Chapter 22
Timothy had been standing quietly off the side. Suddenly, he mentioned, “Jas, I’ve already signed the equity transfer for Ascend Entertainment.”
He pulled out the papers from his briefcase and added, “It was always yours to begin with.”
Jasmine didn’t take them, only stared at him coldly. “Didn’t I tell you I don’t want it? What is this, Mr.
Smith? An act of charity?”
He replied, “It’s redemption… I know it’s nowhere near enough, but at least let me do something.”
Suddenly, he sank to his knees. The man who once commanded respect in the business world now looked small and desperate.
Timothy continued, “You can punish us however you want. Just please… don’t abandon us. We were best friends, weren’t we?”
“We?” Jasmine laughed as if she’d heard something amusing. “From the day you chose Lynette, ‘we’ no longer existed.”
She turned to leave, but Matthew blocked her. He stood before her, his tall figure casting a shadow over
her, yet it no longer gave her any sense of security.
“Jas.” He reached out to touch her face, but stopped mid-air. “Do you remember our first fight?”
Jasmine’s fingertips unconsciously curled up. Of course, she remembered. It was his first kissing scene, and she’d hidden outside the set crying all night. He’d run to find her right after filming without even removing his makeup, standing in the rain for three hours begging her forgiveness.
Matthew added softly, “You promised that no matter what happened, you’d give me a chance to explain.”
She suddenly looked up, her eyes finally showing a flicker of emotion. “Did you give me a chance to explain, then?”
Her voice suddenly rose. “On the yacht? In the office? What did you do to me while defending Lynette? And now you’re telling me it was all fake, that you were just testing me?”
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke.
Matthew stepped back as if burned, his face instantly turning pale. He opened his mouth but couldn’t get
a word out.
After a long moment, he finally found his voice again. “I’m sorry. If I had known… If I had known you’d care this much, I never would have used Lynette to provoke you.”
Timothy suddenly scrambled up from the ground and staggered toward Matthew, throwing a punch at his face. “You still have the nerve to bring that up? Look at the mess your brilliant idea caused!”
