The private investigator, Cole Massey, immediately said, "Mr. Ford, I wasn't photographing you.""Is that so?" Blake chuckled, his tone indifferent. "Give me his camera."Tyler snatched the camera and handed it to Blake, who opened it up and saw the photos. Obviously, the photos were of him and Yasmin.Blake sneered. "Were you really not photographing me?"Cole was so frightened that he was sweating. His voice trembled as he said, "Mr. Ford, I'm just trying to make a living. It was your mother who gave me some money to follow Ms. Starr…""Besides my mother, who else hired you?""N-No one else…""If you don't tell the truth, I'll break one of your legs."Hearing this, Cole was terrified and began to tremble. "Lizzie also paid me to inform your mother immediately if anything happened.""Just as I thought." Blake's expression was unreadable as he pocketed Cole's camera. "I'm taking your camera. Go back and tell my mother the full story and ask her to compensate you for the camera
"What does he want you to tell me?" Annalise prompted.Cole glanced at Lizzie, then braced himself and said, "Ms. Lizzie also paid me to follow Ms. Starr. She wanted me to keep an eye on her and report any movements to you immediately…"Lizzie's expression changed, and she angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever ask you to do that?""Ms. Lizzie, please don't make it hard for me. Mr. Ford said if I didn't tell Mrs. Ford the truth, he'd break one of my legs…" Cole kept his head down.Lizzie's expression turned extremely unpleasant.Annalise asked her, "Lizzie, did you also hire Mr. Massey to follow them?"Lizzie's face turned pale, and she explained softly, "Aunt Anna, you asked me to try pursuing Blake last time, but he pushed me away and went to Yasmin. I was just too upset, so I did this…"Annalise looked at Lizzie. She was exceptionally beautiful, and her eyes were starting to well up with tears.Annalise couldn't bear to blame her anymore and said,
As such, Yasmin was stuck with Blake whether she liked it or not.Yasmin did not take a bath immediately after entering the bathroom. Instead, she spaced out while sitting on the toilet.Blake hovered outside the bathroom. When he did not hear the sound of running water after a while, he walked toward the bathroom and opened the door. He let out a sigh when he saw that Yasmin had fallen asleep on the toilet.He gently picked her drunken form up and took off her clothes, then set her down inside the bathtub. Having eased her into a sitting position, he grabbed the showerhead and proceeded to wash her.Yasmin woke up mid-shower. Her gaze fell on the man before her, then on her naked body. She sobered up immediately and quickly covered her chest with her hands.Blake smirked at this. "Don't bother. I've already seen everything."Yasmin's face darkened. "I didn't ask you to bathe me.""Who did you expect to bathe you in your sorry, drunken state?" he retorted, not that he would ha
Yasmin stiffened at the sudden movement and turned to look at Blake in bewilderment. "What are you doing?""You're sleeping in my arms tonight," Blake said in a hushed tone.A humorless smile tugged at her lips. "Be reasonable, will you? I've already agreed to share your bed. What more do you want? Why must you cross the line and push my buttons?""I'm not the one doing the pushing here," he growled. "Even after you agreed to sleep in my bed, you pulled the covers over your head and sank so close to the edge you could've fallen over. Are you trying to tell me you find me repulsive through your actions?"Yasmin retorted sharply, "Are you going to argue that what you're doing to me is not repulsive and that you don't deserve my hatred?"She doubted anyone in their right mind would tolerate such brutish coercion. She couldn't understand why Blake couldn't respect her boundaries after she had made it clear that she didn't want to be with him.She even told him that they would never w
Blake leaned over and kissed Yasmin's damp hair, murmuring hoarsely, "It's almost daybreak. Get some sleep."His scent overwhelmed her senses. She looked like she had just recalled something, and in the next moment, her stomach churned. Without warning, she leaned over the side of the bed and hurled.She threw up once, twice—only for her to retch again.Blake's eyes widened at the sight of this. He looked around for his phone, and upon finding it, made a call to the doctor.Joel showed up moments later with the therapist in tow, at which point Blake was holding Yasmin's limp figure in his arms. She was quiet and seemingly lifeless, akin to that of a porcelain doll.Joel froze as Blake ordered, "Tend to her."With that, Blake left.The therapist was the one who inspected Yasmin's injuries. When she lifted Yasmin's shirt and found purplish-red marks imprinted on the latter's skin, she gasped. She immediately told Joel about this, who in turn frowned and headed out the door.Bla
Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened as night fell. Upon returning home, Blake went upstairs to find Yasmin sketching in the bedroom with her back facing the door. She seemed engrossed in her work.Blake leaned against the doorway and watched her for a while. At that moment, Mary came up with the dinner tray. Noticing her, Blake offered, "Here, I'll bring the tray in."Mary handed the tray to him. He brought it into the room and prompted gently, "Time for dinner, Yaz."Yasmin turned around and eyed him stonily. "Just leave it there."Blake said nothing as he set the tray down. He then walked over to her work table and watched her sketch with a tender look in his eyes.She felt her skin crawl under his gaze, and she couldn't work with him breathing down her neck. She turned her face to the side and snapped, "You can go now."Yasmin's mood had improved over the last few days since Blake started sleeping in his study. She appreciated the peace that came with his absence.
Yasmin sneered. She knew as well as Blake did that the bodyguards would not be protecting her so much as they would be monitoring her every move.Blake added, "You'll be working from home from now on. You're allowed to visit your father once a week, but that's about it. A life like this doesn't seem too bad to me."This was the arrangement he was happiest with. He could watch over her while she worked from home and keep her from harm. He was certain that Annalise would move on after things on Stuart's end had been resolved.Blake had ignored Yasmin's need for autonomy and freedom in favor of his proposition. She scowled and spat, "No.""Why not?" he pressed. "If you stay here, I can protect you at all times.""I already told you that you were the reason I was in any real danger in the first place! I'll be fine once we go our separate ways." She would be free, too.Blake made no reply. After a long beat of silence, he repeated, "This is for the best."Yasmin stared at him incredu
Yasmin asked, "And what way is that?""A way to save both you and your father from Blake, but I'll need your full cooperation, okay?" Ivan paused before adding, "I need you to tell me honestly, Yasmin—do you want to be with Blake?""Not anymore," she answered after a moment of thought. Reality had proven that she and Blake would never work out. They were like two broken puzzle pieces that could not be fixed or glued together by force.She had grown tired of this relationship. They were better off separated instead of being trapped in this constant tug-of-war.Upon hearing this, Ivan said, "Your birthday is in a week. If you want to leave him, that's your best chance."Yasmin figured Ivan was suggesting that she escape again. She shook her head. "Ivo, there's no use in running. Blake has his men watching me and my father like hawks. No matter where we go, he'll hunt us down and drag us back.""Under normal circumstances, your chances of getting away are slim to none," Ivan said sl