Chapter 214 - Fear Spoil Rather Than Do Good
"Since the day Jackson gave Jasmine that ridiculous contract I knew that something was wrong? I mean how could he forgive her so easily after the way she constantly tortured him? He could have asked for anything in exchange for the contract and yet he choose to ask her to cook his meal and also teach him how to date a lady? Which man in this 21st century will keep a lady he hates close to him?" Catherine spoke her mind fearlessly. She wished Jackson was close to them and not hanging out with Jane, she would have applauded him for successfully fooling her and Jasmine.
"Well, he has been in love with her long before the contract incident but he couldn\'t muster up the courage to confess his love to her. Walking up to her and confessing his love for her when they do not know each other did not only sound ridiculous but with Jasmine\'s personality he knew that she wouldn\'t give a damn about rejecting his feelings in the presence of every...,"
"Was stealing the contract from Jasmine a planned work or it was a coincidence?" Catherine asked curiously.
"You can ask JK that when you see him because I can\'t make any comment about that," Jeff said deliberately not telling Catherine that Jackson puts her best friend through all those suffering just to get her attention.
If they were to compare who suffered most during that period, the fact that Jackson suffered most was undeniable.
"Jasmine has always been the one who loved playing games I can\'t believe she actually got played at by the Almighty Young Master Smith," Catherine said shaking her head when she recalls the number of times Jasmine tried to seduce Jackson even in her presence and in her absence.
Remembering Jackson\'s cold expression each time Jasmine get close to him, she couldn\'t help but thinks that he deserves to win the best actor of the year\'s award for his flawless acting.
"She thinks that Jackson loves some other lady. There are times that I feel like she is jealous of the lady whom Jackson loves but hearing that she is the one, I can\'t believe that she is jealous of herself," Catherine said on recalling the different occasions Jasmine mentions about how she admires Jackson\'s love for the mystery lady.
"Does that mean Jasmine loves JK? She will accept JK\'s love if he proposed to her, right?" Jeff asked with glittering eyes. He was so ready to immediately set up a romantic date for Jackson to propose to Jasmine before it was too late if Catherine\'s said YES.
"I know that Jasmine might get furious if she learns that Jackson loved her from the beginning but was only pretending. Also, Jackson did a good thing for keeping his feelings well hidden away because I am sure that Jasmine wouldn\'t have gone an inch closer to him after she got the contract if she was aware of his feelings....," Catherine trailed.
"Honestly, she would have used his feelings against him. The Jasmine I know would have trampled on his heart countless times without giving a damn about his emotions," Catherine said in a serious tone.
"And why are you so sure of what her actions would have been? You are not in her heart to know what she is thinking...,"
"Because she is my best friend. I know her more than anybody knows her. She hated anything that has to do with love and this is because she was hurt badly by those she loved and trusted so dearly in the past. She was hurt to the point that her once innocent heart could not bear the pains. Jasmine became a vengeful lady because of this," Catherine said as she stare in the direction of Jasmine who was smiling while talking to Alfred.
"You keep saying that she was hurt but you never mentioned by whom? What exactly happened to Jasmine in the past?" Jeff asked curiously as he stare at her keenly, thinking that she will reveal the truth to him.
"I can\'t say anything to you about the incident. It\'s a past Jasmine wants to forget and I would never in a million years want to see her breakdown again because of this same past," Catherine said firmly and her expression showed that she was damn serious when she said she will not tell him about Jasmine\'s past.
"Honestly, in the beginning, I never liked Jackson and this was because of what he had to make my best friend go through because of the contract. But despite that, here is my advice to him...," Catherine trailed to catch her breath.
"Tell him that to get Jasmine to fall head over heels for him will not be easy. He will only achieve his aim if he perseveres. Jasmine is not the typical woman he knows, she has a mind of her own. Also, she is in a world of her own. It takes a man with a broad mindset to be able to understand her. It takes more than studying her to understand her world. Tell him all this because it is only by understanding what I said he will achieve his aim," Catherine concluded in a serious tone.
"Why are you suddenly letting go of your hard feelings towards him?" Jeff asked anxiously. At least with Jasmine\'s most trusted person on their side now, he believes that it is just a matter of time that Jackson\'s mission will be completed.
"Because my best friend\'s happiness is my priority and I see that Jackson is the only guy who has been able to truly give her that happiness during this period," Catherine said before she stood up and approach the direction of the ocean.
Jasmine talking with Alfred quickly changed the topic.
"So, how did it go? Were you able to tell her about your feelings for her and what was her response? Did she said she loves you too?" Jasmine asked with glittering eyes to show her eagerness. She frowned and her eyes squinted when he did not reply.
"Don\'t tell me you didn\'t confess your feelings to her?" Jasmine asked looking and sounding disappointed.
"No, I was too nervous to say a word. I am afraid she might not feel the same way for me and if that is the case, it will surely cause a drift in our relationship...,"
"And what if she feels the same way for you but doesn\'t find the courage to confess her feelings for you because she is scared like you are? Have you thought about that possibility too or you only thought about the negative part?" Jasmine asked sternly.
"Alfred, there is something people fail to understand and that is that fear destroys rather than saves. Some men and women always try to play safe. They allow their fears to cloud their judgements. What if she doesn\'t like me? What if she rejects me? What if my decision makes her withdraws herself from me? This is always what they always think about," Jasmine said as she stare at the guy whom she has grown to like so much in the past year.
One year ago, they were merely strangers but after his marriage to her sister, she tried to create a bond between them and since Alfred was a very cool guy, she did not have a hard time establishing a close relationship with him.
"But they haven\'t stopped to think, what if she loves me? What if she accepts my proposal? What if my proposal leads to an eternal bond with her?" Jasmine added making sure that Alfred was paying attention to her.
"Fear is the number one reason why men and women in the universe lose the one which should have been theirs. This same fear is the reason why a best friend who is in love with his/her best friend lose him/her to some random person. This is the reason why, I, Jasmine Avans always pursue what I want. If I like a guy I will tell him straight to his face to make sure that he is aware of my feelings. At least that way I won\'t have future regrets," Jasmine concluded in a serious tone. She raised her left hand and place it on his shoulder.
"Alfred, heed my advice and tell her how you feel about her so that later you won\'t have future regrets. I will set up another avenue for you to confess your love for her today so use it wisely ok?" Jasmine said before she stood up.
"Think about all I have said and you will come to realise that I am right," Jasmine said before she approached the direction Steve, Jeff, Elizabeth and Evelyn were currently at.
"Why is it that she seems to know everything about love but fails to see that Jackson likes her a lot? Is it that she has failed to realise this or that is only pretending not to know?" Alfred thought as he stares at Jasmine who was now with the others.
(Hello lovely readers, we have come to the end of the month. Let me tell you guys our statistics as of this moment. For GOLDEN TICKET: 34 GT. For this month we only arrived at thirty-four (34) GOLDEN TICKETS. And on the GOLDEN TICKET RANKINGS, we are on number 129 which is far away from the top 50 goals we agreed on.
And for the 1k (1,000) cheers as of this moment we are in 346 cheers which are far away from the 1k cheers we agreed on.
Lovely readers, this means that there is no mass release for all of you. I am really sorry about this. Honestly, I really tried to make sure you guys reached the goal by uploading two chapters daily. I did my part of the bargain guys. I am sorry. I will make the GOLDEN TICKETS goal more flexible in October 2021.. Let\'s hope we will achieve next month goal).