Yasmin felt uneasy and squirmed under his touch. "I can undress myself."Blake didn't force her. He simply stood there and watched her intently.Amid the rising steam of the heated bath water, Yasmin felt awkward. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the rectangular bathtub.Blake joined her soon after. He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. His body was hot to the touch. It made Yasmin jump in surprise. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed."I'm washing you," he murmured seductively near her ear."No," Yasmin protested. She grabbed his hand in alarm. Her eyes misted as she said, "I need to talk to you.""What is it?""My birthday is in three days. I want to go out with Eunice and the others to celebrate.""Just the two of us wouldn't work?" Blake preferred a more intimate celebration.However, Yasmin countered, "You've been so busy lately, you're hardly ever home. If I wait for you, who knows how late it will be before I can blo
The next day eventually arrived. It was Yasmin's birthday today.Blake had to attend a morning meeting at the company. He would only be able to join her birthday party in the evening after wrapping up the project launch."Sorry, I have some company matters to deal with during the day today. I'll come to see you tonight." Blake apologized, feeling guilty."No worries." Yasmin flashed a kind smile. "You can just come over when you're done, it's not like you won't make it.""Mm." Blake looked down at her with deep eyes. "Once today's launch is over, I'll take you on a vacation tomorrow.""Okay," Yasmin replied gently. "Go to work now."He kissed her lips and walked out of the house. Yasmin saw him off until they reached the yard.She watched him as his Rolls-Royce Ghost disappeared from view, then she withdrew his gaze. She steadily walked inside the villa.As guilty as she felt, this was her only way to escape him. She went upstairs and took a nap to refresh herself. In the eve
Tyler replied promptly, "Understood."Blake seethed with anger as he demanded, "Find her and bring her back to me."Tyler said, "Yes, Mr. Ford."After ending the call, Blake dialed the nursing home to confirm Stuart's whereabouts.Over there, they were unaware of what had just happened. A medical staff member, Violet Middleton said, "Mr. Starr is sleeping, Mr. Ford. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred."His voice turned cold as he instructed, "Go to the ward and check.""Alright." Violet went to the Intensive Care Unit to check. She pushed the door open and discovered that Stuart was missing.Violet hesitated. Then, she shakily informed Blake, "Mr. Ford, Mr. Starr is gone."Sure enough, Stuart was no longer there.Blake's face turned deathly cold. "How did you lose him?""I'm sorry, Mr. Ford. I don't know what happened. I'll check the surveillance footage," Violet said in a panic.Upon reviewing the surveillance footage, she discovered that two doctors had arrived that even
One of the bodyguards picked the crystal up and handed it over to Ivan. "Mr. Burke, it seems to be an energy crystal.""An energy crystal?" Ivan accepted it, running his fingers over its contours. "Isn't this the energy crystal Yasmin gave you? Back then, Yasmin gave me one too."The chains restraining Blake rattled just then. His eyes were gleaming with a hint of menace as if he could snatch the energy crystal despite his bound limbs.Ivan noticed his agitation and smiled faintly. He tossed the energy crystal aside. "Destroy this thing for me."At his command, Blake struggled harder. "You, give it back to me."Ivan found amusement in his struggle. He crouched to look down at Blake. He smirked. "The always high and mighty Mr. Ford has now fallen. You don't deserve anything from Yasmin. If not for your interference, Yasmin and I would have been together long ago."Ivan deliberately provoked him."I don't believe you," Blake said."You don't believe me? Do you know whose fault
One of Ivan's men shouted, "Mr. Burke, it's dangerous. We have to retreat!"Regardless of the danger, Ivan was reluctant to leave. He was determined to kill Blake today to avenge Maeve.But he had lost his chance. Blake's men had arrived with a dozen armored vehicles, fully armed and in great numbers.If he hesitated for a moment, one of his bodyguards would go down.Amid the chaos, Malcolm finally reached Blake. He used his gun to break the chains binding Blake.Blake sat on the ground, his face dark and cold. He spoke with a deadly calm, "Kill him.""Yes, Mr. Ford."The two groups clashed violently, and gunfire filled the air. The sounds of bullets whizzing by echoed ceaselessly.In the end, Ivan's men were overwhelmed and began retreating. Some even escaped through the windows—Ivan included."Don't let him get away!" At this moment, Blake's expression was icy and menacing. He ignored the pain in his body—perhaps because the pain in his heart was worse. Then, he grabbed hi
Ivan looked at Yasmin's face and asked Cedar Webster, the doctor, "How is she?""Ms. Starr's fever isn't subsiding. There seems to be inflammation in her body," Cedar replied.Ivan's face turned grimly pale. "Get a better doctor over here," he ordered.Cedar was escorted out by Dwight Barlow, the housekeeper. Then, Wendy entered to say, "Mr. Burke, you're still recovering from your gunshot wound. You should rest. I'll stay here with Ms. Starr."Ivan stared at Yasmin's face at that moment.There was a bullet in his arm, and Blake had been the one to put it there.After being shot, he quickly boarded a plane back to Merania. Stanton City was dominated by Blake's influence and was not suitable for a long stay."How are things at Stanton City?" Ivan asked.Wendy replied, "There's turmoil brewing in Windmere Group. Blake Ford is busy dealing with Mr. Neil, so he has no time to look for Ms. Starr."Perhaps it wasn't just turmoil but a complete loss of hope.That day, he deliberat
Ivan admitted, "I didn't just say nothing. I lied to Blake, telling him you and I were together and truly in love. Only then did he agree to let you go.""Why did you say that, Ivo?" Yasmin asked."If I hadn't said that, do you think he would have let you go?" Ivan smiled after he spoke. His eyes were cold yet tinged with amusement. He was once again adorning his gold-rimmed glasses.Seeing his smile, Yasmin felt awkward for blaming him. After all, he had helped her a lot in recent times.After a moment, she asked, "Ivo, is everything okay at Windmere Group?""No worries, their minor issues have been resolved."Yasmin trusted Ivan completely and didn't question him further.In the following days, she continued recovering at Ivan's villa. Ivan visited her whenever he had time, though he was often busy.Sometimes, Yasmin would hear the sound of a piano being played. She listened quietly, thinking Ivan was quite talented with the instrument.After a week, Yasmin finally regained
"Ivo, you've already helped me so much. I really feel bad about troubling you further," Yasmin said."It feels awkward when you speak to me like this." Ivan's tone was calm and steady. "I want to help you on my own accord, not because you're asking me to."Yasmin caught his gaze. She found his eyes oddly profound, and she dared not meet them.Since arriving in Merania, it seemed like Ivan had changed in some way. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.… Two days later, Ivan unexpectedly came into her room after knocking on the door. He said he wanted to take her somewhere."Where are we going?" Yasmin was sketching in her room at the time. She had already resumed her work and felt inexplicably relaxed.Ivan stood at the doorway. He looked at her intently as he said, "I'll tell you on the way.""Oh," Yasmin replied. She set aside her sketches and left the room with him.They eventually got into the car together.Wendy wasn't with them today. As such, Ivan sat himse