Chapter 63 Ethan Openly Defended Jasmine
The Club.
Jasmine handed over her shift to a colleague and began getting ready to leave work, but then Henry sent her a message, asking her to wait at the club.
"Jasmine, Mr. Patrick will be entertaining guests here shortly. Could you say a few nice words on our behalf?" The manager walked over, smiling as he spoke.
Jasmine had social anxiety and would instinctively shy away from people.
The manager didn't mind and pulled Jasmine in warmly.
"Who is Jasmine?" Outside the door, a few bodyguards dressed in black escorted a woman inside.
The woman wore sunglasses, high heels, a tight leather skirt, and a Chanel-style jacket, making her stand out as stunning on such a cold day.
When the woman took off her sunglasses, the bodyguards cleared the area, and only then did the manager finally recognize her.
Melissa!
The manager inwardly cursed, realizing that trouble was brewing.
"Are you Jasmine?" Melissa walked up to Chloe and asked.
Chloe shook her head in fear.
Melissa scanned everyone and finally asked the manager, "Bring Jasmine out."
Clearly, she didn't think Chloe was the type Henry would be interested in.
Jasmine stood in the corner, almost burying her head in the dust. She habitually hunched her shoulders, afraid to stand up straight.
Because of the years she spent in prison, she gained a natural fear of people, so she hunched her shoulders to protect herself.
The manager nervously glanced at Jasmine. He was unsure of what to do; he didn’t know whether Mr. Patrick and Melissa had broken up or not.
Mr. Patrick might have been a passing fancy for Jasmine, but Melissa had been with Mr. Patrick for three years.
In terms of feelings, Melissa and Mr. Patrick's relationship was definitely deeper.
"Are you deaf? Who is Jasmine?" Melissa asked, looking quite displeased.
After weighing the pros and cons, the manager pointed to Jasmine in the corner. "She is. Do you need to speak with her?"
Melissa looked surprised as she walked over and pinched Jasmine's chin, examining her closely. "You are Jasmine?"
There was a look of shock and disbelief on her face. "Is Mr. Patrick blind?"
Jasmine remained silent, taking a step back and keeping her head down.
Melissa gritted her teeth. She had come ready to fight, but after seeing Jasmine like this, she lost her fighting spirit.
Before she could even make a move, her opponent already looked so pitiful. She was skilled.
"No, are you sure she's Jasmine? The one Henry personally brings breakfast to?" Melissa skeptically asked again.
The manager quickly nodded.
Melissa was shocked, and she once again began scrutinizing Jasmine. "You slept with Henry? He doesn't like your type."
Jasmine remained silent; her head lowered was as if she were trying to bury herself.
"Heh... I thought she would be a goddess. Turns out Mr. Patrick has just had too much fancy food and has developed a taste for something simple, like cabbage." Melissa muttered to herself, originally wanting to see where she had lost to a more beautiful woman.
But once she saw Jasmine behaving like this, she felt truly disappointed.
"Are you trying to steal my man?" Melissa pushed Jasmine.
Jasmine, frightened, stepped back, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
Melissa was shocked. Jasmine was truly a skilled actor...
She hadn't even touched her yet...
Why wasn't she in showbiz?
Melissa's bodyguard walked over and grabbed Jasmine.
"Don't touch me..." Jasmine reflexively recoiled. She instinctively curled up, hugging her head and hiding inside a low cabinet.
Melissa was taken aback by Jasmine's reaction.
The bodyguard furrowed his brow and took a step back.
Melissa looked closely at Jasmine, then glanced at the manager. "What's... going on with her?"
The manager quickly intervened. "Jasmine is timid."
"Jasmine!"
Upon receiving a distress call from Chloe, Emily rushed down from upstairs and stood in front of Jasmine. "Miss Melissa, please don't harass her. She has acute PTSD and severe depression. If anything happens to her because of you, Mr. Patrick won't let you off the hook."
Emily was uncertain, but for now, she had to play the Henry card.
Melissa looked surprised, "Have Henry’s preferences changed lately?"
Emily protected Jasmine and spoke again. "Mr. Patrick dislikes trouble. Don't provoke his people; you know the rules."
Melissa snorted. "I just wanted to see who's trying to steal my man."
Turned out she was a nutcase.
Jasmine's face turned pale. She wasn't afraid of Melissa; she was afraid of Melissa's bodyguard.
Back then, Zelda and her bodyguards cornered her in the alley. If Richard hadn't arrived in time, she would have been...
Since then, whenever more than two men approached her, Jasmine would have a breakdown; she’d struggle to breathe and tremble all over, unable to speak a word.
"Jasmine, it's okay." Emily understood Jasmine's condition and crouched outside the low cabinet, soothing her softly. "It's okay, come out, okay?"
Emily had spent two and a half years in prison, during which Jasmine had attempted suicide countless times. Eventually, the prison guards, fearing for her safety, sent her for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) more than a dozen times.
After each treatment, Jasmine seemed like a lifeless body, devoid of a soul, with hollow eyes, sometimes not even remembering herself.
At that time, Emily didn't understand what ECT was.
It wasn't until after her release that Emily researched this treatment. Once she learned what it was, she cried for a long time; she even had to cover her mouth to stop her sobs from disturbing her neighbors.
It was a form of shock therapy, essentially temporarily numbing a person through electric shocks to help them forget their issues and reduce the patient's suicidal tendencies.
Even after repeated treatments, it was unclear if the painful memories had disappeared.
Jasmine became increasingly numb, silent, and in severe cases, unable to care for herself.
Her memory deteriorated, and she became forgetful and was often scolded by her cellmates.
Even the prison guards bullied her.
In short, that was Jasmine's hell.
It was a hell created by those who had once loved her and whom she had once loved.
"Don't pretend, I haven't even touched you." Melissa felt Jasmine was exaggerating. "With such great acting skills, it's a waste for you not to be an actress. Would Henry fall for this act? You’re just pretending to be weak."
Her bodyguard had only nudged her; was this reaction necessary?
"Miss Kimberly, don't judge others casually. If you knew what she has been through, you wouldn't say that about her." Emily's eyes reddened as she looked back at Jasmine. "Jasmine, come out; she won't harm you."
Melissa opened her mouth but remained silent.
Jasmine was curled up in the corner, finding safety only there.
Perhaps, in prison, she had gotten used to hiding under tables.
"Have your bodyguard leave, don't surround us." Emily asked Melissa to take her bodyguard away.
Melissa, who had come with such a show of force, was even scaring herself, let alone Jasmine.
With a snort, Melissa put on her sunglasses and left, looking bored.
"Find out what's wrong with that Jasmine."
Her bodyguard was also curious; the woman's terror didn't seem like an act.
Not long after Melissa and the bodyguard left, Ethan and Liam entered the club.
"Mr. Douglas?" The manager hurried over to greet them. "Are you here for Mr. Patrick's get-together? Please follow me."
Ethan furrowed his brow and walked over to Emily.
Emily instinctively shielded Jasmine. "Mr. Douglas... Jasmine was a bit frightened."
Ethan seemed used to Jasmine hiding in a corner when scared.
That day at the Douglas Family mansion, she had hidden in a corner behind the curtains.
"How long do you plan on hiding?" Ethan crouched in front of Jasmine and asked.
Jasmine bit her finger, glanced up at Ethan, then lowered her head.
Ethan reached out to Jasmine. "Come out; I'm here, no one would dare touch you."
Jasmine stared at Ethan blankly, her eyes feeling a bit hot.
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