Alicia rushed into the hospital, panting heavily. She looked up at the hallway and thought on how to figure out where Noah was.
Right then, two nurses walked past her and gossiped among themselves, “It's no longer news that Mr. Cooper is madly in love with nurse Jasmine,”
Alicia heard them saying these and quickly stopped them, “Excuse me, could you please show me to where Mr. Cooper is right now?” she asked them politely, and they both swapped a glance before one of them spoke up.
“And who are you, miss?”
Alicia scratched her forehead rapidly, thinking of her response.
“I'm his housekeeper. Could you please show me now?” she asked impatiently.
“Ward 208. It's a private ward, you'll have to take the elevator to the last floor,” the second nurse answered and they both started walking away again before Alicia could think of thanking them.
Alicia immediately ran toward the elevator, looking uneasy and clutching her white flowery dress in her hands.
Although, Noah sounded alright when he had spoken to her over the phone. However, she couldn't help but think in her mind that what could have probably gone wrong for him to have asked her to meet him in a hospital.
*Chimes*
She came off the elevator and began to check out the ward numbers one after the other, and soon, she found the number she was looking for.
Taking two deep breaths to calm her nerves down, she pushed open the door and saw Noah sitting beside Jasmine on the bed.
“Tell me what happened, Jasmine? Who did this to you?” he listened to Noah as he asked his question in a majestic and dictatorial manner.
They were both oblivious of her presence, and even she would love to hear Jasmine's response first before announcing her presence.
“I don't know either. But I'm certain the person was a man. He broke into my house and stabbed me when I attempted to switch on the lights,”
Hearing Jasmine's retort, her mind traveled to the only person she knew that was after Jasmine's life.
A light gasp fell out of her mouth while her eyes widened in surprise.
“Mrs. Antonio,” she called out inadvertently, and both Jasmine and Noah switched their gazes upon her in an instant.
“What did you just say, Alicia? Why did you just call my assistant's name?” Noah inquired in a domineering manner with a gleam flashing across his sharp eyes.
Smiling awkwardly, she returned to her senses and began to walk over.
“Don't mind me, Mr. Cooper. I thought it was Mrs. Antonio lying on the bed. What happened to Jasmine?” she asked, pretending not to have heard anything from earlier.
Noah sighed and took his time to explain everything to her.
Alicia shook her head helplessly after listening to the whole story and then sat her ass on the nearest stool.
“And who do you think would want to hurt Jasmine?” asked Alicia with interest, hoping Noah would have probably sensed that his assistant wasn't someone she claimed to be.
She's a devil.
“Xavier,” Noah uttered through clenched teeth, and Alicia became disappointed immediately as she looked over at the paper bag on the cupboard.
Jasmine chuckled softly and held Noah's hand even more tightly.
“Why would Xavier think of hurting me?” she asked. “Even though he had hurt me in the past, it was emotionally, not physically. Moreover, Xavier is a bit taller than the stranger,”
Right after she completed her words, Noah opened his mouth to protest when Xavier walked into the ward majestically.
“How are you now, Jasmine?” he asked tenderly, putting one of his hands in his trouser pocket.
Jasmine was too busy to spare him a glance, and she just replied simply, “Fine,”
Xavier was displeased by her casual answer, so he thought that he should say something that would interest her.
“Did you see the guy's face because I didn't? He pushed me out of the way and ran past him,” he said, and their eyes dilated in shock, including Alicia.
“You saw the criminal, and you couldn't run after him?” Noah rose from the bed and asked angrily.
“If I had gone after him, who would have rescued Jasmine?” Xavier retorted bluntly.
Noah seemed to find sense in what he had just said. He ruffled his hair exasperatedly and sat back on the bed.
“I've asked someone to repair the lock. It's alright now,” Xavier proceeded, badly wanting Jasmine to appreciate him at least.
But instead, Noah was the one who spoke up again, “That won't be necessary because she's not going back there,”
“Noah,” Jasmine called out his name in surprise now.
“Yes, Jasmine. Do you think my mind will always be at peace if you go back there? What if that scoundrel comes back?”
“She's fine now, and I'm always there to protect her,” Xavier protested, his heart beating violently at this sudden sad news.
How would she get Jasmine to forgive him if she leaves the quarters?
“Where were you when the criminal had crawled into her apartment?” Noah threw the question at him, and he instantly lowered his head, feeling his conscience eating him up.
Noah tutted and faced Jasmine again, “We're only going back there to get a few of your belongings. Don't argue,” Noah said sternly.
Jasmine chewed her lower lip and glared at him playfully.
“Is that why you just raised your voice at me?” she asked with a little pout.
Alicia erupted in a burst of brief laughter and rose from her seat.
“I'll be right back, sir,” she announced before they would get deeply into their lovey-dovey romance.
Noah could barely nod at her as he moved more closer to Jasmine on the bed, a flirtatious smile displaying over his face.
Xavier stayed put and felt himself being neglected.
His stomach churned with distaste as he watched Noah spread out kisses on Jasmine's face, who in turn giggled with so much thrill.
Without saying any single word, he spun off and dashed for the door, seething inwardly.
Alicia found her way into the restroom and quickly fetched her cell phone from her blue shoulder bag and placed a call through Mrs. Antonio.
She paced back and forth, waiting for her to pick up the call, but the line got disconnected.
Without a moment's hesitation, she redialed her number and she picked up at the second ring this time.
“I want you to tell me that you've got nothing to do with what happened to Jasmine, Mrs. Flora Antonio,” Alicia's words became harsh without restraint.
“And what if I tell you I do, what in the hell are you capable of doing? Planning to confess to Mr. Cooper without any evidence?”
Gnashing her teeth and curling her hands, “You should thank your stars nothing serious happened to Jasmine. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to reveal to Mr. Cooper all that you've conspiring against his girlfriend and him,” Alicia stated bluntly, and wide laughter from Mrs. Antonio from the other end of the line transmitted to her ear.
“I haven't intervened in your affairs since we've known each other, Alicia. Please don't horn in my own business either,”
As soon as she said that, she hung up on her, leaving her no chance to protest.
Alicia bites down her lips tightly until a few white spots were peeking out of her rosy lips.
She went back into Jasmine's ward and saw the couple still exhibiting their affection for one another.
However, it was more interesting this time as Noah was feeding Jasmine some porridge and vegetables.
Alicia's heart hurt a lot while staring at this beautiful couple.
Why are people so wicked? What would Mrs. Antonio gain If she eventually harmed Jasmine?
Alicia was still thinking about all these things when Jasmine's gaze accidentally went in the entrance direction and saw Alicia standing in the doorway.
“Don't just stand there, Alicia. Come on in,” Jasmine urged her with a glossy smile on her face.
Alicia reciprocated the smile and walked wholly into the room. Her smile was beautiful, but full of bitterness.
Had she known, she would have told Noah about Mrs. Antonio's wicked plan from the beginning.
But even she didn't know that Noah would be such a nice person, which had retreated her from performing the vicious act Mrs. Antonio had sent her.
As Noah continued to feed Jasmine, he soon noticed the bitter expression on Alicia's face, and he then asked, “Are you okay?”
Smiling deeper, “Of course, Mr. Cooper,” she quickly responded.
Noah rolled his eyeballs playfully, “Noah is my name, you don't take correction, do you?”
Both Jasmine and Alicia let out a short laugh.
“Okay, boss,” Alicia joked, and they all laughed once more.
Shortly after the laughter had died down, Alicia stared at Jasmine's face, who in turn was drinking water from the bottle.
“I hope you've agreed to stay with Mr. Cooper, Jasmine. In my view, I think that's the only safest place for you,”
Jasmine smiled in adoration at the pure love she sighted in Alicia's eyes.
“Of course, I've got no other choice than to start staying with him, Alicia,”
“Even if she attempted to prove stubbornness, I'll just go kidnap her,” Noah teases, and they all laughed out again.
“Okay, Alicia. The reason I called upon you is to stay with Jasmine while I go fetch Aurora from school. Is it fine by you?”
“Of course, Mr. Cooper. Who am I to say no to your request?”
***
Hand in hand, Jasmine and Noah walked into his tremendous house.
Reaching inside the living room and then to the guest room upstairs, Jasmine's mouth opened in awe at how exquisite and beautiful the room was looking.
The room looked like a modern girl's room. The wall was painted in pink and light colors and there was a white Queen bed matching the curtains.
“Do you like it?” Noah asked with a smile after noticing the warmth in Jasmine's eyes.
“Of course, I love it. How did you manage to get everything done in two days?” Jasmine asked in amazement.
Noah lowered the travel bag he was carrying to the floor and slowly wrap his hand around her tiny waist.
He then leaned over, his lips were right next to her ear, “Maybe you've forgotten that I'm a millionaire,” he whispered.
The hot air exhaled when he spoke was sprayed densely, and this made Jasmine feel slightly itchy.
She had been discharged from the hospital after two days when Noah was certain she could leave the bed and there was no trace of discomfort in her body.
So now, she had been brought to Noah's villa.
Grinning, she wrapped her hands around his neck and they both stared at each other's faces.
“Thank you for everything, Noah. To be honest, you've completed my life and I can't ask for more from the Almighty,” Jasmine uttered with a deep sense of gratitude while tears gradually pooled into her eyes.
Noah felt his heart burning up, pounding furiously for her. At that moment, he wanted to give her a strong hug and making her part of him.
“No, Jasmine. I should be the one thanking you for coming to my plain world, making it filled with colors. Aside from my late wife, I never thought that one day, I would become not my usual self for a woman,”
By this time, Jasmine's tears were already rolling down her cheeks.
“I love you, Noah,” her voice trembled.
Noah just dipped his head closer and sealed her lips with a passionate kiss.