Chapter 262: Lola’s Fault... again
[The Young Residence]
Jasmine glanced at the time, idling in the living area while waiting for her husband. Lawrence had been going home late, and as the loving wife, she waited for him to take care of her husband.
"Madam, the master is here."
Her lips curled up as her eyes lit up, and she pushed herself, rushing to the entrance. By the time she was near, Lawrence had already walked in.
"Honey —" Jasmine’s smile and sweet voice stopped when a handful of papers and a brown envelope flew in her direction. She flinched as the papers landed on her chest before they fell to her feet.
Confused by his rage, she looked at him in disbelief. "Lawrence, why would you..."
"Explain this to me," he breathed out through gritted teeth, hands on his hips. "Jasmine, explain these files to me. NOW!"
"What are you —" Her eyes fell on the papers, and she picked up one of them. Just with one paper, she froze as she understood what it was for.
"Jasmine, I trusted you with the company because I know you’re a brilliant woman," he breathed out, pointing down at her and the papers on the floor. "Explain those funds to me. I swear, Jasmine, you better have a good explanation for them because... I don’t know what I will do if you don’t."
Jasmine’s eyes shook as her heart skipped to her throat.
How did he get ahold of this? she wondered to herself. I already made sure he wouldn’t trace all these.
Her shoulders trembled, her mind racing to concoct a believable excuse. This was not something she had prepared herself for, confident Lawrence would never find these missing funds—even if he died.
"Jasmine!" he roared, marching toward her. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stand until she was facing him, shaking her aggressively. "Are you... are you really stealing from me?!"
"No." She shook her head. "No, no! Darling, it’s not like — please listen to me! I can explain!"
"Tell me... now. What are those papers?" he huffed, his grip on her shoulders tightening until she winced.
"Lawrence, I’m... you’re hurting me — ahh!"
He shook her even more. "Tell me now! What is the meaning of this?! What explanation do you have for this?! I already asked someone to verify these accounts, so you better not lie to me!"
As his voice rang out throughout the entire mansion, her body froze in place. The rim of her eyes reddened in panic as she studied the angry look on his face. This was the first time she had seen him this angry with her. In all these decades, Lawrence had never once raised his voice at her.
Her lips trembled as a quiet whimper soon came out: "Yes, I was... stealing from you."
His breath hitched as his grip on her shoulders loosened. Lawrence looked at her blankly, taking a step back.
"What?" he scoffed. "Why?"
"Darling, that’s not what you think it is — ah!" Jasmine reached out, only for her hand to be slapped away. She clasped her hands together and looked at him pitifully. "Lawrence, just listen to me. It’s not like I wanted to do this! I didn’t have a choice!"
"Didn’t have a choice?" he laughed. "What kind of choice didn’t you have, huh? I gave you everything — everything, Jasmine! Everything you wanted and everything you needed. What other choice are you talking about when you have everything, hmm?"
A tear rolled down her cheek as she clasped her chest. "It’s... Lola."
"What?" Another ridiculing laugh escaped him. "Lola? What about her now? What? You’re saying she’s the one who did this — do you really take me for a fool?!"
Lawrence grabbed her shoulders again and shook her. "Just how stupid do you think I am, huh?! How could she do all of this when she can’t even enter the company?!"
"It’s her husband!" Jasmine shouted. "The one who got her pregnant had been threatening Melissa! He said he would expose you for forcing Lola to get that procedure without her consent and for letting her child die!"
She huffed, facing him squarely. "He’s been blackmailing your daughter under Lola’s orders! So, what do you think I would do as a mother when someone is harassing my daughter?! How else am I going to protect my daughter?!"
This time, Lawrence froze as he held his breath. "What are you talking about?"
"Lola and the man who got her pregnant have been blackmailing our daughter," Jasmine said, clasping his chest. "Honey, I do not want to do this. I wanted to tell you for a long time, but... I thought I could fix it myself. You’ve been working nonstop all these years to provide for the family, and I didn’t want to burden you any longer. Lola is still your daughter, after all. No matter what, she’s your daughter. Your relationship with her is already bad, but I was hopeful that it wouldn’t end like this."
She then hugged him. "I’m really sorry, honey. I’m sorry, please don’t get mad at me. I just wanted to protect the family."
"..." Her voice sounded distant in his ear, unable to process this. But then Jasmine let him go and held his hand.
"If you don’t believe me, then you can check," she urged. "You can check that I wasn’t lying."
His eyes shook as he met her teary ones. She held his hand, squeezing it with trembling fingers. No words came out, but he couldn’t help but scoff.
*****
Jasmine stared out the open door, balling her hands into tight fists. Lawrence had only said that he was going to stay somewhere else tonight. Now, she didn’t know if he even believed her.
"How did he find out?" She wondered under her breath. "He can’t find out more."
She had done an exemplary job all these years. She couldn’t let a few documents ruin it all. Not when Melissa was about to join the Lancaster family, and not until Mrs. Bennet was wrapped around her finger.
Having that thought in mind, Jasmine strode off. When she reached her room, she headed straight to the wardrobe, going through a secret compartment where a phone was hidden. A glint flickered in her eyes as she turned it on, ignoring some of the messages, and then dialing the only number saved in it.
"It’s me," she spoke the second the call went through. "I need your help."