Blake frowned and approached Yasmin. Her eyes were shut. There was a sort of childlike quality to her face as she slept, but it didn't take away from her beauty. Her naturally pink and moist lips were puckered slightly. They were as tempting as water to a parched man in the desert.Blake's anger dissipated at this sight. He bent down to lift her into his arms. At the warmth, Yasmin subconsciously buried her head against his neck. She wanted more of it.Blake looked down at her. His gaze was too deep for others to tell what he was thinking. Then, he placed her on the bed. He was about to leave when he heard her mumble, "You're a jerk, Mr. B …"Blake paused. He rested a hand on her face and caressed it. She was deeply asleep but subconsciously sucked on his finger.His breathing hitched. "Yasmin?"Was she awake?She didn't respond. Instead, she turned on her side and held his hand to her cheek. She looked wholly dependent on him.Blake lowered his head and kissed her.Yasmin felt
Yasmin was dead at heart, and her eyes were dull. "I'm not throwing a tantrum, Blake. I'm being serious. I've been stuck in a loveless marriage for two years, and I've had enough."Over more than 700 days, she'd gone from hopeful to despondent. She was tired of living like this."Have you forgotten that your father was the one who sent you to my bed?" Blake's eyes darkened. "He went to such lengths to force me to marry you, yet you're now demanding a divorce. Do you even hear yourself?"Go ahead and throw whatever tantrum you want, but don't take things too far. Men hate it when women are too fussy, you know."Indeed, Yasmin's father, Stuart Starr, had sent her to Blake's bed. At the time, something had gone wrong with Stuart's company. He foresaw himself ending up behind bars and had been afraid of his enemies going after Yasmin.So, he'd orchestrated for Yasmin to end up in bed with Blake. Then, he'd informed the paparazzi and the Ford family about this, forcing Blake to marry Y
"Regretting it already? Is your love that cheap? Has it faded into nothingness after just two years?" Blake mocked. He stared at Yasmin.He had her pinned to the bed. Her pale face was devoid of emotion. "Yes, I'm regretting it. I won't love you anymore."She wasn't worthy of him, so she was giving up.Blake's expression darkened. He growled, "Fine, then. Since you don't love me anymore, that's all the more reason for me not to let you off the hook. I want you to stay by my side for the rest of your life to atone for your sins. That'll be the perfect way to torment you until the day you die."Yasmin was stunned. "Are we really unforgivable just because my father tricked you?""Yes. It's the one thing I hate the most, so you have to stay by my side for the rest of your life. You don't have a choice in this." With that, Blake stormed out and slammed the door behind him.Yasmin sat up, looking desolate. She hadn't expected Blake to insist that she dedicate her life to him as a form
Yasmin felt that Giselle was only saying these things to Blake, so she didn't respond. Sure enough, Blake said comfortingly, "It's been hard on you over the years.""It was nothing." Giselle smiled and turned the turntable, bringing the salad bowl to a stop before her. She put some of it on Blake's plate. "You can't keep skipping your greens like this, Blake. There's a vinaigrette on it. I'm sure it tastes great. Here, try some."Blake glanced at Yasmin. She was eating her breakfast calmly. She didn't seem to be bothered by their interactions."Okay." Blake ate some salad.A trace of mockery flitted past Yasmin's eyes. She distinctly remembered him being germaphobic. In the past, to make him eat his greens, she would get up early to make him vegetable rolls. She would say with a bright smile, "Have some vegetable rolls before you leave, Mr. B."I got up early to make these for you, you know! There are vegetables inside, but there's also salmon. It tastes really good. You have to have a
The question took Yasmin aback. She looked at Giselle. "What?""You like Blake, right? I heard about it from some other people." Giselle glanced at Blake, seemingly observing his reaction.He ate calmly while Yasmin smiled self-deprecatingly. Yasmin said, "Nope.""No?" Giselle didn't really believe her. Over the past few days, she'd heard many things about their relationship. She'd heard about how Yasmin had pursued Blake like mad in the past. She would go everywhere he went.Blake's friends had mockingly called her Blake's little lapdog. It bothered Giselle."I was young back then and didn't know any better. I was just messing around." Yasmin smiled faintly.It was as if she'd been under a spell at the time. She wasn't satisfied with just being married to Blake on paper. She would deliberately wander around before calling Blake and telling him she was lost. She would ask him to take her home.Sometimes, Blake would come in person. Sometimes, he wouldn't. But if he didn't come,
In truth, Yasmin had always been a bit of a rebel. She'd only acted obediently because of her love for Blake.Now, however, she wanted to be herself.Blake sneered. "You'll have to find a place to stay before you do that. I'd like to see if anyone would dare rent you anything without my permission."Yasmin faltered. "Are you going to restrict my freedom?""You're not in the right condition to be going anywhere now. Stay at home." Blake's expression softened. "Wait until next week, at least. Shut that stupid studio of yours down and report to Windmere Group's secretariat. You'll be my personal secretary."It was Yasmin's turn to sneer. "You know very well I'm a design student, yet you want me to be a secretary?"He knew she'd always dreamed of being a designer. Yes, it was her fault for setting up the studio without discussing it with him beforehand. But it was only because she could never reach him.Eunice had told her that they only had to fork out two million dollars each for
"Mrs. Ford went to her studio," Malcolm said.Blake pursed his lips. "Was everything okay with her stomach?""She looked fine to me."Blake hummed softly in acknowledgment before looking back down at his work. He didn't say anything else.Malcolm suddenly recalled what Yasmin had asked him to do and handed the divorce agreement to Blake. "Mr. Ford, Mrs. Ford asked me to pass this to you."Blake didn't look up. "Read it aloud.""Yes, sir." Malcolm flipped the document open. He faltered when he saw the words "divorce agreement" on it. He didn't dare to read it."Why aren't you reading it?" Blake asked.Malcolm had no choice but to do as told. "Mrs. Ford wants to get a divorce, sir, the reason being … some impairments with your sexual function. Mrs. Ford claims that you're unable to satisfy her basic needs …"Blake's expression darkened. "What the hell is that?""It's a divorce agreement that Mrs. Ford wants you to sign." Malcolm didn't even dare to breathe loudly. Had he just l
"Whatever it is, I've had enough of you, you bastard!" Yasmin hung up.Blake was positively furious as he looked at the dark screen of his phone. After a moment, he received several messages in succession. They were all records of purchases—Yasmin had bought all sorts of furniture, and more messages were coming in.Blake thought about the contents of the divorce agreement, and his expression turned steely. He said to Malcolm, "Find out whether she went to Newphoria Bay today.""Yes, sir." Malcolm got right on it. A moment later, he returned. "Mrs. Ford did indeed drop by the villa at Newphoria Bay, sir. She also hired a few cleaners to clean the place up."It looked like she was really intending to move in there.Blake's fingers tightened around the divorce agreement, crumpling it. Two years ago, Stuart's company had gotten into a tight spot. He'd had to sell everything he owned, including the villa at Newphoria Bay.Yasmin had begged Blake to buy the villa. He never expected it