Chapter 20
Jasmine pulled Joshua toward the exit.
right in fr
There was a display case with second handcrafted art pieces by renowned designers right in front of the boutique. When Sonia charged straight at Jasmine, Joshuasa hurriedly pulled her to the side, preventing her from being bumped into by Sonia
However, Sonia wasn’t as fortunate. She crashed right into the display case, sending the art pieces toppling to the ground. The delicate ar pieres shattered into pieres, and a large bung began to swell on her forehead.
The sales assistant nished over and treited, “These artworks are very
Desperate to avoid paying for the damages, Sonia pointed straight at jasmine. She pushed me! That’s why I bumped into it. Make her pay for it
Calvin arrived right at that moment. He found his sister on the ground and heard her accusation, so he immediately chastised Jasmine, “Look at what you’ve donel How could you bully Senia? Apologize to her right now!”
Jasmine didn’t even spare him a glance. She pointed to the surveillance cameras by the door and said, “Mr. Ford, If you’re not blind, we can check the footage.”
The sales assistant pulled up the surveillance footage, showing that Sorda had thrown herself at the display case, rendering Calvin speechless
The sales assistant then said, “The total value of these art pieces is 500 thousand dollars. How would you like to pay, Ms. Ford?”
Sonia looked at Calvin pitifully. The latter could only pull out his card and hand it to the sales assistant
Jasmine was in a
a good mood after seeing Calvin lose a lot of money. She led Joshus out of the boutique and said, “I didn’t find anything I liked in that store. Let’s checkout another one.
“We don’t need to buy a gown here. I have a friend in Flien. I’ll have him send one over for you,” he responded
Jasmine was surprised by his connections and wealth. “You really don’t have to go to such lengths, Mr. Sutton.”
Joshua insisted. “This is the least I can do siner you’re doing me a favor by attending the banquet. Let’s go look at shoes and jewelry.”
Meanwhile, Calvin paid for the damages and scolded Soma before leaving the boutique to search for Jasmine. He searched around and ultimately spotted her in a shoe boutique. There, he saw the man who had been with Jasmine earlier, kneeling to help her put on a pair of heels,
The scene was so intimate that it made Calvin feel as it something he owned was being taken from him. Enraged, he stormed forward, intending to shove jos
aside
Joshua
But before he could even touch Joshua, the latter noticed and dodged him. Calvin stumbled, nearly losing his balance. When he tumed around and met Joshua’s cold, piercing gaze, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.
Joshua seethed, “Mr. Ford, if you’re unfamiliar with the law, I’d be happy to enlighten you. According to the aggravated assault laws, intentionally causing harm to someone can result in up to three years in prison, detention, or supervised release. Both your sister’s actions and your attempted assault, though unsuccessful, could still lead to criminal charges.”
Calvin hadn’t expected Jasmine’s boyfriend to be so sharp–tongued. He took in Jasmine’s cold demeanor and realized she did not intend to speak up for him. “He’s slandering me! Aren’t you going to stand up for me?” he demanded.
Jasmine hadn’t been like this in the past. Back when Calvin’s legs were still healing, If any of the housekeepers dared to speak poorly of him in Ford Manor, she would immediately shut them down without a second thought.
at that time, she couldn’t stand seeing him suffer even the slightest grievance. He couldn’t help but wonder what had changed since then.
Jasmine looked at him as if he had grown a second head, “Mr. Sutton is post telling the truth. What’the issue?”
Calvin was pendered speechless. He shot daggers at jasmine before saying, “I need to have a word with you.”
Cradly, he wouldn’t leave her plone until he said his piece.
Hence, she told joshua, “I need to talk to him privately, Mr. Sutton. Please wait here for me. I’ll just be a moment.”
Josina glazerd at Calvin coldly but didn’t say a single word, allently conveying his agreement to wait for her.
Jasmine led Calvin out of the shoe boutique and stood near the entrance. “Hurry up anul get to the point,” she snapped.
once she calmed
Calvin took in her cold and emotionless expression and felt a tight knot in his chest. He thought jasmine was just throwing a tantrum and that o down, she would eventually return to him. He never imagined that she would really leave him.
However, he refused to accept this reality. He ran his hand through his hair and gottened his tone. “Jasmine ever since you left, I’ve realized I can’t live without
you
Jasmine cut him off, “Mr. Ford, please don’t tell me you suddenly realized that you’re in love with me and can’t live without me. Even you don’t believe that pomene, so please don’t try to fool me with it.
“Also, you don’t really care about me. You just can’t bear to lose the obedient, hard–working housekeeper who never cost you a dime!”
“Jasmine, do you really love to talk to me like that? Apart from being romantic, when have Levet treated you bully in the last three year?
His candor made her laugh out lood. She looked at coldly, as though he were complete stranger “When did you ever treat me well? Tell me, Mr. Ford, do you even remember my birthday? My favorite food? The things I’m allergic to ? Did you ever care about any of that i
Calvin was shumped. It felt like his heart was being squeezed by a large hand, making it hard for him to breathe
Het tone grew colder as she said, “You’ve never done anything for me, ya hum cats you say you’ve been good to me? Don’t come lucking for me again, Mr. Ford never want to ser your face again!”
Chapter 20
22
Jasmine tumed to leave, but Calvin seized her hand. “If you wanted me to care about you, why didn’t you just say so? If you had told me, I would’ve tried to—” Instinctively, she shook off his hand. Without saying a single word, she pulled a wet wipe from her bag and meticulously wiped her hand clean before tossing it into the nearby trash can
The gesture felt like a slap across Calvin’s face. He couldn’t believe that she was that repulsed by him. He vehemently denied it, thinking about how she used to behave in the past.
She said. “I did tell you, Mr. Ford. But you never cared. You only ever care about yourself. You and Olivia are a match made in heaven. Please just stay together and leave me alone, okay?”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Jasmine, I never thought about marrying Olivia. No one will ever replace you as my wife!”
Jasmine realized that there was no getting through to him. “Whether you marry Olivia or not is none of my business. I won’t go back to being your wife. I just want to lead a peaceful life. I hope you won’t bother me from now on.” With that, she went back inside the shoe boutique.
The thought of saying another word to Calvin made her feel sick.
Right then, Calvin’s phone rang. He picked it up, and Olivia’s voice came through, panicked, “Cal, I paid a visit to your mom, but she doesn’t want to see me. She even locked over the soup I made for her. 1–I don’t know what to do anymore.”
In the past, Calvin’s heart would have ached for Olivia. But now, all he felt was annoyance. He said,
He said, “If my mom doesn’t want to see you, then you shouldn’t show your face in front of her anymore. Go home, Olivia.”
Olivia could tell that he was annoyed, and though it bothered her, she obediently responded, “I understand. I’ll head back now, CL”
you. Could you visit her?1
After hanging up, Calvin entered the shoe boutique and looked at Jasmine, his expression weary. “Mom’s sick. She’s always been good to you. remember she loves the clam chowder you make. Could you-”
“No, I can’t”
