Chapter 1902
Serana bit her lip, silent.
Straightening up in her chair, Yasmine''s gaze grew colder. "You might not like hearing this, but you
knew what you were doing getting into this. So don''t y the victim."
Casting a nce at the sandwiches left on the table, Yasmine let out a sarcastic chuckle. "To win a
man''s heart, you gotta win his stomach first. Have you managed that over all these years?"
The words were blunt, and any pretense of ignorance Serana had maintained was now impossible
to continue.
Perhaps Yasmine hit a particrly sore spot, Serana finally met Yasmine''s eyes. "No one knows
Boyd better than I do."
Yasmine raised an eyebrow, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Serana with feigned
interest, as if waiting for a sermon.d2
Serana didn''t disappoint, continuing, "Sure, you knew him before I did, but you left his side for nine
years. During those nine years, I was the one by his side."
The expression on Yasmine''s face grew darker by several degrees. "Are you bragging or giving me
a friendly reminder of my ce? That it''s about time I stepped aside?"
Shaking her head, Serana rified, "I''m not bragging, nor reminding you of anything. I''m justying
out the facts to exin that I''ve grown up with him, I know what he wants, and that''s why I''vee
to ept him being with you."
Yasmine nodded, "It seems I should thank you for being so gracious about us being together."
"I know you must think I''m a fool, but if I..."
"What''s going on here?"
Boyd''s voice suddenly cut in, interrupting Serana. He ced a te of spaghetti in front of Yasmine.
"You ordered it. You better eat it all."
"But I didn''t say I wanted two eggs."
"Just eat it."
Boyd sat beside her, giving Serana a fleeting nce. "What were you two talking about?"
Serana''splexion paled slightly as she gently shook her head. "Nothing important."
Boyd turned to Yasmine, only to hear her say, "It''s not ''nothing.'' I''m actually quite curious about
what you were about to say."
Serana took a sip of her milk, "I forgot."
Yasmine only ate half her pancakes before pushing the te towards Boyd. "Are you full?"
Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.
He pulled the te closer to himself. "I don''t think you want to hear that I am."
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Yasmine quipped, "Do I look like someone who forces others?"
"I''m not full."
Boyd directly took a bite of the half-eaten sunny-side-up egg Yasmine had left.
Yasmine smiled.
After Boyd finished eating, Yasmine''s phone rang. She answered the call without a second''s dy.
"I''ll be right down."
Boyd watched her, "I''ve arranged a ride."
Standing, Yasmine said, "I won''t be going to school today."
She brushed her hair back and exited the dining room.
Something was off. Boyd could see it, but if Yasmine had already called for a driver, there was
nothing more he could say.
They descended the stairs together, Yasmine acting as if nothing had happened. Before getting into
the car, she reminded him, "Don''t forget about the term paper."
He pulled her close, kissing her forehead, "As youmand."
Watching Yasmine''s car drive away, Boyd headed to another vehicle. "If you can''t learn to talk to
her, then talk less. If you piss her off, I''m the one who has to sweet-talk her."
As Boyd''s car pulled away, Serana stood there, a picture of sadness. She knew it was Yasmine who
couldn''t let go.
"Ms. Serana," the driver beside her prompted gently.
She snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and got into the car.
--
The unfinished words from Serana lingered in Yasmine''s mind. She told herself not to worry about
it, but they always seemed to creep into her thoughts in idle moments.
But what if...
What if what?
She was pretty sure, given the context of their conversation, it wasn''t anything pleasant. However,
such an exchange with Serana could only happen once. The question remained unanswered,
fading over time.
Serana seemed to avoid the issue too, rarely visiting Boyd''s home afterward.
Rare, but not absent. After all, they had grown up together. The ties couldn''t bepletely cut.
During thest few months of university, the students'' emotions began to settle down. They were
less boisterous, more silent than before, perhaps due to impending farewells, the pressure to
advance, embarking on long-awaited journeys, or fear of an uncertain future.
For some, like Yasmine and Boyd, these concerns held little significance. In fact, Boyd''s focus had
already shifted.
Yasmine, with Bryson managing things, yed the hands-off boss quitefortably. Bryson even
suggested she could stay in school if she was bored, as the challenges weren''t too great for her.
Yasmine, however, didn''t hesitate to refuse, seemingly without ambition, which left Bryson at a loss.
Boyd couldn''t fault her, except when it came to Serana.
Yasmine had felt uneasy around Serana since their reunion. She dismissed their childhood y as
just that—y, and the near-death experience as a game gone too far. She couldn''t deny Serana''s
present self due to past events or hold onto old prejudices forever, but as time and events proved,
she and Serana just didn''t mesh.
Yet somehow, she couldn''t shake Serana off. Her intolerance grew day by day, and her displeasure
was no longer concealed.
A month had passed since their "unpleasant" breakfast.
That afternoon, Boyd came to pick up Yasmine from school. She instinctively went for the front
passenger seat, but the driver opened the door and walked out, gesturing towards the back seat for
her. Boyd was already sitting inside.
She ducked in and sat down, “Mr. Boyd, you’re really stepping up your game, not even driving your
own car now.”
Boyd took her hand, “Can’t drive today. Got a dinner nned for us.”
“Why? Tired of ying chef?”
“I could cook for you every day of my life and never get tired.”
Yasmine chuckled, “Then why do we eat out? I’m actually quite a fan of your culinary skills.”
“Serana’s test score came in. She’s asked us to dinner. Must’ve aced it.”
“What tests?” Yasmine raised an eyebrow, “Thinking about studying abroad?”
Boyd shook his head without hesitation, “No.”
“So, this is why you can’t drive today?”
“Isn’t it a reason to celebrate? She probably wants to share her joy with us.”
Yasmineughed softly, “A good score and it calls for a celebration? She isn’t some academic
cker, is she? Are we going to throw a party every time she finishes a test?”
As she said this, Yasmine paused, recalling that during their meals together, Boyd did indeed
celebrate Serana''s achievements asionally, though Yasmine had never paid much attention to it,
sometimes only responding politely. After all, with all the tests big and small along the way, it was
okay to mention a good performance.
She hadn’t realized they were actuallymemorating these asions. A cold chuckle escaped
her, but anger coiled in her chest. Were they really having their own little world right under her
nose?
Sensing the shift in her mood, Boyd squeezed her hand, “What’s on your mind?”
Yasmine arched an eyebrow, her gaze sliding to the corner of her eyes, looking up at him yfully.
“I’m curious, what exactly is your rtionship with Serana?”
Boyd’s brows twitched, “Why do you ask? Before you left, she was at the orphanage, and after you
left, she was still there.”
“I just want a straightforward answer to what your rtionship is.”
Yasmine''s tone was cold, her words edged with frost.
Boyd looked at her for a moment, “We grew up together.”
Yasmine nodded, “Ah, grew up together.” She repeated, seemingly epting the answer, though
the smile that touched her eyes was tinged with chill, “So, the orphanage was left with just the two
of you to fend for yourselves after I left?”
Boyd’s brows furrowed.
“That can’t be right, can it? So among all those kids who grew up with you at the orphanage, why
haven’t you handed out prime real estate to each of them, or pulled strings to get them into Summit
Ridge University, or joined them for a celebratory meal for their good grades?”
Boyd’s brows lowered, “Why are you so concerned about Serana?”
“Is she perhaps your long-lost sister?”
“No.”
“Or maybe you were kidnapped and she nearly sacrificed herself trying to save you, almost paying
with her virtue or actually losing it?”
Yasmine watched as ayer of frost settled over Boyd’s features at her words. “No.”
Yasmine stared at him for another two seconds, then sat up straight, turning to watch the world slide
by outside the car window. “Pull over.”
The driver nced in the rear view mirror, catching sight of Boyd’s dark expression, and felt a wave
of difort.
The car continued at a steady pace, his palms sweating. He wasn’t deaf — the argument in the
back was loud and clear in the confined space of the car. How could he pretend to be oblivious?
“I said, pull over.”
The driver hesitated, “Mr. Boyd.”
Boyd spoke up, “I’ve never felt there was anything unspeakable between Serana and me, which is
why I brought you along.”
Yasmine’s eyes flickered down, then up again, “Just like when you had her celebrate my birthday
that time.” She turned to him, her smile faint, “You like her, so I have to ept her unconditionally?”
She paused, then suddenlyughed, the sarcasm unmasked, “So I was just dating you, and you
expect me to just ept this tag-along? And not just any tag-along, but one who might have
designs on you?
“A tag-along that has nothing to do with me, and you expect me to be some kind of saint, brimming
with so much selfless maternal love that I must ept her? Whether I ept her is up to me, and
clearly, I’m not inclined to right now. I said, pull over, didn’t you hear that?”
Of course, pulling over wasn’t an option. The driver pressed his lips together, not daring to move.
After all that had been said, if he pulled over now and the two of them ended their rtionship right
there, he would be screwed.
“Yasmine.” Boyd’s voice was steady, “So, what exactly do you want? Should I take back the house
in Serana''s name, cancel her university enrollment, or skip the celebration tonight?”
“You’re the big shot CEO. Since when do you need guidance on what to do? It seems I''m quite the
viin in your eyes. The three things you mentioned, it’s like you’re saying I forced you into them.
Tell me, could you really do them?”
Boyd closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, “Yasmine, if there was something between Serana and
me, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Yasmine fell silent for a moment, grasping his meaning —
If there was something between him and Serana, then Yasmine wouldn’t be in the picture, wouldn’t
be his girlfriend, let alone sharing his bed.
Thinking back on how Boyd had treated her during their time together, she knew the truth in her
heart. However, she didn’t believe her resentment toward Serana was entirely unfounded. Having
such a potentially explosive bomb beside her, Yasmine wondered how much energy and how many
lives she had to spare for it.
This wasn’t what she wanted in a rtionship. Moreover, she didn’t think she had any obligation to
be kind to Serana.
Serana knew it, Yasmine wasn’t hiding it, and Boyd, clever as he was, surely knew it too. Yet his
choice seemed to be forcing Yasmine to ept Serana.
Hmph. With a cold snort, she ignored Boyd’s words and spoke again, “I’m not feeling well. Pull over.
I want to go home.”
The driver, seeing Boyd’s grim expression and feeling awkward, ventured, “Where do you feel
unwell? Should we head to the hospital?”
Yasmine responded indifferently, “No need, just feeling a bit sick.”
The driver''s features shifted slightly, a hint of unease ncing off his face as he peered at Boyd
through the rearview mirror once more.
Yasmine, with her habit of speaking in riddles, could throw you off guard. Her words often seemed
straightforward at first, but upon a second listen, they revealed a maze of hidden meanings. He''d
been eavesdropping on their argument the entire ride and he was pretty sure that Yasmine''s
mention of feeling "disgusted" wasn''t just about some queasy stomach.
And Boyd had to be in the know.
Casting a nce at the diner next to them, the driver cleared his throat, "Mr. Boyd, we''ve arrived at
the restaurant Ms. Serana had picked out."
Boyd was blunt in his response. "Head to the hospital."
"Understood."
"I told you, no hospital. Look, we''re here, so you might as well step in. What, you want her to hold a
grudge because I didn''t show? Don''t drag me into this mess. I''m nning to stick around for a good
while longer."