Shane Donovan ignored him, tilted his head back, and downed the red wine in his hand.
"Hey, don’t play dead!" Evan Hughes leaned in, resting his arm on Shane’s shoulder, the mix of alcohol and cologne wafting over, "You didn’t touch her even after drugging her, playing that innocent card pretty well..."
Shane shot him a cold, warning glance.
Evan shrank his neck but his gossiping spirit was ablaze, "Spill it to your bro, do you really have feelings for that Sterling girl? Tell the truth!"
Shane swirled the wine glass in his hand, the amber liquid reflecting a hazy glow in the light, he took a sip, remaining silent.
"I know even if you don’t say anything!" Evan smugly raised his chin, "I figured it out ages ago! Five years ago, you ca back from Kenton all strange! Feverish and mumbling ’why does she like soone like that’... I didn’t think much of it then but looking back, wasn’t Stella with Jasper Hawthorne around that ti?"
Shane’s fingers slightly tightened around the wine glass, his eyes appeared deeper and more indistinguishable under the dim lights.
"I guessed it, didn’t I?" Evan seed to have stumbled upon a huge secret, he excitedly slapped his thigh, "You’ve been secretly in love with her since then! Right? Damn it! Shane, impressive! A secret crush? For five years? You really know how to keep quiet!"
Shane put down the wine glass, leaned back slightly, sinking into the soft sofa, the ambiguous light fell upon his angular profile, obscuring his expression.
"Not five years." He suddenly spoke, his voice low, with a barely detectable hoarseness.
"Huh?" Evan was taken aback.
Shane lifted his gaze, his eyes seemingly penetrating the present clamor, reaching into the distant past, the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye appeared vivid and alluring under the light.
"Ten years."
"Ten years?!" Evan’s voice skyrocketed, nearly leaping off the sofa, his eyes wide open, "What kind of joke is that?! How old was that girl ten years ago? Shane, you... you were already..."
He could hardly believe his ears!
Ten years ago, Stella was just a teenage girl, right?
That Shane... had his sights on her even then?
This... this is too beastly!
Shane ignored his astonishnt, he picked up the wine glass again, taking another sip, the fiery liquid slid down his throat, leaving a trace of heat.
His mind involuntarily drifted back to the sumr ten years ago.
He had just started college, visiting the Sterling Family with his father.
Crestfall’s sumr was muggy and humid, yet the courtyard of the old Sterling manor was lush with greenery, cool and pleasant.
Finding the adults’ conversation dull, he wandered off alone to the backyard for so air.
And there he saw the girl sitting on the swing.
She wore a simple white dress, her slender, fair legs gently swinging in the air.
Holding a thick book in her hands, the sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows over her.
She was engrossed in her reading, occasionally wind brushed through, lifting the stray strands at her cheek, she’d extend her slim fingers to tuck them gently behind her ear.
Her profile was soft and graceful, lashes long and curling, like little fans.
At that mont, all the surrounding noise seed to fade away.
The world was silent except for the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the faint sound of pages turning.
Shane stood in place, not stepping forward to disturb her.
He didn’t know how long he watched until the girl seed to sense his gaze, lifted her head, and looked over at him.
Those eyes were exceptionally clear and bright, like black glass imrsed in a stream.
In the instant their eyes t, Shane’s heart skipped a beat.
Almost hurriedly, he shifted his gaze away, turning to leave the backyard.
From then on, the image of that girl sitting on the swing with a book quietly took root in his heart.
He knew she was Aidan Sterling’s sister, knew she was close to Aidan.
And he was Aidan’s mortal enemy.
So, he always kept all his thoughts tightly suppressed...
Until later...
He heard she had fallen for a man, heard she was at odds with her family over him, heard she suffered a lot by his side...
He watched her rush into the fla like a moth, yet had no position to step forward and stop her...
"Ten years..." Evan finally processed it, couldn’t help but curse, "Damn! Young Master Donovan, who would’ve thought you’re such a romantic?!"
Then, he patted Shane’s shoulder, his tone carrying a bit of sympathy and teasing, "But let remind you, your brother-in-law is not easy to deal with."
Shane curled his lips, "Let him co."
...
Kenton, Clearstone Law Firm’s top-floor office.
Night had fallen deeply, only Jasper Hawthorne’s office still had lights on.
"Ding—"
The sudden ring of the phone was particularly jarring in the deathly silent office.
Jasper jolted, when he saw the caller ID, he practically instinctively pressed the answer button, his voice hoarse beyond recognition, "Hey, tell ..."
From the other end ca Jude Kensington’s cautious voice, "Old Hawthorne... we’ve found out..."
Jasper’s heart montarily seized by an invisible hand, nearly suffocating.
"Go on." He forced himself to make a sound, but his fingertips felt icy cold.
Jude took a deep breath on the other end, "Five years ago, that night in the Kenton University back alley... soone did rescue Stella, chased away a thug..."
Though he had already suspected, Jasper still felt as if he had fallen into an ice cavern, every inch of his body filled with cold numbness.
The office air seed instantly withdrawn, he opened his mouth but no sound erged, just heavy panting.
"Old Hawthorne? Are you still listening?"
Jasper held the phone tightly, his knuckles turning bluish-white from excessive force, after a long pause, he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: "Who... was it?"
"I found a nearby convenience store’s surveillance hard drive from that ti recently restored... Though the footage is blurry and the angle bad... it captured a bit..."
"Send it to ." Jasper’s voice was icy cold, devoid of warmth.
"Old Hawthorne..." Jude wanted to say more.
"Right now! Send it to !" Jasper suddenly roared, his emotions nearly out of control.
"... Okay."
The call ended.
Only Jasper’s heavy breathing remained in the office.
He rushed to the computer, fingers trembling nearly incapable of controlling the mouse, after several attempts he opened the email, found the encrypted attachnt Jude had sent.
Enter password.
Download.
Decompress.
Each step felt as long as a century.
The dia player window popped up...
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