In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall) novel Chapter 1314

Even after three years, his unnerving smile made my breath hitch in my throat and my eyebrows knit together in disgust.

The rough, hard days of being in prison had failed to teach him a lesson in humility. If anything, he had come out even more unscrupulous and evil than he’d been when he first went in.

John hadn’t expected his intimidation to not work on Jared, his face fell slightly and he became irritated. The two men just stared at each other while the tension around them grew thicker with every passing second.

Not wanting to waste any more time in Jared’s presence, I spoke up, “Cut to the chase and tell us what you really want.”

Only then did Jared turn to stare at me, silently pondering for a moment before saying, “I never wanted to be your enemy, Scarlett, so don’t act so hostile towards me. All I want is to watch Summer grow up and correct my past mistakes.”

“You’re wrong. You became my enemy the moment you included Summer in your plot of revenge,” I instantly retorted. “You’ve gone mad. What right do you think you have to sacrifice so many people’s lives and happiness for the sake of one deceased person?”

He took a deep breath as his expression turned solemn. “I’ve already paid back everything that I owed those people while I was in prison. The Crest family is also doing their best to help compensate for anything that I’ve yet to make up for. Why is it your place to decide that I deserve the death penalty all because of that one mistake I made?”

“That’s bullsh*t!” John blurted out. “The death penalty is exactly what you deserve! While you were kicking back and relaxing in jail for three years, Summer was in the hospital struggling to stay alive! And even if she’s been discharged from the hospital now, she’ll need to live on medication for the rest of her life! That damage is something that you’ll never be able to compensate for!”

John had verbalized exactly what I was feeling. Summer had suffered greatly as a result of Jared’s actions, both physically and mentally.