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Home / Romance / The Payback Of A Woman Scorned / Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

All Chapters of The Payback Of A Woman Scorned : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

30 Chapters

011

Jasmine's Pov The deafening bass of the blaring music slowly faded into a slow, soft song that hummed beneath my ribs, but it did nothing to calm the storm brewing in my heart. Because the dead rose was still in my palm, its petals dried and wilted like something that had already given up. And that tag… that damn message on the tag that read: “I've been watching you rebuild. It would be a shame… to break you again. Just like the rose in your hand, they die when crushed, and you, Jasmine, would be like that rose.Soon.”It shouldn't have, but a cold shiver crawled up my spine, just as a voice brushed the back of my neck. I took a deep breath to steady myself and couldn't help but wonder why today had to be weird. The voice was low, unhurried, and all too familiar. “Seems someone finally received the package I sent… after so many rejections.”For a heartbeat, every muscle in my back locked and recognition punched through me so fast I forgot how to breathe.Lowering himself, he to

012

Jasmine's Pov The days slipped by, and suddenly, it was just one day until the world would know I was officially back. My car rolled to a stop in front of the building, and my personal security opened the door with practiced efficiency. I stepped out, heels clicking confidently against the gleaming marble floor. The memory of the dead rose, and the threat written on its tag, still tugged at the back of my mind, but I never allowed it to show on my face. “Good morning boss,” Rhea greeted, already waiting by the entrance, tablet in one hand and clipboard on the other. “And what does my day look like today, Rhea?” I asked instead, stretching out my arms lightly. “What?” She blinked, caught off guard. “The tablet,” I clarified, walking around my desk and slowly sank on my chair with utmost grace. “Oh.” She placed it in my hand, but even without it, she straightened her posture professionally, hands clasped behind her back. “You have a stack of documents that need

013

Jasmine's povThe car rolled into a stop and I looked out the window. The Aurelius, San Francisco most coveted five star restaurant, is ranked among the city's elite. It's expensive beyond reason, so exclusive that even a well off household would need months of planning to secure a single reservation, but how is it teeming with people?! Matthew, my driver, turned off the engine and stepped out with Rhea in a perfect sync. He walked around to open the door, and I stepped onto the pavement. The soles of my shoes gleamed briefly in the sun, catching the light. Mathew closed the door and drove towards the garage while Rhea fell into step beside me, guiding me inside with a quiet protection. I could feel it, she wasn't at ease without security at my disposal.I smiled. It's not like anyone could attempt any silly act in broad daylight, right? Even if they could, I bet they wouldn't dare. We walked further into the restaurant and I understood why it was full. It wasn't the ‘crowded’ ki

014

Jasmine's pov“Oh my God, Enoch. Look. They're letting just anyone into the private floor now.”I didn't have to turn immediately, because I already knew. But I turned anyway. And there they were. Melody and Enoch, my ex husband. The man I had once loved with sincerity that now embarrassed me. He stood half a step behind Melody's shoulder, wearing the expression of a man trying very hard to look like he'd chosen to be here, Ns failing convincingly at it. He had always been half a step behind someone. I simply hadn't understood, for too long, that, that person had never been me. Melody's eyes locked onto me, and then sharply dropped to the gown, before it glinted with possession. “Enoch… I want that,” she said, not even bothering to lower her voice. The room stilled slightly at her demand. I mean, who wants a cloth someone is already testing out? I raised a brow. “Excuse me?” “Are you deaf? That dress,” she repeated, stepping closer, her gaze dragging over me. “I said I want it.

015

Jasmine's pov A few seconds later, I found it! Another gown. This one was deeper, even richer. A midnight shade that shifted between navy and black depending on the light, with fine detailing along the waist that caught like scattered stars. Elegant and commanding, it was the kind of dress that didn't ask for attention but claimed it. “Wrap this,” I said to Celeste, already picking it up. Melody, who had been held back by security until they were able to pay up, scoffed behind me, but I didn't turn. From my periphery, I could see Enoch trying to put a call across, maybe to someone who could help him out. So much for his upstart company. Minutes later, I stepped forward to the counter and placed my card down. A diamond-sapphire finish, the surface reflecting in prismatic edges that shimmered with quiet authority. It was the kind of card most people only heard about, but never fortunate enough to see. A collective shift rippled through the crowd. “Oh my God. Is that—?“No fucki

016

Jasmine's pov “Home, ma'am?” Matthew asked, eyes briefly meeting mine in the rear view mirror. “To the hotel,” I said. “Whichever one Rhea has on standby.”Rhea, seated beside me, didn't even blink. She just typed something on her tablet. “Already booked, ma'am. El Rancho Grand. It's twenty out.”I nodded absent mindedly and turned back to the window. The city started moving past in its usual indifferent beauty, and I let the motion and the blurring lights do what they usually did, which was nothing tonight. My mind refused to quiet. It kept returning, stubbornly, to a single point. Samuel.I watched the streetlight drag across the glass and tried to make sense of it. That boy from college, that quiet, reserved, almost painfully careful boy who used to sit in the back of Langley's seminar and say very little and observe everything, where had he gone? What had replaced him? Because the man in that boutique today was not careful. He was not quiet. He wasn't anything I had filed awa

017

Jasmine's pov The sound but me before reality did. The definitive click of a door handle depressing, the soft exhale of a door moving on its hinges. The phone slipped from my fingers onto the mattress. I cautiously took some steps backward until my back hit the bed, eyes straining against the darkness so hard they ached. Someone was in my room, but who? The receptionist? Rhea? My blood turned to ice when my eyes caught sight of a silhouette. It didn't have the soft features of a woman. This one was tall and broad-shouldered. Standing completely still against the marginally lighter darkness of the corridor. Enoch… The thought arrived cold and fast and certain. Only a coward like him would sneak into a hotel to fulfill his threat when the power was in maintenance. He must have found out the dead roses hadn't worked. He's decided to stop being subtle. So, he had sent someone, or came himself, knowing I was in a hotel room. I pressed myself harder against the bed. My eyes darte

018

Jasmine's pov Neither of us had decided to do it. I was certain of it. It simply happened—the way gravity happens, the way thunder follows lightning— a collision that has been building long before either of us named it. I froze. And so did he. A single suspended second in which the whole room held its breath. His lips were so soft. Smooth, warm from the sleep, from him. And his jaw, it was sharp and clean in my peripheral vision and his lashes were dark against his skin and even in the darkness I could see the lines of his face well enough to understand, with a clarity that was deeply inconvenient, that Samuel Argent was a devastatingly beautiful man. Heat pooled low in my stomach with permission, heart beating so loud I was almost certain he could hear it. I shut my eyes and shook my head firmly. “You said no men, Jasmine! You said focus. You have a life to rebuild and an announcement tomorrow and you said—” I stepped back gently. My body registered the loss of warmth

019

Jasmine's pov Every word he said hit harder, and the look in his eyes made sure of it. It was intense with the certainty that it didn't need volume. My heart did a flip and I shyly looked away.“I'll… I'll see you later,” I stuttered, to the curtains instead of him. I heard the door open and then…“Get some rest before the announcement,” he said. “You've already won. You just need to show up.”And then, the door closed, leaving a reflective silence in its wake. “I already won,” his words echoed in my head, eyes staring intently at the closed door, “I just need to show up.” A victorious smirk slowly graced my lips. “And up, I'll show.” An hour later I was standing beside the mirror, looking back at the reflection that stared back at me. I swear, my makeup artist deserves an award of recognition, because if I wasn't me, I wouldn't be able to recognize myself.Makeup framed a face with quiet intention, flawless where it needed to be, bold where it mattered. A deep, smoky shadow st

020

Jasmine's pov Aww. A mocking smile slipped past my lips at the thought. I can't wait to watch his expression when he finds out. I moved further in, but before I could get into the main hall, I heard a voice. Bingo! “Look who decided to show up.” Melody's voice cut through the air before I reached the main circle. But I didn't stop walking. Didn't even look at her. If I stop, then how would the movie be interesting? “You know, that's rude,” she continued like a fool, louder now with a voice that was filled with pride. “Ignoring people who are clearly above your level.”Now, that made me pause. And then, ever so slowly, I turned. Samantha, my mother in— sorry, ex mother-in-law— stood a few feet away with two women from Enoch's Board, a champagne glass already in hand at 9:00 in the morning, wearing dove gray and a smile that had the ones of a closed window. Her eyes found mine across the terrace and something disdainful moved in them the moment she registered my presence. I wat

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