Chapter 142 Ethan Actually Blushed
In the hotel room, Ethan sat at the desk, glancing at Jasmine, who hesitated to approach from the corridor.
"Take your medicine." Ethan nudged the cup of mixed medication toward her.
Jasmine, nervously hiding behind a partition, only approached with her head down when she heard Ethan speak.
"Do you want to rest in the hotel, or would you rather go out and explore?" Ethan remembered Jasmine mentioning that the seaside views in Hawaii were nice.
Jasmine's eyes lit up as she held the water cup.
She wasn't good at expressing herself, but her eyes were always truthful.
Love and dislike were always clear in her gaze.
That was why the old Ethan immediately felt that her eyes reflected a transparent foolishness the first time he saw Jasmine at the Douglas Family gathering.
"Is your fever gone?" Ethan stood up, touching Jasmine's forehead.
Jasmine's body stiffened for a moment, but she didn't pull away.
"You're still a bit hot. Rest after taking the medicine, and later we can check out the coastal night scenery," said Ethan, leaning on the desk and watching Jasmine take her medicine.
Jasmine, slightly tense, swallowed all the medication in one go.
"Here." Ethan reached for the bottled water on the desk, twisted the cap off for her, and handed it over.
Jasmine's eyes brimmed red with anguish as she reached for the bottle of water, just as she was about to take a sip.
"Hold on." Ethan furrowed his brows, taking the water bottle back from her.
Ethan was a stickler for cleanliness, particularly when it came to hotel amenities.
When he twisted the cap earlier, he hadn't applied much force, revealing that the bottle had been previously opened.
After scrutinizing the bottle, Ethan took a sniff of the water and his expression darkened. "There's something wrong with this water."
Shocked, Jasmine looked at Ethan. "Something wrong? Is it... irty?"
She assumed Ethan's obsession with cleanliness was being taken to an extreme. "I'll get a new one."
"Smell it." Ethan brought the bottle to Jasmine's nose.
She sniffed and was stunned. "It does smell off, there's a sour scent."
Even if mineral water was expired, it shouldn't have a sour taste.
This meant that it wasn't just water inside the bottle.
Ethan's brow creased, and he signaled for silence, swiftly grabbing two sugar packets from beside the coffee maker and taking Jasmine to the bathroom.
With a curious look on her face, Jasmine watched Ethan, clueless about what he was about to do.
Ethan tore open the packets of sugar, poured them into an ashtray, and then added the bottled water.
Almost immediately, the sugar turned black as it oxidized, and gas began to form.
"Diluted sulfuric acid." Ethan's voice was grave as he held the bottle.
Jasmine gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Sulfuric acid?"
She couldn't imagine what would happen if she drank that. She might end up with damaged esophagus and vocal cords, or at worst, be in a life-threatening situation.
Ethan's face remained stern as he screwed the cap back on the bottle and stepped out of the bathroom to call Liam.
Before long, Liam arrived in the room and set up makeshift cameras in the bathroom and the main area.
"Put on a good show." Liam glanced at Jasmine.
Numbly, Jasmine nodded, understanding that Ethan was intent on catching the culprit.
The bottle contained sulfuric acid, and the number of staff who had access to the room was limited, but it was certainly more than one—accusing the wrong person would be a mistake.
Should anything happen to Jasmine, everyone would be too frantic to think about taking the water bottle for evidence.
The criminal would surely return to the scene of the crime to dispose of the evidence.
As long as the bottle was flushed down the toilet, there would be no proof left.
"Don't be scared," Ethan said, trying to comfort her.
Jasmine's face was pale, uncertain whether the person behind this was after her or Ethan.
"This room is booked under Jasmine's name, does that mean it's targeted at her?" Liam whispered.
Ethan nodded.
Had he not decided to open the bottle for Jasmine today, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Ethan's fingertips were chillingly cold as he felt the aftershock for the first time.
"Someone! Help! There's been an accident! Call an ambulance!"
Outside the door, Liam was panicking, his hands covered in blood.
Jasmine had 'blood' at the corner of her mouth, pretending to faint; Ethan carried her out of the room, rushing into the elevator.
"Mr. Ethan, what happened?" a staff member asked, alarmed.
Ethan, grim-faced and tight-lipped, didn't respond.
Seeing Liam and the others leave, a janitor hidden in the corridor snuck out and entered the unsealed room, searching for the opened bottle of water.
Then, she quickly emptied it into the toilet.
"Heh... I wonder what happened?" Liam said coldly and sarcastically as he walked in with the hotel manager.
The cleaning lady was so frightened that she almost collapsed to the floor.
"M-Manager..."
"Spill it! Who told you to do this? You've got some nerve trying to harm Mr. Ethan!" The manager shook with anger. This was a criminal offense.
"Manager, I didn't... It's not what you think, I didn't do anything, I just came in to clean because the door was open," the cleaner defended herself.
"Is that so?" Liam scoffed, pointing to the prepared camera and the swapped sulfuric acid. "You are caught red-handed—good luck explaining that to the cops."
...
Jasmine got into the car in the basement, still trying to process what had happened.
"Scared?" Ethan pulled Jasmine close. "You don't have to hide anymore. You're safe now."
Jasmine looked up at Ethan, visibly shaken and shadowed with fear.
From now on, she would have to test anything Ethan was about to consume.
"We're heading back to Silverlight City, and we'll leave Liam to handle things here." Ethan's mood was foul; he couldn't risk Jasmine staying.
She had just crossed Clara today, and immediately someone plotted against her—it was a warning from Clara.
Ethan snorted, flexing his fingers.
Clearly, Clara had become too comfortable in the Douglas family these past years.
Jasmine nodded stiffly.
She had hoped to see the seaside nightscape with Ethan.
As she looked out the car window with longing eyes, Jasmine watched the passing cars.
Sometimes she wondered if everyone in the world was free except for her.
She felt like a captive, forever locked in a cage.
"Take the outer loop, head to the beach," Ethan ordered.
The driver nodded and headed for the outer loop.
...
"Jasmine, what do you plan to do after getting out?" The only one who could really talk to Jasmine during those years in prison was Emily.
"Be with my son..." Jasmine's voice was hoarse.
All she wanted was to be there as Justin grew up.
"Ever thought about getting married? It's going to be exhausting, raising a child on your own."
"Will marriage make it any less tiring? No one's going to love a woman like me."
Jasmine was painfully aware of her tarnished reputation and that no one would come to love her again.
She had given up on marriage and a secure future long ago.
At some point, the car had stopped by the roadside, and Ethan got out, opening Jasmine's door.
Lost in thought and leaning against the door, she stumbled out as Ethan suddenly opened it.
Instinctively moving forward, Ethan caught her against his legs.
...
With his towering height of 6'2", Ethan's physique was perfectly proportionate, but his long legs made the fall embarrassingly intimate.
Clearing his throat, Ethan looked away. "The tide's coming in. Let's walk on the beach."
Standing up straight, Jasmine clumsily followed Ethan, visibly flustered.
Glancing at Ethan, she noticed his ears had turned a deep shade of red.
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