The Last Guests of Winter

To humiliate me on purpose, Jasmine did not even start the negotiation right away. Instead, she ordered me to serve a drink for every elder in the room, treating me like a servant.

By the time I finished, she seemed to run out of ideas. Only then did she wave her hand dismissively and let me sit.

Her whole family sprawled across the biggest sofa, while I dragged over a small stool and sat on the other side of the table.

The divide between us could not have been clearer.

In three days, we would be separated by life and death. The thought made the corner of my mouth lift into an involuntary smile.

Jasmine's paternal aunt, Ruby, snapped me out of it with her sharp voice. "Look at him. Just imagining he gets to marry Jas, and he's already grinning like that."

Jasmine's maternal uncle, Nevin, let out a mocking laugh. "The so-called only heir of the Lewis Group? Doesn't look like much to me.

"For you to be worthy of our Jas, that's already reaching way above your level."

'Right, right. Me, the sole heir of the Lewis Group, marrying your scheming little princess is, somehow, my good fortune.' I kept the thought to myself.

In my previous life, I had been completely devoted to Jasmine. I treated her like someone untouchable, always respectful, always careful.

It was not until the world froze over that I found out the truth.

She had already been pregnant with her lover's child.

Accepting my pursuit had just been her way of finding a rich father for that baby.

Seeing that I did not argue back and still wore a smile, the Baker family grew even bolder. One after another, they kept talking over each other.

The topic stayed the same. Jasmine was out of my league, and I had simply gotten lucky to win her over.

They went on like that for about an hour before finally remembering that I, the supposed main character of today's meeting, was still sitting there.

Rhett cleared his throat and spoke first.

"Carson, you've been chasing Jas all these years. We've all seen it."

The mockery in his voice set off another round of laughter.

I kept my head lowered, quietly listening to that assembly line worker lecture me.

"We're not asking for much. Three million dollars. That's our condition.

"This house, well, the decoration is a bit shabby, and the location is kind of remote, but…"

Amid everyone's knowing looks, he continued, saying, "Well, it's still livable. We'll take this house.

"And those cars that picked us up earlier, why don't you arrange one for everyone here?"

In my mind, I gave Rhett the middle finger.

One car would cost 150,000 dollars. There were six of them. That was 900,000 in total.

'Do you really think your daughter is worth that much?' I thought.

Rhett dragged out his tone again, as if that made him sound more dignified.

"And another thing. If our family lives in this villa, what about our relatives?"

As soon as he said that, the room filled with eager agreement.

"Yeah, what about us?"

"We're getting old. It's a shame we don't even have a decent place to retire."

Inside, I sneered. 'You don't need to think that far ahead. In less than a week, you'll all starve to death in this mountain villa.'

With that thought, my smile deepened.

Rhett puffed out his chest and swept his gaze across the room like some kind of authority figure. Then, he raised a hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

"No need to rush. Carson, why don't you arrange one villa for Jas' aunt and her family and another for Jas' uncle and his family? What do you think?"

Listening to his outrageous demands, I nodded without hesitation.