Chapter 117: Chapter 117

It was already mid-winter in New York, with Valentine's Day just around the corner. Jasmine was finishing up her shift at BlueMoon private hospital, dressed in a bright yellow floral dress that matched her sunny mood. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, revealing her bright smile.

As she headed out, Amber rushed up to her, and Nora was trying to catch up behind her.

"Hey, Jasmine! Why are you leaving early today?" Amber asked, curiosity etched on her face.

"What? I just got my mom's errands done," Jasmine replied, trying to brush off any further questions.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You look amazing today—almost too nice for errands."

Jasmine chuckled and glanced down at her dress. "I just needed a change of pace from scrubs."

Nora chimed in, "I don't know... I'm having trouble believing you're not going out tonight."

"Are you two teaming against me? If you don't have anything important to do, go and bother someone else. It's getting late. I need to leave now." Before she could take a step, a delivery guy walked up to them with a huge bouquet of pink roses.

"I have a package for Ms. Jasmine Beth," he announced, making Jasmine curse inwardly. She had warned Jace not to bring any gifts to the hospital, as that would make everyone aware that she was in a relationship.

"I guess you must be looking for me," Jasmine said while laughing awkwardly. After putting her signature on the paper, the delivery guy dropped the huge banquet on the table before leaving.

Nora and Amber folded their arms on their chests as they drilled her with their gaze. "Do you want to explain this?" Nora asked, while Amber quickly picked up the card inside the bouquet.

Dear princess,

I bless the day you came into my life. You're such an amazing woman, someone I'm grateful to have in my presence every day. As Valentine's Day approached, I couldn't help but feel grateful for our relationship.

"'Jasmine, he's so romantic,' Amber whispered, her eyes shining with tears. She wasn't quite faking. 'Now I see why you're hiding him from the world.' She sniffled, wiping away tears that glistened like diamonds.

"'Amber is right!' another nurse chimed in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. 'You're so lucky, Jasmine!'

"I've got to go," Jasmine said shyly, as nurses surrounded her with questions.

Elena, walking towards the cafeteria with her earpiece tucked in, noticed a cluster of nurses near the reception desk.

As she drew closer, she overheard their conversation; they were discussing Jasmine's romantic boyfriend, who had showered her with a large bouquet of flowers.

Elena raised an eyebrow, feeling a pang of jealousy mixed with admiration for Jasmine's good fortune.

Since breaking up with Ryan and experiencing assault once again, Elena has given up on love and focused on her career, hoping something good might come from it.

But seeing Jasmine so happy made Elena realize how much she missed having someone special in her life.

As she slipped away before anyone could notice her presence, Elena sighed heavily, feeling a mix of emotions: longing for love and fear of getting hurt again.

She thought to herself, 'At least I won't get hurt again,' trying to convince herself that being single was better than risking another broken heart.

But little did Elena know that BlueMoon Hospital had other plans.

On her way to the cafeteria, she ran into Dr. Thompson from neurology and Dr. Patel from orthopedics, hand in hand, as they strolled past her.

As she entered the cafeteria, she thought she had found a safe haven, but instead, she was shocked to find a nurse's boyfriend proposing to her on the spot, drawing a large crowd.

"What the heck is going on? Are they all after my life?" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief and retracted out of the cafeteria. As the thought of home came to mind, she boarded a taxi, and even looking out the window became a torture to her; it seemed like the whole world had fallen in love.

Arriving at the apartment, she tuned in to the TV, and it was all about Valentine's Day. With a loud groan, she switched it off. Picking up her cell phone, she browsed through a dating app called Zimbo that she had accidentally stumbled upon as a pop-up ad on her phone a few weeks ago. Casually scrolling through the app, she saw a notification in her account that she had received an invitation from iam_jones, extending a date-night invitation to her.

......

As Sean snatched Andrea's phone from her, she panicked. "Sean, give it back. It's something important," she demanded adamantly.

"Are you cheating on me?" Sean raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "It's Valentine's Day, and we're together. What's more important than us?" He asked back.

"What nonsense! You know how much I love you, hubby. Stop being cheesy. It's just some urgent work-related matter that I need to attend to," Andrea said.

"I'm sure it can wait," Sean retorted, throwing her phone into his pocket before walking away, causing Andrea to trail behind him as she tried to make him give her phone.

"Come on, Sean, you can't do this to me," Andrea lamented with pouty lips as they descended the stairs.

"Ughhh!!" Jace uttered it in an audible tone, his face scrunched up in utter disgust.

"Really? I have an idea! Why don't you get up from my couch and walk yourself to the door?" Sean replied sarcastically.

Andrea chuckled and said, "Jace is Valentine's Day; don't you have any plans? Or are you planning to spend it with your little nieces?"

Pearl ran up to her dad, saying, "Mommy, Daddy, we want to come with!" Sean picked her up and planted a kiss on his precious daughter. "Mommy and Daddy can't bring you two along. Your nanny will be on her way here soon while your uncle plays with you," he explained in a gentle tone.

"Boohoo!" Pearl cried out, her little chubby arms wrapped around her father's neck. "Pearl wants to come with Daddy!"

"Pearl, stop acting stubborn," Andrea warned sternly. She wasn't a fan of indulging in their tantrums like Sean did.

"Will you come with Mommy and Daddy now or wait until the weekends for Mommy and Daddy to take you to the movies?" Sean asked his little princess in his arms.

"Mommy and Daddy should go have fun while Pearl and Ruby stay with Uncle," Pearl said, pouting like her mom while wiping her tears.

"That's more like my angel," Sean praised her, showering her with kisses. Andrea rolled her eyes, remembering times when Sean would envy the twins for being too clingy with her. Now she felt envious of how clingy Pearl and Ruby were with their father, leaving her left out.

Whatever!" Andrea rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. If only she knew that at that moment, jealousy was clearly written all over her face.

Jasmine walked into the living room with a dumbfounded expression upon seeing Andrea and Sean.

"Jasm, what brings you here?" Andrea asked curiously.

Jasmine's eyes darted around the place and landed on Jace before quickly averting them back to Andrea. "I was close by, so I decided to check if you were around and say hi," she stuttered, trying to come up with a lie in this tense situation.

"Oh my gosh!! Tell me it's what I'm thinking. Do you have a boyfriend on this estate?" Andrea asked with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Yes...er...yes," Jasmine lied with a fake smile on her face. It wasn't technically a lie, though; after all, Jace was currently at the estate, sitting on the couch while chatting on his phone.

"WOW!! I'm so happy for you. When are you going to introduce him to me? Do I perhaps know him? Since when did you get into this relationship?"

Jasmine's head pounded as Andrea bombarded her with all sorts of questions regarding her relationship.

"Aren't you supposed to get going?" Jace quickly intervened as he finally looked away from his phone.

"Baby, we should leave," Sean kindly reminded Andrea about their reservation. He knew how strict that restaurant was, and even if they arrived a minute late, their reservation would be given to someone else.

"Alright babies, Mommy and Daddy have to go now."

"Baby, meet me in the car." Sean kissed her forehead and made his way out of the house.

"You two should please watch the kids before the nanny arrives."

Jace snorted loudly. "She can't even look after herself, and you're keeping her in charge of your kids? I mean, Ruby and Pearl are smarter than she is."

Jasmine glared at him as she grabbed her phone and sent him a message: "Aren't you doing too much?"

Child, baby, I just want everything to look real; Andrea is a smart woman. If we don't add more effort, she might begin to suspect us."

Jace That's a rude thing to say about my sister."

"Oh, you mean I'm no longer your brother, right?" He folded his arm across his chest.

"Shut up! What are you saying? You will always be my younger brother. Why don't you stay and keep the twins occupied after all; you are their dearest uncle?"

Andrea smiled: "Ruby and Pearl, I want you two to be in your best behavior, okay?"

"You should get going, Mommy, or Daddy will scold you again," Ruby said nonchalantly.