Chapter 5
He dropped the luggage and rushed over to Whitney, pulling her into at nervous hug. “Whitney, are you alright?”
Jasmine had always believed Carl was someone who stayed calm no matter what.
There was a time they got stuck in a snowy mountain cave. They had no signal, and barely enough food to last a day. Even when she broke down crying. he stayed composed the whole time.
But now, Jasmine realized that Carl would also feel fear when
someone he cared about got hurt. But the one he cared about had never been her.
Whitney leaned weakly against his shoulder, tears running down her face. “Carl, it hurts so much. I shouldn’t have come to your place. I should’ve stayed at the hospital.”
She had always had an innocent face. When she cried, Carl felt a pang in his heart. He suddenly remembered something and turned to glare at Jasmine with anger.
“Jasmine.” He gently placed Whitney down, then stormed over and slapped Jasmine.
The sharp smack echoed in the room. Jasmine was stunned. Her ears rang, her mouth tasted of blood, and pain flared across her cheek. She stood frozen, shocked by what had just happened.
Carl didn’t ask anything. He didn’t wait for an explanation.
He instantly believed it was the truth based on Whitney’s words.
He glared at her, his chest rising and falling. “I’ve never hit a woman before. You’re the first. If anything happens to Whitney, you’re going to regret it.”
Then, without another word, he picked Whitney up and walked out.
As they left the living room, Whitney turned her head and shot Jasmine a smug smile.
Once the house fell silent, Jasmine went back to her room like a zombie. When she saw her swollen face in the mirror, her emotions. finally burst. She grabbed her phone and called her parents overseas.
“Dad, Mom, I miss you.”
The sound of her crying made her parents instantly worried. “Who upset you, babe? Tell us, we’ll ask Carl to help you out.”
Carl was the one who had hurt her. She didn’t dare to tell them.
Holding back more sobs, she whispered, “No one bullied me. I just miss you both. I’ve booked a flight for next Wednesday. I’m planning to live abroad from now on.”
Her parents were surprised. They knew how deeply Jasmine had once loved Carl. So, they asked worriedly, “What about Carl? Did something happen between you two?”
At the mention of his name, her tears started falling all over again. “I don’t love him anymore.”
They could hear the heartbreak in her voice and understood she had been mistreated.
Sighing, they said gently, “Come home if you’re unhappy. You’ll always be our precious daughter.”
After giving her some words of comfort, they ended the call.
With her family’s support. Jasmine didn’t feel as broken anymore.
Once she calmed down, she made a call to a local garden service.
“Hello, I’d like to remove the flowers in my yard.”
A worker came soon after with a mower. He looked at the full blooms and said. “Ms. Mendoza, they’re blooming so well. Are you sure you want them gone?”
Jasmine answered without hesitation, “Yes.”
The person who once planted those flowers for her was no longer the same. There was no reason to keep them anymore.
Three days later, Carl returned home with Whitney by his side.
