Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

After making the arrangements, Jasper and Alyssa traveled hto Solana City. During the journey, he pulled her into a hug, kissing her on the ear. "Lyse, thank you. How can | ever thank you enough?" "Why so formal?" Alyssa wrapped her arm behind his neck while tapping the tip of his nose, sending his heart fluttering. "In return, how about you take Mrs. Rosie's place and cook forfor a month?" "A month? You're underestimating me." He squinted at her with an affectionate look. "I can cook for you forever." She shook her head. "Oh, never mind then. | appreciate the thought. Eating your cooking forever will only be torture." She rendered Jasper speechless with that remark. Pouting, she added, "To be honest, | feel sorry for putting this burden on Cyrus, but it's the only way to pressure the Hodgsons into calling off the marriage.

"Only when the Hodgsons give up on Lauren will Landon have the luxury of tto focus on his family matters.

He'll stand a chance to get back with Lauren once he sorts out his family issues." "Lyse, | have other ways to deal with the Hodgsons," Jasper began.

She shook her head. "I know you're prepared, but you shouldn't get into trouble with the politicians in Solana City." He said coldly, "I don't mind crossing anyone for Lauren and Landon's sake." "But you can't get onto Javier's wrong side for now. You can't give him ammunition against you. If he thinks you're a liability to the Beckett Group, he has more reason to get rid of you." She sat up in his embrace and comforted him, "Don't worry. Mandy is a capable woman.

"She's been managing part of Winston's business and assets for years. I'm sure she will make the Hodgsons give up on their social-climbing plan." Jasper couldn't hold back a grin. He was about to kiss her again when her phone rang. She answered the call from Sean, "Hey, Sean." "Ms. Alyssa, we have new updates on Betty Beckett," Sean reported urgently, "We got news that Betty went for a health checkup at the hospital, and she looked quite sick." "Oh, great news, then." She spoke in a low voice, her eyes shining with a chilling look, "Get someone to monitor her. After she leaves the hospital, get her blood sample by any means." "Got it, Ms. Alyssa!" At the stime, Betty struggled with continuous low fever for a week at Mosgravia. The fever did not subside even though she took medications.

She had not planned to visit the hospital due to the expensive consultation fees in Mosgravia. Her allowance was a pittance that wasn't enough to sustain her lavish lifestyle, not to mention pay for medical expenses.

She recalled the times in the past when she had people tending to her for something as minor as a prick in the finger. The difference in treatment saddened her.

However, she decided to visit the hospital late at night, as new symptoms such as lethargy and persistent cough emerged.

After going through multiple checkups and tests, she wrapped herself in a dirty jacket and drifted to sleep on the bench in the hospital corridor.

In the middle of her sleep, a nurse woke her up and reminded her to get the test results from the doctor.

The doctor hesitated as he glanced at Betty's test results. Finally, he said in a low voice, "Madam, I'm sorry to let you know that you have caught HIV. We cto this conclusion from all the tests we ran on you." "HIV?" Betty's face paled. She fixed a blank stare on the doctor's serious face.

Back in school, she was a bad student who couldn't properly grasp Grunslandish. Still, she understood the doctor's diagnosis upon hearing the term "HIV". Her slow response was merely out of disbelief.

The doctor attributed her response to the language barrier. So, he repeated the diagnosis in his broken Cyrrisian, "In other words, it's AIDS." This time, Betty completely understood the diagnosis. Following that, she collapsed to the ground and trembled uncontrollably. The doctor tried to help her up from the ground, but her legs were jelly.

Her mind went blank, and she couldn't take in a word the doctor said. It wasn't like she could actually hear him anyway.

Betty stumbled listlessly down the corridor, trying hard to figure out where she got AIDS from. Finally, she thought of that day when she enjoyed a one-night stand with a male model in the bathroom of a nightclub lounge.

The model did not use protection and ctwice—once inside her and once on her breasts. Was he the one who spread AIDS to her? Before that exhilarating night, she had only been staying at home. There could be no one else but him.

"Argh!" She tore the test result into shreds in a dark alleyway. Then, she curled up in a corner, held her head, and wailed. "Why? Why did it turn out this way? Just why?" She had been kicked out of the Beckett family and lost access to a privileged life. Not only did she lose her hearing in both ears, but she was also diagnosed with AIDS.

She couldn't see a reason to live, and she wanted death.

In the depths of her despair, she heard footsteps approaching her. A man in leather shoes stopped in front of her.