Chapter 10

Charging forward like a bull, Cassian shot forward and grabbed Shawn by the throat.

"How dare you treat my mom like that? You're asking for it!" Cassian bellowed.

Jasmine was his only family. He would never let anyone hurt her.

Shawn swung a kick at Cassian's abdomen, but he didn't manage to kick Cassian away. On the contrary, Cassian's grip was so strong that Shawn could barely wield his own strength.

"Go on, Cassian. Kill me, if you dare!" Shawn roared.

"You think I'd be too scared to do it?" Cassian snarled as he tightened his grip.

Instantly, Shawn's face turned red, and it became almost impossible for him to breathe.

"Cassian! Let go of Shawn at once!" Lydia hastily shrieked.

"Fuck off!" Cassian shot back in anger.

In his eyes, Lydia and Shawn were two peas in a pod.

"Why, you!"

Pissed and frantic, Lydia hurriedly said to Jasmine, "Ms. Chandler! Hurry up and talk some sense into Cassian! If anything happens to Shawn, he'll lose his life, too!"

Finally snapping out of her shock, Jasmine got up and grabbed Cassian's arm tightly, crying out, "Cass, let go of Dr. Goff Jr. at once."

"He was threatening you, Mom! I'm not letting him get away with that," Cassian stubbornly declared.

"Dr. Goff Jr. didn't do anything to me. I did it on my own volition. Release him, quickly."

"No!"

Jasmine was so agitated that her tears nearly started flowing. "Cass! Are you disobeying me, too?"

Looking around, Cassian saw the tears in Jasmine's eyes. Feeling stricken, he reluctantly released his grip.

Shawn spent ages coughing before he finally caught his breath again.

"See that, you old hag?" he snarled darkly. "Your son tried to kill me in broad daylight! Do you think someone like him can keep a job at the hospital?"

Jasmine glowered at Cassian in anger and snapped, "How could you do this, Cassian? Do you think you can afford to offend him? Hurry up and apologize to him!"

"Like hell I'm going to apologize!"

Cassian glared at Lydia and snarled, "You know very well how well my mom has treated you all this while, and yet you teamed up with Shawn to hurt her! Do you even have a heart?"

"I didn't do anything to Ms. Chandler. If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask her."

Jasmine tried to smooth things over, saying, "Lydia didn't hurt me, Cass. I did it all willingly."

"Mom…"

"Heard that, Cassian? I didn't threaten the old hag. She got on her knees herself," Shawn declared. "How dare you get physical with me, huh? I'm going to make you pay for this."

Cassian was about to speak when Jasmine stopped him. Dragging him behind her, she said, "I'm so sorry, Dr. Goff Jr. Cassian wasn't aware of the situation, so he acted impulsively because he thought I was being mistreated. Please do forgive him. Here. Please accept this money as a token of my sincerity. Consider it compensation for the distress you've had to suffer."

Jasmine pulled out a thousand dollars in cash and bowed down humbly before Shawn.

But Shawn simply smacked her across the face.

"Dr. Goff Jr., you—"

He slapped her once more.

"Is this all you're giving me? Who do you think I am, a beggar?" Shawn snorted arrogantly. "Listen up, you old hag. Even if you give me a million dollars, I'm not letting your son off the hook."

"How dare you hit my mom? You've got a death wish, alright!"

Cassian clenched his fists and attempted to lunge at Shawn in fury.

"Cass! Don't cause trouble," Jasmine cried out as she gripped his arm tightly to hold him back.

"That bastard has gone too far, Mom! He hurt you right in front of me! I'm going to—"

"Quiet!" Jasmine snapped at Cassian before turning back to Shawn with a placating smile. "I'm truly sorry, Dr. Goff Jr. I'll take Cassian home with me and talk some sense into him. I'll make sure he comes and apologizes to you."

Jasmine felt humiliated, of course, but she was willing to put up with anything for the sake of Cassian's career. To stop Cassian from doing anything rash, she dragged him along with all her might, hoping to leave as soon as possible.

However, just as the two had turned around, Shawn grabbed a brick from the nearby flowerbed and threw it right at Cassian's back. There was a loud crack, and the brick split into two.

Shawn was gobsmacked. Was Cassian made of steel? Why wasn't he hurt at all?

Meanwhile, Cassian was outraged. Shawn showed no mercy with how hard he threw that brick. If it'd hit Cassian in the head, he might've died on the spot.

It was at that very moment that Serena's words popped up in his head again.

"Remember this. For a man to stand tall and hold his ground, he needs to know when to be ruthless."

Turning around, Cassian moved at unbelievable speeds. He grabbed Shawn by the throat, and when Shawn was still caught off guard, he threw Shawn to the ground. With a loud slam, Shawn's head smashed against the cement and immediately started bleeding.

Lydia was terrified. Shawn was over six feet tall and weighed over 200 pounds, but Cassian had picked him up with one hand as though he were a sack of potatoes. When did Cassian get that strong?

Thunderstruck, she didn't have time to intervene, for Cassian was already saying to Shawn, "Serena was right. Give an inch, and you'll take a mile. Even though I keep giving in and holding back, you keep crossing the line. If I recall correctly, this is the hand you used to slap my mother, right?"

He fixed his eyes on Shawn's right hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shawn roared. "How dare you attack me? You trying to get yourself killed?"

Cassian stomped on Shawn's palm, fiercely and decisively, and the sound of bones cracking out crisply as all the fingers of Shawn's right hand were crushed, turning into a mess of flesh and blood.

Shawn howled in agony.

"You pushed me around, set me up, insulted me, humiliated me, and tried to push me out of the hospital. You even stole Lydia away from me. I was willing to put up with all of that, but I won't put up with you hurting my mom."

Cassian grabbed Shawn's hair, yanking him up before kicking him in the knees. Shawn fell to his knees with a loud thud.

"Apologize to my mom," Cassian demanded icily.

"Don't even think—"

Cassian slapped Shawn in the face before repeating, "Apologize."

"You want me to apologize to the old hag? Hah! In your dreams! I'd rather die than apologize," Shawn stubbornly declared.

"In that case, I'll just have to cripple you."

With two swift punches, he broke both of Shawn's arms. Then, he sent two kicks at Shawn's knees. These were immediately followed by the sound of Shawn's kneecaps splintering.

Once again, Shawn howled in pure agony. He tried to get off the ground, but he couldn't move at all, not when all four of his limbs were broken.

Stomping on Shawn's face, Cassian asked icily, "Still not going to apologize, Shawn?"

Finally snapping out of her shock, Lydia cried out in anger, "That's enough, Cassian! You've done it now. You're going to prison!"

"If I go to prison for hurting someone, what happens if I kill someone?"

Cassian's eyes were flashing murderously as he moved his foot downward from Shawn's face, hovering it over Shawn's throat instead. Then, he raised his foot.