Can't Win Me Back

From the moment Jameson entered, his gaze was fixated on Alyssa with desire. She found herself unable to escape it, no matter how hard she tried. Disgust curdled in her stomach, and she ripped her eyes away, muttering a scathing curse under her breath.

Jasper regarded Jameson with seriousness. He suppressed his anger and held Alyssa's hand tightly in his.

Jameson's gaze, lingering on their intertwined fingers, darkened. A teasing smile, out of place in the somber atmosphere, stretched across his lips.

Landon saw it too. His fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. He yearned for a peaceful farewell for his grandfather. If this weren't a mourning hall, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe that infuriating smirk off Jameson's face.

"My condolences, Mr. Landon," Victor offered, stepping forward with a hand extended. "Although considering your new position, perhaps Mr. Harper would be more fitting."

Landon met Victor's gesture with a cold stare. "I don't recall inviting you to the funeral."

Victor's face was flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and outrage. But as the head of the Schmidts, he couldn't afford to stoop to the level of a dead man. "As one of the Big Four, I shared a long association with Mr. Cornelius. Even without an invitation, it's only proper to offer my condolences."

"My grandfather had no need for your acquaintance," Landon replied tersely, his lips pressed into a thin line. "And he wouldn't have wanted to see you here."

A collective gasp rippled through the room, all eyes fixed on the stunned Victor and Jameson. The sharp, unexpected insult left Victor speechless. Reddened with fury, he opened his mouth to clap back, but Jameson cut him off.This content © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

"Mr. Harper, I'm not interested in the past feuds between our families. This is Mr. Cornelius' funeral, and we've come to pay our respects. Why the need for hostility?"

As Jameson spoke, his gaze swept across the empty mourning hall, his smile appearing forced and insincere. "It seems Mr. Cornelius didn't cultivate many friendships in the business world during his lifetime. Looking around, I see a gathering of individuals who couldn't make much of an impact.

"The Schmidts, however, came to offer our condolences. If you chase away the few allies you have left, Mr. Harper, who will do business with you once word gets out?"

Alyssa clenched her teeth, the urge to confront Jameson boiling within her. She longed to silence his infuriating pronouncements with a well-placed slap. But Jasper's firm grip on her waist restrained her, preventing her from acting on her impulse.

Landon's expression turned exceedingly hostile. The outrage simmered within him, churning his stomach. He'd never backed down from a fight, but this was his grandfather's funeral, the first major event since he assumed leadership of the Harper family.

If he allowed Jameson to provoke him, he risked being perceived as nothing more than an ill-tempered rich heir, becoming a laughingstock in the eyes of others. No matter the provocation, he couldn't afford to cause a scene that day.

Just as Victor basked in the perceived triumph of his son's defense, a voice, laced with icy authority, sliced through the tense silence. "Mr. Cornelius had no friends in the business world? What utter nonsense! What a preposterous claim!"

Jameson's eyes turned glacial. He turned slowly, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses with a deliberate show of composure.

Everyone in the room swiveled their heads toward the entrance, a collective gasp escaping their lips.