Page 51 of Four Fiances & I

“I know,” she whispers before leaning into my back. I want to punch him for scaring her like this, but one look at him and I can see how much he hates himself for what he just did. He doesn’t say anything or look at us before turning on his heels and storming into his room, slamming the door behind him.

“Are you okay, Princess?” Sean asks, turning to look at Jasmine. I continue to watch the door for a moment, checking that he isn’t coming back out.

“No,” Jasmine gasps as I hear her voice wobble. “What the hell happened?” she asks, sobbing. The three of us share a look, all wanting to tell her the truth but not knowing how badly Christian will react if we do.

“Nothing for you to worry about, Jazzy. It was just a stressful night, and we had to deal with some shit. I pushed his buttons when we got back, and he lashed out.” Jason rubs his face and hisses when he catches a gash on his cheek.

Jasmine steps forward and reaches out to touch him, but he stops her hand before she can touch his face.

“I’m okay, Jazzy. Nothing a shower, some painkillers and a good sleep won’t cure.” Kissing her palm, he closes his eyes briefly, savouring what little touch he will allow himself. “Stay with Maximus or both of them tonight. I will come and see you in the morning.” He lowers her hand and gives her a small smile before turning around and heading to his room, closing the door behind him.

When Jasmine turns to face me, I can see the tears streaming down her face.

“Come here, Shorty,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms and leading her towards our room. I look at Sean and nod to the door. Silently asking if he will be joining us.

“I’ll be a moment. Let me just get changed,” he whispers, kissing her cheek before heading to his room next door.

Leading her into our room, I encourage her to sit on our bed. Reaching for the bedside cabinet, I grab a box of tissues and hold them out for her. Jasmine takes one and starts to dry her face, but the tears really begin then, and she breaks down.

Sitting beside her, I pull her onto my lap and hold her as she cries into my chest. I start shushing her gently whilst running a hand up and down her back.

“You’re okay, Shorty. I’ve got you,” I whisper into her hair, pressing kisses to it every few moments in the hope of calming her. She’s still crying when Sean walks in a few minutes later and sees how upset she is.

“Oh, Princess,” he sighs, sitting beside me so he can hold her hand.

“What happened?” she asks between sobs. She looks up at Sean and sees his taped cut. “Did he do that to you?” she demands. He shakes his head before looking at me.

“No, Princess. Someone who wasn’t meant to be there tonight turned up and caused an issue. But everything is okay now. Christian’s just struggling with some things someone taunted us with.” Sean cups Jasmine's cheek lovingly, ensuring she is looking at him. “But he would never purposely hurt you. He loves you so much that hearing what he heard tonight pushed him over the edge.”

“What did he hear?” she asks, holding his hand. I can see Sean isn’t sure about telling her or just doesn’t want to say the words, so I take over.

“Apparently, the guy was in the house Taylor kept you in. He told us he was in the room when Hudson hurt you. He went into detail to rile Christian up, and it worked.” I feel my poor woman's body tense as she realises what I’m referring to.

“Did he have blonde hair and tattoos on his neck?” she asks.

“Yes, Princess,” Sean answers. “Was he in the room?”

Jasmine nods, leaning into me as I tighten my hold on her. My brother and I share a look, and I know he wishes he could kill the bastard himself.

“Why were they fighting just then?”

I look down so I can see a little of Jasmine’s face.

“Christian and Jason?” She nods into my chest, and I let out a sigh. “It’s hard to explain, Shorty. It doesn’t happen often, and they will have forgiven each other by the morning. That was just the two of them carrying their demons a little too close to the surface after tonight.”

Jasmine sits up from my lap and looks from Sean to me.

“He still blames Daddy Jason, doesn’t he.”

I nod, knowing there is no way we can hide that from her. There has been tension between Jason and Christian a few times since we rescued her. If Jasmine has a bad therapy session or a nightmare about everything that happened in that house, Christian will try to keep his distance from Jason. Jasmine rolls her eyes and looks to the door.

“Will they be okay?”

“They’ll both be fine, Shorty. Just give them some space.”

She nods and climbs off my lap.

“I’m tired.” She doesn’t say anything else, just climbs into the bed on her usual side. I look to Sean, who appears as tired and defeated as I feel.

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