Here's another one 🥰 Now I'm off to write the chaps of my other book. You're free to come and try it too:) XOXO
49"W-what are you doing?" Jasmine pulled her foot back, staring at the maid, Mari, with dumbstruck eyes."Sorry, miss, if that startled you. I was just... Massaging your feet." She said with a flicker of her lashes while Jasmine's mouth hung open.She knew where she was but waking up to find a young woman massaging your feet was a bit too much. She wasn't a VIP guest— just a normal scarred and wronged individual who was rescued by her boss.Jasmine tried to sit straight, nevertheless, the pain in her abdomen stalled her movement. She gritted her teeth as she also sensed an undeniable tautness in her limbs. It was as if she hadn't moved in years and lack of mobility had left her body with rigidity.Seeing her struggle to get up, Mari beamed helpfully as she came to Jasmine's help."Don't exert pressure on yourself, Miss. You've been laying in one position for three days now, it's going to hurt if you suddenly try to move!"Three days? Jasmine stared at Mari.She looked around her in th
50Jasmine's eyes widened! She was about to go down when a hand came around her waist and pulled her back. Jasmine hit a hard chest before a deep growl echoed in her ears. When she looked up, her eyes met two pools of darkness. She blinked her lashes, composing herself from the shock of fall and began to contemplate her surrounding. "Woman, why are you bent on ending your life?" She heard. Kyle was standing holding her in his arms... Tightly. His eyebrows were drawn together in disappointment. A scowl was on his lips while the veins around his neck throbbed dangerously. He had been so happy to hear from Mari that his guess had gained her senses. He couldn't stay back at office and decided to come and see her. The last three days worried him badly. He was scared for her. While her stab wound was healing, her fever wouldn't go down. His concern had increased so much that he stayed in her room to take care of her the first two nights all by himself. He stayed awake, touching her for
51"You're my guest for as long as you are here. You won't have to worry about anything. Mari is also going to keep you company so you don't feel lonely." He glanced over his left shoulder at Mari who was standing in the corner. She had an unrecognizably teasing look on her face. Jasmine ignored her as she looked back at Kyle. "I still don't understand why you're doing this for me. You do understand that by saving me you've already compensated me for my loss, don't you?" "I just..." Kyle raised his brows casually. "I just want to do it. Do you mind it?" Jasmine shook her head. "I'm getting vip treatment. Why would I mind?" "Keep that attitude. I like it." He said with a look that could have floored any woman, thought Jasmine. "Hey, I still don't know your name." Kyle added. "Neither do I!" Jasmine lied. "Well, I'm Kyle. Nice to meet you, miss..." "Jessica." Jasmine gave him a small smile, hating the fact that she had to lie to him. It hurt her to deceive him by giving him a
1Jasmine wiped the tear about to fall from the corner of her left eye as she looked forward. That's what she was going to do after the experience she had today— look ahead of her. She fisted her hands to her sides, watching as impatient vehicles zoomed past her on the busy road. The black and white strips of the zebra crossing made her temples ache. The same black and white dots started blinking and throbbing on the border of her vision. She felt the smooth texture of the parchment she was holding burn in her closed palm— it was the gift she had prepared for her husband. Pain tore through her as the smoothness of the paper turned into unbearable heat. Her hand shook, but she didn't let her grip loosen or more tears fall. 'It's useless to cry on a man who compared my womb to a barren land!' She reminded herself. However, his words triggered emotions she was battling to keep buried in. Tears blurred her vision as her emotions rose up through her like a tide. Jasmine couldn't help b
2When Jasmine stirred back to her senses, she found herself on a hospital bed. The back of her left hand was covered with an IV needle. She tried to move when a man's emotionless voice shook her to the core."Don't move! You just had a miscarriage."The words skipped her heartbeats. Her breathing came to a halt as her throat closed up. Jasmine wanted to cry but her tears had dried up.She sat rigidly like a model used in art studios for painting. Her mouth was sealed tight and her cheeks drained of color. Although the disclosure of the miscarriage weighed down on her, she didn't feel a single ounce of remorse. Miscarriage. For some women, 'miscarriage' was a word filled with trauma and pain. Women who couldn't get pregnant even after trying a hundred times, doing a hundred things, prayed for a miracle to happen to get pregnant. To such women, the mere mention of 'miscarriage' would bring overwhelming anxiety and trauma. But then there were some women who didn't want to do anything
3"You already wasted three hours of mine. Now be quick and tell me how much you want." Kyle's scrutiny seared into her flesh, hot and insulting and agonizing. He was barely keeping his unbridled anger in control because the woman looked pathetic with all the bandages around her right arm, head and that pitiful blue bruise on the corner of her mouth from falling on her face after getting hit by his car. Otherwise he had lost his sanity the minute he regarded the piece of paper in her grip that she had been holding when she was struck by his car. Kyle looked at the woman and felt disgust brimming within him. There was no doubt the woman jumped in front of his car to demand more money. Ultimately her plan was something else! She probably wanted to use the baby in her womb— which he suspected didn't belong to him; after all, a dozen women like her visited him at his mansion, office, and where not, just to claim that he impregnated them— too bad for her that her plan backfired becaus
4The check was lifted again as he calmly spoke, "If you can't think of a sum, I'll make it easy for you. How about 1,00,000 dollars? Is that enough?" "Get out before I stamp your face with my foot." Jasmine rasped. Her audacity amazed Kyle. He had never seen a woman persist so much. Although he encountered many gold-diggers, they happily lowered their masks of naivety once he presented a blank check to them. This woman seemed like a skillful player. Maybe she needed more money. Fine. He thought as he tore another check and filled 5,00,000 in it. "Now, is it enough? It should be. You better stop that act and take it, girl. I don't have much time to waste on you. I have a meeting." Jasmine never felt so humiliated in her life before. Although her husband's treason was a hard slap on her face, it wasn't as hurtful as this. She just lost her baby after losing the mirage of a happy married life she lived, and now this man was carving more painful slits on her heart. "Just who exac
5Kyle stayed in the ward while a team of doctor and two nurses took care of the woman. He watched as they cleaned the dry blood from the back of her hand that had bled from removing the IV pipe and secured it with a bandage. He felt a sting when the doctor pierced her other hand with a new cannula to continue providing her fluids- the hand with a temporary plaster. Now as he reflected back on his harsh conversation with the woman, contrition weighed down on him. Her words echoed in his mind, causing his temples to ache. The baby wasn't his and the woman hadn't really jumped in front of his car to get money from him. That reminded him of the letter he had retrieved from her closed fingers while bringing her to the hospital. Kyle dug into his pocket for the letter. The paper was warm pink, with lots of tiny dark pink hearts scattered all over it. His shoulders stiffened as he reread every word of the letter unhurriedly, like he had all the time in the world. Dear Daddy,Congratulat
51"You're my guest for as long as you are here. You won't have to worry about anything. Mari is also going to keep you company so you don't feel lonely." He glanced over his left shoulder at Mari who was standing in the corner. She had an unrecognizably teasing look on her face. Jasmine ignored her as she looked back at Kyle. "I still don't understand why you're doing this for me. You do understand that by saving me you've already compensated me for my loss, don't you?" "I just..." Kyle raised his brows casually. "I just want to do it. Do you mind it?" Jasmine shook her head. "I'm getting vip treatment. Why would I mind?" "Keep that attitude. I like it." He said with a look that could have floored any woman, thought Jasmine. "Hey, I still don't know your name." Kyle added. "Neither do I!" Jasmine lied. "Well, I'm Kyle. Nice to meet you, miss..." "Jessica." Jasmine gave him a small smile, hating the fact that she had to lie to him. It hurt her to deceive him by giving him a
50Jasmine's eyes widened! She was about to go down when a hand came around her waist and pulled her back. Jasmine hit a hard chest before a deep growl echoed in her ears. When she looked up, her eyes met two pools of darkness. She blinked her lashes, composing herself from the shock of fall and began to contemplate her surrounding. "Woman, why are you bent on ending your life?" She heard. Kyle was standing holding her in his arms... Tightly. His eyebrows were drawn together in disappointment. A scowl was on his lips while the veins around his neck throbbed dangerously. He had been so happy to hear from Mari that his guess had gained her senses. He couldn't stay back at office and decided to come and see her. The last three days worried him badly. He was scared for her. While her stab wound was healing, her fever wouldn't go down. His concern had increased so much that he stayed in her room to take care of her the first two nights all by himself. He stayed awake, touching her for
49"W-what are you doing?" Jasmine pulled her foot back, staring at the maid, Mari, with dumbstruck eyes."Sorry, miss, if that startled you. I was just... Massaging your feet." She said with a flicker of her lashes while Jasmine's mouth hung open.She knew where she was but waking up to find a young woman massaging your feet was a bit too much. She wasn't a VIP guest— just a normal scarred and wronged individual who was rescued by her boss.Jasmine tried to sit straight, nevertheless, the pain in her abdomen stalled her movement. She gritted her teeth as she also sensed an undeniable tautness in her limbs. It was as if she hadn't moved in years and lack of mobility had left her body with rigidity.Seeing her struggle to get up, Mari beamed helpfully as she came to Jasmine's help."Don't exert pressure on yourself, Miss. You've been laying in one position for three days now, it's going to hurt if you suddenly try to move!"Three days? Jasmine stared at Mari.She looked around her in th
48"Kyle... It's n-not what you think. I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Lila stammered. She was caught red-handed. Her mind was blank and she couldn't form a sentence, let alone lie to defend herself."Explain? You're trying to drench her even though you know she's burning! What's wrong with you?" Kyle pushed her aside. It was done with gentleness but to Lila it was like a forceful shove. "I'm not lying, Kyle. There's something you don't know and I—" "Stop pretending, Lila! I saw you, alright. You would have dumped cold water all over her if I didn't come. Are you insane?" Kyle moved Jasmine to the other side and away from the wetness. He fetched towels from the restroom and rubbed them on the mattress to clean it. On the other hand, Lila sweated profusely. She felt tears scorching in the back of her eyes. For decades she maintained her mask of politeness in front of him, but now it was going to blow off over a small thing she wasn't even intending to do with full wickedness. It was
47Mari scooted away from the door to avoid getting caught by the evil woman inside. Lila wasn't a nice woman. Her character matched the saying: Good looks don't necessarily mean a good character. She just had a nice body and pretty face whereas on the inside she was more evil than Medusa— and she was obsessed with her boss like Sherkhan was obsessed with Mowgli in Jungle Book. It wasn't a nice obsession though! She was insecure and didn't try to hide her emotions. Lila treated other women poorly as if she had the right to. Mari knew all this because she had a nightmarish experience with her. On the day she was hired, Lila was in the house. She had been utterly humble in front of Kyle when Mari had come. But the moment he left, Lila grabbed her by the hair and pinned her to the floor. "You look young and your skin is so soft. It would be a shame having a dirty burn scar on it! If you don't want it on your face, you better keep your eyes down and never go to Kyle's room unnecessari
46This woman here, nevertheless, was a battered and diminished version of that woman. Kyle sighed as he ambled to the washroom to find something to fetch water. He was looking inside when Mari knocked on the door and came in. He peeked out of the door over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows at her in question as if asking what it is! "Doctor George said that it's common to develop fever after such wounds. This is the body's natural way to fight any virus, fungi or other infection causing germs to keep the wound safe, and it results in rising temperatures." Mari said, word-to-word as the doctor told her. Kyle was relieved, but another issue was at hand— what to do now? Mari had an answer to that as well. She smiled as she read through her boss' expression and informed, "Doctor George said that we should put a cold water cloth on her forehead and wipe her body to bring the temperature down." She averted her eyes to her pocket from which she presented a piece of paper, "... And he
44Jasmine felt an unbearable burning pain inside her. It felt like she was thrown into a brazen bull. She felt trapped, suffering, and burning with a heartbreak which couldn't be reversed. Her body was heating up, her back drenching in sweat, and her organs squeezing under the weight of the discovery she just made.Her heart pounded in rage and pain from Vince's deceit."It's not even worth ten dollars? And here I thought I was really lucky to have it! I flaunted this ring so many times and it's not even real." She laughed as anger at Vince's conspiracy burned with vengeance in her chest."How many more times am I going to find out you lied and trapped me in a fake marriage? What other lies are still hiding in the shadows?"She was talking to herself. Kyle felt his heart thud at the look of extreme hurt on her face. She looked like a woman who loved her husband deeply. A wife who worshipped her husband without wanting anything in return.Seeing her features grow pale and her eyes dr
44Jasmine's lungs ached as all the oxygen was punched out of them by the doctor's words.'Don't give a reaction. Don't give a reaction. He won't know.' She kept telling herself that but she forgot that she was alone in a room with a doctor.His fingers moved with ease and gently on her stomach. They were light weight as if the man had long years of knowledge with wounds. He applied some cool liquid and her pain lessened a little bit. The sting was there... But eventually with each wipe by his gentle fingers, it occurred to become even lesser."You know, I've encountered many girls like you before— anxious and scared. So it's not like I don't know when they're not pretending and when they are really unconscious. But if you want to make me believe that... I'll stay quiet." He spoke gently, his voice carrying the warmth of a knowing father who knew his daughter was hiding stuff from him to not anger him."Kyle is a nice boy. I have known him since he was teenager. He can get rough and in
43Jasmine's POV"What's wrong, sir?" The new man asked."She's trying to run away. Help me hold her down and ask someone to call George back." I felt two more arms on my shoulders and knees.They were holding me down on the bed."We must get her under control before she causes trouble." I screamed after hearing those words.It couldn't get any worse. I was being held down by two men! I wasn't even dressed appropriately and the fear of getting forced by them further assaulted me.I used all my strength to scream, causing my ribs to rattle. My abdomen burned from the impact of the scream, and the blur before my vision darkened until I could see nothing but blackness. I hadn't fainted though... Just momentarily blank.But I could hear their conversation."Di