One night stand with my president(chapter 332)

 

Chapter 332: Forever Alone

There was a time when the Snider family tried to mend their relationship with Russell.

After all, Jasmine hadn't had a child for years, and Russell had gradually taken over the Hunter Group.

But Russell held a grudge. Reconciliation? It was impossible.

So, the Snider family gave up and focused all their efforts on clinging to Jasmine, cutting ties with Russell.

Now, they were coming to him, expecting him to solve their problems.

They wanted to have their cake and eat it too.

"Family?" Russell said coldly. "Are we really family?"

"Of course we are!"

"No, I think you've always considered Jasmine as your real family," Russell sneered.

"What are you saying? Jasmine is your aunt!"

"Aunt? Isn't she my stepmother?"

His uncle froze, realizing exactly what Russell was implying.

Stammering, his uncle said, "That's all in the past. Why are you still holding onto it? You're so stubborn! Jasmine marrying your father was a blessing compared to some other woman. Imagine if someone else had married him and mistreated you!"

"I've heard this speech before. You said the same thing when I was a child," Russell said with an icy expression. "After all these years, you couldn't come up with a better excuse?"

He didn't know whether another woman would mistreat him.

But he did know that his so-called aunt had already started scheming against him.

"You!"

On the other end of the line, Russell heard someone impatiently urging his uncle to leave the premises.

But Russell had no intention of intervening.

"You've depended on Jasmine all this time. Now, you can bear the consequences of her actions. You can't just reap the benefits without paying the price, can you?"

Without waiting for a reply, Russell hung up.

Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes as a wave of loneliness surged over him.

Ever since his mother passed, he had been utterly alone.

And he knew deep down that this loneliness would likely follow him for the rest of his life.

When Jasmine learned about the sudden acquisition of the commercial street where the Snider family's stores were located, she erupted into tears and anger with Rogelio.

"Our family has had stores on that street for so many years! Now they're being forced out.Where will they go? It's impossible to find another location like that. Darling, please, you have to do something. Say something!"

Rogelio rubbed his temples in frustration.

He knew this was Harrison's retaliation against the Snider family.

The Hunter family could hold their own against the Thomson family, but for the Snider family? It wasn't worth the trouble.

Out of consideration for Jasmine, he had helped the Snider family before. But he couldn't afford to go to war with the Thomson family over them.

Besides, the Hunter Group wasn't solely his to control anymore.

Even if he wanted to help, Russell wouldn't agree.

"Stop crying," Rogelio said, attempting to comfort her. "You're still recovering. Over-crying is bad for your health. The Thomson family's acquisition of that street is out of our hands. Your family must've received compensation for the breach of contract, right?"

The properties on that commercial street weren't for sale, only available for lease.

And securing a lease there was no small feat.

Thanks to Jasmine's connection with the Hunter family, the Snider family had managed to secure contracts for their stores. Since the lease agreements were prematurely terminated, they did receive compensation.

But the compensation was nothing compared to the potential profits from those prime locations.

If the contracts had been allowed to expire naturally, they could have renewed them for several more years.

"But what about the future?"

"I'll figure something out," Rogelio interrupted, placating her. "I'll help them open new stores somewhere else."

Jasmine picked up on Rogelio's tone.

After so many years together, she understood that pushing too hard on this issue would only frustrate him.

Begrudgingly, she wiped her tears and nodded, though her heart seethed with anger.

Jasmine thought, "Harrison is ruthless. Is it really necessary to do this for Adeline?"

After leaving the airport, Harrison went to the Juarez family's estate.

Sam said, "I called the others earlier. That model was brought to the party last night. She kept flirting with you all evening, but you ignored her. So how did you end up taking her to a hotel?"

Harrison, annoyed, threw a pillow at him. "I didn't take her to a hotel."

The party had been noisy, and he was already in a foul mood. He hadn't planned to drink much, mindful of Adeline's request, but the liquor they opened was stronger than expected.

After just a few glasses, he started to feel its effects.

Since the venue was far from both his place and the Thomson, he decided to stay at a nearby hotel.

The model followed him.

But Harrison had been too preoccupied with thoughts of Adeline to pay her any attention. 

He didn't even remember what she had said to him.

When they reached the hotel, she tried to follow him into his room, but he shut the door in her face and went to sleep.

This morning, he woke up to find himself splashed across gossip headlines. He had been angry-yet secretly hopeful. Maybe Adeline would reach out and demand an explanation.

But she didn't.

Instead, Harrison saw her with Russell and smile at him.

The pain in his chest felt like knives twisting into his heart.

Sam caught the pillow and said, "Miss Hensley's already on the plane, isn't she? And now you're stuck in different cities. With Christmas around the corner and all the Thomson family obligations, you won't have time to visit her in Yewhaina..."

"Can you shut up?" Harrison growled.

Every word Sam said was like another dagger to his already bleeding heart.

"You came here, and now you're silencing me?" Sam teased. "I'm trying to help! Let me tell you this. By the time Adeline returns from Yewhaina, she'll probably have a new boyfriend. She's the Mendoza family heiress, gorgeous and accomplished. Men will be lining up for her attention."

Harrison felt like he was suffocating.

Adeline with another boyfriend?

That thought hurt more than death itself.

Still, Sam wasn't wrong.

In Yewhaina, Adeline would be surrounded by suitors.

Watching Harrison's expression, Sam sighed.

It was clear that Harrison had fallen completely for Adeline.

Just then, Harrison's phone rang. It was Lorenzo from the Thomson family.

With Christmas approaching, the Thomson family had a lot of preparations to make.

Harrison didn't need to handle every detail, but for important matters, his input was required.

Lorenzo asked him to return to the Thomson family, and Harrison agreed.

As he left, Sam called after him, "Harrison, you'd better figure this out soon. If you don't, someone else might win Miss Hensley's heart."

Harrison didn't respond.

In his mind, one thing was clear. Losing Adeline to someone else was simply not an option.