Chapter 19 – Jasmine Is Found!
It had been weeks. Weeks of searching, calling, waiting. But still–no sign of Jasmine.!
I sat at the edge of my bed, my phone in my hand, eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights. Nothing. No messages, no emails, no sightings. It was as if she had vanished into thin air!!
My grandfather hadn’t spoken a word to me since the day Jasmine left!
Until last week.
He called me into his study. I walked in hoping to make peace, but he didn’t even let me sit.
“You’re no longer CEO,” he said coldly.
I stared at him, stunned. “What?”
“You heard me,” he snapped. “You want this company back? Find Jasmine. Make peace with her. Until then, you’re nothing to me.“}
“But grandpa, I’ve been looking for her and I can’t find her,” I said.
“I don’t care! You mistreated her, that’s why she left. You cheated with that wretched girl, Bianca and now my sweet granddaughter–in–law is gone!” he yelled at me.
“Please, grandpa, don’t take away the company. Just give me more time and I’ll find her,” I said.
“Leave my sight this instant he snapped!
I stood there frozen, feeling everything around me crumble. I tried to speak, but he waved me off and turned his back. Dismissed.
Three days ago, a letter arrived at my apartment
Inside was a set of signed divorce papers from Jasmine R
The moment I opened it, I felt a strange pull in my chest. Not pain. Just–finality. She was really gone. And that’s when it happened–my grandfather exploded.
“She’s alive?” he barked as he read the letter over my shoulder. “And instead of finding her, you let her go?“!
“I didn’t let her go, grandpa, she just sent me the divorce letters and I haven’t even signed it I sighed.
“This is all your fault!” he snapped.
He stormed out of my apartment, fury in every step. That was the last straw. He moved quickly after that–faster than I expected.
Two days later, the sextuplets were taken.
“My lawyers will handle the custody transfer,” he told me on the phone. “I will not allow Bianca to poison their minds.”
*Bianca isn’t even here, she rarely comes here I can handle the ”
I tried to protest, but he hung up. I was losing everything.
Bianca tried to be there. She really did. She cooked, cleaned, sat with me when I drank too much. But all I saw when I looked at her was the woman who ruined everything.
“If you hadn’t gone behind my back to speak to him, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” I snapped at her one night
She flinched. “I was just tired of waiting and hiding in the shadows! Don’t blame me for this.”}
“Tired?” I laughed bitterly. “You could’ve waited. One more week. Now look where we are!”
She said nothing. Just looked at me with tired eyes.§
A few days later, we went to see my grandfather together. She begged for a moment of his time, tried to apologize, explain–but he cut her off mid–sentence
“You disgust me,” he said “A woman who plays puppet master behind the scenes, thinking she can ruin a woman’s marriage and take her place. You’ll never marry my grandson. Over my dead body!”
He walked away and left her standing in tears.
Now, we hardly spoke. She walked around the house like a ghost, and I barely looked at her
“You’ve been shutting me out for weeks, Henry,” she snapped one evening as I sipped whiskey in the study
I didn’t look up.
“All because Jasmine–who you said you didn’t even love–left.“%
I slammed the glass on the table. “This isn’t about love.”
“Then what is it about?” she asked, her voice rising, “Why do you care so much?
I turned to her slowly. “Because if I don’t find Jasmine, I’ll lose everything. My place in this family. My company, My name. Everything
She shook her head. “So that’s it? She’s just your key to get back in? Not even u shred of guilt for what you did to her?“%
“I need to find her to appease my grandfather!” I snapped.
“What makes you think she’d want you back after everything you’ve done to her?“}
I didn’t answer.
Before either of us could speak again, the door swung open X
It was the private investigator rd hired three weeks ago.
He stepped in, holding a file. His expression was unreadable.
