Chapter 336 - 335: He Will Hate Me

Nina Jennings felt her skin crawl under the unblinking stare of the three pairs of eyes across from her. Feigning nonchalance, she looked away and drained her glass again.

"What are you all looking at? Never seen a pretty girl before? Besides, we agreed we weren’t going home until we were drunk, but you’re all just sitting there like you’re here to pick a fight."

"You’re still drinking?" Zachary Jacobs stepped forward and snatched her glass, sliding the liquor bottle toward the center of the table.

"Look at all these empty bottles! You’ve nearly hit your limit, so what the hell are you still drinking for?!"

"Hey! Jackie, if you have something to say, say it. Why snatch my damn glass? Feeling brave now, are you? How dare you challenge me?!"

As she spoke, Nina Jennings reached out to take the glass back.

Yvonne Lowell lifted her eyelids, her gaze coolly falling upon the advancing claw.

Nina Jennings froze, then sheepishly retracted her hand.

"What is wrong with you guys? I know my limits. I won’t get drunk for at least two more bottles."

"Just look at this. Such a small thing, and it has our Vice Chairman Jennings all worked up," Yvonne Lowell chuckled, her tone unreadable.

"Since the only variable is that kid, Owen Ward, why not just solve the problem at the source? If you can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll do it for you. Jackie, go look into his curre—"

"No!" Nina Jennings shot to her feet, cutting her off without a moment’s hesitation.

"He’s only eighteen! He wasn’t even two years old when I was sold. He’s completely innocent in this! Besides, you’ve seen his file—there’s nothing wrong with him!"

"Is he, though? I don’t think so. Aren’t those two animals trying to trap you just so he can have a better life?" Yvonne Lowell shrugged nonchalantly.

"Besides, if I want to make him disappear, what does it matter if he’s truly innocent? I do as I please, and not even you can stop me."

"Yvonne Lowell! I dare you to say that again!" Nina Jennings strode over and loomed over her.

Yvonne Lowell, completely unruffled, merely raised an eyebrow. She crossed her arms, met Nina’s gaze, and enunciated each word deliberately.

"I could say it a hundred times, and the result would be the same. What. Can. You. Possibly. Do. To. Me?"

"Fine, fine, fine! You’re really something else!"

Nina Jennings laughed, furious, and raked a hand through her hair in frustration.

She started to turn for more alcohol but stopped, changing her mind. Instead, she plopped down next to Yvonne and reached across her, fumbling with Miles Morgan’s suit jacket.

Miles Morgan quickly covered his chest with his hands.

"Whoa, stop, stop! What do you think you’re doing?! Hands to yourself! Don’t use being drunk as an excuse to get handsy!"

"Oh, please. We’re all sisters here. Who are you trying to fool, pretending to be some chaste husband?"

Nina Jennings pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. She lit one up with clumsy, unpracticed movements and immediately choked on the first drag, coughing violently.

Yvonne Lowell looked away in disgust. ’Is there any difference between this and a child trying on their parents’ clothes?’

Nina Jennings tossed the cigarette into her drink, then grabbed a bottle of seltzer from the table and chugged half of it before she finally spoke.

"Alright, I know you were just trying to get a rise out of me, but I honestly don’t know what to do."

Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow.

"When you offered him those two choices, weren’t you also giving yourself options?"

’And she had the nerve to say she’d only be drunk after two more bottles. Drunk? Hell no, she’d black out completely!’

’If she blacked out, she’d be asleep for at least two days. A little provocation was necessary to get her to clear her head.’

’That pair of scumbags were still unpredictable; there was no telling when they’d start causing trouble.’

’If Nina didn’t figure out a strategy in advance, given her public reputation, the first one to get dragged into the mess wouldn’t be her. It would be Owen Ward and his family.’

’And judging by her current state, if that were to happen, she wouldn’t feel the slightest satisfaction from any revenge. Instead, she’d just feel guilty toward Owen Ward.’

That was not an outcome Yvonne Lowell wanted to see.

"Yeah... but just like him, I couldn’t choose. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. My hesitation has nothing to do with those two animals."

Nina Jennings gave a self-deprecating smirk and collapsed bonelessly into Yvonne Lowell’s lap.

"Haven’t I told you all before? I said that even though those two animals sold me because they favored sons over daughters, and even though I hate them, I don’t hate Owen Ward.

"That’s because before I was sold, I was the one who raised him. During the day, one of them would go to a construction site and the other to the fields, leaving me at home to take care of the baby.

"When he was born, I was only four years old myself. Every day, I had to do everything—change his diapers, feed him rice porridge, and still cook for those two animals.

"And I did it all because I was naive enough to believe that since I had finally brought them the son they wanted, life would get easier.

"And what did I get in return?

"But the kid had a conscience, at least. His first word was ’Sister.’ Of course, I got a beating from both of them for that. They said I was a bad influence.

"Back then, getting beaten, going hungry, and sleeping in a sty was just a normal day for me. But that little kid... at an age where he was still in diapers and could barely walk, he would sneak me the boiled eggs that only he was allowed to eat. He would even try to protect me when I was getting hit.

"That’s why I’ve always said I could never hate him."

Feeling a damp spot spreading on her pants, Yvonne Lowell sighed silently.

’Even when the hatred is all-consuming, even when the wounds have healed and scarred over, recalling the memories still hurts.’

Nina Jennings was still talking. "From the day they sold me, I never expected to cross paths with them again.

"Actually, that’s not true. I did think about it. I wondered if I ran into them, who I would torture first: the man or the woman.

"I also wondered what Owen Ward would have become. Would he be as materialistic, as vain, as despicable as they are?

"The one thing I never imagined was that, in order to raise him, those two would hide their own rotten nature, and disguise themselves so well.

"But that’s a good thing, I guess. At least they didn’t corrupt the kid I helped raise."

Zachary Jacobs looked with concern at the ’female ghost’ lying there, her face obscured by her disheveled hair.

"So you have made a choice," he said. "You chose the second option."

"Tsk... yes and no," Nina Jennings said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Remember what I asked him before he left? I asked if he would hate me. He said no, he just hoped I would spare their lives.

"Maybe that’s what he really thinks right now. It could be because he figured out I’m Bridget Walsh, or maybe it’s just his teenage sense of justice flaring up.

"But what about later? Who can predict the future?

"People’s hearts are fickle. Maybe someday in the future, he’ll come home and suddenly remember that I’m the one who sent his parents to prison.

"He’ll suddenly decide that coming to me today was a mistake, and that I’m the one to blame for everything.

"So he’ll definitely come to hate me. It’s only a matter of time."