Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 102: Don’t Pretend to Be a Love Guru

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Don’t Pretend to Be a Love Guru

[Photo]...

[Photo]...

[Photo]...

After sending the photos, Evan Hughes added a voice message stoking the fire: "Young Master Donovan! Look, your backyard’s on fire! That bastard Hawthorne just won’t give up, dragging his half-dead self here for another attempt! Can you stand for this?!"

Sent successfully.

With a cigarette clamped in his mouth, Evan Hughes squinted with a look of eager anticipation, waiting for Shane Donovan’s reaction on the other end of the line.

However, he waited and waited, but the phone remained as silent as a chicken. Not even a "typing" indicator appeared.

Evan Hughes frowned, growing a bit impatient.

Could he be in a meeting?

Didn’t see it?

He simply decided to call directly.

The phone rang a few times before it was picked up, and Shane Donovan’s usual calm, steady voice came through, betraying no emotion: "Speak."

"Did you get the photos I sent you?!"

After two seconds of silence on the other end, Shane Donovan’s voice remained unchanged: "Got them."

Evan Hughes: "???"

That’s it?

"And then?!" Evan’s pitch rose sharply, nearly breaking, "Don’t you have any reaction?! Your Counselor Sterling is about to run off with someone else!"

Seemingly, Shane Donovan let out a soft chuckle.

"She won’t." His tone was infuriatingly certain.

"Won’t? How do you know she won’t?! That kid Jasper literally took a stab for her! He’s weak right now! Women are the most soft-hearted, what if Stella gets moved and the old flame rekindles..."

"My little girl," Shane Donovan interrupted softly, his voice even carrying a trace of imperceptible affection, "once she’s decided to let go, she won’t ever turn back."

Evan Hughes was choked by Shane’s calm demeanor, and after a while, he sulkily smirked, his tone tinged with sarcastic banter: "Tsk... No wonder you’ve had a secret crush on her for over a decade, you sure know a lot, confident, aren’t you?"

As he was speaking, some noise came from the other end of the phone, sounding like an engine starting and a faint wind.

Evan Hughes keenly caught it and asked curiously, "Hey, what’s that noise on your end? Where are you?"

Shane Donovan didn’t answer his question, just said plainly, "I’ll hang up if there’s nothing else."

"Hey, you..." Evan Hughes hadn’t finished speaking when the dial tone interrupted him.

"Damn!"

Evan Hughes cursed in exasperation, pocketing his phone as he grumbled to the young model beside him, "See? Typical case of the emperor not getting anxious but the eunuch is! Pah! I’m not a eunuch!"

He muttered, preparing to start his car.

However, just as he turned the car key, making the sports car engine let out a deep roar—

A deep and powerful engine noise approached from far away, instantly overshadowing the sound of his sports car.

Evan Hughes paused, instinctively looking up.

He saw a sleek, black Bentley glide smoothly to a stop beside his red Ferrari.

The windows were tinted, making it impossible to see inside, but the unique license plate and the cold aura the car emanated were unmistakable.

Evan Hughes: "..."

I’m impressed!

The voice on the phone was so calm, and how long has it been since the call ended?

This slap in the face came way too fast!?

He probably floored the gas the moment he got my message and rushed here live, didn’t he?!

...

Meanwhile, inside the cafe.

Jasper Hawthorne’s chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot.

"Liked back then...and now? Now there’s not even a chance?"

His voice was hoarse beyond measure, "I know I was wrong, I really do...Stella... I would give you my life... I just ask you...to look at me again..."

As he spoke, emotions out of control, he suddenly gripped Stella Sterling’s wrist—

Stella Sterling was so startled by the sudden move, she bolted up from her seat, the chair legs scraping the floor with a harsh sound.

"Jasper Hawthorne! Let go of me!"

His fingers were icy, and his grip was alarmingly strong, like a drowning man clutching at his last straw.

"I won’t let go...unless you promise me...Stella, just this once...one last chance...I’m begging you..."

Just as Stella was overwhelmed by the pain in her wrist and uncertainty on how to free herself from this suffocating scene—

"Bang!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The cafe door was suddenly pushed open from outside, the doorbell crashing chaotically.

A tall figure stood silhouetted against the light at the entrance, instantly drawing every gaze.

Shane Donovan strode in, heading straight for Stella, carrying with him an oppressive tension.

With one long arm, he assertively secured her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace, protecting her with an air of absolute possession.

"Attorney Hawthorne," he spoke, his voice low with a hint of mocking indifference, "what’s this act? Crying, screaming, threatening suicide? Using the bitter meat trick at this point is just too unsightly."

Jasper Hawthorne glared at Shane Donovan, the hatred and venom in his eyes almost palpable.

"Shane Donovan!" Jasper squeezed out through clenched teeth, voice broken with hoarseness, "Don’t think you’ve won! You think you can just..."

He was cut off mid-sentence.

Shane Donovan raised an eyebrow, "Just what? Go on, Attorney Hawthorne?"

He took half a step forward, his proximity intensifying the pressure, making it hard for Jasper to breathe.

"Jasper Hawthorne, stop pretending to be some lovesick fool."

His voice dropped low, "Need I remind you? You didn’t cherish her, and personally cast her away. Now she’s not yours anymore, and you’re here playing the role of a devoted admirer? Get over it, all you’re doing is making her sick."

"Shut up!" Jasper, provoked by his words, lost all sense of reason, his chest heaving, agitating his wound, the sharp pain turning his vision dark, but he still forced himself up, swinging a punch at Shane Donovan’s face!

However, heavily wounded and weak, his movements were laughably slow to Shane Donovan.

Shane didn’t even shift his stance, simply tightening the arm around Stella’s waist while his free hand caught Jasper’s punch with a vice-like grip.

"Ugh..." Jasper grunted through gritted teeth, pain searing through his wrist like his bones were about to splinter, cold sweat beading down his forehead.

The pain from his chest wound added to the agony, turning his face pale, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

Shane Donovan’s gaze remained icy, devoid of sympathy, as he twisted and pushed sharply—

"Thud!"

Jasper couldn’t withstand the immense force, stumbling backward, his spine colliding with a coffee table, dishes clattering to the ground, shattering with a grating sound.

He curled pathetically on the floor, clutching his chest, wracked with pain, unable to utter more than broken gasps and repressed groans.

Shane Donovan looked down at him domineeringly, "Jasper Hawthorne, I’m letting you off easy this time in memory of that knife you took for my fiancée."

He leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear, "Don’t covet what you shouldn’t touch."

"Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to drive Clearstone Law Firm completely out of Riveria."

Straightening up, Shane Donovan turned away, wrapping an arm around Stella, and left.

The cafe fell into dead silence, only Jasper Hawthorne’s strained, pained breathing.

The waiter and the other customers were too frightened to move, watching from afar, not daring to approach.