Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 54: I Already Have Someone I Like

"Shut up!" Jasper Hawthorne roared, veins bulging at his temples, his fingers clutching the USB stick turned white from gripping it too tightly.

He stared fiercely at Shane Donovan, his gaze terrifyingly fierce, "Shane Donovan! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming! You..."

"Jasper! That’s enough!" Stella Sterling suddenly interjected, cutting him off.

She walked out from behind Shane Donovan, her gaze falling on the USB stick in Jasper’s hand, "I will handle Grace Quinn’s case in my own way. As for the evidence you’ve found..."

She paused, speaking word by word: "I don’t want to owe any favors. Especially not to you."

"Between us, everything is settled already; don’t come looking for me anymore."

The phrase ’everything is settled’ felt like two searing tongs branding Jasper’s heart.

The pain made his vision blur, nearly causing him to lose his balance.

She doesn’t want...

She even disregards the saving grace he offers.

She wants to completely erase him from her world, leaving no trace...

Jasper maintained his position with the USB stick extended, frozen in place.

He watched Stella turn away with a cold expression, walking alongside Shane towards the direction of the stables without a hint of reluctance.

The sunlight elongated their silhouettes, intertwining them.

It was surprisingly harmonious...

An unprecedented sense of panic and despair overwhelmed him like a tide.

He suddenly raised his fist, slamming it against the nearby stable’s wooden post!

"Bang!"

A muffled sound echoed as splinters flew.

The skin on his hand instantly split open, blood flowing profusely.

But the physical pain was far less than the ache in his heart.

Suppressed gasps of shock sounded around him, the staff exchanging glances but none daring to approach.

Jasper seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes fixed on the two figures gradually distancing—

Why...

Why does it have to be Shane Donovan!

Jasper didn’t know how he left the stables.

He drove aimlessly down the bustling streets.

The neon outside the car windows flickered, the noise reverberating, all seeming vague and insubstantial through a thick frosted glass.

In his mind, Stella’s words ’everything is settled’ echoed repeatedly, along with the slight curve of her lips as she looked at Shane...

A sharp constriction in his chest caused him to slowly pull over to the roadside.

He leaned against the steering wheel, breathing heavily, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

So this is what it feels like to be abandoned.

So heartache...

feels like this.

Back when Stella lay alone on the operating table, was it more painful than what he feels now...

...

The turmoil at the stables was discreetly smoothed over by Shane Donovan, the news sealed tightly as if the conflict never happened.

On the way back to The Sterling Family’s old mansion, a subtle silence filled the car.

Isla Sutton glanced at her daughter several times, seeing her merely looking out the window, her profile shifting between light and shadow, uncertain of her thoughts.

Remembering seeing her speaking with Shane Donovan at the stables, Isla tentatively asked, "Stella, when did you become so familiar with Shane Donovan?"

Stella retrieved her gaze, "No, it’s just a work relationship."

Isla was half-skeptical, "Really?"

Stella smiled helplessly, "Why would I lie about something like this to you?"

Just then, Stella’s phone buzzed in her bag. She glanced at the caller ID—it was Finn Lockwood.

"Hello..."

"Boss! Great news!" Finn Lockwood’s voice overflowed with excitement, even through the receiver. "I’ve tracked down a lead with William Miller!"

Stella perked up, instinctively sitting straighter, "Tell me quickly!"

"Following your advice, I dug into Audrey Quinn’s social network, especially with male friends, and found something!"

Finn Lockwood spoke rapidly, "Audrey Quinn has a distant cousin named Alden the Fourth, who was into shady dealings in the past but has since cleaned up and started a small business, but with a dirty background. Alden the Fourth is a card buddy with William Miller! They often play mahjong together!"

Stella’s heart skipped, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

Finn Lockwood enthusiastically said, "Also, following Alden the Fourth’s bank transactions, I discovered that a day before the server changed his testimony, he transferred fifty thousand to William Miller’s mother’s account through an underground bank. The timing and amount match! Though it’s not directly pointing to Audrey Quinn yet, this is definitely a solid lead! As long as we can crack Alden the Fourth or William’s mouth, we won’t fear unraveling Audrey Quinn behind all this!"

"Well done!" Stella’s eyes sparkled with hope, clearing much of the gloom of recent days. "Organize all the evidence, I’ll book a flight back to Riveria immediately!"

After hanging up, Stella took a deep breath and turned to her mother Isla Sutton, who looked concerned, "Mom, there’s an emergency at the law firm, a critical case has had a major breakthrough, and I must return to Riveria immediately to handle it."

Isla Sutton’s smile faded instantly, her eyes full of disappointment and reluctance, "But... you’ve just come back for two days... and now you’re leaving? Is this case so urgent? Can’t someone else handle it?"

"Mom, this case means a lot to me, I must attend to it personally." Stella held her mother’s hand, her tone pleading, "Once I finish, I’ll return quickly to see you and dad."

Isla Sutton knew she couldn’t stop her, she sighed softly, "You... always so stubborn."

As if suddenly remembered something, her eyes lit up, and she took out a thick envelope from her handbag, handing it to Stella. "Then go back if you must, but you must take this."

Stella took it, puzzled, feeling its weight. Inside were stacks of printed colored portrait photographs, each with detailed personal profiles: family background, education, career, annual income...

Everything was there.

"Mom! What’s this..." Stella felt her scalp tingle, almost dropping the envelope.

"Here, handpicked by mom for you over the past few days," Isla Sutton beamed, "See, each one is an outstanding young man, with a clean family background and upright character! When you have time, take a look, if anyone catches your eye, let mom know, and I’ll arrange a meeting..."

Stella looked at the thick stack, estimated to be at least fifty or sixty photos, and her vision darkened.

If she were to meet each one for matchmaking, she’d be in Riveria until the end of the year and still not finish!

In desperation, without thinking, she blurted out:

"Mom! No need! I already have someone I like!"

As soon as she spoke, the car fell silent.