Chapter 9

Jasmine lay in silence, staring at the ceiling without saying a word. A sudden surge of anger flared in Caesar's chest. He was just about to speak when a nurse rushed in. "Mr. Snee, Ms. Harding is crying out in pain again…" "Think about what you've done," Caesar said, turning to leave. "Stop causing trouble." The days that followed were eerily quiet. Sabrina sent photos every day—pictures of Caesar caring for her—but Jasmine didn't react at all. Not until the day she was discharged, when Sabrina showed up in person. "Out in just three days, huh?" Sabrina said with a smirk, shaking her bandaged right hand. "Do you know how long I have to stay because of this cut? If Caesar hadn't spent a fortune flying in a specialist from abroad, my hand would've been ruined." "You deserved it," Jasmine replied coldly. Sabrina suddenly smiled. "What are you even trying to be tough for, Jasmine? You're crazy about Caesar, aren't you? How did it feel, knowing he was the one who sent you to jail? That must've been pure agony." Jasmine finally turned to look at her. "What are you trying to say?" "Nothing much. Just thought I'd tell you a little story," Sabrina said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "You didn't know, did you? Caesar and I were high school classmates. Back then, every girl in school was after him, but he never gave any of them the time of day." She gently touched her bandaged hand, her eyes glinting with pride. "Except me. He remembered that I liked my coffee without sugar. He always brought an extra umbrella on rainy days, and at student council events, he only drank the water I gave him. And during assemblies, he looked only at where I was sitting. "Every girl was green with envy, but he only ever smiled at me. Just when we were about to make things official, I got into a car accident saving him. I had to go overseas to recover, but we kept in touch all these years." Jasmine's fingers dug into her palm. "Later, I told Caesar my mom had married into a rich family, but their precious heiress kept bullying her." Sabrina gave a small laugh. "You know what Caesar did? He called your dad and said, 'Leave Jasmine to me. I'll handle her.'" Jasmine was shaking all over. She had always believed it was Roderick who had handed her over to Caesar to be "disciplined". "He was perfect at everything in school and at 'disciplining' people too." Sabrina leaned close to her ear. "It didn't take much at all to make you fall for him, or to get you into his bed." "Honestly, I was furious at first, but then I found out he recorded every time you two had sex…" Sabrina said with a soft laugh. "That's when I realized what he was doing. "You're so proud of yourself, aren't you? If I had those private recordings in my hands, who would you dare to bully? Caesar sleeping with you was probably just so he could get me those videos—so I'd have something to fight back with." When she finished, she watched Jasmine's face drain of all color. Satisfied, she turned and walked out of the room with a smile. Jasmine felt like she'd been struck by lightning. Her blood turned to ice. She bolted from the hospital like a madwoman and jumped into a taxi bound for the Snee residence. At the villa, she tore through the place in a frenzy. The study desk drawers—nothing. The bedroom safe—empty. Finally, in the darkroom, she found an encrypted folder on the computer. The moment she opened it, Jasmine's legs gave out. She collapsed to the floor. On the screen were videos of her and Caesar tangled in bed. From the very first time to the last, every recording was crystal clear, meticulously organized by category.