Chapter 172 Our Past Love
Stella's words left Jasper silent.
He was unable to refute them.
Though he never admitted it, before Stella returned, he indeed harbored feelings for Adeline that went beyond the ordinary.
After discovering that Stella had changed completely from the girl he knew six years ago, his feelings for Adeline had intensified.
Even under the influence of alcohol and impulse, he had...
His silence was a catalyst for the hate swelling in Stella's eyes.
She bit her lip and then said, "Jasper, have you forgotten what you told people while I was away? You said that you'd do anything for me to come back. You promised that no matter when I returned, I'd always be the one you cherished the most."
Her voice trembled as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. "Jasper, have you forgotten all the promises you made?"
Jasper felt a twinge of guilt as he watched her cry, but more than that, he felt irritated. He couldn't figure out where things went wrong, why after six years, he and Stella ended up like this.
"Ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.
Seeing Stella cry, Lily, an elderly woman with a commanding presence, tapped her cane fiercely on the ground. "Jasper, that's your wife. How could you treat her this way?"
The matriarch snatched Jasper's phone from his hands. "Let me tell you. Today's scandal serves Adeline right. She should take the heat.
"She's been scheming behind your back all along. Now that Stella is back, she should know her place! If she doesn't learn her lesson, she deserves every harsh word thrown at her! Don't you dare defend her; do you hear me?"
"Grandma, take it easy," Stella implored, wiping away tears and gently grasping Lily's arm. "You're not young anymore, please, don't get worked up... After this press conference, I'll have Jasper issue a statement clarifying that it was always Adeline who made the advances..."
"That's right!" Lily huffed, "And we're firing her! A woman like that, no matter how talented, can't stay with Foster Group!"
"Besides," she scoffed, "Isn't it just jewelry design? Stella, didn't you say you were studying that too? If Adeline could become the design director at The Foster Group, so can you!"
"Grandma..."
The back and forth between the two women tightened Jasper's brow in frustration. He glanced at the phone in Lily's tight grip. "Give it back."
Lily glared at him, clutching the phone even tighter. "You'll get this after the press conference, so you can't cook up any schemes to help that woman!"
Jasper frowned.
People bustled around the square. He didn't want a public spectacle with an elder.
Stella bit her lip and reached for Jasper's hand. "Jasper, don't be hasty."
Looking up at the big screen, she said, "The press conference should be ending soon, right?"
Jasper coldly withdrew his hand. He looked up at the screen, seeing Adeline's pale face in the center, and felt a sharp twinge in his heart.
She shouldn't have been through all this. The whole affair had been an unwarranted disaster for Adeline from start to finish.
After a long silence, Jasper took a deep breath, and stood up abruptly.
Stellar's eyes widened in realization of his intentions. She reached out to grab him. "Jasper, you can't go! If you go now, you'll never be able to clear the connection between her and you!"
Lily furrowed her brows, tapping her cane with a clang. "What on earth do you think you're doing! Sit down! Wait for the press release, then issue a statement, and you two will still be the loving couple. What are you trying to prove by going now?"
Jasper slowly, very slowly, pulled his hand from Stellar's grip.
He looked down, his gaze icy as he met her eyes. "A loving couple? You and me?"
He laughed mockingly. "I told you yesterday, I needed time to think whether we should remain as husband and wife, or become exes. Now, I have my answer."
Striding over to Lily, he snatched the cellphone from her hands. "Even if I love someone deeply, I won't twist the truth for her, allowing her to frame another innocent woman."
He gave Stellar a cold look. "Besides, it seems I don't love her as much anymore."
With those words, the tall and commanding man turned and walked away swiftly.
Stellar clenched her teeth, attempting to follow, but behind her, Lily slammed her cane to the floor with a loud crash. "He's defied me! He really defied me!"
The woman glanced around, then turned back to comfort Lily, "Grandma, please, don't be upset..."
...
Leaving the mall, Jasper drove straight to the City Sports Center.
When he got there, the press conference was still in progress.
Reporters were asking sharp, humiliating questions incessantly.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Suddenly, a clear child's voice came over the venue's speakers.
The reporters, who had been rabidly questioning, fell silent. They all wondered why would a child be at the press conference.
"I've heard all your questions."
Night had completely fallen over the ward across the Atlantic.
Blake sat in front of the computer, his face pale yet his voice full of strength. "Before Adeline answers your questions, I want you to listen to a recording."
With that, he found an audio file on the computer and hit play.
"I know there's nothing between them, but I need to push Adeline out."
"Monroe, send out that video you got from Sebastian under Adeline's IP address, making it look like she released it."
"Use that foreign bot-farm too, to stir things up online and pin it on Adeline."
"Monroe, I need you to handle this press conference for Helen. Make sure to plant a few reporters in the crowd to start the narrative against Adeline."
"This time, I want to make sure she can't stay in Denver."
"Only when she's gone will I have the time and energy to deal with those two children."
...
The content of the recording silenced the entire hall so intensely that the drop of a pin could have been heard clearly.
"The voice sounds familiar."
"Let's listen to it one more time."
Sebastian chuckled softly, clicking on the viral video of Stella kneeling to Adeline, begging for forgiveness.
"Please forgive me. I was indeed at fault that day."
...
The voice was identical to the recording. There was no need for voice identification.
Silence filled the hall for a long while.
Finally, a brave journalist spoke up. "So... all of this was a scheme by Stella?"
The silence was deafening.
Standing on the stage, Diana felt her facial muscles stiffen in disbelief.
No one could have recreated the conversation between her father and Stella.
After a moment, she took a deep breath. "I believe this voice has been manipulated. Besides..."
She frowned slightly, speaking without confidence, "Stella has no reason to envy or target Adeline. She and Jasper are so deeply in love..."
"Are they?"
Diana's words had barely left her lips when a cold voice echoed from the back of the room.
A tall man entered the hall to the sound of the audience's gasps, slowly walking in. "The love that Stella and I shared, was in the past."
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