Jake's POV. I rolled my eyes as soon as I saw Gwen weeping. It was going to be a long day and I wondered how I could be free from this mess. "What is the problem honey?" I inquired and she burst into a fit of tears. This wasn't the kind of mental stress I wanted to deal with upon my arrival at home. It didn't make any sense to me that she was crying as though something had been stolen from her. "Will you just tell me what the problem really is so that I know how to help?" I inquired brashly. I was going through a lot from the office, adding her problems were only going to compound things. Gwen faced me and burst into tears again. I felt like going out of the house and resting in a hotel just to cool my head from all the stress of the day. My position was being threatened by that pitch Jasmine made. I didn't need to hear it verbally to know what was going on through those people's minds. The manager for one wasn't good at hiding his feelings. He sang her praises after she l
Jasmine's POV.I poked my head into Mr Blackwood's office and saw him bobbing his head lightly to a soft music playing in the background. It was one of Whitney Houston's classics."You can come in." He spoke and I smiled before walking in. We weren't able to have a conversation after his son left because I guess everyone was still riding the high of the tension Jake had caused between both of us. "How did your meeting with Gwen go?" He inquired and my eyes widened slightly. "You are stalking me now?" I inquired instead and pulled out a seat, sighing softly as I sat on the cushion. "This is a lovely sofa. I bet it's really expensive." I began, changing the subject. He shrugged, indicating that he had no business with the price of things, he only loved them and took them into his custody. "I think someone gifted me for the wedding and stuff." He spoke casually. Sometimes I forgot the presence of who I was. He was a very wealthy man who had everything going on for him except this sit
Jasmine's POV"Do we have everything set up?" Мг. Blackwood called from within the house and I nodded. I was still trying to understand his paranoia, we were supposed to go fishing to present a united front before our enemies. Rumors have been flying all around that we might have just been deceiving the world."I have everything set up. Are you sure that the boat is safe?" I countered his question."Of course, why would I want to endanger my life by going on a dangerous cruise?" He answered in a matter of fact tone. This was a trait of older men. They were risk averse.I was yet to be able to penetrate him which was quite disturbing. He had an impeccable self-control that had me second-guessing the fact that I had met him that night. It was almost like I was non-existent which while that should be a good thing, it rubbed off wrongly on me. I wasn't looking for his friendship or anything of the sort but I needed him to act like I existed. I sometimes felt like a tool in his hands to ge
Jasmine's POV.We walked towards the beast in the waters and I admired the way the waves beat upon the shore threatening to pull people under. Since it was a private beach, there were only a few people present and I appreciated that a lot more than having to face the crowd. "Are the equipment ready?" He inquired from a man who was at the dock. "Good morning Mr Blackwood. Such a pleasure to meet you after so long." He gushed and I squinted as the morning sun hit my face, burning it up "Is there anything you want to add to this?" Mr black with inquired from the man again. "Such a beautiful wife you have here. Not a lot of people have such an opportunity to be with a pretty damsel." He said and I shook my head in anger. Was it supposed to make any sense, especially when he was standing before a very important person. I expected that he would show some sign of decorum. "A beautiful wife not for you to stare at." Mr Blackwood answered promptly and I've never felt so proud than I was
Blackwood's POV. I watched her shut her eyes softly and wondered how she got such tough skin. She never wanted anyone to penetrate those walls that she had built for herself and sometimes I felt like shaking her to get information from her. She was secretive except for trying to get into Donovan's lair. No one would want to pass up a good woman such as this except for my stupid son. I was yet to understand how he would let her go. She complained about me being aloof but it was just a way of me protecting myself from being ripped like usual from a lot of girls who just saw me as a way of getting money.My phone rang and I winced at the sound because it was a bit too loud and I thought it was going to wake her up from her slumber. She looked so beautiful and I could almost imagine her belly filled with my child. I shook my head to get rid of those images that had refused to leave on their own. Why the hell would I even be planning a future with someone whom I was sure didn't have su
Jasmine's POV. I didn't know what I was expecting but this was totally far from it. As soon as I entered the yacht, I was greeted with the sight of a lot of men in the first dock. I subconsciously leaned into Mr Blackwood's arm and looked at him in betrayal. "You didn't tell me that we were going to be meeting new people. Not only one or two, almost 10 people." I spoke.Was this how this whole stuff was supposed to go?" I wondered. Having never experienced something like this in my entire life I was a bit spooked. "They are the crew members, but since we are going to be doing some live content and a lot of stuff just to make our union believable, it's good that they are present." He explained but that didn't suffice or calm my nerves from the first shock I had received without warning. I nodded and a few of the men removed their hats before bowing towards me in greeting. This was weird. We weren't from the royal family so it didn't make sense. "Why are they doing that? Is it part
Jasmine's POV.I lounged on the open part of the yacht as I watched the skies take a cloudy turn. It was probably my paranoia getting me to think dangerously but I was still a bit scared that something could go wrong despite having experts on this sail."You look troubled, don't tell me you are thinking about my son and the case you are about to present to the court." Mr Blackwood spoke but I refused to look up. I had other thoughts running through my mind and adding his wasn't going to tell me any good. "a lot of people think that certain things are because of them but it's not. I understand that you think my life revolves around your son but it's not the truth. I just want to experience nature and see everything that it has to offer me." I told him politely. "Do you, now?" He pulled out a seat and plopped on it gently while watching me. I refused to give him the audience he wanted because it wasn't going to do me any good. "Is there a particular reason for staring at me so hard?"
Jasmine's POV. The loud clicks of cameras irritated me more than anything else but I maintained my composure and kept on staring as though I was enjoying the phase, I couldn't phantom why they were doing this. I knew that I was not interested in this conversation that I smiled anyway."Tell me more about your husband. It's been all over the news that you are always by him, never letting him go and I think it's very beautiful." The reporter lied as we descended from the yacht. Could they even allow me to get into the island before coming with their fake love? "Yeah, a lot of people may have heard it but I would not stop telling anyone who cares to know. My husband is the best thing that happened to me and we are so much in love, we hope that people also experience what we share so that they can be happy in life."Mr blackwood's hand shot towards my shoulder and I leaned instinctively into his hold. They were trying to get us to speak. These weren't the people who were supposed to do
Jasmine's POV.Life had been good, especially after my step-sister, who had gone to change her face through plastic surgery and pretended to be another person so that she could just get closer to Mr blackwood and get rid of him, was thrown behind bars. Cross and Donovan, who were also working together, had infinite jail sentences. My stepmom was also caught while she was trying to cross the country and flung behind bars too. It made me happy that everything was finally falling into place. I wouldn't have been able to achieve all of this if Mr blackwood and I hadn't devised a means of catching this person in their traps. He walked in with my son on his shoulders. "You must be so happy to see your mother." He said and my son mewled despite not understanding a word his father said. "Hey baby, what are you doing up here alone? Your baby has pooped."I raised a brow, "so he is suddenly my baby and not yours?" I inquired, waiting for his response so that I knew how to answer him appropr
Jasmine's POV. "Exactly what you predicted is already coming to pass." Mr blackwood spoke into my ear causing me to be startled. Wasn't expecting him to show up anytime soon. "What is that?" I inquired from him after he kissed me. "How was work today?"He grinned like a Cheshire cat. "What?" I inquired again when he kept on grinning. "You are amazing. How would I have coped without you in my life?" He said sweetly. Now, whenever he started to praise me, I knew that there was a caveat attached. "Are you serious?" "Of course I am. You are the best thing that has happened to me in a long while. I don't think anyone has come close though." He replied and I smiled at him softly. He had a mission and I also wanted to find out. "I'm happy to announce to you that our suspicions were right." He said and I smiled at him. "I know what you are about to ask. You are about to ask what we are waiting for." "That's right! I thought we were supposed to prosecute immediately if we had substanti
Jasmine's POV. "We should go over to that aisle." Mr blackwood suggested which I decided to take. The usual brand of chocolate I loved to eat wasn't here. I didn't want to start searching for it in various stores. "Jasmine? Is that you, Jasmine?" A voice called and I turned. Squinting to see the face of the person who called my name. I recognized Cross. "Cross?" I asked the first time and he smiled. I could never forget that smile. "In flesh and blood." He said while stretching his arm and turning 360. "I thought you would never remember my face again. It's been what? Almost a decade. Wow, you look so beautiful. I can't almost imagine that you are standing before me. It's not supposed to be a bad thing but you understand what I mean. I am very... I guess what I'm saying is that you are beautiful. It's nice to run into you after a long while too." He said with a polite smile.I glanced at his ears. They were always long; I guess some things never changed, no matter if we filled th
Jasmine POV. Three months later, "Will you be done anytime soon I need to get out of this house before it's too late," I called from the doorway when Mr Blackwood was still washing up. He woke up late today. I had a meeting with GText Holdings and I needed to honor that invitation. I had chased this deal for a long time now, allowing it to slip off my fingers due to carelessness was the last thing I wanted in my life."You can go ahead I might not be joining you in the car today. I also want to speak to a few investors who have signified interests. When we are done we can converge at the store later today.” He also called from inside the bathroom. With everything that was being done, I was no longer feeling like something was missing. I knew that whatever I was looking for Mr blackwood was going to provide. It didn't necessarily mean money because both of us were well off. My heart kept flickering to Gwen and my stepmom. It seemed like they disappeared from the face of the Earth
Jasmine's POV. "With all the pieces of evidence before me, this is my judgment..." The judge said, and I held my breath. This was coming to be the determining factor of whether or not my father was going to get Justice. "I would have to permit Mrs Bailey on the grounds of bail. Although the evidence points to her as having some grudges against her husband, we cannot just convict somebody simply because of what another said." He replied, making me angry. There was no way he had not been bribed because the way he was something the case. "if you are not satisfied with my judgment you can seek redress." He said while looking directly into my eyes. I was going to seek one, "you permit a murderer to walk about simply because you have been paid?" I confronted him. He wasn't also above the law, so whenever things were not going the way they should, I had every right to confront him about it. "Do not think that I don't see everything that is going on here. You are only trying to wave atte
Jasmine's POV. Two weeks later, We were before the judge in the city Court and everyone kept on looking from her to me. "We begin this trial between Miss Jasmine and Miss Bailey because she, Miss Jasmine, feels that her stepmother might have a hand in her father's death." The court clerk said. I waited patiently for my turn. They all knew that I wasn't hasty when it came to situations like this as long as I knew what I was doing. My legal representative, barrister Lawson, stood beside me with a smile on his face, and that fueled my confidence in this case. "Barrister Lawson will be representing Miss Jasmine, while Barrister Damien will be representing Mrs. Bailey." The court clerk announced again. I wasn't worried about their announcements because I knew what I wanted to achieve. They could deceive everyone but not me. As long as I got my answers right, they would regret ever crossing me in their entire lives. That was exactly how I was going to play this game. "Do you swear th
Jasmine's POV. Drum rolls, now this was getting pretty interesting. "This is the joke of the century." Jake took the words out of my mouth but I knew that there was every tendency for this information to be true. Mr Blackwood stood with his hands akimbo, brooking no arguments. He wasn't going to repeat himself. "Exactly what you heard me say. I have tolerated your excesses and that's one of the reasons you have refused to learn your lessons. You would keep on going back and forth simply because you cannot take a rejection. Nothing is going to make me take you back into my company. I will send for DNA testing, and we will confirm the paternity if that's what you want." He said. Whoa, this was greater than I could ever imagine. Who would have thought that there was something fishy in this house and even Jake never knew this? Jake laughed warily. "you must be kidding. How can you tell me after all these years that you are not my father? Is this a way of you getting out of your respo
Jasmine's POV."You must be kidding me. Tell Jake to get off my property if he doesn't want me to descend on him. I built it with my sweat and blood, he doesn't have a part in it. The earlier he understands this the better for him." Mr Blackwood fired at the person on the other end of the phone. I was interested in knowing what was going on again. Was Jake still planning his shenanigans? I thought he had stopped all of this nonsense. Why, then, was he still making everyone edgy?""Is everything okay?" Mr. Blackwood looked up like he just remembered I was present. "Seriously, can you be on your own for a while, while I take care of something? I need to teach that bastard a lesson that he would never forget things his entire life. I do not want to stress you because I understand what is going on. I will drive you home if you want then go to the meeting." He explained yet I still didn't understand where he was coming from. I needed him to tell me more about Jake. "I'm coming with you
Jasmine's POV. Even the blind could tell that this was nothing but a lie, but I didn't want to talk about it. I was also careful with my words, but I didn't manage to land myself in trouble that I wouldn't be able to explain. If she said it was because she was looking for a way for my father's health, then I just needed to act like I believed which we both knew was a huge lie. I wasn't going to allow anyone to get to me when I could just stay away and pretend like I never heard from her.Mr Blackwood glanced in my direction to be sure that I wasn't going to go off. I smiled at him instead. These people were going to pay heavily for trying me. They wanted it to look like I was the problematic person when, in fact, they refused to do the right thing. It wasn't every time that one would engage such people. "My bad. I didn't know that you were so invested in my father's business; trust me, I would not have spoken to you in that manner." I pretended. My stepmother knew that I was only