"Dad, what are we going to do now?" Richmond asked, his voice tight with worry.
"Time is not on our side. Why don't we find another man who is close to Mr. Richard's wealth to partner with?" he suggested, trying to sound hopeful.
"No, son… there's no one close to Richard," Eric replied firmly. "He's smarter, hardworking, and well-connected. I can't let him slip away from me."
"But Dad… we are under pressure. Our debts keep increasing, sales are dropping, and we may lose everything if we don't act fast," Richmond insisted, fear rising in his voice.
"I know… I know…" Eric muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Richard is a very close friend to me. I'll try every means to convince him."
Eric's company was already standing on shaky ground. Mismanagement and bad decisions had dragged it down, and now the weight of his failures pushed him into desperation. His only hope was to join forces with Richard, a partnership strong enough to save everything he had left.
But Richard wasn't a man who helped just anybody. The only way to secure that partnership was simple and risky:
Richmond had to marry Lisa.
Eric invited Richard over for dinner to talk things through.
"So… what are your plans now?" Eric asked as they ate, trying to sound calm, though he was nervous inside.
"Honestly, I'm clueless," Richard sighed. "I've tried everything I can to bring my daughter back, but she doesn't want to come home. I don't want to force her… it'll only push her further away."
He paused, staring into his glass. "I love my daughter dearly. I'll be patient."
Richard took a long breath.
"I know she'll return soon. Not now… but soon. Jasper isn't someone to be trusted. He will definitely give her a reason to come back home."
Eric nodded slowly, pretending to agree. Deep down, he wasn't satisfied at all but he stayed quiet. He didn't want to ruin years of friendship or expose his true motives.
After Richard left, Eric turned to his son immediately.
"We need to act fast. We have no time," he said, his voice low and serious.
Days passed, and Jasper grew wings; bigger, darker, and heavier than Lisa ever expected.
He started coming home late, drunk, cold, and distant.
He ignored her concerns.
He treated her like she no longer mattered.
One morning, Lisa couldn't take it anymore.
"We need to talk," she said, standing in front of him, her voice shaking with emotion.
"Did I do something wrong? Something I don't know about?" she asked, searching his face.
"You've changed completely. You barely talk to me anymore," she added, her eyes clouded with confusion.
Jasper sat there, cold and uninterested. He didn't respond. He didn't even look at her.
"I'm talking to you!!!" Lisa shouted, her voice breaking.
Jasper finally turned to her, irritation darkening his eyes.
"Can't you see I'm tired?" he snapped, anger hitting her like a slap.
Lisa's heart sank as fear crept in. She couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
She began rethinking her decision to choose Jasper over everything she had. But every time she tried to see through his actions or considered leaving him, he would suddenly become gentle again; acting sweet, apologizing, giving her empty excuses that barely made sense.
And because she still loved him deeply, Lisa stayed.
But Jasper continued acting strange.
He breadcrumbed her; giving small drops of affection to keep her from leaving, then pulling away again.
Slowly, Lisa began losing trust.
She started focusing more on herself, even though her heart refused to let go.
She still loved him… and that love kept her from walking away, even when everything inside her was breaking.