“Do you think I’m blind? Your dad is a man, I’ve been through this and I know it better than you do.
“There’s nothing wrong with men having flings outside, as the worst thing would actually be the inability to attract flings. Jasper at least has the capital and qualifications to do so.”
“But you are my daughter so I’ve hesitated for a long time over this. I don’t want you to end up suffering from this relationship in the future.
“I’ve watched him for a while, and I can say that Jasper still knows his limits. He knows that you’re the most important one and I can be certain that no matter how much JW Capital grows, no other woman will be able to tamper with its core!
“You’re the only exception in all of this. Didn’t you realize that he gave you have one of the main powers at the very beginning, and has slowly shifted the resources and authority over internal affairs over to you?”
Wendy was stunned for a moment before responding dumbfoundedly, “No? All I know is that I do my work every day. It is true that I’m getting busier though.”
“Silly girl, had it not been for Jasper, you’d be helping whoever scammed you now!” Dawson said in disappointment.
“Look at all those heads of the families onstage. Tell me who among them doesn’t have at least a few secret wives?
“Jasper’s only just started, but considering his growth and speed of development, it won’t be long before a whole new Laine family makes a name for itself. With an enterprise as huge as JW Capital and its subsidiaries, no one could possibly ignore its existence.
“While Jasper will spend the first twenty years trying to grow his enterprise, he’ll be spending the next twenty on how to continue the business and ensure that someone inherits it after him.
“You two will have children, and with children comes the issue of inheritance. Fights for authority and control will arise the moment the family grows bigger.
“These are all problems that you two will have to worry about in the future, but it’s obvious now that Jasper’s already made his choice. When it comes to his official wife, he chose you.”
Wendy waved him off and spoke nonchalantly, “You think too much, Dad!
“Jasp told me that he doesn’t like the family business idea, nor does he plan to hand his business to his children unless they’re outstanding enough and have won his approval. Otherwise, he’d much prefer the western model with plenty of professional managers, whereby he can spread out the authority and managerial rights… basically it’s not what you think.”
“Silly girl.” Dawson shook his head.
He was about to say something else when he was interrupted by the celebratory pop of confetti. He looked up to see Jasper, standing at the center of everyone’s gaze with a mature and confident smile. The man oozed an indescribable charm.
Dawson suddenly smiled and muttered to himself, “Perhaps. Maybe he trusts you with this because you’re so innocent and pure that you’ve never thought of such things.”
Meanwhile, among the crowd stood two pairs of eyes that reddened with envy as they glared at Jasper.
“What the f*ck! Why! Why!” Zane held his heart gnaw maddeningly as if there were seven to eight crabs trampling over it with their pointy feet. It itched and it hurt, but as a whole, he felt sour.
“What the f*ck does he think he is? He’s just a country bumpkin, a dog from the farms! How dare he walk all the way up there while all I can do is stand here and watch?”
Mitch’s gaze was stormy and his slightly shaking balled fist betrayed the unease within him.
Just then, Jasper’s gaze swept over the crowd. It fell on Mitch and Zane for a short moment before he averted his gaze.
Zane could barely hold back their anger when they spotted this.
“What the f*ck was that look from that son of a b*tch? Is he looking down on us?
“Or is he mocking uh, huh? Is he mocking us because we can only stand down here and watch him show off onstage?”
Mitch harrumphed and spoke sinisterly, “What’s he even being so proud for? So what if he is up there? He’s still standing behind someone isn’t he? Does he think that he can somehow stand on equal footing with my dad and the rest now?
“F*cking naive! He’s just a piece of trash that’s joining in on the fun.”
Right after Mitch said this, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was about to begin. Suddenly, Zachary turned around to speak to Jasper.
Under everyone’s surprised gaze, they watched as Zachary swapped places with Jasper as the latter tried to refuse him.
“Motherf*cker! What the hell does this mean?!” Zane was in disbelief.
‘Jasper was standing in front of Zachary?
‘What did that mean?
‘The Head of Harbor City’s richest family, the Law family, was acting as Jasper’s second?!
‘Has the world gone mad?’
“You’re the host today, Jasper. You should be the one to stand here,” Zachary told Jasper.
There was no way Jasper would let Zachary stand behind him, so he immediately declined, “No way, Uncle Law. You’ve helped me so much all this while. Moreover, because of your experience and everything else, there’s just no way I can stand in front of you.”
Zachary smiled widely and spoke, “This is where you’re wrong. Standing behind someone doesn’t indicate anything except who the guest and the host are. Now, this is something we can’t afford to mess up.
“Listen to me! Come on, stand here!”
With that, Zachary pulled Jasper to stand in front of him while he moved to occupy Jasper’s previous position.
This turn of events had stunned everyone offstage, and even Kennedy’s face darkened as he stood beside the Provincial official.
‘What is Zachary doing? Is he forcefully dragging Jasper up and letting him step over him?’
Kenney felt the urge to turn and leave, but he held back only because it would make him look back.
He thought back to the conversation his father and Rogers from Quantum Funds had with him and forced himself to accept the current situation. He continued to wear a smile on his face, but his gaze was frighteningly sinister.
“Here, Mr. Laine. Let’s cut the ribbon.”
On the other hand, the [rovincial official did not seem to care too much about this and invited Jasper gleefully.
Jasper turned around and took a pair of golden scissors from the tray held up by the hands of the province’s number one female television host–hands that countless men in Southeast Province had dreamed about, and lifted it with the provincial official. He said with a smile, “Let’s cut the ribbon then.”
The long red ribbon was then cut in three places, in one spot by Jasper and the man from the provincial government, as well as Zachary and Kennedy, who each held a pair of scissors of their own.
The moment the ribbon was cut, countless fireworks shot into the air, lighting up the night sky over the Southface River. Half of Nauritius City’s city folk looked up to see the blindingly bright firework show.
It was a sensational sight.
