By evening, Louisa was already sequestered in her pristine apartment. Jasmine had told her to wait there while she and Jethro would try to convince their father to soften his heart. Having never doubted them, and with no one else left to rely on, Louisa waited in the suffocating silence.
As she sat on the living room sofa, she scrolled through her buzzing social media accounts. The internet was a war zone, and the netizens were bombarding her with vitriol.
[I never thought Louisa could have a mindset filthy enough to cheat on Jethro. He always showered her with affection!]
[She's ungrateful. A slut! A total hypocrite!]
[Is this how the Asher daughters are raised? Disloyal!]
[We don't want her back in the industry! She doesn't deserve the spotlight Jethro gave her!]
The phone in her hands quivered as she skimmed the articles, finally tapping into her agency's site. The update was swift and cold.
[On behalf of QUEEN's Industry, we are suspending Louisa Asher from every series, variety show, and collaboration until further notice to appease the public.]
Reading the words of the same industry that once adored her, Louisa's heart sank. The tears she had fought to contain began to sting behind her reddened eyes. She brushed them away with the back of her hand, sniffling against the weight of the world's loathing.
As she clutched her shirt against the ache in her chest, her expression suddenly shifted. Something was missing.
Her necklace.
She frantically ran a hand across her collarbone, but felt nothing. Jolting up from the couch, she lunged toward her luggage. She rummaged through the suitcase, shaking out clothes one after the other, desperate for the sound of a metallic clink. Nothing.
For a heartbeat, her grief sharpened into raw fear. This wasn't just jewelry; it was the only heirloom left by her deceased biological parents—a memory she had promised never to lose.
"Where did I misplace it?" she wondered, her mind scrambling.
But her treacherous memory drifted back to the night before in a flash of the brooding stranger toppling over her, his hands ravishing her skin as soft gasps escaped her lips.
"Foolish girl!" Louisa slammed a hand against her forehead, her face twisting in disgust. "How can you be thinking about the night that ruined your life?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, she considered calling the hotel, but her thumb froze. If she used her personal phone, her location might be leaked.
She couldn't handle another trauma.
Moving to the landline near the TV stand, she dialed the hotel desk.
"Good day. How may I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Louisa. I checked in last night after my engagement party. Did the cleaning service find a missing necklace?"
The line fell into a brief, agonizing silence.
"What does it look like?"
"It's a personalized gold butterfly necklace with my name," Louisa replied quickly.
"Hold on while I confirm."
She waited, her heart hammering against her ribs. When the voice returned, it was flat and final. "I'm sorry. We do not have such an item."
"If it's not at the hotel, where...?" She gripped the handset, forcing her memory to clear the intoxicated fog.
Then, it clicked. She remembered the Asher's driver picking her up, but she had insisted on going to the villa to set up more surprises for Jethro. She had been so exhausted she had dozed off the second she stepped out of her dress.
"The villa! It could be there," she muttered.
She tried calling Jasmine to retrieve it, but the line went straight to voicemail. Then Jethro; his phone was diverting calls. Even her mother's line was busy.
A prickle of unease crawled up her spine. Why were they all suddenly unreachable?
After waiting for a long while, she still couldn't risk what might happen to her necklace.
Without hesitation, Louisa fetched a pair of black sunglasses and a cap from her luggage, putting them on before stepping out of the apartment in disguise, already anticipating the harsh encounters that awaited her as a public figure.
Once she stepped out onto the road, Louisa hailed a white cab driving in her direction. With her chest tight in anxiety, she studied the harmless-looking driver before slipping into the back seat.
••••
After an hour's drive, Louisa arrived at the villa. She stepped out of the car and slipped through the unguarded front gate, making her way toward the grand door.
Pushing it open carefully, she stepped inside, only for her senses to be greeted by the heavy scent of wine and rich dishes. Her gaze darted across the living room and immediately caught the glint of red high heels scattered near the low glass table.
Her stomach stuttered. The more she stared at them, the more they looked familiar. It was the exact pair she had bought for Jasmine's birthday just a few months ago.
"What was Jasmine doing here?" she wondered, fighting back the unpleasant thoughts threatening to break through.
She approached the stairs, her pulse thundering at the muffled, familiar pleasure-laced sounds growing clearer with every step she took toward the bedroom.
Reaching the room she had been dragged out of earlier, Louisa's hand hovered over the doorknob, trembling. The moment she turned it open silently, an astonished gasp tore from her throat. Her legs almost buckled.
An astonished gasp died in her throat. In the bed meant for her marriage, Jasmine and Jethro were caught in a ferocious, tangled heat.
Louisa froze behind the slightly ajar door, utterly stunned.
"Baby…" Jasmine moaned as Jethro's body slammed against her hips.
"Damn… Jasmine… you're the best," he groaned.
Jasmine threw her head back, flushed. "What about my sister—your fiancée, Louisa? Doesn't she make you feel this good? Who's better between us?"
Jethro's expression shifted as Jasmine eventually lay beside him, both of them naked beneath the sheets after their shameless intimacy. Neither of them noticed that Louisa was still standing there.
He wrapped his arms around Jasmine affectionately.
"Must you ruin this mood by bringing up that boring girl?" Jethro said, his voice dripping with haughtiness. "She's no fun. All she does is work and work, taking everything too seriously."
"So you mean I'm much better?" she pressed, tracing her finger across his manly chest.
"Yes. You're full of sweetness and fun, Jasmine. That's why I'll always love and cherish you." He planted a kiss on her forehead.
"I thought you told me you also felt something for Louisa."
"Are you doubting me, mine?" he frowned, using the affectionate pet name.
"I'm not doubting you. I'm just concerned about my future." She pouted, rubbing her stomach this time. "You won't ever abandon us one day for her, right?"
"God forbid! I would never do that. Let alone dream of it, because she's too plain for my liking. You're carrying my child,"
Jasmine chuckled in satisfaction.
"Oh baby… don't say such awful things about your fiancée," she whispered sarcastically. Then placed a kiss on his cheek. "Just bear with Louisa for some time until we get what we want from her as long as she doesn't know we're secret lovers,"
Hearing that spectacle, Louisa's hands tightened at her sides as blood boiled violently in her veins like lava with the urge to scream and lash out.
"Jasmine is pregnant... with whose child?" Louisa's voice broke in a sheer, bewildered whisper instead.
Her words struck Jethro and Jasmine like a whip. They jolted on the bed, snapping their wide eyes toward Louisa.
"Louisa!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Oh my god!" Jasmine muttered in terror, dragging the sheet to conceal the act as she hid behind Jethro.
"Please do something Jethro! She has seen us!" She knew the unruly and bad temper of Louisa might tear apart everything that hurt her.
And in an instant, Louisa's pent-up heartbreak, grief, and indignation snapped loose.
"You little wench and a scum, how dare you two do this to me?!" Louisa bellowed, her voice vibrating with heartbreak as she stormed toward them.
Her hand lurched forward, grabbing Jasmine's hair. "Why choose to hurt me this way?!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks again as she vented her churning emotions.
"Ahhh!" Jasmine cried out like a child, struggling to release her hair from Louisa's iron grip. "Help me Jethro! It's hurting! She'll hurt our baby too!"
"Stop it!" Jethro growled, shoving Louisa aside.
Louisa stumbled back, crashing against the edge of the nightstand. Her eyes flew wide in terror as she narrowly avoided hitting her head.
The realization hit her like ice. She had been deceived, cheated, and played by the very people she trusted most. And the man who was supposed to protect her was choosing her sister over her.
Jethro's expression twisted with disdain. "You can't just barge in here and hurt Jasmine in front of me. Have you lost your senses? This is exactly why I chose her. She's soft, unlike you, who would probably turn into a bully the moment things stop going your way!"