Author's P O V
"Acting like a victim?!" She repeated his words in disbelief, her voice broken, filled with pain as the tears flowed down her cheeks.
The words 'act victim' triggered the trauma she suffered in the past when he accused her of the same while she tried to explain that she didn't cheat on him.
Sebastian's eyes widened seeing her tears but this time, he turned away and stormed out of the room, filled with his own anger and pain. He is hurt and is in pain, too.
Remembering the same tears she had when he refused to trust her, how could he trust Jasmine when he got to see all the evidence in front of his eyes and she couldn't even come up and say that it was a lie? His heart was broken at that spot and it didn't heal even after all these years.
For the past six years, he did everything to forget her and the pain he went through, but none of them helped. It still haunts him like the worst nightmare.
It was slowly killing him, as he missed her and hated her at the same time. His life was never the same after that; he couldn't sleep without having her in his dreams or nightmares. He couldn't talk to other women without having thoughts of her.
Even though she was never physically there, she has always been around him, everywhere and every minute of his life. So when he saw her moving on in her life with another man, it made him so angry.
He reached the open space on the same floor after wandering around in the corridor, lost in thoughts of her — in thoughts of Jasmine.
The fresh air hit him, getting him out of that situation a little and giving him time to calm himself down so he could reject them and get back to work just like the plan he had.
He was about to leave, but his foot stopped as soon as he heard the only name that turned his world upside down—Jasmine. He turned his head to the side, seeing three men walking to the other side of the same open space.
"Do you really think we will get this project after all the efforts?!"
"I don't think so; Mr. Donovan doesn't seem to like any of the designs."
"He seems really bored, not like Mr. Devis, who was so impressed and thought they could get the project."
"Latha was not happy when Mr. Devis only selected Jasmine's designs and even argued back that hers are much better than Jasmine's, and if we didn't get the project, then she could use this against her."
"But come on, be genuine. Aren't Jasmine's designs much better than other designers?"
"Yes, her designs are good, just like her skill in seducing Mr. Devis."
Laughter
Sebastian clenched his hand in anger but continued to hear.
"But think about it, no matter who is in the place of Mr. Devis, they can never reject someone like her."
"She is so pretty and hot!"
"If I ever get a chance to be with her, I will do it at any cost!"
"Don't forget you are married!"
Laughter
"I could give up anything just to be with her!"
"But it's impossible because she is getting the attention of our boss. Do you think she could spare her time on normal employees like us?"
"I even heard she is the highest-paid designer."
"What?! Hasn't Latha been working longer than her? No wonder she hates Jasmine. She is the highest-paid and gets the attention of our boss."
"I wanna be the boss for a time just to know how it feels to be inside her."
"Come on, stop dreaming."
"But haven't you guys ever thought about it?"
"We did, but we know it will only happen in a dream and not in real life."
Sebastian's fist turned red with each second as he turned to control himself from jumping on them and hurting them to blue and black. He was in his thin patience as he heard everything about his woman.
But he turned around and left in the same anger, so he wouldn't cross the line and make himself a fool in front of Jasmine, just like he did back then. He doesn't want her to know that she still affects him.
No matter how much he hates her, she will always be his woman, his Jasmine, and his wife.
He turned around and left with one thing in his head, rejecting the offer and going back to the life that he adopted for the past six years.
On the other side:
Jasmine slid down to her knees, breaking down and crying for the first time in the last six years as she forced herself to be strong. But right now, she couldn't bear it. She let her emotions take control over her as she let out everything that had been hidden deep inside her heart.
It took her at least 10 minutes to calm, and she got up from the floor and sat on the seat while wiping her tears away from her face and chanting "Everything is fine! You didn't do anything! Be strong! Be stronger for Cece!"
She did it again and again to calm herself down and force herself to be stronger.
She took a long breath, opened her file, and started to look at her design, trying to think about her work.
That's when Asher walks in, asking, "What happened, Jasmine? Where is Mr. Donovan?!"
She shivered at the mention of his name, but she took a sigh and replied with a smile, "He just went out."
Then he made himself comfortable on the seat next to Jasmine, on the same seat Sabastian was sitting, and asked, "So what did he say?! Did he like it?! We will get the project right?" his voice filled with curiosity, excitement, but still, a hint of worry.
She took a sigh and forced a smile, saying, "I don't know, but I think you should prepare yourself for the answer. My designs are disgusting, isn't it?"... "Just like me," she thought while giving him a smile.