Chapter Four

Maria, Jasmine's assistant never for once had any doubts about Jasmine's abilities as a perfumer. But she could not for the life of her understand why Jasmine was choosing to make such sudden adjustments to the perfume after months and months of corrections and debugging.

"Maria, I know this is all out of the ordinary, but I'm going to need you to trust me here." Jasmine urged.

“This formula is my only proof,” she added quietly. “If I lose it… I lose everything.”

"Fine. Alright." Maria said and sighed, before adding, "But tell me, are you going to the competition?"

Maria knew that Jasmine never went for any of the competitions, and it was something she sort of felt bitter about from time to time.

Jasmine Romano, she knew, toiled hard and long for the perfumes she made. But at the end of the day, it was Flora who attended the competitions, and so it was Flora who received all of the praise. For work, she had never partaken in for once.

Hell, she wasn't even sure the last time the Flora character stepped into one of the labs to carry out any form of experiments or research about perfumes.

Jasmine knew Maria felt sorry, and did her best to assuage her worry.

"Don't worry so much about it, Maria. What is mine will surely be mine, and no one will be able to take it from me. But I need you to do this for me. Please be careful about it. It's very important."

“More important than you think, to be honest.” she murmured.

"Ahh, alright ma'am. Don't you worry, I'll handle it with care." Maria said and the call ended soon. When it was over, Jasmine slipped her phone into her bag and made her way to D'Angelo Inc.

Just then, her phone buzzed and she reached for it to see a notification from the hospital.

‘Payment Received. Surgery Confirmed.’

She stopped walking, and her vision blurred for a moment.

Jasper had really paid? Just like that?

A bill she couldn’t even dream of affording… was actually gone in seconds.

Her fingers tightened around her bag and she felt her eyes sting with tears.

For the first time since her life became chaotic… she felt like she could breathe.

“Thank you.” She whispered to a God, to the angels and maybe even to the absent Jasper D’Angelo.

D'Angelo Inc. was a very large company, with a renowned parking lot, and when she arrived, Jasper's assistant, Lorenzo, was already there to pick her up.

"Ma'am, welcome, please follow me," he said, and so saying led her into the building, and up Jasper D'Angelo's exclusive elevator that led directly to his office. While in the elevator, he explained what he could about the competition at hand and the role she played in it,

"The information about the perfumes has been sent to the project department, and the fragrance as well as one of ours will be entered into the competition."

She sighed in gratitude and could not hold back her smile, "Thank you. That really means a lot." she said sincerely.

“President D’Angelo personally ordered it,” Lorenzo added. “He said your formula must be protected at all costs.”

“I see.” She muttered and her heart actually skipped.

Silly of her, she thought.

But usually, when there was a perfume for her to enter back at Antonio's company, it had to be three months before the competition, and even then, it was a decisive thing.

But Jasper had done just that in a day. He’d probably had to take someone out to put her in, and all without knowing whether or not she was going to win for his company.

It was such a huge risk they were taking, but she was in it to win. They just had to win.

When the elevator reached its designated floor, it opened and Jasmine walked out. And the first person she saw, was none other of course, than Jasper D'Angelo, sitting behind a wide table, a stack of documents before him.

He sensed someone watching him and looked up just in time to find Jasmine's gaze on him.

He looked at her for the longest time.

His chest tightened strangely. That same familiar feeling again. Like he had seen her cry before. Like he had once owed her his life.

He just couldn’t seem to shake it off.

He marred his beautiful face with a frown and finally asked, "Are you in pain?"

She drew her brows together, "what are you talking about?" she asked, her eyes following his gaze, and saw where blood dried on her skin. It was definitely the cut from Antonio's shards of glass.

She gritted her teeth in anger toward that son of a gun called Antonio. She had been so caught up earlier that she hadn't even felt any pain, and well, the blood had simply dried up while she was on the road.

Jasper looked at her in distress and walked to one of the cabinets, to get out a safety kit, and brought it to her. He made her sit down and brought out disinfectant, cotton wool, and ointment, and treated her wounds carefully.

Jasmine looked up at him with shock, while he tended her wound. The disinfectant stung a bit, but the ointment was very soothing. So soothing, that she thought that she might weep.

He tended her with such seriousness that touched her.

She had been with Antonio for close to five years, and not once had he tended her wounds this way. Emotionally, or physically.

It wasn't that men didn't have it in them to be gentle. It was just that some men did not care enough to be gentle.

When Jasper was done applying the ointment, he looked up at her and saw how she looked at him with overly wide eyes, "Is something wrong?"

She bit her lower lip and shook her head, "No. Thank you so much." she said politely.

"You are my woman now, Jasmine." Jasper said, closing the lid, his face void of readable emotions,

Then after a beat, his voice dropped lower.

“But more importantly… you’re under my protection.”

She nodded slowly.

"You don't have to be so polite.” He added, his expression grim, “And while we are on this topic, there are a few things I need to say."

She looked up at him with a puzzled look, "I'm all ears, Mr. D'Angelo."

He leveled her gaze and said he didn't much like the way she addressed him as Mr. D'Angelo, but he didn't push it.

"Now that you are my woman, I will not entertain the possibility of other men getting close to you. You aren't allowed to see other men."

She nodded quickly and firmly because she totally agreed. She wouldn’t disrespect him by seeing other people.

"I totally agree with you. So be rest assured, that during the period of our… relationship , there will be no third parties. I can only ask that you do the same."

Jasper raised his brow at the idea of her asking for chastity. "But should you end up meeting the one you love someday, then you can go your own way. But while we are here, we will be faithful. I will be faithful."

She had been hurt already. She had no desire to set herself up for another.

Jasper nodded with a smile, "Very well then."

But inwardly, he already knew something that she didn’t.

He wasn’t planning to let her go.

Jasmine looked at him like she was looking at some kind of dream. The man was successful and handsome.

And for now, he was hers.

She had been in the most toxic relationship ever and with some accident of a miracle, she finally had him. It was a blessing really. And she was grateful.

They went back to the parking lot together and arrived at the competition arena in a luxury car.

She was sure she would see those couple of scumbags, and the thought of it deepened her smile.

This was way more than revenge now.

This was about clearing her name and taking back the life they tried to steal from her.

And soon those who dared to double-cross her would finally pay the price.