Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 53: Affection That Comes Too Late Is Worth Less Than Grass
Stella instinctively followed the sound and looked over. When she saw the tall figure forcing his way in despite the staff’s attempts to stop him, her brow furrowed, and a layer of frost covered her face.
Jasper?
Why is he here?!
At this moment, Jasper’s eyes were bloodshot, his suit wrinkled, a sharp contrast to his usual cold demeanor.
He had been traveling non-stop these days, first going to Riveria, and then rushing over after hearing that Stella had returned to Crestfall.
He hadn’t planned to show up so soon...
Even after hearing that Stella would be at the horse farm today, he just wanted to see her from afar.
Until he saw Shane Donovan pulling the reins to save Stella—
The girl looked up at the man, a slight smile on her lips, her expression innocent and sweet.
The string in his mind felt like it was scorched by a burning iron clamp and snapped with a loud ’bang’!
He almost unconsciously pushed through the crowd, wanting to rush over, but was stopped by the staff.
"Sir, you can’t go in..."
"Get out of my way!" Jasper angrily waved away the obstructing hand, the force causing the staff member to stagger back several steps.
He seemed completely indifferent to the gazes around him, striding purposefully toward Stella, exuding an aura that made people quickly step aside.
Stella watched him approach, instinctively stepping back, her brow tightly knitted, eyes full of undisguised annoyance and coldness.
"Jasper, what are you doing here again?"
Jasper’s steps halted abruptly a few paces from her.
His chest rose and fell slightly as his eyes lingered hungrily on her face.
But when he met her eyes, filled with only distance and indifference, it felt like his heart was pierced by countless tiny needles.
He opened his mouth, words stuck in his throat, but he finally spoke, each word painstakingly calm:
"I have withdrawn from Grace Quinn’s legal team. I will not be involved in this case anymore."
This was the only thing he could think of that might make her willing to listen to him.
It was also his way of proving his ’sincerity.’
Stella’s eyes flashed with surprise but quickly turned vigilant, "And so?"
He stared intently into her eyes, "I was not involved in the matter of the waiter changing his testimony."
He paused, "I found the key evidence proving the waiter was bribed; he..."
As he spoke, he instinctively reached into his suit pocket, seemingly to pull out some prepared documents or a USB drive.
"I asked why you’re here again," Stella interrupted, her voice low but like a bucket of cold water poured over him.
Jasper’s motion to retrieve the item froze in midair.
He looked at her, his eyes filled with a blank, painful confusion.
What was he doing here?
He didn’t know either.
He just wanted to tell her that he didn’t help the person she hated.
He only wanted to present the things he found that she might need, right in front of her.
He just...
Couldn’t bear not seeing her, couldn’t stand someone else standing beside her.
Especially Shane Donovan...
"I..." His Adam’s apple bobbed harshly, his voice hoarse, "The evidence... you need..."
"I don’t need it." Stella interrupted again, her tone calm, "Jasper, stop with this. Your evidence, your help, I don’t need any of it. I will handle Grace’s lawsuit my way. As for you—"
She slightly raised her chin, sunlight hitting her porcelain face, "Please stop disrupting my life."
Jasper felt a cold numbness spreading through his body.
He took a deep breath, pulling out the USB drive to hand it over, "Take it, you might find it useful..."
Stella looked at the USB drive extended toward her, not immediately reaching out.
Her heart was filled with doubt.
Jasper... not only withdrew from Grace’s defense but also helped her gather evidence?
This was completely unlike his usual behavior!
"What are you really trying to do?" Stella’s voice was thick with suspicion, "Weren’t you always protecting them, mother and daughter? Why the sudden change of heart?"
Jasper’s lips moved, but he found he couldn’t utter a single word; every explanation seemed so weak.
He could only say hoarsely, "The law... should be just."
Even though—he himself found this reason laughable.
Sure enough, Stella’s lips curled into an extremely sarcastic arc, "Now Attorney Hawthorne remembers the law should be just? When you used procedural loopholes to exclude my key evidence, didn’t you think about justice?"
Jasper’s face paled noticeably, as if someone had delivered a harsh slap.
"I..." He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
At this moment, Shane Donovan, who had been silently watching, suddenly let out a light laugh.
"Attorney Hawthorne truly is... adaptable."
Shane spoke leisurely, taking a half-step forward, appearing casual, but it was just enough to slightly shield Stella, forming a subtly protective stance.
"It’s just that, recalling promises only now..." Shane dragged his tone, "isn’t it a bit too late?"
"Shane Donovan!" Jasper’s head snapped up, exuding an intimidating aura, "This is between Stella and me, not your place to speak!"
"Oh?" Shane raised an eyebrow slightly, the red birthmark at the corner of his eye glaring under the sun.
Not only did he not retreat, but he also stepped even closer, instantly narrowing the distance between them, the atmosphere tense and fraught.
"If I recall correctly," Shane’s voice was low, "didn’t Counselor Sterling just clearly state she wants nothing more to do with you? Attorney Hawthorne, clinging like this is hardly dignified, and even more... annoying."
Each word pierced precisely into Jasper’s most vulnerable spots, like poisoned icicles.
"Moreover..."
Shane’s gaze barely swept over the USB drive clutched in Jasper’s hand, a faint smirk curling his lips, "Using something as so-called ’evidence’ coming from who knows where, to seek forgiveness? Attorney Hawthorne, isn’t this business-like equal exchange rather insulting when applied to feelings?"
"What do you consider Stella? Something you can barter with conditions?"
This sentence was the final blow, completely shattering Jasper’s crumbling reason.
He wasn’t!
He didn’t think that way!
He just...
Didn’t know any other way to get close to her, to make her willing to look at him!
"Attorney Hawthorne..."
Shane slightly curved his lips, his voice crisp yet frigid, "Belated affection is cheaper than grass!"
