"Erik, what are you doing?" A chilly voice came from the door.Erik's face froze.Blake walked in from outside. His handsome face carried a hint of cool detachment.Yasmin subconsciously felt guilty, but she couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was because Erik had just held her hand, and she wasn't sure if Blake had seen it."Didn't I make myself clear enough this afternoon?" Blake's gaze fell on Erik.Erik stayed silent for a moment, then left without saying anything.Yasmin watched him leave and felt confused."Done watching?" Blake's voice was cold.Yasmin snapped back to reality and asked, "What did you say to him this afternoon?""Nothing much."Blake didn't want to tell her much of what happened. He sat in the swivel chair and pulled her into a hug. His legs were long and robust.Yasmin felt awkward sitting on his lap. "Stop it. Our office has glass walls. The employees downstairs can see.""I'm just hugging you. I'm not doing anything."Indeed, he wasn't doing anything
The waitress noted their food order and left the private room.Not long after, Giselle walked into the room and called out, "Blake." Wearing a pink skirt, she said with a smile, "I was at a business meeting next door. After hearing that you're here, I decided to swing by."Giselle then took a seat.Yasmin glanced at Giselle, noticing the pink skirt that resembled her usual outfit.Blake had seemingly noticed it as well. He furrowed his brows. "Why are you wearing pink?""I'm just trying it out. Does it look good on me?" Giselle asked expectantly."You're getting old. I don't think it fits you," Blake replied indifferently.Yasmin could hardly hold her laughter. Giselle was Blake's classmate, and she was 30 years old. It wasn't particularly unusual for her not to be married at her age, but she was no longer considered young.Upon hearing this remark, the smile on Giselle's face stiffened. She complained flirtatiously, "You shouldn't ask a woman for her age, you know? How c
"This child may not be Blake's, but what about the next one?" Giselle inched closer to Yasmin. Her gaze turned hostile. "Yasmin, put yourself in my shoes. After getting pregnant, your first love asked you to give birth to the child, claiming that he would be responsible for it."But he runs away from the responsibility a few months later. What would you do?"Yasmin's face turned ashen.Giselle uttered softly, "But Blake's a responsible man. I believe he wouldn't give up on the child. I can prove it to you if you don't trust me."Yasmin didn't believe the sly Giselle. She reminded herself not to trust Giselle and proceeded to leave.However, Giselle refused to let her go. Her eyes turned cold, and she grabbed her wrist. "Yasmin, stay here. Let me prove to you how much Blake cares for me and my child.""Let go of me!" Yasmin tried to shake her off.Yasmin was aware that Giselle was pregnant. Getting too close to her would get her into trouble—but it was too late. Giselle held
Summer gestured and stopped the crowd. "Sorry, everyone. Taking photos of others without consent is a violation of rights."On the other hand, Ivan was already taking Yasmin out of the mall. They made their way to the exit swiftly.When Yasmin finally looked up, she saw a wide back. By then, Ivan had led her into his car, closing the windows to shut off the outside noises."What happened?" Ivan asked Yasmin. Upon noticing her shuddering, he draped a thin blanket over her.Soon after, Yasmin started to feel warmer. She looked at Ivan and uttered, "Thank you." Ivan asked, "Why did the crowd gather around you?"Yasmin replied dejectedly, "They thought I pushed Giselle to the floor. Everyone was taking photos of me."Yasmin was aware that pushing a pregnant lady to the floor would be sensational news.Ivan frowned. "Did you push her?""No, she fell on her own." Yasmin was afraid that Ivan wouldn't believe her, so she asked, "Do you trust me?"Ivan stared at Yasmin quietly. She s
Blake withdrew his hand without hesitation. He faced the doctor and asked, "What's wrong with her?""She was probably just startled," came the doctor's reply."Blake, I don't want to make judgments on Yasmin's character, but she pushed me just now. I was terrified…" Giselle had tears welling up in her eyes as she complained.She feared Blake would brush off the matter if she didn't mention it again. She really wanted him to defend her on this."I will clear things up after looking into this incident." Blake glanced at her before instructing Malcolm to begin investigations.Only after things had calmed down did Blake realize Yasmin hadn't accompanied him to the hospital.Blake frowned, wanting to make a call to Yasmin. However, Giselle yelled in pain again. "Blake, my belly is hurting! Can you soothe it for me?"The obstetrician warned Blake, "You shouldn't touch her belly now."Seeing that there were other occupants in the ward, Giselle knew she couldn't pull any tricks. In the
Beyond Newphoria Bay was the back of a mountain that offered a scenic view, in which lay a few rows of graves. One of them was the grave of Yasmin's mother—Mia Jennings.Somehow, Yasmin suddenly had a strong urge to visit her mom.So, Ivan silently continued driving onward.Half an hour later, they arrived at the back of the mountain where they were met by rows of white tombstones."Thanks for taking me here," Yasmin said before walking up the mountain. Ivan wanted to leave, but he knew that it would be dangerous for a lady to climb a mountain alone at night. So, he pursed his lips, got out of the car, and followed Yasmin.By then, Yasmin had already walked far ahead of him. When Ivan found Yasmin, she was standing before a tombstone with a tinge of melancholy. But for some reason, Yasmin and the scenery beyond her made for a very captivating and beautiful image. Then, Ivan saw the tombstone. He was shocked when he saw name written on it, and he felt his blood pumping. "
Yasmin put her hands into Ivan's, saying, "Thank you.""Please call me Ivo.""Alright, Ivo." Yasmin carefully walked behind him.Suddenly, a tree on their left fell."Be careful." Ivan quickly grabbed Yasmin into his arms, startling her.Then, several trees fell down consecutively, blocking their way back.At a glance, Yasmin could see a dense forest stretched out before her."What should we do?" she asked worriedly.Ivan observed his surroundings. "We need to head back. A storm may hit this area tonight, so staying here may jeopardize our safety."Yasmin nodded in agreement."Can you do it?" Ivan asked.Yasmin shook her head and said, "It won't be a problem, Ivan. I'm quite nimble.""Great. Hold my hands. This will be safer," Ivan suggested."Sure." Yasmin agreed.They then held hands and squeezed through under the fallen trees with Ivan turning behind to check on her from time to time. "Are you alright?" he asked."Yup." Yasmin was agile and traversed without much tr
Meanwhile at the hospital, Ivan had just gotten his injury dressed and was now laying on the bed with an intravenous infusion, sleeping soundly. Despite having thrown up blood and undergoing many tests, the doctors still failed to identify an issue.The magnetic resonance imaging report would only be available the next day too.So, Yasmin stayed with Ivan in the hospital. Since she finally had free time now, she decided to check her phone.She then discovered that she had several missed calls from Blake. But since she didn't feel like calling him back, she put away her phone.Yasmin then rested her face on the bedside, about to sleep. But suddenly, the ward door was pushed open, and Blake entered with Malcolm following behind him. Blake was wearing a black coat and exuded an elegant yet cold air. Yasmin was afraid that Blake might wake Ivan up. So, upon noticing his presence, she gestured to him to be quiet before sitting up from her chair and walking out.However, Blake