Chapter 2

Jasmine never expected that the daughter of her stepmother, the one who had been "recuperating" abroad for years, would turn out to be Caesar's first love. God really had played a cruel joke on her. The next second, Sabrina walked toward her with a sweet smile and said, "Jasmine, I'm sorry. Did we wake you—" Before she could finish, Jasmine slammed the door shut in her face with a loud bang. "Jasmine! Do you have any manners at all?" Roderick roared from outside. "Clear out your room! Sabrina likes it, so this will be her room from now on!" Jasmine let out a cold laugh and went straight to the closet to start packing her suitcase. Outside the door, voices could be faintly heard. "Roderick, is Jasmine upset?" Sabrina's voice sounded sweet enough that it seemed honey dripped from it. "Don't worry about her. She's been spoiled since birth," Roderick replied. "But…" "Rest easy. She'll be off to Southmere soon. This house will be yours and your mother's." Jasmine's hand paused for a second, then her sneer deepened. She quickly booked a one-way ticket to Southmere for the end of the month and resumed packing. Half an hour later, she walked out of the room, dragging her suitcase. In the living room, Roderick, Elvira, and Sabrina were sitting on the couch watching TV. Paired with a spread of fruits and desserts on the table, they looked like a picture-perfect family. Jasmine didn't spare them a glance as she headed straight for the door. "Stop right there!" Roderick barked. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now? Don't forget your promise!" Jasmine didn't even bother turning to reply, "Relax. I said I'd do it, so I will. But for the next half month, I'm not staying in this house and getting disgusted." After that, she headed straight to the most expensive hotel in the city and booked a presidential suite. … In the days that followed, Jasmine went on a shopping spree. She purchased the most expensive wedding gown and spent a ton of money at auctions on antique jewelry as her wedding gift. Even if she was going to be married off as a bride, she would marry in style. Her phone vibrated nonstop in her bag, but Jasmine didn't check it until she had purchased her final diamond necklace. 38 missed calls—all from Roderick. The moment she swiped to answer, Roderick's furious voice exploded from the other end. "Are you out of your mind? You blew through three billion dollars in a day! Are you trying to bankrupt me?" "Why the worry?" Jasmine sneered. "Once I'm married, you'll be getting 50 billion dollars." "But that money hasn't arrived yet! At this rate, the company will go bankrupt tomorrow!" Jasmine laughed coldly once more. Exactly—she wanted Roderick to go bankrupt. She had long decided that she would have the Schuman family transfer the 50 billion dollars straight into her personal account after the wedding. At that point, she'd like to see if Sabrina and her homewrecker mother would still be so devoted to a broke old man. Did everyone think she was as foolish as her mother was, staying with Roderick when he had nothing, getting hospitalized and coughing up blood, and ending up being forced to jump off a building? At the thought of her mother, Jasmine felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her phone vibrated again. This time, it was a text from Caesar. "Why are you throwing a tantrum again? Why didn't you come to the office today?" Jasmine stared at the message for a long time. Over the past year, because Caesar was "disciplining" her, Jasmine had to report to the company almost every day. But now she was about to get married, so why should she bother letting him discipline her? She returned to the hotel with more than a dozen shopping bags, only to find her luggage piled up in the lobby. "What's going on?" she asked coldly. The receptionist explained awkwardly, "Ms. Booth, your card… has been declined. According to hotel policy…" Jasmine's phone buzzed at that moment, and a message from Roderick popped up. "Since you want to sever ties, then stop using my card. I've frozen all your accounts." Jasmine stared at the screen for a long time until her eyes burned. In the end, she only replied with, "Fine." Then, Jasmine dragged her luggage through the streets. Her flight wasn't until the end of the month, and she had nowhere to go now. Where would she live for the next half month? What would she eat? What would she use? Her suitcase was filled with wedding gowns and gifts—not a single item could be sold. As for lending money… She would rather sleep on the streets than bow her head to that circle of people just waiting to laugh at her downfall. The park bench nearby could barely pass for a bed, and just as Jasmine was setting down her luggage, a drunken man staggered over. "Hey, pretty lady, you all alone?" he leered. "Get lost!" Jasmine shouted. "Why so mean? Come keep me company…" Just as the sleazy man's hand touched her shoulder, Jasmine raised her hand and got ready to slap him when a shriek rang out. Caesar had appeared out of nowhere and twisted the man's wrist with a clean snap. Before Jasmine could even react, she was yanked into a car with her luggage and all. She struggled, twisting her body as she demanded, "Let me go!" Caesar grabbed her flailing wrist. "What are you fussing about this time?" He added in a low voice, "You're homeless, and you still won't come looking for me?"