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Novel Catalog
Chapter_90
The crowd in the lobby fell silent as Sean held up the small plastic bag containing the necklace, the gleam of the jewels catching the light. Betty’s eyes widened with disbelief, her face contorting in a mix of shock and frustration.
“Wh-what is this?” she stammered, her voice now tinged with hesitation. “Where did you find it?”
Alyssa, still cool and composed, gestured toward the bag with an air of finality. “This was found in one of the common areas, hidden in a corner where no one would notice. It certainly wasn’t taken by any of our employees. Perhaps you should consider that you might have misplaced it yourself.”
Betty’s lips parted as she tried to form a response, but she was left speechless for a moment, her pride preventing her from acknowledging the possibility that she might have been wrong. Her face flushed, but she quickly regained her composure, glaring at Alyssa. “You can’t just… you can’t just say that!” she exclaimed. “You’re accusing me of lying?!”
“Ms. Beckett, I’m not accusing anyone of anything,” Alyssa said calmly, her voice steady. “But the facts speak for themselves. The necklace was never stolen, and your accusations against my staff were completely unfounded. If you have any further complaints, we will cooperate with the police when they arrive in ten minutes.”
The atmosphere was thick with tension. Betty’s friends, who had been silently watching the confrontation, exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions slowly shifting from smugness to discomfort.
Jasper stood silently in the background, his gaze fixed on Alyssa. He was impressed—no, more than impressed. The way she handled the situation with such authority, intelligence, and grace was undeniable. It was a side of her he hadn’t seen before, and it left him feeling unsettled. He had always known her as the quiet, compliant housewife, but now, as the manager of this hotel, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Betty huffed in frustration, but her voice was tinged with defeat as she finally muttered, “I still think this is all some sort of mistake. But… I’ll take my necklace now.”
She reached for the bag in Sean’s hands, but Alyssa pulled it away, her smile never wavering. “I’m afraid that for the next few minutes, we’ll need to hold onto it for the police. I’ve already informed them, and they will need to inspect it for any possible evidence. After all, it’s only proper to follow the law, don’t you think?”
Betty’s face twisted into an expression of pure rage, but she held her tongue. There was no use in arguing anymore; she had lost this round. Instead, she shot one last venomous glare at Alyssa.
“Fine,” she spat, her voice dripping with disdain. “But I’m not done with this. I’ll make sure you regret this.”
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed off, her friends hastily following her. The crowd, now visibly relieved, began to disperse, some people whispering about the spectacle they had just witnessed.
Jasper watched Betty leave with a mix of disgust and curiosity. As soon as she was gone, he turned his attention back to Alyssa.
“You handled that well,” he remarked quietly, his tone almost begrudgingly admiring.
Alyssa met his gaze with a faint smile, though there was no warmth in it. “I only did what was necessary,” she replied coolly.
Jasper hesitated before taking a step closer to her. “Alice… I didn’t know you were so… capable,” he admitted, the words feeling strange on his tongue. “I never gave you enough credit.”
Alyssa glanced at him, her expression unreadable. “It’s not about credit, Jasper,” she said softly. “It’s about learning to stand on my own. I’ve had to learn that the hard way.”
Jasper felt a pang of guilt in his chest at her words. It was a reminder of how much he had taken her for granted, how he had never truly understood what she needed from him. And now, seeing her standing so confidently in front of him, it was clear that he had lost something precious.
“I—” he started, but he stopped himself. There was so much he wanted to say, but it all felt too late, too complicated. Instead, he just nodded, unsure of what to do next.
Alyssa, sensing his hesitation, gave him a curt nod in return. “If you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to,” she said, turning her back to him and walking toward the elevator. Her heels clicked against the marble floor as she made her way out of the lobby, leaving Jasper standing there, feeling both proud of her and deeply unsettled by the distance that had formed between them.
As the elevator doors closed, Jasper couldn’t help but feel that his ex-wife had just become someone entirely new—a person he no longer fully understood, and that realization gnawed at him, leaving him with a sense of regret he couldn’t shake.