Chapter 3

Earlier, Jasmine thought such words would instantly set Natalie off into a fit of rage. But to her surprise,
she actually smiled at her and answered politely, “Thanks for your concern. We’re all doing fine.”

Failing to provoke her half-sister, Jasmine raised an eyebrow and continued to mock, “You went from the
daughter of a rich family to a homeless bumpkin overnight. Now, you’re dressed in cheap clothes and
working a menial job. Do you seriously think I’ll believe you when you say you’re doing fine?”

Despite the scorn that laced her taunts, Jasmine was unable to hide the jealousy that shone in her eyes.

The reason for her envy was that Natalie did not look the slightest bit defeated. On the contrary, she
thought the way Natalie carried herself now was even more confident and graceful than before. Jasmine
could see how flawless Natalie’s skin was even without any makeup on her face. All that combined to
make her look even more youthful as there was a sort of inner glow to her.

This was the kind of look that money couldn’t buy.

Even with her heavily made-up face, there was no way Jasmine would be able to outshine Natalie’s
beauty.

More so, Natalie merely smiled in response to Jasmine’s insults without saying a single word. Her smile
was so confident that it made Jasmine feel profoundly unsettled.

“What are you smiling about?” Jasmine demanded.

“Nothing much. I was just thinking about how you should be spending your time on coming up with more
designs rather than standing here and taking pity on me.”

Although Natalie was abroad for the past few years, she had heard about some of the rumors going
around the fashion industry – rumors about what Jasmine had been doing.





Looking at Jasmine, who was currently fuming in anger, Natalie knew her words had clearly hit a sore
spot with her half-sister.

“You!” Jasmine yelled while balling her fingers into fists.

At the same time, a childlike voice called out sweetly, “Mommy! Mommy!”

From the other end of the corridor, two little kids suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a pair of twins
– a boy and a girl.

Hearing her babies calling for her, Natalie did not waste any more time verbally sparring with Jasmine.
She walked past her half-sister and headed toward the children.

The younger of the two, Sharon, lunged toward her mother and cooed, “Mommy, Aunt Joyce is looking
for you.”

“Alright. Let’s go find her then.” Natalie stroked her daughter’s soft, silky hair. Holding on to one child in
each hand, she led them away from that place.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was staring at the two kids in utter shock as she watched Natalie walk off. It’s been
a few years since we’ve seen each other, but she actually has children now?

The boy, Connor, suddenly turned around to look at Jasmine, his dark orbs locking onto hers.

That gaze was so intense and familiar that Jasmine drew in a sharp breath as she came to the
realization.

His face… looks nearly identical to Shane’s! In fact, that gaze of his is exactly the same! Don’t tell me
these kids are his?



The color drained from her face at the thought. She did not expect one night was all it took for Natalie to
get pregnant.

Right at that moment, a wave of terror and horror was threatening to drown her.

If Shane really is their father, their mere existence is a threat to me! No, that can’t be true! I have to get to
the bottom of this!

For a moment, fear and anxiety filled her mind, overwhelming her whole being. She was unconsciously
clutching her purse so tightly that her fingers went white as she tried to think of what to do. Spinning
around, she was about to chase after Natalie when Penny’s shout halted her in her tracks.

“Jasmine, here you are!” When Penny noticed Jasmine’s pale face, she checked in concern, “Are you
feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine,” Jasmine answered stiffly.

She did not want anyone else to know about what she saw earlier.

Since Jasmine refused to speak up, Penny wisely let the topic drop. She then reminded, “Jasmine,
there’s a dinner in the city tonight. If we don’t leave now, you’re definitely going to be late.”

To get to the city center from here would take around an hour’s drive.

Hearing that, Jasmine was visibly unhappy about being ordered around by her assistant, so she
snapped, “Since when do you get to decide my schedule?”

“Mr. Thompson is going to be there too,” Penny added in an exasperated tone, and Jasmine had nothing
to say in response to that.



For the past five years, she had been painstakingly maintaining her image before Shane. Thus, she
wouldn’t allow even the slightest flaw to ruin everything.

After weighing the pros and cons, she eventually decided it was not worth it. She gritted her teeth as she
looked in the direction Natalie was heading to.

I’ll be sure to have my way, Natalie… trust me… I will…

A few seconds later, she reluctantly left with Penny.






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