The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Boyd’s hands clenched tighter, a storm brewing in his chest. “You can hate me, but you’ve got to give

me a chance to make things right. We lost the baby, but we can still—”

“Boyd.” Yasmine’s voice cut through the turmoil, calm and steady as she slightly tilted her head, lying

on the hospital bed in the most non-threatening posture, eyes fixed on Boyd. “The answer you just

gave me, there’s a part of me that’s relieved. Better that you had this planned all along than deciding

on the spot to shoot me after seeing me go after Serana. I prefer it this way.”

Boyd stayed silent, just watching her.

Yasmine continued, “I’m not an easy person to deal with. I’ve got a fiery temper, I’m relentless, even

more so when I’m right. I hold grudges, and I’m vindictive. I’ve been tangled up with you this long, and

I’ve started to believe that cliché that love makes you stupid, because for you, I’ve done some really

dumb things. We should’ve cut ties long ago, instead of dragging this out to where we are now. I’ve

learned my lesson. So don’t you go thinking there’s anything left between us. There’s no future for us,

not like you think there is.”

Boyd felt his strength waning, and he sank into the chair by the bed, reaching for Yasmine’s hand, only

for her to calmly lift it and place it on her stomach.

“Do you remember the first question I asked you today?”d2

Boyd thought for a second, “Serana…”

Yasmine hummed softly, “If it had been before, I wouldn’t have confronted her. It wouldn’t have been

worth the hassle. But now, I don’t care as much, and her name doesn’t bother me anymore. I couldn’t

understand why I was being punished like this when I hadn’t done anything terribly wrong. Maybe I’d

ruined someone’s marriage and this was karma. You should let go, too. You’ve done so much for

Serana, can you really say you don’t love her?”

“I don’t. I love you!” Boyd insisted.

Yasmine chuckled lightly and took a deep breath before speaking again, “You love me, huh?”

Boyd repeated with conviction, “I love you.”

“Then I’ll take it that you do.” Yasmine said, “But you shot me for her, caused me to lose our baby, and I

hate you for it.”

“I hate you, and I don’t want to make this easy for you. So Boyd, you better be in love with me, because

what I’m about to say won’t have the intended effect of getting back at you otherwise.”

Boyd’s eyes grew heavier with sorrow. “I love you.”

Yasmine nodded with a smile, “Good.”

After a long pause, she took another deep breath and continued, “That day at the hospital, when I saw

you with Serana for her check-up, I wasn’t there to confront you. I called you after you’d ignored me for

days, willing to set aside my pride. I wanted to surprise you, to have you with me for my check-up. But

you were busy, and then I saw you rushing off with Serana. And later, when Johnson kidnapped me to

the graveyard, I actually felt sorry for him. His son’s favorite snacks were so simple, but there are far

better treats in this world, than cotton candy and jelly beans. I thought I’d give my child the best of

everything and that they’d need their father too. So, I decided if you came to rescue me, I’d stop

fighting. We’d settle down and I’d even try to temper my fiery nature.”

The agony of what could have been ate at Boyd, a bitter taste he couldn’t shake off. Swallowing hard,

he grappled with the unease and guilt that overwhelmed him.

She had envisioned a future for their child, and a life with him.

Yasmine observed him with a smile, “You’ve been good to me. I felt your love. I never imagined you’d

shoot me. Setting aside my innocence in this whole mess, the choice between me and Serana, it was

never a real choice. Johnson and Logan made it clear—you should take Serana’s life for them. Was

that a choice? How was that any different from being forced to kill her?”

Her voice trembled with the effort to control her emotions, her bitterness and irony twisting into an

aching sorrow that spread throughout her.

She covered the quiver in her voice with a light laugh, “Serana said she’d die for you, but I told her I

wouldn’t. I’m not that foolish. Do I look like someone who’d say they’d die for love?”

Boyd shook his head sorrowfully, “I wouldn’t want you to die for me.”

Yasmine laughed, “But do you know why I wanted to kill Serana? Why I really did?”

A flicker of confusion crossed Boyd’s eyes briefly before Yasmine’s voice filled the room again.

“I thought, since Serana was going to die anyway, it didn’t matter who did it.”

She paused, her laughter tinged with cold sarcasm, “Even then, I was thinking about you. Your

company was going public, you had ambitions, and your life couldn’t be burdened with a murderer’s

guilt. Better for me to do it. I’d take the fall, and you wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of killing the

woman you’d protected all your life. You might hate me, but maybe I’d be in jail by then. Hah.”

She had no right to call Serana foolish. Perhaps she was the bigger fool.

Boyd’s eyes narrowed sharply, his heart feeling as if it were being ripped open, raw and bleeding. His

expression was one of deeper anguish, his eyes rimmed with red, bloodshot and haunted by what he

had just heard.

He had never considered, never imagined that Yasmine would think so much for him, that she would be

willing to bear so much.

Initially, he thought she despised Serana, hated Serana. Assessing the situation, he also believed that

killing Serana at that time was the simplest and most direct solution, so she chose to do just that.

Even later, while Yasmine lay unconscious, he had thought her desire for Serana’s death, her own

survival, was all for their child.

Now he knew otherwise. It wasn’t about that at all.

“Yasmine, I’m sorry, so sorry.”

His grip on Yasmine’s hand was firm, unyielding, as if holding onto it was his only anchor.

Yasmine’s graceful neck quivered slightly, and the rims of her eyes reddened. She stared at the ceiling,

pulling a half-hearted smile, her eyes widened, willing the tears to retreat.

“I’ve told you before. I won’t say it’s okay.”

She tried to pull her hand away, to no avail. A wave of disgust rose within her, and with it, the tears

slowly receded. Then, she slowly turned her gaze and, with a twisted smile, looked at Boyd, “Are you

sad? Regretful? In pain?”

He held her hand against his forehead, whispering, “I’m sorry.”

Yasmine laughed, “It seems you are sad, regretful, and in pain. Good. I hate you, so seeing you like

this, it makes me happy.”

“Let me go, Boyd. When our child was still with us, I thought about making it work, for their sake. But

now that we’ve lost our child, there’s no future for us.

“I won’t give you a chance to make amends. You can either live with this sadness, this regret, this pain

for the rest of your life, or live in debt to me. I hate you; how could I possibly let you off easy?”

Or, he could admit that the person he loved in his heart was Serana and not her, and then her so-called

revenge would stop at this, barely touching his life.

“I won’t agree, Yasmine.”

Yasmine closed her eyes, drained from the energy it took to speak her mind.

They fell into silence, the hospital room becoming a quiet sanctuary.

Boyd, too, stopped speaking, gently placing her hand under the covers, sitting by her side, watching

her sleep peacefully.

What it meant to be at a loss, to be out of options, Boyd had come to understand time and time again,

each accompanied by a feeling of despair.

In the past, when she wanted to break up, he could shamelessly pester her, cling to her, do whatever it

took despite being called shameless, annoying, despicable. But what else could he do?

He was at fault, time and time again, and knowing Yasmine’s temperament, he had no other choice.

He knew how to handle Yasmine: in her presence, he would drop his pride, let her rant, let her vent

until she ran out of steam.

This mistake, it seemed however, was unforgivable.

She hated him.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates…

He had pulled the trigger and dealt the fatal blow. This time, he had made too many mistakes.

None could be undone. And yet, he couldn’t bear to part with her.

Her decisiveness was crushing, and if he truly agreed to let her go, it would be the end of them.

Once assured she was sound asleep, Boyd slowly stood up and left the room. His assistant had been

waiting outside, and upon seeing Boyd emerge, he whispered, “Mr. Boyd, now that Miss Yasmine is

alright, you should get some rest.”

“It’s fine.”

The assistant looked at him with sympathy, “Mr. Boyd, you’re in no shape to be here. How will you take

care of her if you’re not well?”

Boyd pinched the bridge of his nose, looking back at him, “Do you think she could ever forgive me?”

The assistant was taken aback, not expecting such a question. “Given the circumstances, to save both

her and Miss Serana, what you did was the best course of action. Miss Yasmine is smart, I believe she

understands that.”

“Does that include understanding why she lost our child?”

The assistant’s lips pressed into a thin line, unable to respond.

Boyd let out a bitter chuckle, “She won’t, will she?”

Leaning wearily against the corridor wall, Boyd continued, “She always had trouble with Serana, always

pushing me to choose between them. I told her they weren’t even on the same scale. But it seems I’m

doomed to face this dilemma. I wanted them both to live, yet I chose to hurt her. This time, she has all

the right to be angry, because the price she paid for this answer was too high.”

After a moment of silence, the assistant mustered the courage to say, “It’s rare to have the best of both

worlds.”