Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 172

His eyes reddened, but in the end, he left in silence.

Jasper wasn’t surprised.

He wasn’t a good person, but neither were the Lowells. They had all abandoned Tatiana before; this was just them doing it again.

“Jasper!”

A cheerful voice called out.

The chill radiating from Jasper vanished instantly, replaced by a rare gentleness. The contrast to his confrontation with Xavier was so stark it left Felix staring in disbelief.

He had a distinct feeling his boss had changed.

The weather had turned cold. Tatiana, wearing a bunny jacket, came bouncing over, her eyes bright. “Jasper! Are you home from work?”

“Mhm, I’m home. Where do you want to go?”

She perked up immediately. “The park! The big forest park! You promised!”

“Alright, let’s go.”

He doted on her, rarely refusing her anything. As long as she was still willing to smile at him.

“Yay! Let’s go right now!”

She impatiently pulled his hand and headed for the door.

He pulled her back. Ignoring her pout, he carefully straightened her clothes, buttoning the jacket all the way up to make sure no wind could get in.

He looked down and saw her shoelace was untied.

He knelt down and tied it for her.

She just blinked, waiting obediently.

This scene stunned Felix all over again. He almost gasped. The boss, normally so cold and ruthless, was actually kneeling to tie someone’s shoelace.

“There. Don’t hop around when you walk.”

“Why not?”

“Your foot still needs to heal.”

“Okay.”

She was very obedient and always listened to him. She stopped hopping and let him lead her by the hand,

In the car, she rubbed her slightly swollen stomach and turned to Jasper. “Jasper! I’m getting fat!”

He followed her gaze to her stomach. His expression darkened, and a wave of inexplicable irritation washed over him.

“You’re not fat.”

“My tummy is really fat.” She even gave it a little pinch.

It was a childish gesture. She had no idea it wasn’t fat, but the baby.

Xavier’s words echoed in his ears: How can you ask a child to be a mother?

Then she won’t be one. She can stay like this forever.

“It’s fine. It’ll go away later.”

“It’s ugly!”

“It’s not.”

She blinked, then suddenly leaned in and kissed Jasper. He froze.

“Jasper’s the best!”

He was overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions. The more obedient she was, the more he feared the hatred she would feel if she recovered.

She should hate him.

Soon, they arrived at the forest park.

It was autumn, and the leaves had turned yellow. The whole park was filled with romantic autumn colors, attracting many visitors.

Jasper carefully put her mask on, leaving only her large, bright eyes visible.

He didn’t think she was ugly, but he didn’t want people staring at her. Besides, since she had woken up, she had never once seen her own reflection. She had no idea she wasn’t seven, but twenty–two.

Maybe Xavier was right. He really was insane, telling such a colossal lie.

“Jasper, let’s go!” she urged.

“Okay.”

They walked into the beautiful park, hand in hand.

The park still had its natural, wild look. It was in a remote suburb of Dalliston, bordering Hundsville, and visitors came every autumn to see the foliage.

Because it was crowded, he had to keep a tight grip on her hand, worried she’d get lost. But she was too

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curious and kept pulling her hand away to run off and look at things.

He had to pull her back, again and again.

“Don’t run off.”

She pouted. “But I want to see!”

She was usually obedient, but she also had a willful streak that left him helpless. This was the girl who had been the cherished miss of the Lowell family, not the timid, withdrawn woman she had become.

He didn’t want her to become like that again, so he didn’t try too hard to restrain her. He just had his men keep a close watch so she wouldn’t get lost.

But in the blink of an eye, the woman who had been squatting down to look at some grass was gone.

The color drained from Jasper’s face.

Tatiana was gone.

She had disappeared, right under his nose.

Even though he reacted instantly and started searching, they couldn’t find a trace of her.

Jasper was on the verge of madness.

“Lock down the entire park! Now! Immediately!”

Felix looked distressed. “Boss, the park is massive. It has eight exits, some as far as ten kilometers apart. The daily foot traffic is over a hundred thousand people. A lockdown is… difficult.”

It was nearly impossible.

Felix met his boss’s frigid gaze and didn’t dare say it.

Jasper’s eyes were bloodshot. “Then search!” he roared. “Search every inch! Find her!”

He had been careless! He never should have brought her here!

How could he have forgotten? Tatiana was smart. Smart enough to have been acting ever since she woke up, pretending to be a seven–year–old child, fooling everyone, lulling him into a false sense of security… all to wait for a chance to escape.

Maybe she was never broken at all.