Jasmine eventually fell asleep beside lissa. When she woke up, it was already morning—just in ti for the doctor’s rounds. The doctor updated them on Lawrence’s condition, saying it was improving thanks to lissa’s blood.
lissa listened with joy, while Jasmine barely registered a word.
Before the doctor left, lissa eagerly asked, "Can I visit him?"
"Of course," said the doctor kindly. "It’s actually best if soone stays by his side and talks to him. It might help him recover quickly."
With that, the doctor excused himself, and lissa hurried to prepare. Since they had been staying in the hospital for days, Jasmine insisted that lissa should go ho to change and freshen up. But lissa didn’t want to leave and told her mother to go first instead.
Jasmine refused.
Eventually, lissa gave in and agreed to go ho alone, promising to return as soon as possible so her mother could rest next.
Jasmine hadn’t lied, though—at least, not entirely.
She sent lissa away so she could stay alone with Lawrence.
Sitting beside his bed, Jasmine stared at his swollen, heavily bruised face. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor echoed in the sterile room, blending with the faint hum of machinery and the scent of disinfectant that burned her nose.
"Mike still hasn’t co back," she muttered, sighing heavily. "What’s taking him so long?"
She knew where he went. Mike had gone to find the man they’d paid years ago to falsify the paternity test. They could’ve done another test now, but they didn’t have any of Lola’s samples left. Jasmine’s gaze flicked toward the unconscious patient, her chest tightening before she exhaled sharply.
"There’s no point in staying here," she whispered, leaning closer to Lawrence’s ear. "Lawrence, just die, darling, and be with that fucking bitch."
Her teeth clenched at the thought of Loren, her hatred deepening even after death. Even though Jasmine had convinced herself that Doctor Tyler had been lying, the thought of Loren’s na, her shadow, her "minions," still gnawed at her resolve and burned her from within.
She drew back slightly, her eyes glinting with venom. "Stop fighting," she humd coldly. "Stop fighting, because no matter what, we both know how this ends for you."
Yes, that was why she insisted on staying. Not to keep vigil, but to tell him to give up and die.
Strangely, saying it out loud lifted so of the heaviness in her chest. Straightening her back, Jasmine looked down at him, and then, at the wires and tubes keeping him alive. If it wouldn’t raise suspicion, she would’ve ripped them out herself. But getting arrested for murder was not on her list.
So, she turned and walked away without looking back.
But just as she stepped out of the ward, she froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar figure at the end of the hallway. Her head turned slowly, and her eyes widened.
Standing there, calm and composed, was the man they had been restlessly searching for since yesterday.
Doctor Tyler.
He observed her silently from head to toe before locking eyes with her. She looked nothing like the proud "Madam Young" she had always presented to the world. Her exhaustion clung to her like a heavy shadow. Her face was the sa, but her aura—once commanding—was torn.
"I heard you’ve been asking about ," he said quietly, his voice smooth yet cutting. "It seems... you have a lot of questions."
"I have none," Jasmine replied stiffly.
"Are you sure?" he asked, blinking slowly. "I’m flying out of the country soon. Once I leave, I don’t know when I’ll return. And when I’m gone... you won’t be able to ask anything."
That caught her attention.
"There’s no need for that," she said, raising her chin. "Doctor Tyler, it’s been years since we last saw each other—back when Loren was still alive. And knowing how you adored her, I’m certain you’re biased against ."
Her tone hardened. "I cannot trust a word you say. Mike and I will figure out the truth ourselves."
"You trust him?" Tyler chuckled, almost mockingly. "I suppose you do. After all, Mike has done so much for you—protecting you, covering for you..."
He took a step forward. "But tell , Jasmine. If he knew the truth, do you think he would tell you?"
Silence stretched thickly between them. Jasmine swallowed hard, unable to respond. She knew Mike better than anyone.
"If you change your mind," Doctor Tyler said finally, "I’ll be in my office. We can talk there."
He glanced at his watch. "Though I don’t have the whole day."
With that, he turned and walked away casually, as if their encounter ant nothing.
Jasmine stood frozen, her throat tightening. Her hands trembled at her sides.
He’s lying, she told herself furiously, grinding her teeth. I shouldn’t believe him. There’s nothing this man can say that I should believe.
She repeated those words in her head again and again, desperate to drown out the unease creeping in.
He’s Loren’s pawn, she thought bitterly. He’s doing this because he couldn’t move on from her. He still can’t accept that she got sick and died!
And yet, no matter how much she tried to convince herself—without Mike there to reinforce her delusion—her resolve began to waver.
In the end, as she stared down the hallway where Doctor Tyler had disappeared, her feet began to move of their own accord.
What Jasmine didn’t realize was that at that very mont, the elevator doors opened behind her.
lissa stepped out.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she caught sight of her mother walking away from the direction of her father’s ward.
"Mom—?" she called softly but stopped.
Sothing about her mother’s expression made her hesitate. Jasmine’s eyes were blank, her face pale, almost ghostly.
lissa frowned, puzzled. She wanted to tell herself it was normal. That her mother was just tired, still devastated over her father’s condition. After all, her parents had always been deeply in love, and Jasmine had fought the world for that love.
But before she could move closer, lissa noticed soone else coming from the opposite end of the corridor.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"What... is he doing here?" she whispered, her gaze following the man’s figure. "Why is Atlas Bennet in here?"
Atlas turned the sa corner Jasmine had taken.
lissa hesitated, torn between leaving it alone and following him. It could’ve been a coincidence. But if it wasn’t, maybe she could uncover sothing important.
Little did she know, what she was about to uncover wasn’t a gold mine, but a land mine.
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