Chapter 4

For several days, Jasper didn't come again. Occasionally, Mrs. Wilson would come to bring me food and change of clothes, giving me some rare peace.

Mrs. Wilson was Jasper's housekeeper, who had been taking care of him since he was ten years old.

That was the first time I heard Jasper's story.

Mrs. Wilson took me out of the basement to a guest room upstairs.

She had drugged my food, and as the effects slowly set in, I felt dizzy. She pulled me onto the bed and started wiping my body while explaining, "Miss Winter, I'm sorry. I can't let you bathe alone. I can't let anything happen to you. Please forgive me."

I thought to myself, it doesn't matter. Being clean is better than being dirty in the basement.

I lay on the bed like an immobile plant as Mrs. Wilson wiped my body and began to tell me about Jasper's childhood.

"I found him when he was ten. He was so small, curled up in the rain. He had just managed to find a piece of bread in a trash can, but before he could eat it, a homeless man came from behind and snatched it away. His eyes were lost and helpless in the rain."

I forced my eyes open, trying to stay as awake as possible because I wanted to learn as much as I could about Jasper. The more I knew, the better I could find ways to deal with him.

Mrs. Wilson turned me over and continued her story.

Later, she took Jasper home. The name "Jasper" was given by Mrs. Wilson because she felt the northwestern region had a harsh living environment, and she hoped Jasper could survive even in adverse conditions.

At that time, Mrs. Wilson was in her forties with no children, working as a cleaner and living in the poorest alley. Her monthly salary of just over a thousand dollars wasn't enough for two people to live on.

Mrs. Wilson was getting older and occasionally needed medication. Because of the lack of money, and being bullied as a widow with an orphan, Jasper became a thug. He did all sorts of things, legal or not.

Mrs. Wilson suddenly stopped and looked at me, "Miss Winter, a child from a happy family like you wouldn't understand, but I understand Jasper. We were just trying to survive."

Later, when Jasper was sixteen, he was found by the Gray family and became their heir. At sixteen, the best age, he spent all his time working. For those years, he worked day and night, and in his spare time, he had to study to make up for the education he had missed.

"Miss Winter, Jasper has had a hard life. He never got what he wanted. When he was little, all he wanted was a piece of bread, but he didn't get it. After sixteen, what he wanted was freedom, but he never got that either. Later, he just wanted you, Miss Winter. Please have mercy on him, pity him a little."

I laughed coldly. Mrs. Wilson said Jasper was pitiful, but what about me? I had a happy family, had just graduated from college, and I was supposed to have a bright future. But just because of one glance from Jasper, I was abducted by him. This thug ruined my life. Moreover, there were lives between us.

Jasper was in darkness, wanting to drag me into hell to save him. But he overestimated himself. No one could save someone like him. He needed a light, but he couldn't force me to be that light.

I closed my eyes, and a tear rolled down from the corner of my eye. Jasper might be pitiful, but pity was never an excuse for crime.