Chapter 143 Zelda's Revenge Injures Justin
Ethan was walking ahead with Jasmine trailing behind by the seaside.
With Ethan there, she was too distracted to enjoy the ocean.
Her heart was fluttering, and all she could think about was Ethan.
She had thought he would take her straight back to Silverlight City, but instead, he had actually brought her to see the ocean.
"Mr. Ethan, we've handed it over to the police. The janitor said it was Clara's assistant who made her do it, the police have taken in Clara's assistant, but she took all the blame. We can't trace it back to Clara for now."
Liam was on the phone with Ethan.
"Expose this to the media, say the injured person was me after drinking that bottle of water." Ethan's voice was deep. "And suppress all the online news about the Brown-Douglas merger. I don't want to see any more stories about the union, understand?"
"Okay, Mr. Ethan."
...
Ethan stepped aside near the car to make the call.
Jasmine walked alone by the seaside.
The beach had flower-shaped lamps, designed especially for tourists.
As people walked past, the lamps would light up and blossom, and soft music would play.
Jasmine looked up in surprise at the blooming lights, twirling gently in their glow.
She once had been the lead ballerina of the Silverlight City Ballet and their prima white swan.
But during her time in prison, her backbone was shattered, forcing her to swallow the bitter truth.
Lifting her hand lightly, Jasmine attempted a ballet position.
Her body was rigid, and she lowered her hand, feeling a sense of loss.
It seemed she could never return to her past glory.
Moving to the soft music, Jasmine tried to stand on tiptoe.
After several tries, she gave up.
A swan with broken wings could never fly in the blue sky again.
Beside the car, Ethan leaned against the door, watching Jasmine intently.
He had seen Jasmine on stage before and felt back then that Daniel was unworthy of the blooming white rose.
But later, that rose was torn apart, trampled into the mud.
Yet, he couldn't find a fault in the rose—it was too beautiful, too pure.
"Mr. Ethan, what time is our flight?" Jasmine, not wanting to delay their travel, hurried to ask.
Ethan snapped back to reality, pulling Jasmine into his arms and holding her tightly.
Jasmine froze, afraid to move.
"Let's go home." Ethan's voice was hoarse and weary.
"Okay." Jasmine nodded.
Following Ethan into the car, she felt her heart raced.
This marriage arrangement with Ethan, no matter how long it lasted, was her stroke of luck.
He was impeccable.
"Mr. Ethan, thank you," Jasmine said cautiously, glancing at Ethan once they were on the plane.
"Hm?" Ethan seated Jasmine by the window, asked the flight attendant for a blanket, and covered her.
"If it weren't for you with that bottle of water…" Jasmine felt a shiver run through her.
Ethan didn't respond, his gaze deep.
"Sir, your coffee," the flight attendant said with a smile, bringing Ethan his coffee.
Jasmine instinctively took a sip from the cup, ensuring it was safe before passing it to Ethan.
The attendant's professional smile stiffened.
Seeing Jasmine's action, Ethan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This is…"
"Oh, sorry." Jasmine realized, albeit belatedly, that although she had tasted Ethan's drink for poison, she'd also used his glass.
He definitely wasn't going to drink from it now.
"Excuse me, could you please pour another one?" Jasmine asked the flight attendant awkwardly.
The flight attendant kept her professional smile. "Of course."
"No need." Ethan nodded politely.
Once the attendant had left, Ethan, holding the coffee cup, smiled. "Poisoned?"
Jasmine's ears turned red as she vigorously shook her head. "N-No poison."
Ethan took a sip of his coffee. "I never thought airplane coffee was any good before."
Jasmine's ears reddened further; in fact, the coffee was quite bitter. It was more bitter than medicine.
"Get some sleep. I'll watch over you," Ethan whispered, suggesting that Jasmine rest a little.
Jasmine looked at Ethan dazedly, then quickly averted her eyes, fumbling with her fingers and turned to close her eyes, pretending to fall asleep.
It was over; she must have really been spellbound.
While in prison, Jasmine had read a book that said when a lethal temptation was in front of you, no one could resist the allure. Once deeply ensnared, death would quietly descend.
Jasmine knew Ethan was a dangerous man, flawless, yet fatally toxic.
A slight mishap and it would be the end.
Yet, her heart still stirred.
She must really lack self-awareness.
Harper said, "Jasmine, don't make a fool of yourself again."
Not sure how long she'd slept, Jasmine was gently awakened.
"Jasmine, we're home."
Home.
Slowly opening her eyes, Jasmine realized she had, at some point, rested her head on Ethan's shoulder.
She sat up abruptly, hastily unbuckled her seatbelt, and followed Ethan.
"Are you getting off the plane?" No sooner had they deplaned than Howard called Ethan.
Clearly, Liam's efficiency was commendable; the news of Clara's assistant committing a criminal offense and harming Ethan was already trending.
"Yeah, just got here," Ethan replied gravely.
"Go home." Howard's voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
A normal father would be concerned about his son's well-being at this time—asking if he was hurt. However, Howard simply instructed Ethan to go home.
Moreover, Ethan could already guess that Howard's next step was to have him remove the trending news.
"I'm not feeling very well. I'm going home to rest. Let's talk tomorrow." Ethan ended the call with Howard.
Tomorrow, Clara would be back, and it was time to settle scores. Of course, that required everyone to be present for the excitement.
Glancing back at Jasmine, Ethan smiled and broke the silence. "After work tomorrow, come with me to the Douglas estate."
Jasmine felt a tingling in her fingertips at the mention of the Douglas family; the name cast a long shadow over her psyche.
"Don't be scared, I'll be with you," Ethan reassured after a brief pause. "I'm taking you back for a show."
Biting the corner of her lip, Jasmine nodded her head.
For some reason, she felt a twinge of sympathy for Ethan.
She wondered how he had managed to navigate his way through that family to where he was now.
...
Returning from the airport to Ethan's place, Jasmine felt a lump in her throat the entire journey.
They were going back to their shared home.
The marriage certificate had sparked in Jasmine an unrealistic fantasy.
She found herself starting to daydream about marriage.
She remembered telling Emily once that she was never going to marry in her lifetime.
She had lost all hope in men.
And yet, she didn't know what she was doing now. It seemed like she was fantasizing about having a normal relationship with Ethan and imagining their married life.
"Jasmine, I'm starving," Ethan said, pulling her into his embrace as soon as they walked through the door, his chin resting on her head, his voice weary and husky.
"I-I'll go make dinner. How does pasta sound?" Jasmine asked nervously.
"Hmm..." Ethan hummed in response, rolling up his sleeves to help in the kitchen, "I'll wash the vegetables."
Jasmine nodded, her ears turning red.
But she quickly came to regret it.
Ethan wasn't picking through the vegetables; he was practically destroying them.
He seemed to find every green unacceptable to his taste and tossed them all into the trash bin.
Jasmine quickly intervened to save the remaining greens, on the verge of tears. "Mr. Ethan, those vegetables cost a pretty penny."
"Oh," Ethan stepped back with a smile, no longer causing havoc.
As Jasmine was washing the vegetables, her phone rang.
"Jasmine, are you still in Hawaii?" Richard's voice came through the call, laced with panic. "Zelda has been here... You mustn't let her find you!"
Jasmine's hand froze around the phone; in the background, she could hear Justin crying.
He was calling for Mom.
"Richard... What happened to Justin?" Jasmine trembled as she spoke.
"Justin's hurt... We're at the hospital. You don't have to worry, and don't come back; Zelda's people are watching us, they just want to force you back!" Richard sounded like he'd been caught and hastily hung up the call.
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