"What?!"
"What do you mean Lisa ran away for good to her boyfriend?" Eric asked, his voice sharp with disbelief.
"I thought we had an agreement on my son, Richmond, getting married to her, to tighten our friendship and build a stronger empire together," Eric added, frustration clear in every word.
"Did you inform her about this? About the risks involved behind her decision?" Eric continued, firing question after question, his irritation growing with every passing moment.
"My son obeys me, listens, and does whatever I say to please me without questioning me," Eric added firmly.
"This is all your fault… You spoiled her too much, gave her no boundaries. Now see where it has led us," Eric continued, shaking his head in exasperation.
Richard and Eric kept talking for hours, but the conversation landed nowhere. Nothing seemed to offer a positive solution for getting Lisa back.
"Yes… I've got an idea," Eric said suddenly, snapping his fingers.
"Let's pay him off. Boys like this tend to love money a lot. I guess with this, he'll stay away," Eric suggested, a cunning smile spreading across his face.
"You think that will work?" Richard asked, his voice heavy with doubt.
"Yes, it will… I'm certain," Eric concluded, nodding confidently.
Eric sent a few of his trusted men to track Jasper and find out where he lived. After several attempts, they finally located him. They forced him out of his house and into their van.
At that time, Lisa had gone to visit a close friend of hers.
"Oh… so this is you," Richard said as Jasper was tied to a chair.
"You are the one who is behind my daughter's decision to neglect her responsibility," Richard continued.
"I'll offer you whatever you want, with the assurance you'll flee and never return. Understood?" Richard added.
"Yes… yes, sir… I'll do as you say," Jasper pleaded, desperate to be released.
Jasper was handed a bag full of money. He grabbed it without hesitation and ran out.
Eric and Richmond were disgusted at how cheap he was, though they weren't surprised.
"I told you," Eric said.
"You sure did," Richard added.
Jasper returned home to find Lisa already back.
"Where have you been?" Lisa asked.
"I went to grab some stuff," he replied.
"Is that what you are holding? Let me see," she asked.
"No…" Jasper hurriedly responded.
"This isn't mine, and it would be bad if we opened it," he said.
"Okay…" she added, letting it go.
Later that evening, as Lisa slept peacefully, Jasper kept thinking about what to do with the money. His thoughts were filled with plans to relocate, yet something within him wanted more.
"What if I don't go? What if I stay with her?" Jasper kept questioning himself, contemplating whether he could get more money if he didn't vanish as agreed with Richard and Eric.
Jasper concluded he wasn't going to leave but rather stay.
He got a bigger and better house and moved in with Lisa.
"Where did you get the money to have this?" Lisa asked, concerned, knowing fully well that Jasper's salary wouldn't have been enough to afford it.
"It's not mine… it belonged to my grandmother," he said.
"We are staying here for a while. I thought you'd be more comfortable here," he added.
"Oh yes… it's bigger and beautiful… I like it here," Lisa said with a smile.
Eric and Richard kept waiting for Lisa to come back, but as the days passed, she never did.
"Are you sure Lisa will come back?" Richard asked Eric, growing uncomfortable.
"Relax, she'll come," Eric said.
"I'm sure she is trying to swallow the pain of Jasper leaving her without saying anything," he added.
"Yeah, right… I didn't even think of that. I'll give her time then," Richard concluded as they sipped their wine.