fearing it would upset Jasper and her family, she never dared to confide in them, secretly buying medicine and nursing her injuries on her own.
But now, Mrs. Foster brandished these so-called "victories" with pride—the proof of Jasper's compliance, the capital that showed he listened to her.
Her heart ached as if an invisible knife was slashing it.
Adeline stepped back, her face ashen, and collided hard with the door behind her, the cold pain shooting through her.
"Mrs. Foster."
Jasper frowned, his voice coldly interrupting Mrs. Foster, "Those are matters of the past; don't bring them up again."
He had learned of those events only later.
The holy earth, the incense ash...
Adeline had never told him, and Mrs. Foster had only mentioned they were home remedies, never disclosing their true nature.
He had found out about them inadvertently after Adeline had left.
At the time, he'd gone to the family estate, confronting Mrs. Foster in a heated argument.
Leaving the estate, he spent an entire night in shameful vigil at Adeline's gravestone, yearning for her forgiveness.
Those bygones made him feel unworthy of the title "husband" every time they were mentioned.
Yet, to think Mrs. Foster would bring up those issues in a moment of desperation!
"Mrs. Foster."
Noticing the tense atmosphere in the office, Sebastian chuckled, "You just said that you want Adeline to come up with the ten million she owes the gallery, right?"
"Yes!"
Mrs. Foster snorted, "If she can produce the money now, I might consider letting her keep her job at the Foster Group."
She was certain a woman like Adeline could never come up with ten million.
At least, not on such short notice.
Sebastian let out a light laugh and pulled a check from his pocket, "How about this?"
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