Chapter 6

Jasmine was hospitalized for a few days, but Martin never showed up. He merely asked his assistant to send her a text, asking her to concentrate on getting better and report to work when she was fully recovered. She didn't push herself either. She was overworked, and she waited until she had healed completely and was fully rested before discharging herself from the hospital. During that time, the company chat group had been buzzing like crazy, talking about Martin and Alessa. He booked a theme park for a whole week to celebrate her birthday, and fireworks danced across the sky for three days on end. He took her to family banquets and gave her the bracelet that was exclusively reserved for his future wife. Martin also bought land, intending to transform it into a private ski resort. It was named after Alessa as well. Jasmine quietly read these texts, no longer feeling anything. After she came home from the hospital, she reported to work as usual, meticulous in everything she did. If some of the work matters involved Martin, she would ask his other assistants or her other colleagues to handle it. Her peaceful life lasted for a week before he called her again, asking her to bring him some documents. When she did what was asked, she intended to leave right away, but he called out to her. "I have to attend a meeting. Alessa doesn't like to eat her meals alone. So, you're going to stay here and keep her company." Jasmine's expression went stiff. She would've rejected him, but Alessa bossed her around out of habit. "I like prawns. Peel them for me." Martin closed the door to the study. Flat out of options, Jasmine bit her tongue and walked over to the dining table. After she was done peeling the prawn, Alessa asked a maid to bring over some chestnuts and pineapples, unpeeled. "I want some fruit after dinner. There are no tools here. You'll have to use your bare hands." Jasmine's heart sank when she saw the chestnut's hard husk and sharp thorns. Clearly, Alessa was going out of her way to torture her, and yet she had no choice but to do as she was told. After she peeled the chestnuts and pineapple, her hands were pricked by sharp thorns and stained with blood. Alessa wasn't done with her torture routine, though. She forced Jasmine to get soup from the kitchen. The soup was freshly made, scalding her hands red. Unable to bear the pain, her hands slipped, and the boiling soup spilled on her. Hot steam rose aggressively, and blisters quickly formed on her hands in seconds. The sharp, searing pain shot from her hands, and she had to bite her lips hard to stop herself from moaning painfully. Alessa watched on with glee as Jasmine slipped and fell to the floor. At the next second, the door to the study swung open. She immediately wiped the grin from her face and pretended to lecture Jasmine. "Martin told me you are very capable. So why can't you even bring me a bowl of soup? You even scalded my hand." Martin's heart was in his throat when he heard what she said. Storming over, he asked, "Are you hurt? Show me now. Is it painful?" Alessa showed him her hand, which turned red because she pinched it a second ago. Tears welled up in her eyes right on cue. "Some drops of searing soup spilled on my hand. I'm afraid it will leave a scar." "What's the matter with you? Alessa has been pampered since she was a little girl, and she hasn't been injured in any way. All you had to do was bring her some soup, yet you managed to scald her. Do I have to spell it out for you? Keep some distance while you…" Martin's expression darkened, and he couldn't help but lecture Jasmine a little. But he saw her injury and couldn't bring himself to reprimand her too harshly. All he could do was swoop Alessa up to get her wound treated. Before he walked out the door, he noticed that Jasmine was frozen in place. Deepening his voice, he called out to her, "Come with us to the hospital and get your wound treated as well." She had no choice but to fight the searing pain and get into his car. Martin slammed on the gas pedal, his car tearing through the street at breakneck speed. Alessa didn't want him to notice that she was just faking it, and she moaned painfully from time to time. Her voice broke his heart, and he kept turning sideways to check on her. He became so distracted that he didn't see a sports car racing toward him. With a thunderous crash, both cars rammed squarely into each other. The brutal momentum flung Jasmine into the door. Agonizing pain exploded from every inch of her body, sharp and merciless. Pools of blood gushed out from her wound, turning her vision completely red. She trembled uncontrollably as she fought to keep her eyes open, seeing Martin carrying Alessa out of the car. The wail of an ambulance drew closer by the second. In her daze, she could make out two urgent voices speaking. "Mister, this lady merely passed out from shock. The other lady in the backseat had a hemorrhage and more severe injuries. She might die if we don't get her to the hospital in time."