Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 101: She Just Doesn’t Love Anymore

Jasper stood at the entrance of the law firm, noticeably thinner than before, his dark gray casual outfit looking somewhat loose on him.

Sunlight shone from behind him, outlining his thin silhouette.

Stella frowned slightly, "Attorney Hawthorne, is something the matter?"

Jasper’s Adam’s apple moved with difficulty, his voice hoarse, "Could we... talk alone?"

His gaze carried an almost humble plea, completely different from the once cold and distant Jasper of the past.

Stella glanced at the crowd inside the law firm who were all ears; this was clearly not the place to talk.

She was silent for a few seconds, her gaze passing over him, pointing to a quiet café diagonally across the street, "Let’s talk there."

A faint light flickered in Jasper’s dim eyes, and he quickly nodded, "Okay."

Stella didn’t look at him again and walked out first.

Jasper followed behind her, his steps somewhat unsteady, as if walking on cotton, but he still persevered, his eyes lingering longingly on her slender, upright back.

...

The two walked into the café one after the other, choosing a secluded spot by the window to sit down.

Sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting mottled shadows over the small round table covered with an off-white tablecloth.

Stella ordered a hot Americano for herself and a warm milk for Jasper.

After the waiter left, the atmosphere was momentarily stagnant.

The sound of traffic from outside faintly reached inside, making this corner all the more uncomfortably quiet.

"Your injury... what did the doctor say?" Stella broke the silence first.

"It’s okay..." Jasper’s voice was low, "I won’t die."

Stella paused slightly while stirring her coffee, looking up at him, "Jasper, I’m very grateful you saved me that day. I remember this gratitude. But..."

"I don’t want your gratitude!" Jasper suddenly interrupted her, his emotions a bit agitated, causing the wound on his chest to ache. He couldn’t help but frown and cough, a not-normal flush appearing on his pale face.

"Stella, I know I was a bastard in the past, and blind, treating your sincerity as worthless... I know saying this now is laughable and shameless... But look, I almost lost my life for you... Can you... give me one more chance? Just one..."

Seeing him like this, Stella felt her heart swell with a mix of sourness and frustration, but mostly a sense of powerlessness.

"Jasper, don’t be like this..."

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm, "What was between us was long over. Gratitude isn’t love. You saved me, and I’m grateful, but it doesn’t mean we can go back to what we were. Do you understand?"

"I don’t understand!" Jasper suddenly raised his head, bloodshot eyes spreading, "Why was it possible then, but not now?!"

Stella was momentarily stunned, then realized he was referring to the incident five years ago when he saved her at the alley...

Her fingers slightly tightened around the coffee cup—how could he... suddenly mention this?

Jasper stared at her intently, his chest rising and falling slightly due to excitement and pain. He stubbornly sought an answer, an answer that might allow him to grasp the last piece of driftwood.

"Why... It’s clearly the same rescue. Five years ago, because of it... you fell for me and stayed by my side for five whole years! Why can’t it work this time?! Is it because I’m not hurt badly enough this time? Or..."

Stella met his almost obsessive gaze with a few seconds of silence, her long eyelashes falling to cover the surging emotions in her eyes. When she looked up again, her gaze had returned to calmness.

"It’s different." she said, her voice light but like ice, striking the heated and chaotic mind of Jasper.

"How is it different?!" Jasper almost immediately followed up, leaning forward.

Stella looked at him, at the man she once poured all her passion and love into, now using such a way to seek a feeling that had long died out.

She suddenly felt a sense of sadness, for him and for herself.

She pressed her lips together and eventually spoke, her voice clear and calm, "Because at that time... I liked you."

Her words left the air deathly silent.

Jasper’s pupils contracted sharply, as if struck by lightning, his whole body stiffened, even his breathing halted.

"Back then... liked..." he repeated those words unconsciously, his heart feeling like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, the pain making his vision blur.

The liking of that time, making his appearance akin to a hero, brightening her entire world, leading her to plunge into it, regardless of the consequences.

Then... what about now?

Stella didn’t say, but the unspoken words pierced through all his hopes and expectations.

Now...

No longer likes him.

So, even if he risked his life, in her eyes, it was merely a debt to be repaid, a heavy burden, no longer linking with love.

A massive despair, cold like a tide, surged over him.

He opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a sound, only heavy, broken breaths, his eyes rapidly turning an alarming shade of red, blood threading through, seemingly about to drip like tears at any moment.

It turns out...

It wasn’t a matter of timing, nor of method.

It was just...

She no longer loved him.

...

Meanwhile, not far from the café at the corner of the street.

A flashy bright red Ferrari sports car made a beautiful drift, steadily parking in a temporary spot by the roadside, catching the eyes of many passersby.

In the driver’s seat, Evan Hughes held an unlit cigarette between his lips, his handsome face bearing his usual playful cynicism, as he aimlessly scanned the street scene. When his gaze swept past the floor-to-ceiling window of a rather stylish café, it abruptly stopped.

"Well now?" He raised an eyebrow, as if having discovered something amusing, a teasing curve playing on his lips.

A beautifully made-up female companion in the passenger seat followed his gaze, likewise spotting the handsome young couple by the window.

Especially the woman in a white suit, her profile exquisitely lined, with a cool aura that inexplicably aroused a tinge of jealousy within her.

"Young Master Hughes, what are you looking at? You’re not interested in her, are you?" the companion pouted slightly, a hint of acid in her tone, gently nudging him, "Looks like she already has a boyfriend, but they seem to be having a tiff..."

"Boyfriend?" Evan sneered, taking the cigarette from his mouth, a hint of intrigue lighting in those seductive eyes of his, "What boyfriend, my ass?"

As he spoke, he deftly pulled out his phone, adjusting the focus, capturing several continuous shots of the pair by the window, the angles cleverly suggestive, implying a certain... entanglement.

"I’m just—catching them in the act."

Evan grinned mischievously, his fingers quickly operating on the screen, opening Shane Donovan’s WeChat and unhesitatingly sending over the photos he just took...