Chapter 3

3

"You already wasted three hours of mine. Now be quick and tell me how much you want." 

Kyle's scrutiny seared into her flesh, hot and insulting and agonizing. He was barely keeping his unbridled anger in control because the woman looked pathetic with all the bandages around her right arm, head and that pitiful blue bruise on the corner of her mouth from falling on her face after getting hit by his car. 

Otherwise he had lost his sanity the minute he regarded the piece of paper in her grip that she had been holding when she was struck by his car. 

Kyle looked at the woman on the bed and felt disgust brimming within him. He had dealt with women like her before. The ones who would do anything for attention… or money. It wasn’t the first time someone had suddenly come in front of his car! 

Some women thought throwing themselves in harm’s way was a shortcut to a fat cheque. They thought that one minor injury, a few tears, a few fake sob stories and boom… They'll get what they want.

He wasn’t new to this game. He had experienced this before as well. Women came in front of his car all the time and then demanded compensation or fake sympathy until Kyle agreed to pay money to get rid of them. 

Therefore, a pretty face and a dramatic fall didn’t fool him anymore. He'd been around enough gold diggers to know when something smelled off… and the woman here in front of him seemed like a master player! 

There was no doubt the woman jumped in front of his car to demand money— like everyone else! 

Ultimately her plan was something else! 

She probably wanted to use the baby in her womb— which he suspected didn't belong to him; after all, a dozen women like her visited him at his mansion, office, and where not, just to claim that he impregnated them. 

But too bad for her that her plan backfired because the hit with his car was a little too much and it caused her excessive bleeding right there on the pavement. 

And by the time he rushed her to the hospital, the baby had bled out of her. 

Well, he accepted that he was the biggest and the baddest player in the country. But one thing he always resorted to was making sure he never spilled into a woman without a condom, no matter if he was sober or drunk. He always used protection. It was the only way he could prevent an unwanted baby from popping up in his life when he wanted none. 

Therefore, when this 'too beautiful to be a human' looking woman jumped in front of his monstrous black Rolls Royce, he knew at first glance that it was a scheme. 

Kyle Panther didn't become the wealthiest investor in Eastonville out of mere luck. He was the CEO of Panther Group, one of the most successful Corporate Groups that had been in the number one position for the last five years.

Years of hard work and observation had brought him to where he had come today. 

"Price? What price are you talking about?" The woman blinked her eyes, shocked. 

"Don't act like you don't know." He drawled fiercely. "I want to know the sum you would take to shut your mouth and never bring the baby up."

As if her wounds weren't any deeper, he carved them even more, making her heart bleed and pump in anger. 

Jasmine's eyes hardened on the man, she hollered, "Mister, who the hell do you think you are offering me money for?"

Her head throbbed and a cursing pain emerged in the back of her eyes. Jasmine didn't want to see the man anymore. He had a pretty face with a bad attitude. A devil with no heart and conscience. 

At once Jasmine deemed that the saying 'a stunning exterior hid the ugliness within' was about him. 

"Nurse! Nurse! I want this man thrown out of my room. Nurse!" She called out for help. 

However, no one came, and from all the loud yelling, drowsiness rose over Jasmine. She rested back on the pillow to take a breath. When she undid her eyes to call for help, Kyle sniggered. 

"Don't you get it, lady? No one's going to come. I have reserved the entire floor for your treatment." He paused. "Enjoy the VIP treatment while I'm willing to pay for it." The dark glow to his eyes made him look more condescending. 

Jasmine's jaw clenched. If she wasn't injured, she would have definitely jumped to her feet to connect a fist with his arrogant face. 

"Who are you?" She demanded with blazing eyes. 

"Come on, now." Kyle chuckled. "Don't play dumb. You know who I am."

Jasmine was outraged. She encountered another asshóle within hours of dealing with her husband. Her life couldn't get any more cruel, could it? 

"I don't know you." She hissed with tears surfacing in her eyes. 

Kyle stared at her for a while and a smirk unleashed on his lips. Women and their tactics. He could never understand them. 

This woman was probably one of those he had one of the many memorable nights with. He hated her theatrics and how she was acting like she didn't know him. Maybe this was her way to get more money out of him. 

'Money is what you want, right. Fine, money is what you will get.' He mused before retrieving a checkbook from his inside pocket. 

He was getting late. Hence, to make it quick, he tore a blank check out of the book and extended it towards Jasmine. 

"Okay, I agree that you don't know me. Let's keep it that way." He gestured to the check with his eyes and added. "Here is a blank check. Fill it with the sum of your liking and go to your bank. Within twenty-four hours you will have the money transferred in your bank." 

That was the height of being shameless. Jasmine's eyes crackled with fire as she yanked the IV pipe, detaching it from her hand. As she tried to step down on her feet, her body betrayed her, and she went down on the floor. 

She closed her eyes, bracing herself to embrace new pain. But it never came. She was held in time by Kyle and a jolt of electricity slithered up her spine. 

Where Kyle held her, her skin burned, and when she found his eyes, she completely froze. The man looked exotic up this close. A frown marred her features because his eyes were full of contempt as if he wasn't holding a woman but a poisonous viper. 

"Let go." She demanded in a low voice while looking away. 

Kyle didn't comment. He was blank from the time he stepped forward to help the woman till he heard her voice. She was soft in his arms. Her voice was warm honey. Alas, she was a woman with a questionable character and was motivated by financial gain. 

No wonder, she jumped in front of his car with a pregnant belly. That pretty much revealed her lack of integrity and a focus on material gain. 

Kyle attempted to reign in his rage as he helped Jasmine back in bed. Once in, he covered her with the blanket— out of compassion he was forced to show given she lost the baby that may or may not have been his... But a baby is still a baby— before stepping back.

Jasmine was caught off guard by his next move. 

Tbc...