Chapter 5

When Cassian got home, Jasmine had dinner ready.

After seeing how drenched Cassian was, Jasmine chuckled and asked, "Why are you all wet, Cass? Did you fall into Mirror Lake?"

"You're incredible, Mom. How did you find out?"

"You fell into Mirror Lake?" Jasmine exclaimed, her expression turning serious. "Quick, tell me what happened."

Cassian told her how he saved Henry from drowning at Mirror Lake. After hearing the story, Jasmine nodded approvingly. "You did the right thing. There's no greater good than saving a person's life. But, Cass, if you ever encounter something like that again, make sure you take precautions. You must be careful."

"Got it, Mom."

"Go get changed, and we'll have dinner."

"Okay."

Jasmine was from Sunvale. Cassian didn't know much about her family, but based on what she said from time to time, he could vaguely sense that she came from a large, prominent family.

He didn't know just how large or prominent they were, but he didn't care to know either. In fact, he resented them wholeheartedly. He and Jasmine wouldn't have had such a tough life if her family hadn't mercilessly kicked her out.

But of course, Cassian loathed his father even more. Even after all these years, his father never once visited them. He didn't care about them at all. Cassian believed that an irresponsible guy like that wasn't even fit to live.

Jasmine suffered greatly as she had to raise Cassian all alone. Despite only being in her 40s, her hair had started turning gray.

All throughout dinner, Cassian kept hesitating. There were many times when Cassian wanted to ask who his father was, but each time he saw Jasmine's graying hair and wrinkles, he stopped himself.

"Why haven't I been seeing much of Lydia lately, Cass? Have you two been arguing?" Jasmine queried.

"We're not arguing. She's busy with work," Cassian lied.

He dared not tell Jasmine outright that Lydia had cheated on him. Jasmine already considered Lydia her future daughter-in-law. She would probably faint from anger if she found out Lydia had betrayed him.

"Cass, bring Lydia home for dinner next time. I've got something to discuss with her," Jasmine said.

Eyeing Jasmine curiously, Cassian asked, "What do you want to discuss with her, Mom?"

"What else? Your marriage, of course!" Jasmine said with a laugh. "You two have been dating since medical school. It's been two years now, and your relationship has been going quite steadily. I'm thinking about finding the opportunity to meet with her parents so that we can discuss your marriage. What do you think?"

Cassian wanted to say he thought that was a bad idea. "Mom, Lydia and I just graduated. We haven't even settled into our jobs yet. There's no reason to rush into marriage."

"Why not? Remember our neighbor, Wilma Lewis? Her son is the same age as you, and she already has a grandson!" Jasmine exclaimed. "You're going to do as I say! Bring Lydia home for dinner sometime, and I'll talk to her about this!"

Cassian didn't know what to do.

After dinner, he went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep. Everything that happened today kept playing in his mind. The thought of Lydia and Shawn hooking up pissed him off to no end.

"One day, I'll prove to you that betraying me was the biggest mistake of your life!"

Since he couldn't fall asleep, he decided to spend some time examining the new knowledge in his head. The Compendium of Madiora Charms and Spells wasn't the only thing he received from his ancestor. There was quite a lot of other knowledge regarding medicine, martial arts, cultivation methods, divination, and more.

Cassian closed his eyes and began studying the new material.

…

The night passed, and when Cassian woke up the next morning, he didn't feel tired at all. On the contrary, he felt alert and bursting with energy.

After breakfast, he went to the nursing assistant station to report for work.

Rivershire Hospital was a massive hospital. There were over 30 people at the nursing assistant station. Most of them were older men and women in their 40s and 50s. Cassian was the only one of his age there.

As soon as he arrived, he saw two of the older women dabbing at their tears.

"What happened?" Cassian asked one of the older men standing around.

"They were scolded by a patient," the older man explained. "Only yesterday, a new patient moved into Room 301 of the Intermediate Care Unit. However, she's already gone through four nursing assistants, and she has rebuked every single one of them. She's a difficult patient, already."

Just then, Sally Jones, the head of the nursing assistants, spotted Cassian and said, "Cassian, you're assigned to Room 301."

Stiffening, Cassian glanced at Sally.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up! If the patient complains about you, you can consider yourself fired!" Sally threatened fiercely.

"Understood," Cassian said before walking off.

As he did, he heard Sally let out a mocking laugh. "Who does he think he is? How dare he offend Dr. Goff Jr.? He doesn't know his place at all."

Ignoring her, Cassian headed to Room 301. As soon as he entered, he saw a woman sitting on the hospital bed. It was the patient, Serena Landon.

His eyes flashed with admiration, for she was far too sexy!

Serena wore a lavender-colored dress with a revealing neckline that showed off plenty of her soft, almost translucent skin. She had an extremely slender waist, too. Even as she sat on the bed, her curves were perfectly displayed.

To make matters worse, her left thigh was left uncovered by the blanket. With how long and slender it was, it was impossible for someone not to wonder just how beautiful her face had to be to match her body.

Cassian instinctively looked at her face, and at the same time, she noticed him. Their eyes met. Instantly, he stopped breathing.

All he could think of was how such a captivating woman could exist.

Serena was probably around 30 years old. She had a thick head of hair and an oval-shaped face with large, round eyes. She gave off a naturally seductive air that reminded people of nymphs and sirens.

She spoke up first. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Her voice was beautiful, but her tone was frosty.

Snapping out of his reverie, Cassian said sheepishly, "Hello. I'm the new nursing assistant."

"You're a nursing assistant?"

After studying him for a moment, she asked, "Where's your identification?"

Cassian quickly showed it to her.

She glanced at it before asking, "What were you looking at just now?"

Cassian blushed. He couldn't possibly blurt out that he was looking at her, right?

He certainly didn't expect her to say, "Were you looking at me?"

Cassian nodded stiffly.

"Do you think I'm attractive?" she asked, her eyes blinking mischievously.

"You are!"

"What part of me is the most attractive to you? My face or…"

As she spoke, she suddenly did something that made Cassian's heart pound.