Lady Warrior's Warth on Divorce Day novel Chapter 131

After a long pause, Jasmine asked in a daze, “Live stream? Are you telling me… They were streaming it while I was kidnapped?”

“Yeah.” Nicolas said quietly, his tone heavy.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I… I never saw any cameras or anything…” Jasmine’s face went ashen as the memories of what she’d said during the kidnapping crashed over her. “Where’s my phone? Give it to me. I need to see what they broadcast!”

Nicolas pulled out the phone Jasmine had left behind at the scene of the kidnapping.

Jasmine grabbed the phone, unlocked it, and started searching right away.

Even though the kidnapper’s live stream had been shut down, the whole thing was already trending at the top of the news.

People had clipped and uploaded chunks of the stream all over the internet.

So Jasmine had no trouble finding those clips.

Jasmine felt all the color drain from her face when she watched the clips of herself–bloodied, desperate, pleading, and even admitting she’d turned her back on someone in need. Horrified, she couldn’t believe it was really her.

‘How did it get to this point?‘ Jasmine thought, panic gripping her chest as she stared at the screen in disbelief.

She’d always believed those confessions would stay secret, locked away between her and the kidnapper, never reaching another soul.

Her plan had been simple: let the cops save her, and then she could play dumb, pretend none of it ever happened.

However, thanks to that damn live stream, everyone knew about the coldhearted thing she’d done.

Jasmine frantically scrolled through the comments, her heart pounding. Every single one was packed with

insults and ridicule.

[Some hero. What a joke!]

[She’s a straight–up killer!]

[How did Cloud Airlines ever hire someone like her as a co–pilot? If they don’t kick her out, I will never take a flight with Cloud Airlines again!]

[If it weren’t for this kidnapping, we would still have no idea what a hypocritical person she is! Honestly, the kidnapper did us all a favor!]

[She should get a taste of being burned alive, too!]

Jasmine’s hands were shaking as she scrolled through the comments.

Everyone had only ever showered her with praise and admiration back then. She’d grown used to being put on a pedestal. It felt like her natural place.

However… Everything had flipped upside down in just a few short hours.

She’d fallen straight from heaven into hell.

She’d gone from the firefighting hero everyone admired to a public enemy nobody wanted around. It was all because she left someone to die. The whole internet wanted her dragged through the mud.

‘No! This isn’t how my life is supposed to turn out!‘ Jasmine thought, panic burning in her chest.

Jasmine hurled her phone aside. Her breathing was frantic and broken as she said, “Delete it! Please, delete every single video! Nicolas, you have to help me! Please. I’m begging you!”

Nicolas looked troubled and said, “The story’s blowing up right now. It’s almost impossible to scrub all those videos. But give it some time. People will move on once the hype dies down.”

“Yeah, give it some time. It’ll all blow over,” Jasmine echoed, her voice shaky, clinging to the words like a lifeline–trying desperately to convince herself.

‘Once the buzz dies down, I’ll go back to being everyone’s admired female captain. Life can still go back to normal for me. Yeah, as long as I keep my head

wn, maybe things won’t change,‘ Jasmine thought, forcing herself to believe it.

“Jasmine, try to get some rest. Don’t stress yourself out. I’m heading to the police station to give my statement,” Nicolas said gently.

However, just as he was about to leave, Jasmine suddenly grabbed his hand, saying, “Nicolas, none of what I said in those videos is true!”

“What?” Nicolas blinked, caught off guard.

“It’s just… all that stuff about me leaving someone to die. That wasn’t real! I only said it to make the kidnapper let his guard down, so he’d stop hurting me!” Jasmine blurted out, voice shaking. “Nicolas, you believe me, right?”

Nicolas stayed silent, his gaze steady. He could see right through Jasmine, who was lying.

Back in that live stream, Jasmine hadn’t been trying to play along with the kidnapper. It was more like she’d slipped up, her defenses crumbling, and the truth just spilled out.

When Nicolas didn’t answer right away, Jasmine’s face fell even more. She asked, “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Jasmine, even if you did something wrong to leave someone to die, no matter what anyone else says, I’m always on your side, and I’ll help you through this,” Nicolas said as he stepped forward, taking her hand and making his vow like it was set in stone.

‘Yeah, I’ll stand by her. She saved my life, after all. No matter what happens, protecting Jasmine is the only thing I care about,‘ Nicolas thought fiercely, his commitment burning in his chest.

However, Jasmine suddenly shoved Nicolas away. Her voice broke with frustration as she said, “You don’t believe me! Nicolas, I always thought you would, even if the whole world didn’t trust me. But now… even you

don’t.”

Nicolas wryly laughed, bitterness twisting his features. He thought, ‘Believe you? How could I possibly?‘

“Even if I do, who else would? You just saw it, and all those people online saw everything,” Nicolas said quietly.

Jasmine’s face grew even paler, her knuckles gripping the sheets so tightly they almost tore. She forced the words out, stubborn as ever, “I don’t care if those people don’t believe me. As long as you trust me, that’s all

that matters.”

With things falling into chaos, she couldn’t afford to lose Nicolas now. She’d have nothing left if Nicolas left her.

Nicolas was her trump card and the one person she could still rely on.

Jasmine raised her head and fixed her eyes firmly on Nicolas. “Nicolas, you can walk away from me if you don’t trust me. Act like we were never a thing. Whatever happens to me from now on, it’s not your problem. Even if the whole world turns on me, spits on me, calls me every name in the book, I’ll never ask you for help.”

The moment the words left Jasmine’s mouth, she caught the look of guilt flicker across Nicolas’s face, which was exactly what she wanted.

‘Sometimes pushing away is the best way to pull someone closer, Jasmine thought, a flicker of smug satisfaction rising inside her.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine,” Nicolas said, his voice softening. “I shouldn’t have said that. I trust you.”

‘Either way, we are together now. She’d saved my life, after all. How could I turn my back on her?‘ Nicolas thought. The weight of their history pressed on his heart.

Jasmine’s smile lit up again. She said, “I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, Nicolas. As long as you trust me, I can handle anything that gets thrown my way.”

Nicolas forced a small smile, but worry gnawed at him from the inside.

Nicolas thought, ‘The challenges waiting for Jasmine are probably a lot bigger and uglier than I ever imagined.

‘Can… I truly stick with her and face everything head–on?‘ Nicolas fretted, doubt starting to creep in.

Nicolas suddenly felt a twinge of uncertainty when he thought of the overwhelming abuse directed at Jasmine online.

*****

Zoya was curled up on her couch that evening, aimlessly scrolling through her phone.

The Jasmine kidnapping fiasco was blowing up on the trending charts. The Fire Commission and Austeville, the city that gave Jasmine the title of Firefighting Hero after that border wildfire five years back, both dropped official statements saying they’d dig into the whole thing.

Cloud Airlines also revealed that Jasmine was suspended for that moment, and her fate as a co–pilot was still up in the air pending their final review.

Honestly, that decision would probably ride on whatever investigations from the Fire Commission and Austeville turned up.

Meanwhile, people started posting clips from today’s talk show all over the internet.

It was clearly shot by the people in the audience, just using their phones.

The footage caught Jasmine and Nicolas announcing their fiancé status in front of everyone, and Jasmine claimed she flew in to rescue trapped victims, only to get publicly confronted by other rescuers for not even reaching the disaster site.

Once the videos hit the web, the online backlash against Jasmine blew up even worse. Some folks were already calling a major crash in Mayer Technology’s stock the second the market opened.

“Zozo, it’s late. Why are you still up?” Suddenly, an arm slid around Zoya’s waist. Before she knew it, her back was pulled right up against Wren’s broad chest.

Wren leaned in, pressing his face gently against hers, nuzzling a little, his breath hot against her hair–so cozy and close that Zoya’s heart fluttered uncontrollably.

The words “intimate closeness” flashed through Zoya’s mind, almost making her blush.

Just as Zoya was about to say something, her phone suddenly rang, cutting through the cozy moment, and the screen lit up with the caller ID.

The name on the display was Harvey Crawford!