Chapter 6
Jason dragged Lena away from the banquet hall and forced her into the cemetery.
A downpour soaked her to the bone.
Before getting in the car, her eyes had been blindfolded.
After a bumpy ride, she was pulled out of the vehicle. She tried to break free from the grip on her arms, but the hold only tightened.
Having stayed silent the entire way, she finally spoke,
"Jason, don't you believe me either? You know I'd never do something like this..."
Jason stared at Lena, who he thought was still lying, his expression cold and stern.
"Lisa has always gotten along with everyone. Only you've constantly clashed with her. Who else could it be?"
"Take her up."
Lena stumbled forward, pushed by the men behind her, feeling utterly defenseless.
"Where are you taking me?"
Her words vanished into the rain—Jason didn't bother to respond.
After walking for what felt like an eternity, they stopped.
She was forced to kneel on the wet ground, and the blindfold was finally removed.
Her mother's tombstone came into view. Lena stared at Jason in shock.
"What are you bringing me here for?"
"To repent for what you've done, of course."
His voice was flat, as if he were talking about something trivial.
But Lena felt as if she'd been plunged into an ice cave. She couldn't understand—after all these years together, he had never trusted her. He'd condemned her to death based solely on the words of others.
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
She tried to lift her knees, but the man behind her pressed down hard on her back, pinning her to the ground.
Jason threw his umbrella aside in anger, his heart filled with disappointment.
"Years ago, you lied to me about Lisa killing your mother. I thought you were just being petty. But now you've publicly ruined Lisa's reputation—and you still claim you're innocent!"
Lena let out a bitter laugh. So he hadn't forgotten what she'd said—he'd just never believed her.
She looked up at her mother's portrait on the tombstone, a strange calm settling over her.
How foolish she'd been. She'd known the truth all along, yet she'd still begged for innocence from someone who'd lied to her from the start.
Jason ran a hand through his soaked hair, agitated. But when he saw Lisa trembling in the rain (she'd insisted on coming), his heart softened for a moment.
"Later, you'll go to the hospital to apologize to Lisa. Then you'll issue a public statement clearing her name—using your own name. After that, this matter will be dropped."
Lena's gaze remained fixed on the tombstone. Without hesitation, she refused,
"Impossible."
Her defiance ignited a fire in Jason's chest.
"Lena, when you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility!"
But Lena ignored him, his words falling on deaf ears.
Jason felt a level of disappointment he'd never known before. He'd misjudged her completely. Lisa was still in the hospital, and he'd actually been soft-hearted enough to want to let Lena off the hook.
"Fine. Then you'll kneel here until you come to your senses."
He ordered his subordinates to keep watch, then turned and left without a second glance.
The rain poured harder. Lena had been kneeling for four or five hours.
Her body hadn't fully recovered from the abortion, and now, soaked in the cold rain, her consciousness began to fade. She struggled to stay upright, refusing to collapse.
Her legs felt as if they were pierced by ice-cold needles. Ten minutes later, she could hold on no longer. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
When she woke up again, she was lying on the living room sofa at home.
The subordinate sitting beside her spoke up when he saw her open her eyes,
"You passed out. President Jason told me to bring you home first."
He hesitated for a moment, his expression odd, then added,
"President Jason also said he doesn't fall for martyrdom tactics. He told you to stop being so clever."
An overwhelming sense of sorrow washed over Lena.
The dull ache in her lower abdomen made it impossible for her to stand. And he thought this was just a trick.
In their first year of marriage, when she'd merely pricked her finger, he'd insisted on calling the best doctor to check on her, fearing the worst.
After she got pregnant, when the baby kicked her gently, he'd stayed by her side all night to reassure her.
When she'd felt nauseous from morning sickness, he'd treated it like an emergency, finding the best anti-nausea medicine to make her more comfortable.
Now she'd fainted in the rain, and Jason thought she was overreacting—putting on a show to annoy him.
The sound of the door opening pulled her out of her thoughts.
Jason helped Lisa walk in, whispering softly,
"Lisa, the doctor said you can't get upset anymore. You need to rest at home."
But Lisa didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the figure on the sofa.
Jason suddenly remembered that Lena had been brought home earlier.
He casually stepped in front of Lisa, blocking her view.
"Lisa, why don't I take you upstairs first?"
Watching Jason shield Lena from her, a flash of jealousy and hatred crossed Lisa's eyes.
In the next second, she clung tightly to Jason's arm, her face filled with fragility and anguish,
"Jason, at the hospital you said you'd punish her. Were you lying to me?"
"Send me home! I don't want to see her!"
Her body trembled violently, as if she were about to faint.
Jason quickly pulled the unsteady Lisa into his arms.
"Lisa, listen to me..."
"Jason, I risked my life to save you back then. And now you're still protecting her?"
Jason's mind was in chaos. His gaze lingered on Lena's pale face for a moment.
Then he turned to Lisa and asked,
"Lisa, what do I need to do to make you forgive her?"
Lisa looked up, her eyes locking directly on Lena.
"She publicly slandered me and my mother. I want her to kneel and apologize—to me, and on behalf of her mother, who failed to raise her properly."