The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Yasmine narrowed her eyes, fixing him with a frosty stare before finally letting

out a derisive chuckle. “Took you long enough to figure it out. Not easy, was it?”

Boyd watched her smirking, the kind of smirk you’d see on someone without a

care in the world. It was chilling. “Didn’t you ever stop to think that if something

really happened to Serana, you wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of unease or guilt?”

Serana felt a chill run through her body and glanced out the window. Dusk was

approaching, and the temperature was dropping. No wonder she felt cold. She

picked up her mug and took a couple of sips.

“Why would I feel uneasy or guilty? It’s not like I killed anyone. Is it my job to feel

bad every time somebody bites the dust?” she said, laughing softly. “What do

Enter title…

you think I am, some kind of saint?”

“Because of your selfishness, you let them take her away. If something

happens, isn’t your inaction just as bad as pulling the trigger?”

There was a loud “thud,” and the atmosphere in the director’s office instantly

froze. Everyone present was stunned, unsure of how to react. Yasmine’s mug

flew straight from her hand to smack Boyd squarely on the forehead.d2

The lukewarm water from the mug trickled down his face, mingling with a

noticeable streak of red. Some papers on the desk got soaked, and the glass

mug shattered on the floor.

Yasmine remained seated, her expression icy. “So what? Anything that happens

to Serana is my fault? Looks like I don’t even qualify as a stranger anymore,

huh?”

She pushed herself out of the chair, frowning as she felt the armrest, and then

hopped down.

She walked directly up to Boyd. She was still shorter than Boyd. Looking at him,

she could only tilt her chin up, but her eyes were colder than ever.

He never saw her as the naive, cheerful kid she was supposed to be, but now,

this was a side of her he couldn’t have even imagined.

“So I just can’t get away from you people, can I? No matter what I do, it’s wrong,

right?”

Yasmine’s gaze was unwavering. “Would you be completely satisfied if it was

me who was taken away today instead of her?”

Boyd furrowed his brows, “You’re being ridiculous.”

“So what’s the point of all this ranting? Just spouting nonsense at me?”

Boyd’s face twisted in anger, clearly more affected by her words than the gash

on his forehead from the mug.

“Why don’t you tell me right now how to truly, completely shake you two off my

back?” Her eyes tracked the blood dripping down Boyd’s face, void of any

warmth.

Boyd was silent for a moment, and the director finally snapped out of his daze.

“Yasmine, this is not the time for arguing. Boyd needs to attend to that cut on his

forehead.”

“He won’t die.” Yasmine cut in sharply, maintaining her gaze on Boyd. “Not

talking, huh? Fine, I’ll speak. If Serana really died today, you’d probably chase

me for life for retribution, right? Seems like even if Serana’s out of the picture, I

still can’t shake you off, can I?”

She chuckled bitterly, “What kind of karma is this? Even if Serana dies, I can’t

live in peace because of her. It looks like I’ll only have some peace if she stays

alive.”

The office remained silent, all eyes fixed on Yasmine’s slender figure.

“Alright, Boyd, let’s make a deal. If Serana comes out of this unscathed, you –

and she – better stay out of my life forever. We’ll be strangers from now on.

Whatever happens to you doesn’t concern me one bit.”

Boyd’s lips were pressed into a thin line.

“No response? I’ll take that as an agreement.” Yasmine couldn’t bear to look at

him any longer and moved to sit on the couch by the window.

“Does this count as Boyd skipping class?”

Boyd shot Yasmine a glance and left the director’s office with an icy expression.

Yasmine’s palms were cold, and her nerves were still on edge.

Kidnapping. She cursed under her breath, her first ever encounter with such a

crisis.

“Yasmine.” Bryson glanced outside at the quickly darkening sky.

“Let’s wait it out. I came here to resolve this once and for all. I don’t plan on

coming back.”

Bryson nodded.

Just moments ago, the sunset was still visible, but now the weather had turned

and rain began to pour.

Bryson peered outside with a hint of concern, “Looks like the rain’s going to get

heavier.”

Yasmine frowned and stood up from the couch, “I need to go up the hill.”

Bryson immediately objected, “No way. The police are up there, you won’t be of

any help.”

“Who said I was going to help?” Yasmine turned to the director to borrow an

umbrella. “I need to get something from Ava. The rain’s getting worse, and I

refuse to spend the night here.”

“I’ll fetch it.”

If she let Bryson know she’d handed those bracelets over to someone else, he’d

have a fit. She was annoyed enough as it was and didn’t need Bryson’s

incessant nagging in the future.

“Only I can get it.” She didn’t elaborate, instead focusing on a nearby officer who

looked ready to stop her. “I told that guy to give that kid a good scare, and he

seemed to agree. He’s taken a kid up the mountain, so it’ll buy some time. The

girl might get roughed up a bit, but there shouldn’t be any life-threatening

danger. Of course, if she has a bit of sense, or if you guys are quick enough,

she should be alright by now.”

At worst, she might be scared out of her wits.

“You have confidence in your team, so you probably won’t stop me.”

The officer was speechless. Staring at the girl who barely reached his waist, he

couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

She was nothing like a ten-year-old. From start to finish, her words, actions,

even her thought processes – none of it resembled what one would expect from

a ten-year-old. And now, even when she was backing down, she did it with such

flair.

Did he trust his team? Absolutely.

This girl was a little too sharp for her own good.

“I haven’t received the go-ahead, so you can’t go up the mountain just yet.”

“Aren’t you going to check out the situation yourself? You could drop me off on

the way. Or are you worried you can’t keep me safe?”

The officer chuckled, “Young lady, reverse psychology won’t work on me.”

“Suit yourself.”

Yasmine brushed past him and stood at the doorway, popping open her

umbrella.

Bryson knew Yasmine’s temperament all too well. He shot the officer a helpless

look before hurrying over to her side.

“Miss, for safety’s sake, let’s wait for the rain to ease up. Otherwise, I’ll head up

and fetch her myself.”

Yasmine eyed the rain outside, a frown fleeting across her brow. She turned to

look at the officer. “There’s a little girl up there, about my age, home alone. If

she ran into that thug…”

The color drained from the officer’s face.

His radio crackled to life at that moment, and from his one-sided conversation,

Yasmine could gather that the criminal had been subdued. However, little

Serana had climbed to the top of a steep incline and was wedged in a narrow

crevice. The gap was too small for an adult, and from the sound of it, the

branches wouldn’t bear an adult’s weight either. With the rain and wind, the

branches were swaying fiercely. And knowing Serana’s timid nature, aside from

clinging to the branches and crying her heart out, she wouldn’t dare to move.

The officer confirmed there was still no foolproof way to reach her.

Yasmine glanced at the rain-shrouded mountain, and after a moment, she said

slowly, “I’ll go.”

“Don’t be reckless!” Bryson was genuinely upset. What a mess of a day this was

turning out to be.

“I mainly want an excuse to go up the mountain. Saving Serana is the only way

I’ll cut ties with all this mess once and for all.”

She should never have come here today, getting herself into this whole heap of

bad luck.

—

Ava lived halfway up the mountain. When they got there, she was home alone.

Before Yasmine left, she mentioned reclaiming her bracelets. Ava seemed to

want to say more, but Yasmine had no time to spare.

At the scene, Yasmine saw the thug with a gunshot wound in his leg. Seeing

her, his eyes were vicious, even more so than when she had seen him down the

mountain.

Yasmine’s body trembled slightly, and a faint smile stretched across her pale

face. Then, she turned her gaze to the continuous crying in the other direction.

She couldn’t have imagined what the scene looked like when the officer

described it. The tree roots had grown out of a rock crevice and branched into

new limbs. The limbs stretched out from the rock gap, and below wasn’t quite a

cliff, but the slope was steep.

Just like she had been told, the crevice was narrow, and the branches were

brittle.

The wind brought the rain against her face, stinging a bit.

Serana suddenly screamed, mixing with her sobs, giving Yasmine a headache.

They cobbled together some ropes they had found on the spot. Given Serana’s

position, they could only manage a single line.