Several seconds had flown by, but Jasmine was still gawking at Xavier, right in the eyes.
“Yes, Jasmine. I know I've lost you and there's no chance of you coming back to me ever again. However, I would be glad if you could forgive me. I really hurt you so much,” as he spoke, tears had well up in his eyes that even Jasmine couldn't help but feel compassion toward him immediately.
Gulping, “And thank you for hurting me, Xavier,” Jasmine enunciated.
Xavier looked at her in confusion as if he had gotten struck by lightning.
“Yes, Xavier. If you had not hurt me and broke me, then I wouldn't have planned on revenge and if I had not revenge on you, then I might not have found true love soon,” Jasmine clarified word by word.
Xavier lowered his head, a sense of shame flickering over his face.
“So, for that, thank you. I've forgiven you and believe me, I hold no grudges against you now,”
He then lifted his head to look at her face again and seeing the genuine smile hovering over her face, his mind became calm, believing her words.
“Thank you, Jasmine,” he muttered in a cracked tone.
Jasmine nodded her head twice, “You are welcome,”
“And,” he paused, drawing his gaze to Jasmine's finger, “Congratulations,” he forced the word out of his throat.
The grin playing around Jasmine's face grew immediately as she looked down at the ring on her finger happily.
“Thank you, doctor Xavier. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to…”
The buzzes of her ringing tone interrupted her sentence halfway. She peeked at the screen to see, 'Darling,' showing on it.
She felt the butterflies in her tummy swarmed up massively and without any resistance, she grabbed the phone and answered the call.
“Darling,” she spoke up first, gesturing at Xavier to exit the door while she walked out her desk to the window.
“I'm missing you already,” Noah's childish voice met her ear and she could her cheeks flaming up?
“I miss you too,” she answered back while she tossed some loose strands of her hair behind an ear.
“Let's have lunch together, okay? I'll call you later, love you,”
Jasmine smiled widely, revealing her white perfect dentition, “Love you too,”
After the line had disconnected, she turned back and was damn astounded to see Xavier still standing in that spot.
“You're still here?” she pressed while amounting her footsteps back to her seat.
Xavier managed to force a smile onto his face and nodded, “I'll leave now. Take care of yourself,”
After finishing his short sentence, he spun off and dash for the door immediately.
Noah stood with his legs crossed in the garage and rested his back against his SUV. He was wearing a pair of black trousers that showed the length of his long legs.
In a split second, he saw Jasmine walking over in his direction, and a quicker of excitement shot through him in an instant.
Reaching over, he sneaked his hand around her waist and made her thrust into his chest.
He brought his lips right next to her ear and muttered, “Mine,”
Jasmine blushed terribly, it seemed she was never going to get used to his sweet words to her.
Noah then planted her lips on hers, and she reciprocated immediately, not minding whether anyone was watching them or not.
Their passionate kiss lasted for just two minutes, and Noah thereafter opened the passenger side door for her to enter.
He closed the door carefully and then drifted off to the driver's seat.
Moments later, the car rolled to a stop right in front of a five-star restaurant. Jasmine unfastened her seat and attempted to push the door open.
“No, no. Hold on,” Noah stopped her and hurriedly unfastened his and slipped out of the car.
Jasmine watched him from the windshield as he scurried to her side and opened the door for her.
Jasmine's cheek began morphing to a darker shade of red and thought inside her heart that, would she ever get used to these gestures?
Hand in hand, they made their way into the restaurant and found a suitable place for themselves.
Afterward, Jasmine picked up the menu on their table, at the same time a waiter approached their table with a gentle smile on his face.
However, recognizing the man at only first glance, his smile expanded at once.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Cooper. It's so nice to have you here,” he greeted with so much enthusiasm in his voice.
Noah wore a friendly smile and responded in a light tone, “Thank you,”
The waiter then looked over at Jasmine, who was still flipping through the pages of the menu.
“Do you want something else, ma'am?” he asked Jasmine politely, who in turn smiled faintly and shook her head.
“A glass of water first, please,”
“Why? Aren't you hungry? Are you okay?” Noah chimed in immediately, staring closely at her face as if looking for a visible wound.
Jasmine chuckled out softly, “Come on, darling. I'm fine. I'll order a meal later, you go ahead first,”
Noah shook his head directly and took his gaze back to the waiter, who seemed to be enjoying this latest couple's conversation.
“Two glasses of water,” he ordered, and Jasmine's eyes dilated one time, recalling how he had told her in the car that he was desperately famished.
“Noah, you said you were hungry,” she reminded him with playful rolled eyes.
“That was then, not anymore,” Noah retorted instinctively, holding her hand that was on the table.
He dug his hand in his trouser pocket and fetched a golden tiny bracelet from it and clasped it around her wrist.
Jasmine opened her mouth as she grazed her fingers across it, which had 'Mine' inscribed on it.
“Do you like it?” asked Noah.
Jasmine stared at his face and nodded curtly while tears gathered in her eyes.
Noah sighed softly, he hated the fact that she was easily brought to tears.
“Noah, this is too much,” Jasmine voiced out in a trembled voice, still admiring the tiny thing in her hand that looks fortune.
Grinning, Noah took back her hand, and caressed it, “Someone once said that when you find the right woman, you can never thank her for being yours,”
“You see, I should thank your ex-boyfriend for losing a gem like you to me, I'm indebted to him,”
Jasmine giggled at his last words and recalled how Xavier had come to beg for forgiveness earlier.
“He came to ask for forgiveness this morning,”
Noah sighed with disgust and asked with interest, “What was your response? You've forgiven him?”
A hint of jealously could be traced on his face as he spoke.
Jasmine removed her hand from him and held his hand instead.
“I thanked him because If he had not left me, then I might not have met you, my true love,”
Noah felt inexplicably excited upon hearing Jasmine's response to Xavier.
A wide smile embedded at the corners of his mouth, “Thank you for putting him in his right place,”
“Now that he has realized his mistakes, would you please forgive him too?” Jasmine implored with her cutest puppy eyes that she knew Noah could never resist.
***
Two hefty men pushed the entrance door of the hospital, and the short man in their middle walked in, his eyes burning with rage.
He was wearing a brown suit and white shirt, his tummy bulging outwards that if anyone sat on it, the person's leg would never touch the floor.
A few number of police officers also came in after this furious man, standing right behind him, while the giant men stood on each side of him.
The few employees in the reception became highly strung up as soon as they noticed the mad expression on this man's face.
“Good morning, sir,” they moved closer to him and greeted him, but he didn't reply to them.
“Who among you is Paisley?” he asked calmly, and the three nurses exchanged a glance.
“Nurse Paisley is right upstairs, sir,” one of them replied shakily.
“Then get her for me!” he yelled fiercely, causing the nurses to cringe.
“Right away, sir,” the three of them said simultaneously and scooted off at once.
Paisley was sitting on her seat, holding her cellphone to her ear and picking a strand of her hair, and twiddling at her fingertips.
Her face was flushing with colors as she listened to Ryder's sweet words over the phone.
These past few weeks had been great to Paisley. Her relationship with Ryder kept growing every day, and she couldn't be less delighted. It was so worthwhile.
“Let's get married soon, Paisley,” his steady voice conveyed to Paisley's ears, and her eyes dilated in shock.
“Come on, Ryder, we barely got into a proper relationship, and you're talking about marriage already?”
She was listening to his next words when the door suddenly swung open, revealing one of the nurses in the reception.
“The chairman has sent for you, nurse Paisley,” the nurse notified breathlessly.
Shocked, Paisley slowly got to her feet, “Your father is here to see me, Ryder. Have I done something wrong?” she asked him in an extremely low voice, her tone had no confidence in it.
“My daddy?” Ryder quizzed over the phone, and before he could think of his next words, the line went dead.
Paisley quickly kept her cellphone and scampered out of the place with the nurse.
“He looks so furious, nurse Paisley, and he wouldn't even reply to our greetings,” the nurse explained the ordeal from earlier to Paisley as they hurried down the hallway.
Paisley bites on her bottom lip and thought within herself that, could it be, he wouldn't give his consent to her relationship with his son?
Arriving at the reception, Paisley felt her skip a bit at the people she met there.
Policemen, huge men, and the furious chairman.
She gulped slowly and bowed to the chairman slightly, “Here I am, sir,”
The chairman looked at her closely and asked harshly, “So, you're Paisley?”

Paisley nodded quickly, “Yes, sir,”
“You're under arrest!” The chairman fired, and a light gasp fell out of everyone's mouth.
Paisley parted her quivering lips but couldn't utter any word.
“You're wondering what your crime is, huh?” he sneered, putting forward a pace closer.
Paisley gulped and nodded instinctively.
“Come with me,” The chairman authorized, and began to walk forward, passing by the nurses.
Paisley didn't feel safe, she didn't know what was waiting for her, but regardless, she followed in strides behind him.
Soon, they were both sitting in the designated area in the spacious and unique office.
Paisley lowered her head with her hands folded in between her thighs.
“Tell me honestly, Paisley. What did you give my son?” The chairman's voice was so calm this time.
Paisley swiftly looked over at his face and catch a glimpse of a smile on his face.
“Sir?”
The chairman heaved a soft sigh and began, “Believe me, Paisley, my son's attitude lately amuses me a lot, but I got to learn that you're the reason behind it,”
Paisley twisted her lips and lowered her head again and secretly sighed in relief.
“Thank you so much, dear. I'm not certain if truly it's love or you by chance injected him with something I don't know,” he continued with a deep sense of gratitude, but Paisley laughed at his last words.
“Love is so wonderful, my dear, and I can't wait for you to become my daughter-in-law,”
Paisley's eyes widened in disbelief in an instant.
Huh?