Chapter 189 Jasmine Finds a Son by the Seaside
"Do you think every good-looking woman resembles mom?" Nolan looked at Edward dismissively. "Always seeing things in terms of our own."
Edward snorted. "Nolan, you're acting a bit weird today; you never used to be like this."
He glanced back at Jasmine, who was sitting by the seaside, and whispered, "Do you know that girl?"
"Haven't you heard? Her name is Jasmine," Nolan said indifferently.
"Jasmine?" Edward wasn't up to speed with local news and shook his head.
"The counterfeit heiress of the Wilson family," Nolan snorted with considerable animosity. "She's been to prison for extortion."
Edward furrowed his brows. "Bro, aren't your words a bit prejudiced? Have you had any interaction with her?"
"Why would I want any interaction with her?" Nolan said with an air of disdain.
"Do not hastily assess someone's character without truly knowing them. Regarding the heiress, whether she is authentic or not, perhaps she was swapped as an infant, correct? We still haven't found our sister to this date, and wasn’t Fiona switched too? Who's at fault here?" Edward said, clearly upset.
"You're not unaware but Pepe likes Ethan," retorted Nolan, irritated that Ethan preferred Jasmine, a woman of dubious reputation, over Fiona.
"You're such a hypocrite," Edward scoffed as he grabbed a coconut from nearby. "You used to say that Ethan didn't choose Fiona because she wasn't the biological daughter of the Cunningham family, that she was merely raised in name by the Cunningham family butler. Yet, he'd rather choose Jasmine, who has no family background to speak of."
Nolan was irritated by Edward's words. "What about the third brother?"
"Don't change the subject," Edward earnestly interjected, halting Nolan's attempt to divert the conversation. "Bro, I'm serious about Fiona's situation. I know you've always treated her like a younger sister, spoiling her since she was little. She's innocent, but our own sister is even more so. We need to find her as soon as possible, or Mom's condition is only going to get worse."
"You think I'm not looking?" Nolan said, angered.
"I won't bring up the past, but have you seriously searched for her in the last five years? You always avoid it, fearful of upsetting Fiona," Edward said as he sat down casually. "If the mix-up at birth hadn't happened, our sister would have been treated like the family's little princess."
Nolan fell silent. He also felt guilt about his sister.
The whole family had sworn that once they found their sister, they would spoil her to the heavens.
"Also, even if Ethan doesn't like Fiona, you shouldn't take it out on Jasmine. You went too far today," Edward warned Nolan again.
Nolan gave Edward an annoyed look. "Have you taken a liking to her? You're really something."
"Bro, are you targeting her because you're interested in her too?" Edward's retort was like wielding a sword against a sword.
Nolan was left speechless by his brother. "Get lost. You're annoying."
Edward snorted. "I wonder where is our other brother and his little one?"
Nolan had come here to locate his youngest brother and his beloved son. Among the Cunningham brothers, only the youngest, Edgar, remained unmarried, yet he had unexpectedly become a father.
The woman who had the child for him had left the kid and run off, and despite Edgar's worldwide search, he hadn't managed to find her.
"Help! Someone's been swept away by the waves!"
"That's the deep-water zone!"
"They've crossed the safety line; it's a child!"
The beach erupted into chaos. People were shouting for help in English, along with other languages.
Jasmine was sitting on the beach, carefully sipping her coconut juice. When she heard the cries for help, she stood up and ran toward the commotion.
"It's a child, about five or six years old, swept away by the waves. Where are the adults?"
"It's a little kid!"
Jasmine glanced at the sea, where a child was being pummeled by the waves, his floatie long gone.
"Jasmine!" Before Ethan could fully grasp what had happened, she was dashing into the surf.
Taking a deep breath, Jasmine dove into the seawater and swam with all her might toward the child before the next wave could crash down.
The little one had swallowed a lot of seawater and lacked the strength to keep himself afloat.
Jasmine found it wasn't too difficult to lift him and tried to carry him as she swam to safety.
"Jasmine!" Ethan shouted as a wave surged toward Jasmine and the little boy.
Ethan's heart leaped into his throat. He plunged into the ocean, shielding Jasmine and the child with his body as the wave engulfed them.
The sheer force of the impact slammed them against the unforgiving rocks, Ethan absorbing the bulk of it, his back bearing the brunt and tearing open a wound.
Cradling the child, Jasmine looked up at Ethan, frantic. "Are you... are you okay?"
Ethan shook his head. "As long as you're fine."
The moment Jasmine ran into the sea, Ethan felt his heart seize with panic.
Security staff and other tourists rushed over, their footsteps echoing amidst a round of applause that rippled through the crowd.
Jasmine's courage was undeniable; she was the sole individual brave enough to dive in and rescue the child.
The expanse of ocean before them was ominously deep.
"What were you thinking?" Ethan frowned deeply, pulling Jasmine close. "Heroic as it was, I don't endorse recklessness."
He had been terrified.
"He's just a child..." Jasmine didn't even know what went through her mind; the boy was about the same age as Justin.
"My precious boy!" Edward and Nolan realized what was happening just as Jasmine took her leap.
"Your kid?" Ethan asked, looking grim.
Nolan's expression turned grim, taken aback by Jasmine's actions. In that moment, he was overwhelmed by a storm of emotions...
"What kind of parenting is this?" Ethan finally found an opportunity to chastise Nolan.
The kid, having been knocked out by the waves, suddenly cried out, "Mommy!" He was vomiting seawater, and clinging to Jasmine, unwilling to let go.
The security team hauled Ethan and Jasmine to safety, and medical personnel rushed over.
"You're really brave," one of the medical staff members said to Jasmine, giving her a thumbs up.
Embarrassed, Jasmine shyly looked down at the little boy clinging to her.
"I'm sorry..." Edward pushed Nolan aside, trying to reach for Joe.
But Joe just cried and clung tighter to Jasmine. "Mommy, I want Mommy."
"Joe, you've got the wrong person," Edward murmured gently.
Little Bao cried out and clung tightly to Jasmine. "It's Mommy, she's Mommy."
Ethan's face turned dark. Their outing seemed to have randomly landed him a son.
"Kid, who are your parents?" Ethan tried lifting the little boy by the back of his collar but was unable to move him.
Nolan's expression darkened as he scanned the area for Edgar. His kid wasn't being watched and had gone who-knows-where.
Meanwhile, Edgar, hearing the commotion, ran over. "Bro, have you seen my son?"
In that moment, Nolan landed a punch on Edgar, demanding, "Where have you been? You weren't watching him. Do you have any idea what could have happened?"
Edgar was stunned for a moment, his eyes darting anxiously to his son. "I... I saw Mom heading toward the reef and followed her, but when I got there, she wasn't there. I was worried something had happened."
Nolan inhaled sharply in shock.
The Cunningham brothers all glanced at the nearby reef, where they saw a tall, slender middle-aged woman standing on the edge, appearing forlorn.
"Mom..." Nolan's heart raced to his throat as he panicked and ran toward the reef.
At first glance, the Cunninghams exuded an aura of glamour and affluence, their facade shimmering with the allure of prosperity. Yet beneath this glossy exterior lay depths that were anything but vibrant, steeped instead in a stagnant and impenetrable gloom.
Within the confines of the Cunningham household, the matriarch, once a figure of pride and strength, now bore the weight of immense suffering. Not only had she endured the heart-wrenching loss of her daughter, but she also grappled with the betrayal of her husband and the brazen provocations of his mistress, laid bare for all to see.
As time wore on, the burden upon Nolan's mother grew heavier still, casting a shadow of deep melancholy over her spirit. The once vibrant woman now found herself ensnared by the grip of a severe depression, its tendrils reaching into every corner of her existence.
Amidst the darkness that threatened to consume her, there remained one flicker of hope that kept her tethered to the realm of the living. It was the steadfast belief that someday, somehow, she would be reunited with her lost daughter—a beacon of light guiding her through the bleakness, preventing her from succumbing to despair.
"Mommy..." Little Bao clung desperately to Jasmine.
The doctors wanted to examine him, and he cried whenever they tried to move him.
Seeing the Cunninghams had all left, Jasmine cautiously glanced at Ethan. "Let's go have a look."
Ethan's current desire was simply to return the little boy to the Cunninghams.
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