"A love rival?" Alyssa rested her cheek on her palm while feeding Jasper blueberries. She mused, "It''s


    quite unfathomable for Landon Harper to have a love rival. That''s new."


    Jasper snickered. "Lauren''s living a secluded life because you''re overprotective. She doesn''t have a


    chance to meet with anyone outside—it''s just you and your secretary. She doesn''t even have a healthy


    social life, so what''s all that talk about a love rival? You must be dreaming."


    "Isn''t that right?" Landon mmed a fist on the table as his voice broke from the tension.


    He recalled the scene fromst night where Lauren mumbled the name of this guy, Cyrus, while


    sleeping in his arms. How could she call out the name of another man in her dreams?


    His heart immediately shattered into pieces.


    Alyssa shot him a piercing nce. "Do you mean my brother, Cyrus Taylor?"


    Jasper froze. He grappled with the far-fetched notion, struggling to imagine Lauren and Cyrus together.


    Landon widened his eyes, looking amazed. "Oh, Lyse, how did you know? Are you God?"


    "Hah, drop it." Feeling speechless, she told him, "You''re an open book—I can tell from your face. I saw


    you standing across from Cyrus yesterday, staring at him fiercely, and I immediately knew something


    was wrong.


    "But Mr. Harper, you shouldn''t look down on the gentlemen of the Taylor family. None of them would


    ever get involved with unavable women. You shouldn''t imagine him as a love rival just because he


    spoke to Lauren."


    "Cyrus isn''t that type of man. Landon, you shouldn''t even suspect Lyse''s family to start with." Jasper


    hugged Alyssa by the waist as he pondered the absurdity of Landon''s usation.


    Landon sighed and held his tongue out of fear of sounding like a disgruntled housewife.


    "Ah! No wonder you''re in a hurry to register your marriage with Lauren. Looks like the ''love rival'' has


    plunged you into a crisis." Alyssa immediately read Landon''s mind. "Seriously? Did you lose your head


    over a non-issue? Are you a child?"


    Landon pressed his lips sheepishly.


    "Let''s have a careful discussion about the marriage in the future." Jasper put on a serious face and


    advised Landon, "Your priority should be sorting out the mess in your family. Once you''ve established


    your power in thepany, everything will fall into ce."


    Despite Jasper''s advice, Landon felt bothered. He had acknowledged Lauren as his future spouse, but


    the same might not be true for Lauren. He worried that, given her naivety, she might fall for the tricks of


    another man.


    That was his punishment for being too deep in love.


    When Jasper and Alyssa finished breakfast, Xavier returned from his mission and eximed, "Madam,


    you''re spot on! David Schmidt has been arrested!"


    Casting an admirable nce at Alyssa, Xavier professed his amazement, "The media has swarmed the


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    entrance to the police station. The police have gathered evidence of David Schmidt sexually assaulting


    multiple women, two of them minors!"


    "Fuck! He''s the scum of the earth!" Landon mmed the table indignantly.


    Simrly, Jasper was disgusted to learn about David''s reproachable behavior. Besides that, he was


    amazed by Alyssa''s capability. Holding her shoulders and carefully pulling her into a hug, he praised,


    "Lyse, Landon was right. You''re like God. You''re wittier and prettier than everyone around."


    "Pfft! You sweet talker," she yfully chided him but secretly enjoyed thepliments. "Too bad David


    was caught in action. I heard a few reporters on stakeout had live streamed himpletely naked,


    having no time to blur out the nudity!


    "s, I missed the live stream. How exciting would it be?"


    Jasper looked amused by Alyssa''s often surprisingly bold remarks, which he once found hard to


    ept. Now, he thoroughly enjoyed her snarky behavior. He''d much prefer to date a sassy woman.


    "The videos online have blurred out the nudity. If you want, I''ll get you the raw video," Landon


    suggested with sincerity and winked at her.


    Jasper and Alyssa, rendered speechless, wondered if Landon was truly out of the situation or simply


    feigning naivete.


    "Now, Daisy and David Schmidt are done for. Josh has lost two of his right-hand men." A frosty


    expression unfolded on Jasper''s face. "He must be panicking now since he has lost his support pirs.


    Next, he''ll be fighting Jameson head-on for power in the Schmidt Group.


    "Josh might be cunning, but that''s all he has going for him—hecks the talent to helm apany.


    Watching him fight Jameson will be as exciting as a cage fight."


    Frowning, Alyssa did not seem pleased by the imminent victory. She cautioned, "Let''s not get ahead of


    ourselves. Josh Schmidt is way more of a threat than we think.


    "You know what? I reached out to Jonah yesterday to get him to purchase massive amounts of the


    Schmidt Group stocks at a low price to take control of thepany.


    "To our surprise, someone from the Schmidt Group had pulled the strings, injecting arge amount of


    capital to stabilize the vtile stock price. That''s why Jonah failed to purchase anything."


    Jasper knitted his brows, pondering, "Was that Jameson Schmidt''s work?"


    "He was able to sway the local election results from far in Kontina. Do you think he can''t manipte the


    stock price? After 15 years of preparation in Kontina, he must be ready for a power grab in the Schmidt


    Group." Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth and vowed, "We can''t let him take control of the


    Schmidt Group no matter what it takes."


    "It''s fine even if we fail to stop him." Jasper gazed at Alyssa tenderly and nted a kiss on her


    forehead. "A greater humiliation would be destroying his beloved Schmidt Group from within."


    Her eyes shimmered as she nodded in agreement.


    "By the way, there''s something else I''d like to inform you," Xavier suddenly interjected.


    Feeling thirsty, he had no time to take a sip of water. He began, "I''m not sure if this is worth reporting,


    though. J-Jameson Schmidt just bought a private jet and got it delivered to Sna Cityst night.


    "Just... Wow. I checked out the photos captured on my phone. It''s such a luxurious jet, and it''s the


    Looking upset at Xavier''sparison, Jasper pouted. "If you like private jets that much, you should


    work for Jameson Schmidt instead and jet around."