Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 164

r 164 The Cruelest Truth

“We found an eyewitness, a hunter from the mountains. He had seen Ms. Tatiana go into the mountains, and he also saw her living with you in the cabin…”

Jasper didn’t register the rest of what was said.

Only one thought remained in his mind: shock. And overwhelming regret.

A dense, agonizing pain spread through him, as if he were being devoured by thousands of ants. It felt as if an invisible hand had seized his heart, crushing it to a pulp.

After a long moment, he opened his mouth, managing to find his voice. “You… say that again.”

Felix, too, felt this truth was far too cruel.

If the person four years ago was Tatiana, then… then… these past four years were all wrong.

Those baseless accusations, the punishments she endured… it was all wrong.

Felix’s expression was full of sympathy. He repeated, unable to bear it, “The savior you’ve been searching for wasn’t Ms. Bianca. It was Ms. Tatiana.”

Jasper staggered and had to lean against the wall, his gaze vacant.

The truth was always the cruelest part.

Now that he knew it was Tatiana, the other peripheral details fell into place.

For instance, Tatiana’s “accident” back then.

“Boss, we found that after Ms. Tatiana was rescued back then, she had a high fever that wouldn’t break. She was transferred back to a hospital in Dalliston and spent over half a month in the ICU, nearly losing her life. The cause was listed as an accidental drowning at Yalvoria.”

The same place his own incident occurred.

Clearly, she had been injured saving him.

“When Ms. Tatiana woke up, she had memory gaps from the severe head trauma. She had forgotten the entire previous month and had no memory of her accident. To avoid agitating her, the Lowell family unanimously chose to conceal it.”

As Felix finished, he felt a profound sense of injustice for Tatiana. Because of one accident after another, the situation had spun completely out of control, heading in the exact opposite direction.

“Additionally, Ms. Tatiana’s current coma is likely related to the aftereffects of the head trauma from four

years ago.”

Jasper was silent, his gaze lowered, suppressing an unfathomable depth of emotion.

Numerous cigarette butts were extinguished near his hand. He rarely smoked, but now he had been smoking all night, as if it were the only way to suppress the regret that was surging to the surface.

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“Finish what you have to say.”

When he spoke, his voice was terribly hoarse.

Felix felt as if he were carrying out an execution. The one being tortured was his boss, and every word he spoke was like another cut.

“Also…” Felix swallowed. “Regarding the frame–up four years ago, we traced the person who spiked the drink. It was a hotel waiter who… was hoping to sleep with a guest and secure a relationship. But Ms. Tatiana mistakenly took that drink and gave it to you. What happened next…”

What happened next? He had forced himself on Tatiana, and after the drug wore off, he had flown into a rage, assuming she was the one who had set the trap.

Felix lowered his head and finished. “The reporters who rushed in afterward were also arranged in advance. The entire incident had nothing to do with Ms. Tatiana.”

But the blame had been forced squarely onto her.

Because Gordon found out, he had been forced to marry her. There was no ceremony, no official status, only a bone–deep revulsion. And so, he had sent her to the rehab center.

The cigarette between his fingers burned down to his skin, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, lost in a daze.

Felix quickly took the cigarette from him. He looked at his boss; it was the first time he had ever seen such an expression on him.

He tried to offer some comfort. “Boss, maybe things can still be salvaged.”

Jasper’s lips twisted in a self–mocking smile. “No. There’s nothing left.”

One mistake had led to all the others.

Everything was wrong.

None of this had been difficult to investigate. But he had been blinded at the time, completely ignoring all the inconsistencies, convinced she was stupid, malicious, and a master of deception.

It shouldn’t have been this way.

He had been so wrong.

A long time later, he stood. His expression was heavy, his dark eyes promising a storm. A dangerous, oppressive aura emanated from him.

“Get the car.”

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