Semua Bab Opening My Eyes to Reality: Bab 561 - Bab 570

Jasmine got so worked up as she spoke that she reached out to shove Natalie, who deftly sidestepped.The latter let out a short, cold laugh. "Are you thinking of getting physical now?"Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, Jasmine retorted, "Don't act like you're any better, Natalie. You look down on me, but at least my kid belongs to my ex-husband. You, on the other hand, have such a messy personal life that your kids aren't your current man's. Who knows who fathered them—"The crack of a slap cut her off. Natalie's palm landed hard and clean across Jasmine's face, which caught the latter off guard and sent her stumbling back until her hip hit the edge of the bed with a dull thud.Jasmine winced in pain and snapped, "H-How dare you hit me!"Natalie flexed her hand, which was still stinging and numb from the slap. Slowly looking up at Jasmine, she snapped back in a raised, pitched tone, "If I feel like giving you a slap, I'll do it! I never knew I had to get your approval."

Jasmine sobbed, "Natalie said I'd never set foot in the Zimmerman residence and that I was manipulative, that I could win you over with a bowl of plain oatmeal. She said you were only interested in me because I'm new, and once you get sick of me, you'd toss me aside."I couldn't just stand there and take it, so I snapped back. I told her she's been divorced too, so she should show me a little kindness. And that was when she snapped."She slapped me and said she was teaching me a lesson for you. Besides, you told me that even if I ran to you crying, you'd still side with her."The more Jasmine spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and the more her tears fell. For a moment, Benjamin was at a loss."Is it really true that Natalie slapped you?" he asked.Jasmine let out a small, broken laugh. "You think I'd lie about this?"She could tell that even in the face of solid proof, he still doubted her. Natalie and Bella clearly held no small place in his heart.Adopting a strategy of retre

A sharp slap rang out as the meat on the grill sizzled. Immediately after, the room went silent.Frowning, Benjamin sat frozen with the phone in his right hand and his knuckles white from gripping it too hard. Jasmine's sharp, acidic voice replayed in his head like a loop.When she'd first come to him with that story, something hadn't sat right with him. Those words hadn't sounded like anything Natalie would say. She might look down on Jasmine, but she wasn't blunt and straightforward like Bella or one for unfiltered outbursts.Now, it hit him that he'd been played.A dark scowl spread across his face. His Adam's apple bobbed for some time before he finally let out a low, gritted curse, "Damn it!"Watching the drama unfold, Bella crossed one leg over the other and commented, "Lucky for us, Natalie had the foresight to record everything. Who knows what other schemes Ms. Plain Oatmeal might've had up her sleeve?"Honestly, Ben, how could you be so blind as to pass up on a decent wo

Rowan silently cursed himself for being the useless fool who lost control so quickly. He kept a straight face and evenly said, "I'm not leaving. I'm just fixing the water temperature."Oh… so he wanted to give her a bath.Natalie blinked in realization before letting go and lazily sinking back against the bed. A few minutes later, Rowan had the water running at just the right temperature. He thought she might have fallen asleep by now, but to his surprise, she'd changed into a silk nightgown. Her long hair cascaded behind her shoulders as she stood gracefully by the door.For a moment, he just stared until she spoke first. "Is the water ready?"He nodded, while she gave a small smile and walked toward him barefoot, step by step. When she lifted her chin, her cheeks were flushed like flowers in spring, and her lips were a lovely red. She exuded a captivating air."I've had too much to drink, so I'm afraid I might slip, Rowan. Could you stay with me?" She'd drunk so much that her

"Nothing for now," Gwen replied."Good. Then set it up," Natalie instructed.When she pushed the office door and sank into her chair, a thick stack of files was already waiting for her on the desk. As she rubbed her temples, Gwen added, "Ms. Sutton, will RN Group be donating to the charity foundation again this year?"Ever since RN Group was founded, it had made sizable annual donations every spring to a charity foundation. But with everything that had been happening lately, Natalie hadn't had the time to think about it."Follow the same arrangement as previous years. Please handle it.""Understood, Ms. Sutton," Gwen replied.Natalie spent the rest of the afternoon buried in work. When her eyes began to sting from staring at contracts for too long, she reached for a soothing eye drop and leaned back in her chair for a brief rest with her eyes closed.That was when her phone rang. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her screen, only to see that it was a call from Holt from