Chapter 5

When Evelyn thought Jasper was going to do something, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and answered the call. "What's up?" "Where are you? You only came for a while and then disappeared. Are you hooking up with a woman?" Oliver's voice was clear in the silent space, even though he was on the other end of the line. Jasper glanced at Evelyn and asked a question that seemed to refer to something else, "What are you worried about?" "I'm not worried. Stop being a narcissist. Who's worried about you?" "Are you worried about who I'm with?" "I don't know what you're talking about. Whatever. Come over if you want. Otherwise, forget it. Why do I have to urge you to hang out?" Oliver ended the call angrily. Nevertheless, Jasper and Evelyn knew Oliver's personality very well. Oliver was currently being diffident. Evelyn burst into laughter. "A stranger would have thought that you and Oliver are in a relationship." Jasper glanced at her. The light was turned on again, and the suggestive atmosphere moments ago disappeared. Jasper pushed the door open and walked out. "Let's go." He had returned to being his cold, elegant, and aloof self. Evelyn followed behind him and looked at his back. With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs, he could rival a model. The dark gray suit allowed him to exude a calm demeanor. His tailored fit outlined his silhouette. The sharp creases were much like him, imposing and intimidating. Jasper sent Evelyn back to Billow Residence, which was the villa where Evelyn was currently staying with John and Gretchen. Evelyn didn't tell Jasper that Gretchen would punish her for not leaving with Tyson that night. After all, it was a family matter. Jasper could help once or twice, but as the number of times increased, even the kindest person in the world would find it annoying, let alone Jasper. Evelyn's prediction was correct. Once she returned home, Gretchen made her get down on her knees in the study. The heater wasn't turned on. As it was at night during winter, it was freezing cold inside. Initially, Evelyn had a mink fur waistcoat over her dress. However, when she returned home, she removed it and handed it over to the housekeeper, Marie Townsend, habitually, as it was warm in the house. Now that she was in the study, she was shivering. It was too cold. Accepting her fate, she got down on her knees. A while later, her body stiffened. Even though there was a carpet above the wooden floor, her knees still hurt. The door was pushed open, and Gretchen walked in with a whip. "Take off your clothes. It isn't worth it to ruin such an expensive dress to punish you." Evelyn did as told. After she removed the dress, her skin was exposed to the air. It was cold and humiliating. The whipping and scolding lasted for more than 40 minutes. Finally, Gretchen got tired and left Evelyn in the study while she went to bed in her room. Gretchen drank quite a lot of alcohol that night, so she whipped Evelyn harder than before. Evelyn's legs were already numb. With shaky hands, she grabbed the dress that was thrown to the side and covered her body. Then, she sat in the study for a long while until her legs were functioning again. She tried to get up, but when she had just gotten up, she fell back onto the floor. She felt extreme pain as she stretched the wound on her back. Marie just happened to enter the study and was shocked. "Oh, my! How could Mrs. Monroe be so ruthless?" She came over and helped Evelyn up. When she saw the wounds on the latter's back, her eyes couldn't help but water. In this household, Marie cared about Evelyn more than Gretchen. Marie helped Evelyn to her room. Then, Evelyn could no longer stand it. Once she arrived at her bed, she plopped down on the bed. She suddenly felt that her body seemed heavy and exhausted. She was extremely sleepy as well. Nonetheless, she resisted the urge to fall asleep and used her last consciousness to pull out her phone to give Jasper a call. After a few beeps, the call was picked up. "Hello?" a man's husky voice sounded. Evelyn tried her best to stay awake and make her voice seem normal. "Mr. Richmond, it's me, Evelyn. Did you arrive home safely?" "Yeah. I've just arrived." "Thank you for tonight. I owe you a favor. When you're free, let me treat you to a meal." "Let's talk about this next time." Jasper paused before asking, "Are you sleepy?" Although Evelyn tried to hide it, her voice was still weak and muffled. To those who didn't know, it was easy to figure out that she was sleepy. "Yeah. I guess I drank too much alcohol tonight." "Sleep early." Jasper was as aloof and quiet as ever. After bidding farewell, Evelyn put down the phone and continued to lie on the bed. At this time, Marie entered the room with iodine and medicine. She saw that Evelyn's complexion was off. Evelyn's face was flushed, and her lips were dry and had cracks. So, she touched Evelyn's forehead. "Why is it so hot? I need to inform Mrs. Monroe. Let's go to the hospital!" "No!" Evelyn quickly stopped Marie. She didn't expect to tug her wounds on her back. Although she had self-esteem and was proud, her weakness was shown at this moment. Her eyes watered, and she began to sob. Marie came back to her right away. She was sad and anxious. "Alright. I won't go to Mrs. Monroe. I'll help you apply the medicine. Take the anti-inflammatories later and have a good rest." No one noticed Evelyn's phone screen, which still showed that there was an ongoing call. She was no longer in her right mind due to the fever. She had no idea the call hadn't ended as she put the phone next to her pillow. On the other end of the call, Jasper wanted Evelyn to hang up first to be polite. In the end, he heard Marie's exclamation. Was Evelyn sick? No wonder she sounded tired moments ago. Jasper wasn't a nosy person. As it was just a fever, it had nothing to do with him. However, for some reason, he didn't end the call. Instead, he continued to listen to the situation on Evelyn's end. After listening to it for a while, he learned that she was beaten up when she returned home. Gretchen gave Evelyn to an old pervert, but she beat Evelyn harshly because Evelyn didn't do as she wished. They were such an interesting family. Jasper's assistant, Lester Brun, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, handed over a document to him. "Mr. Richmond, here's the report…" Jasper raised his hand and stopped Lester from talking. Lester immediately complied. On the other end of the call, Evelyn's sobs continued. She didn't have any energy because of her fever. She sounded like a weak kitten. "Marie, it hurts…" "What can I do… I'm here. I'll keep you company… If you cry, I want to cry, too. You're such a beautiful woman. How could Mrs. Monroe do such a thing?" A while later, there were no longer soft murmurs. Evelyn must have fallen asleep. She was still sobbing in her sleep. It was only then that Jasper ended the call. Lester handed over the document again, and Jasper began to read through the document. He was focused. All of a sudden, he asked, "What do you think about Elmston Bay's tourism development project?" Lester was taken aback. He didn't know why Jasper brought it up out of nowhere. On second thought, the rehabilitation project at Elmston Bay was signed off by the Fowler family. Recently, Jasper had been quite close to Evelyn. Could it be that Jasper wanted to lend her a hand? "Recently, the policy has been aimed at prioritizing the development of the new district. I think we can have our tourism and investment team evaluate it. But if you're helping the Fowler family's company, it really seems like an overqualification." Jasper raised his head. His dark eyes glistened indescribably. "Who told you that I want to help the Fowlers? They aren't worthy of it." Lester immediately apologized, "I'm sorry for making an assumption." He was frightened. But it made sense. He had worked under Jasper for eight years and had never seen Jasper pull strings for any rumored love interest. Jasper wouldn't blindly offer concessions just for a bit of attraction. He always prioritized his career and was famous for being just. He was always cold and heartless. The only exception was the daughter of the Lloyd family. It was said that she would be coming back from overseas soon.