Seven years of deep love

Chapter 2

But when my child and my love were both destroyed by one person, an immense regret inexplicably grew in my heart.

If I had known Jasper's true identity back then and left him without hesitation, instead of softening because of his pleas, would all this have been avoided?

After regret comes hatred.

I hate myself for easily lowering my standards, and I hate Jasper even more.

"I haven't touched any of your things in the house. If you come back to beg me now, there's still a place for you by my side."

I repeatedly read through the messages Jasper sent, feeling a sense of calm in my heart.

His words made me feel disgusted, but they gave me an opportunity, a chance for revenge.

I typed a message on my phone and was about to send it when Jasper's childhood friend beat me to it and sent me a message first. It was Ethan, the one who accidentally sent the photo last time.

This time it was a voice message. Upon opening it, Jasper's confident voice came through:

"Don't worry, she can't live without me. She's just being stubborn right now. Once she experiences the harshness of society, she'll come crawling back to me on her own."

After the voice message finished playing, Ethan immediately sent me another text.

"Sienna, we brothers have set up a bet on how long it will take for you to come back to Jasper."

"How long did you bet?"

"I bet you won't come back."

I was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what Ethan was up to. I didn’t have a deep impression of him, and we only added each other on WeChat out of politeness during a dinner gathering. After that, except for the photo he sent me last time, we hadn’t spoken at all.

"Actually, I quite like you. Why don't you come with me? I have an older brother, so there's no need for an arranged marriage."

Seeing that I didn't respond, the other person sent another message.

"Jasper treated you like that, don't you want to get back at him?"

"Be with me, and I'll help you get revenge on him."

Ethan came to pick me up at the hospital that afternoon. Before that, I had sent an email to my former university mentor.

Three years ago, after graduating from university, my mentor offered to take me abroad for further studies. I refused for the sake of Jasper, but now, this would be my escape after revenge.

My mentor replied to me while I was sitting in Ethan's car. The email had only a simple sentence: "It's not too stupid to know when to turn back. Report by the 15th of next month," followed by an address.

"The doctor said you shouldn't look at electronic devices for too long."

I looked up and happened to meet Ethan's gaze. Seeing me look at him, he gave me a gentle smile.

"Should I stay at your place, or will you come to mine? My place is quite spacious, and..."

"I can't share a room right now."

A violent cough came from the front seat. Ethan quickly stepped on the brake and pulled the car over to the side of the road. I noticed his ears had turned red.

"I wasn’t thinking about that, it’s just that the doctor said you need to rest more now, and I thought living together would allow me to take care of you."

"Then let’s go to your place, it’s closer to Jasper’s house, isn’t it?"

Ethan paused for a moment, then restarted the car. I glanced at the navigation—it was the route to Jasper’s apartment.

"When did you start liking me?"

"When you two first got together, you might not remember, but we were actually university alumni. I was a year ahead of you and Jasper."

I lowered my head in deep thought, fiddling with the phone in my hand.

Amidst the whirlwind of emotions in my heart, I suddenly felt that Jasper was actually quite amusingly foolish.

He arrogantly thought he could buy my dignity with money, dreaming of enjoying the bliss of having both worlds.

Arrogantly buying a house in the same neighborhood as his good brother, but his good brother had been coveting his wife for years.

I suddenly felt an overwhelming anticipation to see Jasper.

"Sienna! Why did you get out of his car!"

As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Jasper and was momentarily stunned.

His current appearance was far from that of a groom-to-be, with dark circles under his eyes, a stubbly beard, and a wrinkled suit, looking like a down-and-out man on the verge of bankruptcy.

"Why did you block me? And you quit your job. I couldn’t find you anywhere."

Jasper stepped forward to grab me, but Ethan blocked him without hesitation.

"Jasper, you've crossed the line."

"I crossed the line?"

Jasper was so angry he laughed, pointing furiously at Ethan.

"My girlfriend got out of your car, and you’re saying I’m overstepping? Ethan, don’t tell me you specifically picked her up to bring her to my place."

Ethan didn’t say anything, just frowned and took off his suit jacket to drape it over me, looking every bit the gentleman. Seeing this, Jasper grew even angrier and was about to explode when Ethan finally spoke.

"You two have already broken up. Sienna is now my girlfriend."

By the time Jasper realized it, his fist had already landed on Ethan's face. I just watched their drama unfold calmly, feeling nothing inside.

"You're stealing from me? I treated you like a brother, and you're stealing from me!"

"Do I need to remind you? You have less than a month until your wedding…"

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Jasper punched him again. Ethan glanced at me, and I immediately pretended to be frightened, my eyes red as I tugged at his sleeve.

"Ethan, I'm scared..."

In the end, Jasper's eyes turned red with anger. It seemed like he really wanted to scold me, but for some reason, he only ended up fighting with Ethan. If the security hadn't arrived in time, who knows how the fight would have ended.

Seeing the two being pulled apart by the security guards, I sighed inwardly, feeling a bit regretful. Jasper now only had a slightly swollen face, a black eye, and a kick to his body.

Too light, this hardship is still too light for Jasper.

So, under his concerned gaze, I stepped forward to support Ethan, speaking softly with a caring expression.

"Ethan, are you okay? Does it hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

From behind came Jasper's furious, voice-altering roar: "Sienna, your man isn't dead yet! Why are you rushing to care for him now!"

I think my body must have stiffened when I heard those words because I saw a flash of panic in Ethan's eyes.

It was like a toy that had been hard-won, only to feel like it was about to be snatched away again.

I comfortingly squeezed Ethan's hand and turned to look at Jasper. His eyes were fixed on the hand that Ethan and I were holding, and a look of pain flashed in his eyes.

"Jasper, how many times do I have to tell you that we've already broken up?"

"I didn't agree!"

"That's your problem. Ethan and I are already together."

As the words fell, Jasper seemed to freeze for a moment, then as if he suddenly thought of something, he roared even more furiously, and the two security guards almost couldn't hold him back.

"I get it now, you've been hooking up with him for a while, haven't you? I knew your tastes had been spoiled by all those luxury goods and high-end restaurants I treated you to. How could you just walk away so easily? Turns out you already had someone else lined up."

As if certain that this was the truth, Jasper's face showed not only rage but also a trace of disdain, and then I heard him say, "Sienna, you really disgust me."

I think I must have been overwhelmed by anger. Even though I had already realized how despicable Jasper was, I still tried to find a trace of his former self in his face.

Unfortunately, there was none.

So I also spoke up, repeating his words: "Jasper, you make me sick too."

The current you makes every single second I’ve spent with you feel utterly disgusting.

Before Jasper could continue his reckless words, I took out a medical record from my bag. Though I tried to stay calm, my hands couldn't help but tremble slightly. I told myself this was the last time.

"You went to Min'ai Hospital last Wednesday, didn't you?"

Jasper paused briefly, a look of confusion on his face.

I guessed he was probably thinking that even if I was also at the hospital that day, even if I saw him with another woman, so what?

After all, he had already told me, he had long thought I should be able to accept this, hadn't he?

So I smiled and spoke as gently as ever, "Your fiancée burned her hand, and you specially arranged an emergency appointment for her. There was only one doctor that day."

"What are you trying to say?"

Jasper frowned impatiently, as if I were making a fuss over nothing.

"Now I'm talking about you and Ethan, why are you bringing up these irrelevant things?"

I forced a smile, feeling an inexplicable bitterness in my heart. I reminded myself to stay strong, this was the first step in your revenge.

"Because you called that doctor away, a pregnant woman couldn't receive timely treatment and had a miscarriage. She was the girl you blocked your fiancée from seeing."

Jasper's expression froze instantly. He opened his mouth, looked at my flat abdomen, shook his head in disbelief, and stared at me with panic in his eyes.

We both spoke almost simultaneously.

"Impossible, you can't be pregnant..."

"It was me, I had a miscarriage. She lived in my belly for 13 weeks and 2 days, she was our child."

After I threw the pregnancy test report in front of Jasper, I nearly collapsed, but fortunately, Ethan supported me in time. I silently opened my mouth, signaling to go home.

After walking a few steps, I heard the sound of knees hitting the ground behind me, followed by a wail.

Will Jasper suffer?

I hope so.

That is the retribution he deserves, the beginning of his punishment.

Ethan seems like a qualified boyfriend.

Not only did he not express any dissatisfaction due to the trouble caused by my ex-boyfriend, but he also showed me great care and attention.

He settled me in the guest room that had already been tidied up, then went to the kitchen to cook, behaving thoughtfully, politely, with the right amount of ambiguity, without making me feel annoyed.

If it weren’t for what he said that day: "That won’t do, your Lu family relies on you to carry on the family line," I think he would have easily taken advantage of the situation.

"Open the door, Ethan, open the door!"

While Ethan was feeding me porridge, Jasper, who had finally reacted, began his mission of disturbing the peace.

The knocking was so loud that people several floors up and down could probably hear it.

"Why don't you go eat in the bedroom? The bedroom door has better soundproofing."

I shook my head, looking at the tightly closed door: "What material is your door made of?"

I hope it's a very hard material, because that way my hand will hurt more when I hit it.

Ethan didn't catch the underlying meaning of my words and thought I was worried about the door being broken and unsafe, so he smiled and reassured me.

"It's made of alloy, don't worry, he can't break through it."

After knocking for more than half an hour, the sound of knocking on the door gradually subsided, and Jasper's sobbing cries could be heard, as if he were in extreme pain.

"Sienna, I was wrong, I didn't know it was you..."

"I really didn't know, if I had known it was you, I would never have done that..."

"Sienna, I was really looking forward to our child. If I had known you could get pregnant, I wouldn't have sought out someone else. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Look, even at this point, Jasper still blames me for the mistake.

But what about the reality?

Even if I had told him earlier that I was pregnant, he would have found another excuse. He would say my family couldn’t provide him with support, or that the scar on my stomach is too ugly.

Seeing me lost in thought, Ethan visibly panicked, afraid that I might actually be swayed by those words.

The chair screeched as it was pulled back. I looked up at Ethan, who forced a smile, his fists tightly clenched.

"I'll go out and talk to him. I can't let him keep disturbing your rest."

I nodded noncommittally, but the moment he pushed the door open, I took Jasper out of the blacklist.

I don’t know exactly how Ethan talked to Jasper, but judging from the wounds on his body when he returned, the process probably wasn’t very smooth.

"He won’t bother you for a while. I told him if he dares to harass you again, I’ll spill his secrets to his fiancée."

Ethan glanced at my expression, and seeing that I didn’t react unusually, he continued speaking.

"His family’s business is deeply tied to theirs. If any bad news comes out now, his father won’t let him off the hook."

"Oh."

I looked down at the message sent on WeChat and silently twitched the corner of my mouth.

Someone named Jasper was continuously sending me messages, reminiscing, trying to make amends, talking about the past, apologizing.

"How are you planning to help me get back at him?"

I closed my phone and looked at Ethan, only to see him pause for a moment before smiling at me.

"We’ll talk about it once you’ve recovered. Besides, isn’t it the best revenge for us to be happy together?"

I looked at his superficial smile and nodded, thinking to myself, no wonder he’s Jasper’s good friend—they’re both scoundrels.

After carefully considering it in my heart, I tugged at his hand to show goodwill.

"Then take me to meet your other friends, to make our relationship clear. Is that okay?"

Ethan's eyes flickered with hesitation. Perhaps he did have a slight interest in me, and he was willing to back me up in private by fighting with Jasper. But if it were to be shown openly, snatching a brother's wife would never sound good.

"If you're not willing, forget it. I know Jasper holds some influence in your circle. Offending him would be..."

"Tomorrow, it's Liam Hartwell's birthday. Let's go together."

"Alright."

Just as foolish as Jasper, with a little provocation, he eagerly jumps into the pit.

Jasper and his circle always dine at the same place every time they gather, and this time was no exception.

Coincidentally, the private room Liam Hartwell booked for his birthday was the same one Jasper had booked for his birthday, only last time my identity was still Jasper's girlfriend, and through eavesdropping, I came to understand the true nature of my lover.

When I appeared arm in arm with Ethan, the scene fell momentarily silent. Almost everyone’s expression turned unpleasant except for mine. In the end, it was Liam Hartwell who broke the ice and invited us to sit down.

Jasper arrived a few minutes later than us. Although he had brought his own fiancée, a faint anger still colored his face when he saw me and Ethan appearing together.

"Ethan, is this your girlfriend? She's so beautiful."

As soon as Jasper's fiancée spoke, someone couldn't help but laugh, causing Jasper's face to turn pale with anger.

"Hello, I'm Ethan's girlfriend, Sienna."

I extended my hand in a friendly gesture, and during the brief handshake, a flicker of surprise crossed the other person's face, but it quickly returned to normal as they smiled and introduced themselves.

"I am Jasper's fiancée, Isla Monroe."

The arrival of Jasper's fiancée was an unexpected surprise for me. Originally, I just wanted to provoke Jasper a bit to prepare for my next move, but his girlfriend's reaction gave me a new idea.

Throughout the meal, I was exceptionally attentive to Ethan, pouring wine and serving dishes, playing the role of a model girlfriend. In contrast, Jasper's pair required his constant care, as Isla Monroe was a pampered young lady who needed his attention at every turn.

By the end of the meal, Jasper's face was as dark as could be. It was unclear whether Isla Monroe noticed or not, but she seemed to have no trouble ordering him around.

"Sienna, do you really have to do this?"

While washing my hands in the restroom, a visibly distressed Jasper approached me.

"What else? What do you want me to do?"

Jasper was stunned by my retort, his expression growing even more pained.

"I know I was wrong in the past, but I’ll change. Will you come back to me?"

"What about your fiancée?"

"After we get married and that project is completed, I’ll get a divorce, okay?"

Jasper spoke earnestly, his eyes pleading. Seeing that I remained unmoved, he spoke again.

"I used to think that you couldn’t live without me, but when I really couldn’t reach you, I realized it was me who couldn’t live without you. As long as you’re willing to come back, it doesn’t matter even if you can’t have children in the future."

There was a commotion from the cubicle. I smiled, brushed the water off my hands, and gave Jasper a "chance."

"We’ll see how you perform."

Jasper's eyes lit up.

"Then what about you and Ethan?"

"We... Jasper, can't you see? I was only with him to make you jealous. Since you're willing to divorce for me, there’s naturally nothing between us anymore."

Thinking to myself that this would be the last time I’d say such nauseating words, I smiled even more brightly on the surface.

"Let's not meet for a while. Once you've sorted everything out, we can start over."

Start over, my brilliant life.

Start over, your rotten, decaying life.

At that dinner gathering, I was the first to leave.

The excuse I used was even the same as the one I used at Jasper's birthday party last time. I sent a message to Ethan saying I wasn't feeling well and wanted to stay at my best friend's place for a while.

Ethan replied with an okay, then asked if I wanted to go with him to Jasper's wedding next week.

I declined, and after a while, I said I would send him a special gift on the day.

Ethan expressed great anticipation, and so did I.

I received news from Jasper and Ethan again a week later, on the day of Jasper's wedding.

At that moment, I was waiting at the airport.

Presumably, the gifts I sent to them were quite a surprise, otherwise they wouldn't have been so furious as to send me messages and call me.

However, the two of them still lacked taste, because what they said was pretty much the same, and overall, it could be summarized into one sentence.

"Sienna, you're playing with me!"

I replied, "What else?"

Then I blocked both of them one by one. Just as I was about to throw away the SIM card, the phone rang—it was an unknown caller.

I hesitated for a moment, but still answered the call. On the other end was a somewhat unfamiliar female voice.

"Miss Jiang, you're even more ruthless than I imagined. Although it made me lose face, I still want to thank you for helping me get rid of a scumbag and for making my father completely give up on the idea of an arranged marriage. He’s now planning to find a son-in-law to marry into the family."

"Oh, well, I wish you success then."

After hanging up, I took out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and threw it into the trash bin.

How could it be such a coincidence?

Just as I reached the door of the private room, I could hear Jasper belittling me, but it was all deliberately arranged by someone.

It was only after my miscarriage that I realized everything had been meticulously planned.

They calculated the exact time I would arrive outside the private room and deliberately sparked the conversation, letting me hear Jasper's true feelings.

At first, I thought it would be Ethan because the timing of his confession was too coincidental. At that time, I believed he was both encouraging Jasper to break up with me and sending me ambiguous signals.

But on the day of Liam Hartwell's birthday party, the moment I saw Jiang Yu, I overturned all my previous thoughts.

Every look in her eyes told me she knew me.

She was the one eavesdropping in the bathroom stall. When she didn't burst out and slap Jasper upon hearing our conversation, I was completely convinced that everything was her scheme.

First, let me hear those words from Jasper, making me disappointed in him.

Then, she arranged for me to bump into her and Jasper at the hospital, driving me to despair over him.

However, what she probably expected was that I would have a big fight with Jasper, thereby embarrassing the Lu family and allowing her to break off the engagement.

Little did she know that I had recorded my eavesdropping outside the private room and my conversation with Jasper in the bathroom, as well as all the bad things Ethan had told me about Jasper.

I packed these recordings and sent them to the wedding venue. The hired technician replaced the wedding music with these recordings.

From then on, the reputations of the Lu and Jiang families were ruined, and so was Ethan's.

I’ve said it before, the physical pain meant nothing to Jasper.

The pain of conscience is only temporary. I wanted to give him hope, then make him utterly despair.

This is what he deserves.

"Sienna!"

Before heading to the security checkpoint, Jasper's voice came from behind.

It was messy and humiliating.

Seeing him doing so poorly, I flashed a big smile.

I turned around decisively, never to see him again.

Jasper really thought Sienna would forgive him.

After all, Sienna had lowered her standards for him more than once.

At the very beginning of their relationship, Sienna said that the one thing she could never tolerate in this life was being deceived by others.

Yet, Jasper's encounter with her was a deception—his identity was fake, everything was fake. But even so, when his true identity was later exposed, Sienna still forgave him and even took a bullet for him from an enemy.

From that moment on, Jasper understood one thing: perhaps Sienna had no boundaries when it came to him, or perhaps she just loved him too much.

Jasper believed that he loved Sienna too, but at the same time, he was also a man.

No matter how good Sienna was, there would come a day when he would grow tired of her, especially after being together for so many years.

So when his father proposed a marriage alliance with the Jiang family for the second time, Jasper agreed, though he couldn’t help but lament that this Jiang was not the same as that Jiang. If Sienna’s family had been wealthier, he wouldn’t have been willing to let her be the second wife.

Yes, even if he were to get married, Jasper had never thought of parting ways with Sienna.

He believed Sienna loved him and couldn’t leave him, and he was willing to spend money on her.

So when the recordings were played at the wedding, and the words "Respectfully, Sienna" were heard.

Jasper's first reaction was disbelief.

He had already coaxed Sienna into forgiving him, so why would she treat him like this?

It wasn't until his father slapped him that he woke up and realized Sienna hated him.

Along with it came immense panic.

This panic wasn't about not knowing how to face the bride, nor was it the fear of a failed collaboration.

It was the fear that Sienna might really leave him.

It was also at this moment that Jasper realized that what he had said in the bathroom that day wasn't just to comfort Sienna.

But it was the sincere words that even I myself was unaware of.