Chapter 8

Melina ran over joyfully, but the moment she stepped into the living room, the smile froze on her face.

There was no sign of Neville by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Instead, the villa's housekeeper Lily was cleaning the glass.

All that time spent dolling herself up upstairs had been completely wasted.

Melina was deeply disappointed, yet still clinging to a thread of hope, she couldn't help asking the housekeeper, "Lily, did Nev come back earlier? Where is he now?"

Lily stopped wiping the glass, turned to face Melina, and replied politely, "Mr. Cooper left early this morning. He hasn't been back."

Melina frowned, looking at the gift box on the table. "Then what's this?"

"Oh, that's something Mr. Cooper had delivered." Lily wiped her hands and explained, "A very pretty young lady brought it. She was just here, but said she had something at the office and left."

A very pretty young lady?

Then it definitely wasn't that plain Jasmine.

Melina had been somewhat worried, but hearing Lily's description, she immediately relaxed.

She sat down on the sofa and opened the gift box with slight disappointment. When she picked up the price tag and looked at it, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Melina counted the string of zeros in disbelief, and that bit of disappointment in her heart instantly evaporated.

Neville had gone to such lengths to prepare such an expensive gift for her and thoughtfully had it delivered to the house. Clearly Neville still cared about her—he was just too busy with work.

Melina's heart overflowed with sweetness as she picked up the gift and took countless photos, fantasizing about the day she'd become Mrs. Cooper.

Meanwhile, Jasmine had already returned to the office to continue working.

She'd originally planned to keep waiting, but Drake had called her, saying Neville wanted to see her.

When the boss summoned, she didn't dare disobey. She immediately left the villa and hurried back.

It was just a pity she hadn't gotten to meet Neville's girlfriend this time either. But no matter—surely she'd see her someday.

Lost in thought, Jasmine arrived at Neville's office before she knew it.

Neville was in a video conference. When Jasmine entered, he'd just finished.

"This proposal—revise it again." Neville glanced at her and pulled out a document to toss her way.

"Yes, sir." Jasmine accepted it. She'd been about to get straight to work when she suddenly remembered the gift delivery.

Neville looked up at her. "Something else?"

Jasmine thought about it and decided to report on the gift situation to Neville.

Contrary to what she'd imagined, Neville showed absolutely no emotional response. He didn't care whether his girlfriend liked the gift she'd chosen, merely saying coldly, "Noted."

A trace of puzzlement crossed Jasmine's mind, but she didn't dwell on it. Neville was always aloof anyway.

She took the rejected proposal to revise it again. Soon it was quitting time.

Luckily she didn't have to work late today. Jasmine happily gathered her things and took a cab to the restaurant.

Yesterday she'd worked overtime and postponed her dinner with Simon to today.

To create an opportunity to talk with Melina, Jasmine had specifically asked Simon to invite Melina along as well.

When she arrived at the restaurant, Simon was already there.

Not having seen each other in a while, they naturally had plenty to talk about, but Melina was nowhere to be seen.

Just as Jasmine was getting worried and about to call, Melina finally showed up fashionably late.

In just a few short days, Melina had changed dramatically. She was dripping with designer labels, her hair and makeup flawless, her face wearing an arrogant expression.

The moment she walked in, she made a disapproving sound, a flash of disdain in her eyes.

Reaching Jasmine's table, she immediately set down her designer handbag prominently and smiled at Simon. "Simon, have you been busy at the hospital lately?"

Melina didn't even glance at Jasmine, simply pulling out the chair next to Simon and sitting down.

"I'm managing." Simon noticed Jasmine's awkward expression and reminded her, "Lina, Jas is treating today. She specifically asked me to invite you."

"Oh." Melina was indifferent. "Well, that explains it. I was wondering why there was this weird smell when I walked in."

She pulled out two tissues and placed them on the table, then made a show of setting down her designer bag. "This bag of mine is expensive—several hundred thousand dollars. Can't let it get dirty."

Simon's brow furrowed. He was about to speak when Jasmine shook her head at him.

Jasmine stared at the bag Melina had taken out. It was identical to the gift she'd delivered to Neville's girlfriend today.

She couldn't help asking, "Lina, where did you get that bag?"

"From my boyfriend, obviously." Melina examined her fresh manicure, shooting Jasmine a sideways glance.

"This bag is a limited global edition. My boyfriend specially bought it for me. He even gave me an unlimited credit card. You have no idea how good he is to me."

Jasmine frowned. "Lina, who exactly is your boyfriend?"

Melina immediately became guarded, glaring at Jasmine. "Why are you poking your nose into my business? What's it to you?"

Though this wasn't the first time, being snapped at so rudely in front of others still hurt Jasmine's feelings.

But no matter what, she couldn't abandon Melina. After all, her family had shown her kindness.

This so-called rich boyfriend had appeared out of nowhere—she couldn't even tell if he was legitimate—how could she just stand by and watch Melina jump into a fire pit?

"Lina..." Jasmine's frown deepened. She still wanted to warn her.

Just as she opened her mouth, Simon quietly kicked her shoe, his eyes signaling her to stop.

Melina looked at Jasmine impatiently. "What?"

Jasmine swallowed the words she'd prepared and instead raised her glass to Melina. "Congratulations on finding such a wonderful boyfriend. I wish you both lasting happiness."

"Naturally." Melina snorted coldly, a dark gleam flashing in her eyes. "I just have good luck, that's all."

Otherwise, how could she have coincidentally swapped ID badges with Jasmine that day, which Neville just happened to find?

Jasmine smiled faintly and said nothing more.

The dishes were served quickly. Jasmine took the initiative to pour wine for Melina.

But even after all the dishes had been served, Melina still hadn't touched the wine she'd poured.

Not only that, Melina had become extremely picky. She only took one bite of each dish before frowning, complaining that this place wasn't upscale enough.

Jasmine lowered her eyes, biting her lip to suppress the hurt in her heart, tactfully stopping her attempts to serve Melina food.

When the last dish arrived, a server accidentally bumped into Melina's bag, causing it to get splashed with a bit of broth.

Melina shrieked and quickly grabbed tissues to wipe it, glaring venomously at the server. "Are you blind? Do you know how expensive this bag is? You couldn't afford to replace it if you worked your whole life!"

The server, knowing she was at fault, apologized profusely.

But Melina wouldn't let it go, unleashing a torrent of abuse.

The server got annoyed too and shot back, "This is a knockoff, right? Carrying a hundred-thousand-dollar bag to eat here? Give me a break!"

Melina instantly lost it, grabbing the server and demanding to see the manager, making a scene about getting her fired.

Jasmine couldn't take it anymore. She quickly stood up to intervene. "Lina, just let it go..."

"What's it to you, you tacky nobody? What do you know!" Melina turned to size her up and down, her tone contemptuous. "Do you have any idea how expensive this bag is? This is from Ne—"