The Heiress With Seven Secret Identies (Stella Shaw) novel Chapter 430

Mark closed his eyes, unable to meet his brother's gaze. It hurt to see him like this, though in truth, he had only found out shortly before Jasper did.

"Why?" Jasper asked, his voice cracking. "How could you all do this?"

"What is going on?" Vivian asked, looking from one son to the other, completely lost.

"Mark, get to the office. Call an emergency meeting with all the executives," Felix commanded as he hurried down the stairs, pulling on his suit jacket.

Mark was confused. "Dad, what's happened?"

Felix shot a cold glance at Jasper. "The Shaws aren't going to let this go quietly. This proves they don't care about your engagement to Nicole anymore either."

"That is the logic of a thief," Jasper snapped.

"Think whatever you want," Felix said, brushing past him.

"Explain this to me! What happened to the engagement?" Vivian chased after him, grabbing his arm to pull him back.

"I'll tell you when I get home."

"What have you done, Felix?"

"Everything I do is for this family! For Jasper!" Felix shouted, shoving her back. Vivian lost her balance and hit the floor hard.

"Mom!"

Jasper lunged at his father, shoving him back with enough force to make Felix stumble. The entire household froze, stunned by the confrontation.

Felix stared at his son in disbelief, but with the crisis looming at the office, he didn't have time to argue. He turned and rushed out.

"Jasper, what's going on? Is the engagement off? Why wasn't I told?" Vivian asked, her voice trembling as she gripped his hand. "Tell me the truth!"

Jasper hesitated, then laid out everything he had learned. By the time he finished, Vivian was deathly pale, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Mom, I'm not giving up on Nicole," Jasper said firmly. "I won't."

Amber let out a sharp, cold laugh. "And what does that matter? If Dad doesn't agree, how exactly do you plan to marry her? Once the two families go to war, who do you think she'll choose—the Shaws or you?" She sneered. "She'll pick her family every time. Not you."

"Amber, that's enough," Vivian snapped.

"Just eat, Jasper," Amber continued, ignoring her mother. "Mom spent hours on this soup. Do you really have the heart to walk away?"

Seeing the pleading look in Vivian's eyes, Jasper sat down and forced himself to eat.

"Don't panic, Jasper," Vivian said softly. "There has to be a way to fix this."

"How, Mom? When two families tear each other apart like this, there is no 'fixing' it. Even if they call a truce later for the sake of business, Mr. Shaw would never trust me with Nicole again. This isn't about money; it's about character. A reconciliation would just be for show—a way to keep things civil in public."

Jasper slumped forward, burying his face in his hands. He looked utterly defeated.

"If you ask me, you should just break up and get it over with," Amber cut in. "Haven't you two had enough of each other by now anyway?"

Jasper looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Are you even my sister? Why do you hate seeing me happy so much?"

"Stop it, both of you," Vivian said, her face lined with worry.

"Mom—" Amber started.

"I said shut up!"

Amber let out a sob, looking wounded.

Vivian turned back to Jasper. "You're exhausted. Go upstairs and get some sleep. Don't even think about driving tonight. We'll figure things out tomorrow."

"Alright," Jasper muttered.

Jasper, I'm going to help you. I promise.

Nicole, am I really losing you?

No. It was impossible. He would never give up on her, even if it meant a total break from the Moore family.

Something was wrong. He felt a strange, familiar heat—it felt like...

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