Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

"I'm sorry, Jonah ..." Alyssa murmured, nestled in Jonah's embrace.
Jonah, overwhelmed by guilt, shook his head and pulled her into a deep hug. "Nonsense, my princess. You've done nothing
wrong. No need for apologies. It's my fault for not giving you enough attention. I should be sorry to you."
She gave him a wry smile. Finally, she realized her naivete. She had thought she could shoulder the pain on her own to protect
her love and her family from guilt and worry.
Still, all her efforts went down the drain when the truth came out.
Jonah held her close, stealing a glance at Jasper's pale face before turning away. "I've stationed our bodyguards around the
castle. No one from the Harper family can leave until this matter has been resolved."
Jasper's last glimmer of hope was shattered under Jonah's gaze. Feeling like a sinner, he thought he had poured all his love into
Alyssa, only to discover he had deeply wounded her. He did not deserve to be with her. He did not even deserve to hold any
hope.
The onlookers, however, were interested in staying and watching the drama. Cornelius lost his calm at that moment. Pointing a
finger at Jonah, he growled, "Jonah Taylor, you're unlawfully detaining us! I can sue you for that."
"Go ahead and sue me. Zoe Harper violated Alyssa's privacy, illicitly obtaining and publicizing her private information. We Taylors
could sue you for the damages caused by your malicious actions!"
Sean had now changed into a suit and dashed into the hall, looking energized as if he was never injured. Worried he might
cause a stir, he had covered his left eye injury with a gauze. Despite his injury, he hurried over upon hearing about Alyssa's
plight.

Although he knew Jonah would protect Alyssa, he still wished to do something for her, a decision fully supported by Tatiana.
"Sean ." Alyssa's eyes shimmered, and she choked back tears.
"Tsk tsk. I can't believe that Ms. Zoe is ignorant of the law," another voice rang in the hall.
Julien strolled up to Sean and snickered at Zoe. "Actually, you're not ignorant, just a reckless fool who thought she had
everything under control. You went about it with the stupidest method—exposing other's privacy. You've shown your fucking
character for the world to see and drag yourself down with it. I've never seen something as idiotic as that."
Jonah frowned gently, a faint smile playing on his lips. Julien hadn't been in Solana City long. Yet, he appeared to have picked
up the essence of cursing in the local language.
"In my opinion, we can skip the court session. I bet the scene was captured on surveillance footage and the phones of some of
our guests here. Once the video gets online, Ms. Zoe's reputation will be irreparable. She'd do better hiding in shame than facing
the immense embarrassment."
Winston was taken aback by Mandy's nephew, Julien. Not only that, he was surprised that Julien sided with the Taylors. He
couldn't help but marvel at Julien's sharp tongue.
"D-Do you take us Harpers as a doormat? We're not!" Cornelius, aflame with rage, tapped his walking stick. He commanded,
"Summon the Harper bodyguards! We'll fight our way out of this castle if we must!"
"Gosh, Grandpa, are you senile or too angry to think straight?" Landon yawned lazily. "I'm in charge of the family bodyguards.
They can't make a move without my orders."