Chapter 4

Jasmine was standing nearby quietly as she listened to the banquet guests showering Alessa with compliments. The latter walked over smugly and looked at her with disdain. "Great job with the party, but you still overlooked something. You forgot about the carpet in the main hall, and my dress is dirty. I expect you to make up for this mistake by lifting the hem of my dress." Jasmine lowered her head and responded calmly, "Please give me a minute. There are carpets backstage. I'll get someone to lay it out now." Alessa's face immediately darkened when Jasmine rejected her. As it happened, Martin saw the displeasure on her face the moment he entered the hall, and he quickly came over. "What's the matter?" "Martin, I didn't want my dress to get dirty, and I asked your assistant to lift the hem, but she just wouldn't do it. Is she holding a grudge against me because of what happened before?" Martin saw the pitiful look on Alessa's face, and he immediately pulled her into his arms, gazing at Jasmine grimly. "All she's asking is for you to lift the hem of her dress. It is your duty to do so, and you've been working as an assistant for a long time now. Is it that difficult of an ask?" The banquet guests around them also muttered among themselves, their tones sarcastic. "How dare the assistant give Ms. Shaughnessy attitude? Who does she think she is?" "Not everyone can be treated the same way. Ms. Shaughnessy is meant to be doted on her whole life. It's an honor to be lifting the hem of her dress. That assistant really doesn't know what's good for her." Hearing the sarcastic remarks, Jasmine's gaze darkened. She shoved the misery deep into her heart, bent down, and lifted the hem of Alessa's dress. Looping her arm around Martin's, Alessa strolled back and forth between the first floor and the second floor, deliberately torturing Jasmine. Her dress was very heavy because of all the gems embedded in it. Jasmine's hand was sore from lifting it, but she had no choice but to bear with it. Alessa was far from done, though. She ordered someone to pour glasses of wine before gesturing at Jasmine, beckoning her. "I don't want to drink any alcohol today, but my friends came to my party, and I'd hate to turn them down. So, you're going to drink all of these on my behalf." "I'm allergic to alcohol, and I—" "Martin, she's rejecting me again!" Jasmine was about to explain, but Alessa was already pouting and acting spoiled. Martin was also aware that she was allergic to alcohol, but he would have to take Alessa's side if he wanted to keep her happy. "Don't you have your medication? Take it before you deal with the alcohol. You'll probably be fine." His tone left no room for discussion, and Jasmine's heart sank. Her face grew pale as she quietly took her medication out and swallowed some of it. Soon, the banquet guests came forward with a wine glass in their hands, chatting with Alessa. Jasmine grabbed the glass and poured the wine down her throat. She emptied one glass after another, and her stomach churned violently as a strong sense of nausea overwhelmed her. Her head was swimming, and her vision blurred. Jasmine's world was spinning endlessly when she heard Alessa screaming. "Martin, the necklace you gave me is gone. Your assistant is the only person who has gotten close to me before. She must've stolen it!" Jasmine sobered up for a short while when she heard the blatant and baseless accusation. "Mr. Quinlan, I didn't do it." Martin looked at Alessa's reddened eyes before turning his gaze to Jasmine, who was completely drunk, and his face darkened. "There were a lot of people around here earlier. Perhaps it's just lost. How about we search the hall first?" Alessa wouldn't have any of it. She flung his hand away fiercely and asked, "Who else could it be? I'm this anxious because the necklace is a gift from you, and yet you're defending her. If you're not going to pat her down, you can forget about seeing me ever again!" She walked away in a huff as she spoke. Martin frantically held her in his arms and summoned his bodyguard in an icy voice. At the next second, several bodyguards pinned Jasmine to the floor and tore her clothes apart. A loud buzzing filled her head as she struggled desperately, but she was overpowered by their brute strength. Her blouse was torn into strips, and her skirt was shredded. Blue and purple bruises covered her skin, and her body was stained with blood. Waves of despair and humiliation overwhelmed her, spurring her to cry out desperately for help. "No! I didn't do it. It wasn't me!" Yet, her anguished cries only provoked them to be more brutal. The bodyguards clutched her bra and were about to rip it off her body. Martin couldn't stand it anymore. Just as he was about to stop them, several waiting staff ran over, shouting, "We found it. The necklace fell on the stairs!" In a matter of a second, everyone in the main hall turned their gaze to the dazzling diamond necklace in the waiting staff's hand. Martin's furrowed eyebrows relaxed a little. With a wave of his hand, he signaled the bodyguards to back off. Then, he took the necklace and put it on Alessa, his tone softer than before. "They found it. Don't be mad, okay?" Alessa finally stopped crying and smiled. She looked at Jasmine, who lay on the floor miserably, looped her arms around his hand, and started acting spoiled again. "It's a good thing they found it. I would've been heartbroken for a long time otherwise. But your assistant suffered a lot because of this incident. Should I apologize to her?" Everyone in the main hall looked at Jasmine instantly, whose clothes were torn to shreds. Faced with those malicious gazes, she couldn't do anything but curl up into a fetal position, hugging herself desperately. Just as it felt like she was drowning in a bottomless pit of sorrow, she heard Martin's cold, indifferent voice. "You don't have to apologize. She's just an assistant. A little humiliation is nothing."