After the divorce, he begged

hapter 283

Chapter 283

“Can we talk?” Stanley finally asked, the decision weighing heavy in his voice-this took a lot more courage than

he usually showed.

“Sure,” Rebecca replied.

They slipped into the lounge next to the hospital room.

Stanley shot a quick glance at Jeffrey, who lay motionless in bed, then turned away-his heart twisted with guilt

and anxiety. “Before we get into this, | owe you an apology for the things | said about you yesterday behind your

back. I'm really sorry.”

Rebecca didn’t bother replying. She clearly didn’t care about any of that.

“I didn’t ask you to chere so you two could get back together, or to patch things up,” Stanley said, his voice

steady and calm now. “I just want you to help him let go of whatever's eating him up inside. If he keeps going

like this, he really might not make it.”

‘Rebecca could tell Stanley was being honest this time.‘ she thought, her expression unchanged.

On the surface, Jeffrey always seemed like the perfect gentleman-gentle, strong, and put-together.

But when he turned that intensity on himself, he could get pretty reckless. Rebecca had seen it firsthand when

he stabbed himself with a knife.

“If you can, I'd really appreciate it if you could stay here for a couple of days and talk to him when he wakes up,”

Stanley said, his voice sincere. “But if you don’t want to, | won't force you. Like you said, you two are already

divorced.”

“You talk first,” Rebecca said, not agreeing yet-she kept her expression unreadable, unwilling to commit.

Stanley paused, emotions churning inside. He finally managed, “What | need to talk to you about... it's Jeffrey's

past.”

‘I wouldn't spill this unless there was no other option,’ Stanley thought, remembering how Jeffrey had made him

promise five years ago never to bring up the old days in front of Rebecca. But now, hiding it was no longer an

option.

‘If | keep quiet,’ Stanley worried, ‘Rebecca’s probably just going to glance around and bail.

‘But if | tell her, maybe she'll stick around. At least give Jeffrey a chance,’ he hoped.

Rebecca hesitated, then said, “Okay.”

“Everything goes back to when he was a kid...” Stanley said, his voice weighed down by memories, eyes growing

distant as he got lost in the past.

Jeffrey’s birth was a cause for celebration throughout the Hanson family.

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Chapter 283

His parents were thrilled, and his grandfather absolutely spoiled him.

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For the first two and a half years, he was the family’s little prince. But after that, his whole world flipped upside

down.

His family started piling on all kinds of classes and pushed him to learn everything under the sun-even when he

was too young to even spell his own name. If he ever took it easy or tried to mess around, his parents and

grandpa would never let up on him. He always caught an earful.

He barely even got to catch his breath, let alone play like a normal kid.

He met Stanley, Riley, and Andrew during those extracurricular classes, and once they becfriends, Jeffrey

finally felt sreal relief from all the pressure at home.

From then on, he could take whatever his family threw at him and keep his cool, no matter how tough things

got.

When Jeffrey was around five or six,

sbad blood started brewing between the Hanson family and the Dane family.

His parents demanded he cut Andrew out of his life for good, even made him swear he wouldn't ever see him

again. Jeffrey refused, so Marcus really let him have it, and Candice even cried, saying she'd end it all if he didn’t

listen.

They just thought he was being defiant, refusing to do what they said.

Pushed to the brink, Jeffrey finally caved. He turned inwards, barely spoke, and when he saw his old friend

school, he just walked by without a word.

But even after all that, Andrew always stuck by him-he still called Jeffrey his best friend. If Jeffrey went silent,

Andrew would mess around and crack jokes just to loosen him up. If Jeffrey wouldn't smile, Andrew would try

everything, pulling silly faces or cheesy lines until he got ssort of reaction.

“Back then, Jeffrey was living under constant pressure,” Stanley said, his voice heavy as he looked back. “His

parents had people watching him twenty-four seven. If he so much as showed a hint of friendliness towards any

of us, he'd get scolded the moment he walked through that door.

“And it didn’t stop there-his mom would threaten her own life, asking if he wanted to drive her over the edge.

“His dad would say things like, ‘Just look at what you've done to your mom. Can't you just act a little more grown

up?”

Rebecca pictured the scene-a shy, quiet boy barely saying a word. ‘Was the family feud really that serious?‘ she

wondered.

“Not really,” Stanley said, recalling what happened. “It was just one deal-Andrew’s dad landed the contract, and

Jeffrey's dad was left high and dry.”

Stuff like that happened all the tback then.

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Chapter 283

But Marcus just couldn't take losing-he hated it.

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“After that, Uncle Marcus started resenting the Dane family,” Stanley said quietly. “At first, he made it obvious,

but as Jeffrey got older, he realized how much potential the kid had-and how stubborn he was-so he kept it

hidden. Eventually, he finally got the chance to take out Andrew’s whole family.”

That all went down when Jeffrey was sixteen.

Marcus never really let go of that old grudge-he acted like he’d moved on, but deep down, he was still holding

onto every bit of it.

Jeffrey knew his family had issues with the Dane family, but he just figured it was because Marcus couldn't get

over losing to Andrew’s dad. He kept trying to smooth things over, hoping Marcus would finally let it go.

Marcus pretended to agree, promising he'd drop it if Jeffrey could pull off two things.

“So what were those two things?” Rebecca pressed.

“First, he had to crush ssuper tough assignment his dad gave him-to prove he was worthy enough to run

the Hanson Group one day,” Stanley said, remembering it all clear as day. “Second, he had to go study abroad,

enter international competitions, and actually win a gold medal.”

Rebecca paused, her thoughts swirling as she took it all in.

For someone as smart as Jeffrey, winning an international gold medal wasn’t really out of reach.

But pulling off a super hard project at just sixteen? That was a whole new level of challenge.

“Jeffrey agreed, and he absolutely crushed that project-his folks were over the moon,” Stanley continued. “When

they sent him off to study overseas, Marcus even promised him: as long as he brought hthat gold medal,

he’d finally let go of his hatred for the Dane family and spend the rest of his days just chilling, letting his son

take care of him.”

“But while Jeffrey was abroad, Marcus made his move against the Danes, didn’t he?” Rebecca guessed, putting

the pieces together from what Riley had told her before.

“That's right,” Stanley said with a heavy nod.

Rebecca stayed silent, her mind racing.

“When the Dane family fell apart, Jeffrey was right in the middle of a two-week intensive exam session,” Stanley

said, his voice heavy with emotion. “No phones, no contact-it was a totally closed-off period. He still remembers

exactly how that felt,”

“So Marcus set all this up from the get-go?” Rebecca asked, her voice flat but sharp.

“He never admitted it,” Stanley said, letting out a breath, “but honestly, that’s what all of us believe.”

“After what happened to Andrew’s family, we all thought Andrew would try to get revenge for his parents-he

wasn't the type to let things go,” Stanley said, regret heavy in his tone. “But less than a week later, he just leapt

off the roof. The people watching said he didn’t even hesitate for a second.”

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Chapter 283

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Rebecca’s mind flashed back to the photos Stephen had shown her, and Riley's words echoed in her head!

Jeffrey was the one who had to pick up the pieces himself-he personally collected the bodies and handled the

whole funeral.

“Rebecca, | know all the stuff Jeffrey’s been through has nothing to do with you,” Stanley said, sounding dead

serious. “But as his friend, I'm begging you-help him out. The guy’s suffered more than anyone | know.”

Rebecca just sat there, not saying a word.

Stanley went on, “When his head's finally screwed on straight again, you do whatever you want to him. Hell, if

you wanna stab him or something, I'll be the one handing you the knife.”

“Did he ever almost drown in the river when he was a kid?” Instead of answering, Rebecca went right for

something she'd always been curious about.

“No, | never heard about that,” Stanley replied, shaking his head. “He’s always had a deep fear of water-never

went anywhere near the stuff. But if something like that really did happen... honestly, knowing his parents,

probably was them who tossed him in.” ‘Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl,’ Stanley thought.

Rebecca's eyes flickered in obvious shock.

Her eyebrows pinched together, barely visible, as she echoed incredulously, “Threw him in?”

it

Stanley shook his head and explained, “When Jeffrey was little, he was terrified of water-couldn’t swim at all. But

his folks would toss him into deep swimming pools, rivers, even the shallow surf at the beach and just leave him

there. They figured he'd get over it, but it only freaked him out more. Even now, he can’t stand going near deep

water.”

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