Chapter 8

Jasmine was immediately stunned when she heard what Nora said, but she quickly pulled herself together. Martin might've turned the whole city upside down searching for her blood match, but he merely did it because he didn't want her to die. If he had to choose between her and Alessa, he would've saved Alessa in a heartbeat. Jasmine would no longer have any illusions about him. So, she spent her last few days in Brindlea lying on the hospital bed, recovering. The nurses occasionally brought up the VIP ward one floor above during their rounds. "I heard that Quinlan Group's CEO reserved the entire floor and hired several retired professors to look after his girlfriend!" "I've seen it a couple of times now. Mr. Quinlan personally poured her glasses of water and served her tea. And then there's the jewelry and gifts he bought to make her happy. "Let's not forget how he stayed awake for nights just to keep her company. Gosh, if anyone knows how to dote on his girlfriend, it's Mr. Quinlan." Jasmine quietly listened to this gossip and slowly placed her hand on her left chest. There were no emotional ripples, and her heartbeat was actually slower than usual. It looked like her heart was almost fully healed too. On the day that she was discharged, Nora wanted to pick her up. However, something came up in her family and held her back. She comforted Nora for a while, left the hospital, and went straight to Quinlan Group. Today was Jasmine's last day at work. She followed the procedures and completed the resignation process. Carrying a box full of her stuff, she intended to leave. As luck would have it, she ran into Alessa outside the elevator. Alessa had a cup of coffee in her hand. She deliberately bumped into Jasmine and snarled, "Watch where you're going! You got coffee on my dress. This has happened one too many times! You did it on purpose, didn't you?" After she staged the whole scene, she called bodyguards over and instructed them to subdue Jasmine and make her kneel at the entrance until she apologized. Jasmine refused to obey, but Alessa escalated things further and splashed the remaining half of her coffee on Jasmine's face. "What are you staring at me for? Are you annoyed? Let's make something clear, shall we? Martin only ever loves me. No matter what I do, he'll always take my side—including punishing a pathetic assistant like you." Alessa walked away with a proud look on her face when she was done flaunting her arrogance. The bodyguards yanked Jasmine to the first floor and forced her to her knees. She kept struggling, but she just couldn't break free. Flat out of options, she tried to reason with them. "I have resigned, and I'm no longer Martin's assistant. You guys have no right to make me kneel like this." They were completely unfazed. One of them said icily, "We have Mr. Quinlan's orders. Ms. Shaughnessy's words carry the same weight as his. No matter what she wants, we are obligated to comply. Ms. Scully, you should save these words for when you see Mr. Quinlan." Jasmine was completely stumped. She knew that nothing she said would change their minds. So, she gave up on struggling altogether. Passersby, including her colleagues, muttered among themselves when they saw her. Some even stopped to take pictures. In the harsh winter, Jasmine was forced to kneel outside Quinlan Group for seven hours, her knees raw and bleeding. Her face turned purple from the cold, and she shivered ceaselessly. Her willpower was the only thing keeping her awake. It was almost time to get off work when her consciousness finally started to slip. All of a sudden, she heard someone calling out her name. She forced herself to raise her head and saw Nora sprinting toward her. "Jasmine, you have just been discharged. What are you doing, kneeling here? Is someone deliberately torturing you?" Jasmine's throat was dry, and she instinctively responded, "Alessa did this."