Ethan furrowed his brows as he watched Jasmine's retreating figure, feeling uncharacteristically choked up.
The impulse to follow her struck him, and he was caught off guard by his own reaction.
Since when did he start meddling so much in others' affairs?
"Mr. Douglas! It's a disaster... Miss Brown has attempted suicide again! The Browns are saying that you... you won't take responsibility for what happened six years ago, and she can't handle being hurt a second time..."
Ethan rubbed his temples in irritation, having found himself in a troublesome situation.
"Go to The Brown Family," he commanded in a deep voice, gesturing towards Tom. "Make sure she gets home safely. It's not safe for her to walk alone at night."
Jasmine, looking the way she did, was bound to run into trouble if she went out.
The area around the bar was teeming with drunks.
Tom followed reluctantly.
Sure enough, Jasmine hadn't even left the bar before she was accosted.
"Hey, beauty, what happened to you? Looking so rough? Tell me, I'll back you up."
"Hey, don't run, girl. You all by yourself?"
A few inebriated men had latched onto Jasmine.
She tried to dodge them a few times but couldn't escape; they were too many.
The ringleader reached out to touch Jasmine's face. "Pretty face you got there; let me take care of you."
"Don't touch me..." Jasmine retreated weakly, as if falling into an abyss of despair.
Sometimes she wondered if she was being punished for committing some unforgivable sin, for stealing someone else's life and changing her own fate.
"Get lost!"
Tom had followed her out and cursed at the man leading the group.
The guy, clearly drunk, saw that Tom was alone and signaled his buddies to start a fight.
Tom, a former athlete with regular fitness training, had no problem handling a few drunks.
He took care of them quickly and looked at Jasmine with disgust. "You really are trouble, aren't you? Attracting men wherever you go, just like Daniel said, you can't live without them."
Jasmine stood there, drained, opening her mouth but unable to make a sound.
The level to which rumors and slander could destroy a woman was raised when everyone despised her.
"If I hadn't come out here, were you planning to go home with these losers tonight? You're not picky, are you? Larry and Morris both claimed they've been with you. You're quite famous in these circles," Tom said, clearly angry, angry that he had ever fancied Jasmine, once thinking she was a pure and unblemished gardenia flower.
Turned out she was far from it.
Jasmine's cracked lips moved, but she offered no explanation.
She didn't even know who these men Tom was talking about were. Why would they claim to have slept with her?
In the past, when Jasmine heard such lewd rumors, her first reaction was panic, argue, and feel wronged, but eventually... she got used to it.
Let them say what they want, she thought. She was already ruined, so why would she care about a few more rumors?
With a powerless smile, Jasmine simply said, "Thank you."
You see, ruining a woman is easy — just spread rumors everywhere. When enough people repeat them, they become 'fact.'
Jasmine not defending herself made Tom grow even more irritable, regretting he ever had anything to do with her.
Given the choice now, he'd feel dirty even touching Jasmine.
"Let's get going." But Tom still intended to see Jasmine home. With the way she attracted attention, she'd never make it on her own.
"Tom!" Jasmine, about to leave, saw the man Tom had hit picking up a stick for a sneak attack and instinctively pushed Tom out of the way.
Jasmine herself didn't have time to dodge and closed her eyes in panic.
Over the years, she'd grown used to being hit; even if she really got hit, she wasn't as scared anymore. It was just her body's muscle memory making her instinctively close her eyes and brace her head, waiting for the stick to fall.
But the pain didn't come.
Breathing rapidly, Jasmine opened her eyes and felt an unfamiliar sense of security from the person in front of her.
Slowly lifting her head, Jasmine's gaze was timid and flickering.
Ethan was holding the stick while looking down at Jasmine.
She met Ethan's gaze, her eyes moist but unusually bright.
Ethan paused as he stared at Jasmine... Those eyes really were beautiful...
Tom stood frozen for a moment, then reacted and kicked the attacker away, landing a heavy punch. "You're looking for death."
Ethan's assistant called over a security guard to handle the situation, and with trembling hands, wiped Ethan's hands with an alcohol wipe. "Mr. Douglas, let's go."
Ethan didn't say anything; he just gave Jasmine one more look, handed her an alcohol wipe, and left.
Jasmine stood there, looking down at the alcohol wipe in her hand for a long time.
"Are you... okay?" Tom, startled by Jasmine's instinctive action, softened his tone a bit.
Jasmine shook her head. While still holding the wipe, she walked out of the bar.