Web Fic
Chapter 185
Bryce shoved his hands into his pockets, first giving Jason a wry smile before his tone turned icy. “She’s gone, cremated.”
As the words left Bryce’s mouth, Jason’s expression darkened instantly. Seeing the shift in Jason’s demeanor, Bryce couldn’t help but snicker. “You’ve got Holly and Serene, so what are you doing sniffing around Estrella for?”
Jason took two steps forward, his gaze on Bryce as frosty as midwinter. “Bryce, cut the crap. It’s not your place to stick your nose in my business.”
“Yeah, sure.” Bryce retorted sarcastically. “Not my place, is it? Then don’t come asking about your wife like she’s mine or something.”
That was the last straw for Jason. He grabbed Bryce by the shirt and shoved him hard against the wall. Bryce’s back slammed against the wall, but he wasn’t backing down. He grabbed Jason’s collar in retaliation. Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.
Remembering that Jason was, after all, his cousin, Bryce swallowed his rage and pushed him away. Brushing off his collar, which Jason had wrinkled, Bryce opened a nearby cabinet and pulled out two divorce papers, handing them to Jason. “Estrella wants you to sign these.”
“She’s already squared things away with the city clerk. If you can’t make it, just sign your name and anyone can get the divorce certificate for you. Jason, let Estrella go, and give yourself some peace, man.”
The divorce papers that Bryce handed to Jason sparked his anger. He grabbed Bryce’s shirt again and slammed him against the wall. That moment, Jason didn’t need to ask; he knew Bryce must have had a
hand in it.
With his back hitting the wall once more, Bryce threw a punch at Jason’s face, then grabbing Jason’s collar. Bryce hissed, “Jason, for years I’ve respected you as my cousin, always giving you some leeway and respect. Did you really think I was afraid of you, and couldn’t take you in a fight?” After saying his piece, Bryce shoved Jason back hard, sending him crashing into the dining table.
Jason couldn’t stand being pushed around. He swung back at Bryce with a punch. “Bryce, I’ve warned you. Stay the hell away from Estrella.”
The boys’ scuffle turned into a full-on brawl right there in Estrella’s house. In the end, neither came out on top, both sporting injuries. The living and dining rooms were a mess, with everything smashable shattered, debris littering the floor.
Breathing heavily and picking himself up, Bryce wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at Jason. “Jason, do you think everyone is a fool, that your actions outside are seamless, and no one can find out?”
08:35
Grabbing his coat from the floor, Jason shot back a cold look. “What have I done?”
Bryce laughed derisively at his ignorance. “The day Holly fell ill, you stayed with her all day and night in the hospital, didn’t you? You were at her café’s opening, right? And the day Nelson International secured the Silverbrook project, you met her, too.”
“Everything I know, Estrella knows. She just thinks it’s beneath her to squabble with you.
do you Plus, if it hadn’t been for those fortune-tellers saying she was destined for you, think she would give a damn about you?”
Listing out the times Jason met with Holly, Bryce watched the color drain from Jason’s face. With a sneer, Bryce added, “If you really want to know where Estrella is, check the Sandalwood Oasis’ security footage. And just so you know, even if you don’t sign those divorce papers, there’s no chance for
there’s no chance for you and Estrella.”
Without waiting for a reply, Bryce turned and left Estrella’s house first.
а
Bang! The door slammed shut behind him, and Jason gave the dining table à furious kick before steadying himself with a hand to his forehead. Moments later, he too left Waterfall
Acres.
Gripping the steering wheel, Jason was seething over Bryce’s words. He went to see Holly because of the fire years ago. She had evidence from that time.
“Mr. Jason, have you been in a fight?” Marie asked in shock as Jason returned home looking like he’d been through a war.
Jason brushed past Marie without a word and headed upstairs. Once in his study, he booted up his computer and began scouring the security footage.
25
Estrella had rarely been back to Sandalwood Oasis, except for Christmas Eve, so Jason pulled up the footage from the 24th.
He saw Bryce accompanying Estrella home and watched as she lingered in the doorwa reluctant to see him leave. At that, Jason grew suspicious. Bryce seemed overly concerned about Estrella, as if his life revolved around her, and everything he did was intertwined with her existence. With a cold chuckle, Jason realized he had underestimated Bryce.
Scrolling through the footage, Jason saw Estrella in the yard, startled by a stray cat, falling hard to the ground and screaming helplessly with no one to hear her. Her phone was out of reach, and she couldn’t get up to retrieve it.
Jason’s breath hitched. Even though the surveillance footage wasn’t very high-definition, he still felt Estrella’s fear and sadness.
She sat motionless on the ground for so long, and Jason’s heart clenched. Estrella was not one to make a fuss. He knew her for 23 years, and she never played the damsel in distress. Even when Bryce had helped her climb a wall and she dislocated her arm, she didn’t cry.
08:35
In just a short while, he saw Bryce come in. Bryce’s eyes went straight to Estrella, lying still on the ground, looking completely petrified. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bryce rushed over, scooped her up in his arms, and left Sandalwood Oasis as if pursued by demons.
Even though there was no trace on the ground where Estrella had been, Jason’s mind raced with a concern. Maybe Estrella was pregnant. That could explain why after the fall she didn’t dare to move a
muscle, why she, who seldom shed a tear, was crying that day.
Staring intently at the surveillance feed, Jason felt a lump form in his throat, his eyes rimming with red. Swallowing hard, he leaned against the desk, gathering himself before turning off the monitors and heading out the door.
When he pulled up in front of a row of townhouses in another part of Ravenwood, he was met by Dr. Lee. The doctor, wrapped in a thick robe, hurried out, a look of concern etched on his face. “Jason, what brings you here at this hour?” he asked.
Cutting straight to the chase, Jason asked, “Dr. Lee, when you examined Estrella last time, was she already pregnant?”