Niall stared stiffly after Jasmine's retreating back.

She'd slapped him.

Jasmine Chetney, the woman who always tiptoed around him, had slapped him with all her strength.

He could clearly recall the look in her eyes at that moment—filled not with anger, but the sort of despair that one felt after going through immense suffering and humiliation.

And when she'd turned to leave, he'd seen her eyes redden, yet she'd stubbornly refused to cry.

Why?

He'd just wanted to get her to calm down and not make a scene so that things didn't get out of hand.

That kiss… At the time, he'd thought that it was the fastest, most direct way of reining her in.

He thought it was what she'd always wanted—to get close to him and touch him—so why had she instead become even angrier after he kissed her?

Kendra's voice rang out timidly from the auditorium entrance. "Mr. Shepherd?"

She stuck her head out the

Two days went by without any word from Jasmine.

Kendra had come to see Niall several times, but he'd brushed her off each time.

He became even quieter than before, and there was so much tension surrounding him that even Bennett didn't dare approach him lightly.

He buried himself in work, trying to numb himself through experiments and large volumes of data, but he would always catch his thoughts drifting uncontrollably.

Just when his anxiety and inexplicable feeling of emptiness were at their most intense, he inadvertently caught sight of the calendar in the corner on his desk.

He was caught off guard by the sight of the red circle over tomorrow's date, labeled "wedding day".

That's right. Tomorrow was supposed to be the day of his and Jasmine's wedding.

He hadn't felt much back when he first decided on this date. He'd just been following procedure.

He'd even found it troublesome 

Niall's words pierced Jasmine's heart like a knife.

She felt embarrassed and ashamed in the face of the disdain and dawning realization in the audience's eyes.

Assistant work? Documentation? Lack of core capabilities?

He'd dismissed her worth before their audience and trampled all over her dignity, all for the sake of restoring another woman's reputation and paving the way for her.

The smug gleam in Kendra's eyes was the straw that broke the camel's back, and Jasmine felt her last bit of sanity slip away.

Blood roared in her ears, her anger and grief merging into a compulsive force unlike anything she'd felt before.

She shot from her seat and made a beeline toward the stage.

Yet, just as she took her first step onto the stage, someone grabbed her wrist forcefully.

Niall strode down the steps and caught her wrist in a grip tight enough that her bones seemed to creak.

"Let go!" she yelled, her voice shaking with anger, as she struggled against his hold.

Niall didn't even spare her a glance. Instead, he nodded lightly toward the restless audience and said, "Sorry, my assistant is just here to double-check some details with me."

Then, he practically forced her away from the auditorium's stage, ignoring her struggles.

The door slammed shut behind them, cutting off all outside noise and leaving only the two of them under the dim lighting.

Jasmine vehemently shook off his hand. There was already a clear red handprint around her wrist.

She glared at him with red-rimmed eyes, her chest heaving. "You've basically reduced me to some useless errand runner in everyone's eyes for Kendra's sake, Niall. What exactly am I to you?"

Her voice came out sounding choked, but she didn't allow herself to cry.

Niall gazed silently at her. The lighting in the corridor casting his face in deep shadow, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

Just as Jasmine thought he would continue to brush her off with those excuses of his, he suddenly took a step forward.

He braced one hand against the wall next to her ear and used his other to tilt her chin up.

Then, he lowered his head and kissed her without warning.

The kiss was brief, dry, and completely devoid of passion and lust.

Jasmine froze, her mind going completely blank and her blood turning to ice.

Niall backed off slightly and looked down to see her speechless with shock.

He swallowed and asked, "Now… can you cool off and promise not to make a fuss anymore?"

Jasmine's eyes widened, and she stared disbelievingly at the face hovering inches from her own.

She'd pursued his affections for ten years and imagined a life together with him countless times. She'd even agreed to that engagement born out of guilt.

She once desperately longed for his touch, but now, it was under such circumstances that he finally gave her this long-anticipated kiss—to shut her up and prevent her from ruining Kendra's important moment.

Humiliation washed over her like a wave, making her feel a hundred times worse than when she'd been disparaged in public.

She slapped Niall across the face with all her strength, hard enough that her palm felt numb.

Niall's head snapped to the side, a clear handprint quickly appearing on his face.

He looked stunned, as if he hadn't expected her to hit him at all.

Her tears finally started streaming uncontrollably down her face.

"Did you think I made such a fuss just for this? You truly disgust me, Niall Shepherd," she said through gritted teeth, her voice shaking terribly.

Niall was rooted to the spot, momentarily at a loss for words. He met Jasmine's thoroughly disappointed gaze, his cheek burning with pain.

She turned away, opened the door, and left.

She neither returned to the auditorium nor made another attempt to clarify the truth.

She felt that there was no longer any meaning to doing so.

The lighting in the corridor dazzled her.

She vehemently wiped away her tears, then headed straight back to the lab. Once there, she turned on the computer and logged into the system.

Without hesitation, she selected all the data related to the project and deleted them permanently.

Even if she was going to leave, she wasn't going to let Kendra get away with academic fraud.

A few hours later, she stood at the airport's security checkpoint.

When it was announced that the boarding gate was open, she walked through the gate without a backward glance, dragging her simple suitcase behind her.

The plane soared skyward, and thick clouds could be seen drifting outside the window.

Jasmine blacklisted Niall's number and blocked him on all social media accounts.

She was personally bringing an end to their ten-year-long relationship.

Niall stared stiffly after Jasmine's retreating back.

She'd slapped him.

Jasmine Chetney, the woman who always tiptoed around him, had slapped him with all her strength.

He could clearly recall the look in her eyes at that moment—filled not with anger, but the sort of despair that one felt after going through immense suffering and humiliation.

And when she'd turned to leave, he'd seen her eyes redden, yet she'd stubbornly refused to cry.

Why?

He'd just wanted to get her to calm down and not make a scene so that things didn't get out of hand.

That kiss… At the time, he'd thought that it was the fastest, most direct way of reining her in.

He thought it was what she'd always wanted—to get close to him and touch him—so why had she instead become even angrier after he kissed her?

Kendra's voice rang out timidly from the auditorium entrance. "Mr. Shepherd?"

She stuck her head out the door, her eyes were still rimmed with red. "Is… Is everything alright outside? Is Ms. Chetney…"

Ni

Chapter 10