Chapter Two
“Tsk… you fool. Don’t you dare call me that amongst these people?” She growled with a whisper but Jason didn’t stop.
“Why shouldn’t I call my wife sweet names? Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed by it. I can see the redness on your cheeks.” He taunted and Karen could almost not take it anymore. “I am seriously not in the mood for your stupid games. I will not be lumped together with trash like you.” She bellowed and Jason was slightly displeased but didn’t voice it. Seeing this, Karen calmed down before returning to her cold expression, “So, what did you get my grandmother?” She asked. “You don’t want to be lumped with trash yet you speak to trash,” Jason replied with a cold expression too and one would notice a vein appear on Karen’s forehead. “You think you can just speak to me as you wish because I am married to you?! Are you courting death?!” She inched closer to him and squeezed his shirt by the collar. However, Jason remained indifferent. “What sort of wife will kill her husband?” He uttered with disdain in his voice. He also didn’t like Karen at all, but he enjoyed messing with her. “We’re about to find out, asshole.” She grunted and tightened her grip on his collar. However, a familiar and angry voice interrupted them both. “Do you two mind taking your romantic acts away from this place? I don’t like to see dirt in the house” The person said as he looked disdainfully at the duo. Karen took a deep breath before letting Jason’s collar go. However, the look the latter gave her almost made her shudder. Jason shifted his eyes to the man who interrupted them. “And I guess you’re here to rant about how trashy I am as usual, right?” He provoked, his voice filled with a calm sense of hostility. “Tsk, you’re just as pitiful as your gift to our grandmother. Tsk… pathetic. I shouldn’t expect something decent from you anyway. Like husband like wife.” “And I’m guessing you got something better?” Jason replied and Jared scoffed arrogantly. “Of course! Don’t compare me to trash like you two.” “Hey, watch your tongue, Jared,” Karen yelled back at him, drawing some attention to each other. Jason, however, kept a nonchalant look on his face and observed as Jared ranted. To him, Jared was nothing more than a harmless dog trying to prove it was a pit bull. “Oh, and what do you intend to do, sis? I still wonder how Grandpa got you, the damsel of the family, to marry a good-for-nothing Wack job like him.” Jared pointed at Jason with a look of contempt. “Anyways, while your ‘husband’ was getting grandma a low-quality pendant, I got grandmother one of the most exquisite antiques in the state,” he said before clapping his hands. Suddenly a servant began to push a table trolley that was covered in tablecloth with a vase on it. The vase was a bit large a well-shaped with various mosaic patterns on it and a golden Asian drawn inside a small circle in the middle of it. The design and its attractiveness made it look exquisite even from a distance. Karen’s eyes widened as she looked at the antique vase. As a girl from a reputable family, she was sure to know a few exotic antiques and all, and she recognized this one. She felt slightly ashamed that she couldn’t get her grandmother something as good as the vase. She naturally knew the price of the vase and she was speechless. Jason on the other hand, didn’t even seem to be bothered at all. To him, it was like he wasn’t even looking at the vase. Jared noticed the indifferent look on Jason’s face and was a bit annoyed that Jason wasn’t displaying any emotion whatsoever, unlike his sister. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop taunting them to the best of his abilities. “Seeing that look on your face, I guess you can tell what vase this is. I got it for nothing less than thirty million dollars. I believe even you should know of its origins. It’s a Ming dynasty vase that wasn’t even supposed to be for sale but after offering a large price, they sold it to me. I bet that useless pendant of yours is nowhere compared to mine.” he boasted and Karen couldn’t help but shrink back. Truly, this vase surpassed what she could even afford. Seeing that his sister was fearful of him, Jared was delighted. “Aww… don’t be sad is. You can regain your former glory with us if you can just divorce that good-for-nothing bastard you call your husband. Don’t you see, he can’t even afford a decent gift for a grandmother on her birthday? What a joke of a husband you have.” He scorned and the people around began to whisper. “Wait, so the granddaughter of the late Gerard Marco, the daughter of the Marco family is married to that man? Who is he, I haven’t heard of him before.” a voice whispered to another person. “Me neither. But the way I see it, he’s not too well off. What’s he even doing in a party like this?” another person said. Voices around them gossiped and Jared smirked. He was achieving his goal, to destroy Karen and Jason’s image and make Karen leave Jason. “Enough, Jared. Enough. We’re all here to celebrate our grandmother’s birthday, not some sort of competition. You don’t have to make a scene and I shall not allow you to call my husband names. Even though he might be trashy, he is still my husband. You don’t have the right to call him those stupid names… I do. I am married to Jason now and that is none of your concern. I will not have you call him names right in front of me.” She yelled at her brother. As much as she disliked Jason, she believed that he was still her husband and he needed to be treated as such. She wouldn’t allow him to be belittled in public by anyone other than herself, as that would also ruin her image. Knowing this was her reason, Jason still felt a bit of warmth from her, even though he still thought her a bit foolish. ‘She hates me but still defends me. She’s a good woman… in her childish way that is.’ he thought to himself before standing up from the chair he was sitting on. ‘I guess it wouldn’t be fair if I allowed her to fight for me. After all, she’s my benefactor’s son and also my wife. I should defend her instead.’ he said to himself before holding Karen back. He still had an indifferent look on his face and he walked towards the vase. “What’s the matter? Here to admire the magnificence of this antique?” Jared said with a tone of self-appraisal. Jason paid him no attention and instead, looked at the vase and ran his hands around it, feeling its every essence. He would take sniffs of the vase too occasionally and examine it. ‘The designs truly are exquisite. Its smooth and streamlined body portrays how skilled the person who made the vase is, given that its origins date back to the 1300s. The carvings are also perfect, and the artwork truly is admirable. Whoever made this vase is truly a genius in art on the same level as Leonardo Da Vin Ci. However…’ he thought to himself as he studied the vase before suddenly carrying it and throwing it on the ground. ‘…It’s a fake!’Chapter Three “Aaaaah. What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Jared yelled with shock. His heart sank and not just him, even Karen was astounded. ‘I didn’t know he had such a bad temper.’ she thought to herself with a worried look on her face. However, when they all looked at the vase, they noticed something. The vase wasn’t smashed to pieces like they all expected. But it wasn’t undamaged either. “If it’s truly what you claim it to be, and it does come from the Ming Dynasty, then the vase should be in pieces by now.” Jason analyzed before picking up the vase that only seemed to have suffered a small breakage at the edge at which it made contact with the ground. “Also… for a vase made during the Ming dynasty era, don’t you think this vase’s designs are a little too… perfect? The carvings here are very intricate. No human can achieve this sort of precision without the modern tools we have today.” He pointed but the latter glared at him. “You… what… do
Chapter Four “Grandma… what’s going on?” Karen asked worriedly but got no response from her grandmother. Mrs. Jamie sighed after a while. It seemed like she was quite surprised about the authenticity of the vase and upon seeing that it was indeed a fake, she couldn’t help but sigh. ‘How good would it have been if it were the real thing.’ she thought to herself before looking at her granddaughter, who looked worried. “It’s all right my dear Karen. Even though it’s not authentic, it’s still a gift, and gifts aren’t meant to be rejected unless they are harmful,” she claimed and Karen couldn’t help but smile. Indeed, her grandmother’s wisdom left her marveling. She chatted with her before going to meet her brother. However, the latter was still fuming near the pool, thinking about what Jason had done to him that day. The embarrassment was too much for him to take. Not only that, but his father scolded him to a point and his allowances were going to be cut for a few month
Chapter Five Jason placed the breakfast brought by Karen on the kitchen counter before resuming his work. He was preparing breakfast before she came in, so he just had to continue with that. Karen watched him and she was confused. “What are you doing?” she asked and the latter looked at her. “Preparing breakfast,” he replied. “What happened to the one I brought you?” “Well, I was already preparing one before you came. Didn’t expect me to go to work with an empty stomach, did you?” Jason asked but Karen scoffed. “So you’re not going to eat it?” she questioned, her voice colder than normal and her eyes squinted. “Of course not. I don’t want a certain tigress yelling how useless I am.” Jason chortled before pouring the eggs into the frying pan. “What do you mean? Have I ever screamed about how useless you are before?” Karen asked and Jason looked at her with raised brows. He didn’t speak as he expected her to figure it out. ‘Silly
Chapter Six Jason couldn’t begin to fathom the reason for this person coming here but he sighed and regained his calm demeanor. However, the cold look didn’t leave his face and he kept his eyes on the man in a white suit. Mary noticed the sudden change in his expression and wondered what was going on. She traced his eyes and saw the man in a white suit, but she didn’t recognize him.“Hey… you okay man?” She asked but Jason sighed.“I’ll be right back.” He said before shifting the milkshake towards her.“What? Why don’t you just take this with you…” She uttered but the latter didn’t seem bothered. She pouted before grabbing his milkshake and wanted to place it inside the fridge, but she decided to take a sip.“Hmm… this tastes good,” she uttered before deciding against putting the milkshake inside the fridge and drinking it instead. Her mood had also brightened.Meanwhile, the man in the suit walked into the restaurant and took a seat. He ordered a few things from a good-looking w
Chapter SevenIt was a bit early in the morning as Jason was just about to go to work. He did not have breakfast he intended to grab brunch by afternoon. Just as he prepared to put on his shoes, he heard a knock on his door.“A visitor this early? I wonder who that is,” he said before walking towards the door and opening it. However, he saw a familiar but unexpected face looking at him coldly and standing by his front door.“May I come in?” Karen asked and Jason sighed. He wasn’t one to keep grudges, but he was no longer going to remain the same to her. He would normally want to invite her in and have a brief chat with her, even though he was already late for work, but not today.“Nope. I’m just about to go to work.” He said and the latter frowned. She simply groaned inside herself but didn’t complain.“I brought you breakfast again.” She said but Jason sighed.“Well, you’re gonna be eating it on your own because I’m not hungry,” he said before going back inside to pick up his bag and
Chapter Eight It would be an understatement to say that Karen was stunned by those words of his. She was completely caught off guard and suddenly, she couldn’t help but think about him. She looked at his calm but still serious face and a tint of admiration surfaced in her mind, even though it was only for an instant. ‘He considers me a priority to him and my safety matters. Why though? He could simply just let the assassins kill me. After all, they were most likely sent by my brother and I think he knows this too. Yet…’ She thought to herself and pursed her lips.“Keep your eyes sharp, Karen. Don’t act like I’m holding you hostage.” His voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She wanted to flare up and turn this into a small argument but remembering that there were assassins after Jason, she just kept quiet.“I don’t get something though. Since they’re after you, why don’t I just go home while you deal with them… or let them deal with you…” She suggested but Jason shook his head.
Chapter Nine“How…. How did you do that?” Karen inquired but Jason wasn’t really in the mood to answer.“Long story. We need to get out of here.” He replied before pulling her hand and leaving the restaurant while staying crouched down. However, Karen’s mind was a mess. She was completely shocked by Jason’s ability. To her, she was so terrified to the point of seeing Jason as a savior who would get her out of this mess.‘He… he sensed those assassins before anyone could and he even fought three armed men and killed one of them. He’s skilled in combat. It’s almost like he has been trained.’ She thought before taking a glance at Jason’s face. The smooth facial contours and the depth in his eyes made her wonder, ‘Who the hell is this guy? What could he have seriously been through while our entire family was criticizing him?’ these thoughts ran through her mind but she did nothing but obey him. After all, it felt like she could only be saved by this man.They got out of the restaurant and
Chapter Ten Jason winced in pain as he pocketed his gun. He had been holding back due to Karen being with him and he didn’t want to fully unleash his abilities before her. Now that she was gone, he could finally switch to his killing mode. However, he looked at the wound on his shoulder and for some reason, the bleeding wasn’t stopping, only slowed. ‘Damn it… if I don’t treat this soon, I might as well be a goner. Imaging dying by bleeding to death… not exactly the kind of death I hoped to have.’ He laughed bitterly before returning to the tunnel. This time around, he walked on the tracks instead and used the darkness to his advantage. ‘To them, I’m running away. But they’ll be shocked to realize that I’m waiting here for them.’ He claimed before slowing down. He made sure not to use a flashlight, as that would put him at a disadvantage. Rather, he adapted to the darkness and he knew fully well that his pursuers would use flashlights, making him spot them as soon as he