Chapter 442 Wounded Face


    Life as a married woman wasn''t a bed of roses for Alice. Previously, she thought she was suffering as a


    singledy. But being married to Jonathan was worse. Now, her husband was showing his true colors.


    She finally saw that he was a devil in human skin. As Jacob looked at her, he noticed that she was the


    exact opposite of her former self. Indeed, she was living miserably.


    It seemed that his candid advice and persuasion yesterday didn''t work. Even though he had advised


    her, the ball was in her court. And there was little or nothing that he could do to help her out of the


    situation.


    "Mr. Jacob, from the tone of your voice, I can tell that you truly care about that woman. ls she the love


    of your life?" Shawn had the gift of seeing through people. And he could see from his acquaintance


    keeping staring at thedy in question that he and thedy had a history together.


    Besides, the wound he saw on the woman''s face very severe.


    "Actually, Mr. Shawn. She is my ex-girlfriend. We dated for so many years. But I am no longer with her.


    I just don''t want her to continue making costly mistakes. She has to adjust by learning from her past


    experience."


    Jacob narrowed his eyes as he stared at the te of food in front of him.


    At that moment, it dawned on him that people could be likened to food. ording to thew of the


    jungle, if they were not careful enough, they would be eaten by the stronger one. In essence, every


    human had to struggle and grow so they wouldn''t be left behind or serve as a prey to their fellow


    humans.


    ''Hmm... Life is kind of unfair. It is a bitter truth that a particr set of people keep enjoying victory all


    the time. But others continue to be losers no matter how they struggle. That''s painful!'' Jacob pondered.


    "Oh, I see. What I might say next may sound cliché but it is very simr to what''s happening. It is often


    said that many people in the world make choices for their own benefit. So, no one should pay for the


    consequences of other people''s choices. This means that you cannot suffer the consequences of her


    actions. After all, she saw fire and she walked right into it."


    Shawn took a sip of wine after he finished speaking. These words stabbed through Jacob''s heart. What


    the man had just said sounded true. But no one could correctly predict the future. So, Alice might have


    not known what she was getting into.


    "Yes, I know." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief as he pretended to be rxed. It was as if he felt guilty for


    causing Alice to have a miserable life.


    But just then, Alice sighted Jacob. Immediately, she felt so ashamed of herself. And she wished that


    the ground would open up and swallow her. ''Shit! I am done for!'' she eximed in her mind.


    Yesterday, she had pretended to be happy andfortable in his presence. But now, her face was


    covered in bruises. The once so pretty bride now had ck and blue cheeks. ''I can''t just sit here and


    allow Jacob to see my face in this ugly state. I need to act quickly!'' she reasoned.


    Alice stood up abruptly and said, "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."


    Within a split second, she rushed to the bathroom. Jacob hesitated for a moment before he followed


    her. He wanted to know what was wrong.


    Actually, he wanted to persuade her to stop being so stubborn. ''Alice needs to change her ways. If she


    goes on like this, things would surely get uglier. Worse still, she might even lose her life, '' Jacob


    thought as he stood at the door of thedies'' bathroom with a frown on his face.


    When Alice saw him in the mirror, she screamed fearfully. Then, she covered the bruise on her face


    ashamedly.


    "Don''te here! I want to be left alone!" Hearing her shrill scream, Jacob''s eyebrows furrowed the


    more. He looked at her with a confused expression.


    "What''s wrong with your face?" Jacob ignored her resistance. Instead of looking away, he continued to


    stare at her intensely.


    During the time that they were still lovers, Jacob never allowed Alice to get hurt. He always treated her


    like a precious egg. This was because he was a firm believer that women should be treated like


    queens. And Alice had benefited from this philosophy. ''But how is Jonathan treating her now?'' Jacob


    knew that Alice''s new husband was a beast. And he didn''t care about her feelings. But he had thought


    that his cousin would restrain from hitting her.


    At that moment, the frown on Jacob''s face disappeared and there was calmness in his eyes. Alice felt


    uneasy under his gaze. She twitched her lips. But she remained mute.


    "I have always wanted to tell you something. And I am going to say it now. While we were still dating, I


    tried my best to make you happy. However, it didn''t work out because you wanted more." Jacob


    crossed his muscr arms over his chest as he continued to stare at her calmly.


    "Jacob, I beg of you. Please can you leave now? I really don''t want to talk about all that now. I..."


    Alice suddenly paused. Hot tears welled up in her eyes. As she told there, she was no longer the proud


    and toxic woman she used to be. In fact, she no longer had the unimaginable bravery to make drastic


    decisions.


    Everything had changed. Just then, Alice staggered backwards.


    But Jacob still kept his eyes on her wounded face. Then, he asked, "Did he do that to you?"


    She shook her head vigorously and replied, "No, he didn''t. This was caused by an ident." Alice


    didn''t dare to admit that it was Jonathan who disfigured her face. If she did, it would only mean that her


    marriage was already a total failure just a day after their wedding banquet.


    "Alice, just stop. You should know that I can''t be fooled. Getting a divorce isn''t a big deal. Especially


    when he cannot treat you right. I mean, take a look at yourself. Jonathan is clearly an animal!" Jacob


    sighed heavily. From the flimsy answer that she had just given him, he was sure that his cousin was


    responsible for her injury.


    There was no one else that came to his mind. Besides nobody in his or her right senses would darey


    hands on the wife of the CEO of Shi Group.


    "I said it wasn''t Jonathan! This is my business! Can you leave me alone?" Alice screamed and red


    at him in anger.


    Jacob was taken aback by her outburst. For a few seconds, he just stared at her with wide eyes. Then,


    he turned to leave.


    Seeing this, Alice pressed her lips tightly as she stared at his back. She regretted shouting at him like


    that.


    "Jacob."


    "What?" Jacob stopped and looked at her indifferently. One of his eyebrows was raised. And this told


    her that he was displeased.


    "I''m sorry. Will you forgive me?" Alice looked at him timidly. She was no longer as confident as before.


    "You haven''t wronged me in any way. So, there''s no need for you to apologize." Jacob frowned slightly


    as he replied. He noticed that Alice was now a shadow of her former self after returning to the city. ''This


    woman standing before me looks nothing like the vibrant Alice that I knew, '' he thought to himself.


    Alice was a little shocked by his response. Then, she shed a smile at him.


    "Thank you," she said simply as she continued to smile at him. Her whole countenance had changed a


    little because he said he held no grudge against her.


    Jacob nodded. Then, he turned and walked out.


    Immediately he left, Alice squatted and buried her face in her hands. And she wailed loudly.


    At that instance, it dawned on her that all the hatred she felt towards Jacob had disappeared. She felt


    as if her cold heart was melting. Perhaps Alice knew that long before the wedding. But she refused to


    admit it. She didn''t dare to ept that her n had failed. Even now, she didn''t want to agree with


    Jacob that she was in a fiery furnace.


    Meanwhile, Jacob didn''t go far. He stood at the corner of the bathroom. After he heard her cry, he


    sighed heavily.


    ''I guess Shawn was right. Alice chose this path by herself. So, nobody could do anything about it.'' He


    stood there for a few minutes before he finally left.


    Alice didn''t know how long she had cried. But she had to do her make-up hurriedly. And then go out to


    lie to Thompson that she spent so much time in the restroom because she wasn''t feeling well.


    Thompson squinted his eyes in the direction where Jacob and Alice went. Seeing this, he felt much


    more confident. In fact, he reasoned that Jacob ran after his ex-girlfriend because he still couldn''t


    control his feelings towards her.


    ''Haha! Jacob can''tpletely sever his ties with this woman. Anyways, I like what I am seeing.'' Just


    now, when Jacob had looked at Alice, Thompson could tell that something was still brewing in his


    heart.


    However, he had thought that the two of them woulde out together. Unfortunately for him, they


    didn''t. Alice finally came out after Thompson had waited for a few more minutes.


    Looking at her face, he felt uneasy. But Thompson couldn''t tell what exactly was wrong. He just stared


    at her awkwardly.


    "What''s wrong? Did Jacobe to you just now?" Although Thompson directed the question at Alice,


    he nced at Jacob''s table asionally.


    Of course, he knew the person who was sitting at the table and discussing with Jacob. But he didn''t


    expect that such a great personality would be there. Shawn Ho was one of the top yers in the whole


    city. But surprisingly, he was there talking with someone who had already lost his influence and status.


    Despite his penniless state, Jacob was still able to be an acquaintance of a big shot like Shawn. This


    made people furious and jealous at the same time. Thompson was one of such envious people. He


    continued to re at them until Jacob looked at him.


    "No, I just ran into him coincidentally. We didn''t even speak to each other," Alice exined. She had


    reasoned that it was best if Thompson didn''t know about what happened. She also tried to hide her


    feelings from him.


    Actually, she wanted to protect her love for Jacob in her heart. If Thompson got wind of it, things would


    be moreplicated. Even if her ex-boyfriend didn''t love her anymore, she didn''t think that he was


    hostile as before. This was because she had seen the concern in his eyes while they were in the


    bathroom.


    "Really? That''s unbelievable! So, he didn''t ask you about the wound on your face?" Thompson raised


    his voice as he observed her expression. He didn''t believe what she had just said.


    Sometimes, Alice was a careless person. But she was gradually imbibing the habit of hiding her


    feelings. For example, at that moment, Thompson could tell that something was wrong despite her


    efforts to conceal her emotions.


    ''This woman seems to underestimate me. If Jacob didn''t ask about her wound, why are her eyes


    swollen like she had been crying? Why does it feel like she was defending him even though he didn''t


    question her?


    This isn''t the Alice I know. Previously, she would always speak of Jacob with so much hatred. But now,


    her expression showed that she didn''t resent him at all.


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    I guess that man is indeed capable. If not, he wouldn''t be able to extinguish such amount of hatred


    from the heart of this toxic woman, '' Thompson pondered deeply.


    "No, Jacob doesn''t love me anymore. Why would he still care about me?" For the first time in ages,


    Alice defended her former lover. She didn''t want anybody to badmouth him in any way.


    "Oh, I see. Since you don''t want to admit it, then forget it." Thompson put down the fork gently. The


    food he once relished suddenly became tasteless in his mouth. This was because he was angered by


    Alice''s denial.


    "You just got married. This matter is difficult to handle. If you file for a divorce now, I don''t think


    Jonathan would agree," Thompson said with his eyes filled with genuine concern.