The Bad Boy Has A Soft Spot

Chapter 47 Responsibilities

Roselia's POV

"You didn't know?"

"No, I thought she died of cancer."

"We were so angry at the mafia but our father valued his money over our mother's life. When he was threatened with his wife's life, he didn't care as long as his empire didn't fall. We were so furious that we vowed to clean all influence of the underworld when we run the business."

" So you're making sacrifices for his sake?"

"Whatever it takes. We can't let our loved ones die. We won't be our father."

I paced around the living room as I recalled Jenna's words. I knew she wanted to tell me something but this was more than what I could digest. Who knows what measures Jasper would take in order to fulfill his responsibilities. He takes calculated risks and must've put me into the equation but I couldn't figure out his decision.

I contemplated confiding in Vanessa but she was having fun with everyone else. I couldn't possibly ruin anything, especially on the fourth of July. It was a day of independence and celebration. They were already lighting up firecrackers just like how my fuse was burning bright.

He told me his mother died of cancer instead of telling me the truth. Why was that? Why was he still deciding what he thought was best for me? I explicitly told him not to.

But what comes next scares me the most. What would happen to our relationship with me doubting my trust for him? The thought alone made my knees buckle and I was left with no option but to slouch on the couch and groan loudly.

A sigh sounded from the side and I knew immediately who that was from. "You don't need to worry too much."

With my hands still on my forehead, I groaned. "Why are you here?"

The couch dipped beside me as he took a seat. "Sel, you don't deserve this."

"What? Self-pity?" I joked.

"You deserve better than this." Ash put his hand on my shoulder drew circles to calm me down.

I took a deep breath and straightened my spine to look at his deep blue eyes. "If I did, would I be sitting on the same couch as the uni's cassanova in a Hampton's beach house?"

He chuckled. "I meant you deserve better than him."

"I assume you're talking about Jasper." I rolled my eyes.

"I can protect you."

His words caught me off guard and I widened my eyes in shock.

"I won't have you worrying as long as I'm with you." His hand lifted off my shoulder and landed on my clenched fist. I immediately pulled it away and a look of defeat crossed his face.

"Ash, no." My voice was hard and determined.

"Selia." Ash neared himself closer to me and I stood up on my feet. "I won't make you doubt." He towered over me at his full height and stared at me with empathy, almost pity. "I won't ever leave you." He took an intimidating step forward. "I won't try to decide by myself on what's best for you without consulting you."

"No!" I spoke up louder, to no avail.

"Trust me, Sel." He motioned to lift my hand up but before I could shove it away, he fell back on the glass coffee table and shattered into useless shards. It happened in a blink of an eye and Jace landed on top of him along with numerous powerful punches on his face.

At the sight of blood on Jace's knuckle, pouring down Ash's nose, I realized the horror in front of my face and rushed to peel Jace's body off of Ash.

"Jace!" I shouted and he met my gaze with a blazing fire in his eyes. The fire extinguished once he saw my worried face. "Stop." My whisper tremored the room with a confused resolve, whether or not I was angry at Jasper who refused to tell me the truth or at Ash who tried to pry me away from Jace.