When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 264

From the looks of it, she certainly did. After finishing the first file, Jethro felt his stomach churn. The second file contained a conversation where Matteo asked Artina how she had managed to snag him, since the Nash family wasn’t one you could just latch onto. Artina told Matteo the whole story. Matteo had remarked with some surprise, “I can’t believe you did something like that as a kid. You seemed so innocent and sweet back then.” The comment implied that Artina was no longer the person she used to be. Whether Artina was too stupid to notice or simply didn’t care, Jethro couldn’t tell. She seemed to tell Matteo everything, perhaps because they were partners in crime, making Matteo her only confidant. Hearing Matteo’s words, she had just laughed and called him a fool. She explained that back then, her family, the Harmons, had just come into sudden wealth. With their newfound money, she was no longer the same girl. Giving Jethro that piece of candy was purely an act of showing off, like magnanimously tossing a piece of bread to a stray dog on the street. It wasn’t kindness. Of course, to Jethro, it had felt like kindness. She had even mocked him, saying she couldn’t believe that the great Jethro Nash couldn’t afford a piece of high-end candy as a child. She wondered aloud if the Nash family hadn’t made their fortune yet back then. Matteo’s response was, “It’s possible.” It was normal for Artina not to know. The Harmon family wasn't old money; their wealth hadn't been passed down for generations. They were new money, people who had struck it rich and slowly climbed their way to the fringes of high society. They had very little knowledge of the backgrounds of the truly elite families. Families on the edge of the upper class, like the Harmons, often had limited access to information. Other families at their level wouldn't know, and the daughters of more prominent families wouldn’t deign to associate with her, let alone share any secrets. Her so-called friends were just old classmates from families that weren't even close to being considered wealthy. After reading that part, Jethro started to laugh, but the laughter soon turned into sobs. So that was it. The truth was a jagged edge, tearing through his lingering illusions without mercy. So much for his unforgettable first love. Heh. Jethro was so furious he almost smashed his phone, but he stopped himself. Was this person worth a broken phone? No. He could have stopped reading there. The truth was painfully clear. He had held onto the memory of that candy for so long, had even told Henrietta how much it hurt him. But now, that candy had turned to poison, to dust. It was all just for show. But Jethro kept reading. He had to see just how shameless, how evil, this person truly was. The third file documented the events after she had gotten the marriage certificate with him. She had lied, saying she needed to stay at her parents’ house for a week. In reality, she had rushed to Matteo, planning to have sex with him to induce a miscarriage, which she would then pass off to Jethro as an irregular period. Hahahahaha. She had a marriage certificate with him! They were legally married, and she went off to spend the night with another man. Even if the certificate was a fake, neither he nor Artina knew it at the time. In their minds, they were husband and wife. And under those circumstances, she could pull a stunt like this. Truly impressive. Even more incredible, the person who transcribed the video dialogue was extremely thorough. They had recorded every word, every sound the two of them made during sex. Jethro couldn’t believe it. She was married to him, trying to get rid of a baby—a life-or-death situation, you could say—and yet she was still able to throw herself into the act with such abandon. Not only was she moaning enthusiastically, she even had the presence of mind to spout dirty talk to heighten the mood. The words were filthy, vile, and utterly depraved. It was the first time Jethro realized sex could even be ‘played’ that way. She was on another level. So impressive it defied description. After reading it all, Jethro wasn't just nauseated; he was drenched in a cold sweat. He couldn't begin to imagine what would have happened if he had actually married a woman like this. He was now profoundly grateful—grateful that Henrietta had married his brother, which was the only reason she had bothered to meddle in his affairs. If she weren't his sister-in-law, given her cool and aloof nature, she would have at most given him a few private warnings, just as she had before. If he hadn't listened, she would have washed her hands of it and proceeded with her own revenge plan. When the truth inevitably came out, he would have become the laughingstock of not just Juno City, but the entire empire. The king of all cuckolds. His life would have crumbled into dust. It was a close call. He was so lucky. But Jethro still felt a deep, wrenching pain. He opened the bottle of liquor and chugged nearly half of it down. Then, with a sudden retch, he grabbed the nearby trash can and vomited violently, tears streaming down his face. He finally understood what Henrietta had said. His pain was only for himself. He was mourning his own sincere, unwavering heart, the fact that the person he had cherished since childhood was so utterly vile. He mourned all the devotion he had poured out, every last drop. From his wealth to his gentle affection, he had even been willing to defy his own brother, to be cast out of his family, to be utterly destroyed, just to marry her. That was the sincerity of his heart. He had even prepared the wedding rings. And the wedding gift. A ten-billion-dollar marriage settlement! It might not have compared to the necklace his brother had casually gifted, but… it was his whole, genuine heart.