Chapter 65 A promise
Richelle pulled her into a tight embrace. “You’re safe now.”
Jasmine clutched Richelle’s jacket like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
“We have to tell Damien,” Richelle said softly but firmly.
Jasmine stiffened. “No,” she whispered. “Not yet.”
“He needs to know. Raymond is unstable.”
Jasmine closed her eyes. “I don’t want Damien to think this is my fault. I don’t want him to look at me like I caused this.”
Richelle brushed Jasmine’s hair back gently. “Damien loves you. He won’t blame you.”
Jasmine’s voice broke. “He already thinks I’m scared of him. What if this just proves him right? What if this makes everything worse?”
Richelle held her tighter. “It will make things clearer. Not worse.”
Jasmine nodded weakly, though fear still coiled in her chest.
~
Damien was halfway home when his phone rang.
Richelle.
He hesitated before answering. “Is everything alright?”
Her voice trembled. “No.”
His chest tightened instantly. “What happened?”
There was a pause. A long one.
“Jasmine was attacked.”
The word felt like a gunshot.
“What?” Damien snapped. “By who?”
“…Raymond.”
Damien slammed his brakes.
The car jerked to a stop at the side of the road. His hands shook as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “What did he do?”
“He cornered her in the supermarket and he grabbed her and forcefully kissed her. She fought him off but she’s bleeding.”
For a moment Damien couldn’t breathe.
Something dark and violent surged through him.
“I’m coming,” he said. His voice was low. Deadly calm.
“No—Damien—”
“I said I’m coming.”
He turned the car around so hard the tires screeched. Every second felt too slow.
When he arrived, Jasmine was sitting on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Richelle stood when she saw him.
“Damien—”
He barely heard her. His eyes went straight to Jasmine. Her lip was swollen. Her face pale. Her eyes haunted.
He dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Tesoro…” his voice cracked. “Did he hurt you?”
She couldn’t speak. She only nodded.
Damien’s hands hovered near her, not touching, afraid to frighten her. “I should’ve protected you.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered.
But Damien already hated himself.
“I told him to stay away from you,” he said hoarsely. “I warned him.”
Jasmine reached for his sleeve weakly. “Please… don’t do anything reckless.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I will not let him near you again. I swear.”
Tears slipped from Jasmine’s eyes. “I was so scared, Damien.” That broke him.
He wrapped his arms around her carefully.
“You’re safe. I’m here.”
Damien turned toward the door, his body rigid with restrained fury. His jaw was clenched so tightly Jasmine could see the muscle jump beneath his skin.
“I need to go,” he said hoarsely. “I need to deal with Raymond before—”
“Don’t.”
Her voice was soft, but it cut through the storm inside him. Damien froze.
He looked back at her, startled. “Jasmine—”
“Please,” she whispered, tightening her grip on his hand. “Don’t go yet.”
For a moment, he looked torn between two instincts: the urge to protect her by confronting Raymond, and the need to stay where she could still feel him beside her. “I can’t just sit here,” he said, his voice breaking with frustration. “He hurt you. I should—”
“You don’t have to fix everything right now,” she interrupted gently. “Just… sit with me. Please.”
Her eyes were glassy, fragile. There was no accusation in them. Only exhaustion and fear and something that looked dangerously close to trust.
Damien exhaled slowly, like a man laying down a weapon. He stepped back and lowered himself beside her on the bed, careful not to crowd her. Their hands were still linked, and this time he didn’t let go.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Jasmine leaned her head against his shoulder, tentative at first, as if testing whether he would pull away. When he didn’t, she relaxed slightly, her weight settling against him.
Damien’s thumb began tracing slow, unconscious circles on the back of her hand.
They just sat there.
Breathing together. Her breath was uneven at first, shallow and shaky. His was controlled but heavy, like he was holding something back. Gradually, their breathing synchronized, the silence no longer sharp but warm and steady.
“I thought I was going to lose you today,” Damien murmured.
Jasmine swallowed. “I thought I already had.”
He turned his head slightly, his cheek brushing her hair. “I never meant to scare you.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But I was still scared.”
He nodded. “And that’s on me.”
Another quiet stretch passed between them.
“Do you need anything?” Damien finally asked. “Water? Tea? Your phone? I can bring you something.”
She shook her head slowly. “No.”
He frowned. “Nothing?”
She lifted her head just enough to look at him. “I just need you to stay. Just… for a while.”
Meanwhile...
Raymond stumbled out of the supermarket like a man drunk on rage and shame. His lip throbbed. His cheek burned where Jasmine had struck him.
“She wanted it,” he muttered. “She felt it too…”
But the words rang hollow.
He sat in his car, gripping the wheel, breathing hard.
“She chose him,” he whispered. “After everything.”
His phone buzzed.
Damien Blackwood.
Raymond laughed bitterly. “Of course.”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he slammed his fist against the dashboard.
“She belongs with me,” he said aloud. “Not him.”
The jealousy twisted into obsession.
If Damien had poisoned her against him… then Damien was the enemy. Damien had everything, an empire his father built but like the selfish, self righteous, arrogant prick that he was he gave it all up, just walked away from his birthright. Walked away from a billion dollar crime corporation. And then he started it out on his own, and he bacame successful.
Men like Damien cheated life, they always got what they wanted, always. And now he wanted what I wanted first, and he's getting her. No, I can't let that happen.
Raymond knew what would happen next. Damien would come after him, with everything at his disposal, even if it meant owing Dominic another favor. So Ray knew he had to disappear, make sure nobody found him. But this wasn't surrender, no, he was playing the king game. He would wait, wait till everything settled then he would return when they least expected it to reclaim what was his. At any cost.
Raymond shifted the gear into drive and sped off into the night with a promise of return.