Wed to the Billionaire Brother of My Spouse by Doris

Chapter 32 Strategist
Jasmine stood rooted to the spot. Her hands were clasped tight due to the turmoil within her. She couldn't bring herself to step
into the car, not when she felt so filthy.
"Thank... thank you, but no, I wouldn't want to bother you," she said stiffly, waving her hand dismissively.
Ethan didn't press further. He had considered just driving away, yet the sight of Jasmine limping in the rearview mirror stirred an
inexplicable irritation within him.
...
Jasmine didn't go home.
The thought of Richard seeing her in such a disheveled state with cuts on her face and hands would only cause him needless
worry.
After all, what good would it do to worry her family if she couldn't change the dire situation she was in?
Once, Jasmine had been the apple of the Wilson family's eye, never having to face injustice or hardship throughout her
privileged upbringing.
Sheltered and basking in the light of affluence, she had been oblivious to the darkness at society's fringes.
Stripped of everything, she came to a grim realization-how laughable it was for someone without backing to even think of
resistance.
Finding a bench in a nearby park, Jasmine gently touched her forehead and lay down slowly.
Her head was spinning.
At this rate, maybe she'd meet a quicker end.
Staring at the burn scar on the back of her hand, Jasmine's gaze solidified.

Did it hurt? It had become numb, really...
Betrayed by Daniel, whom she once believed had misunderstood her, now seemed all too routine.

To think their mutual love could lead to such vile treatment.
Sometimes, when reflection set in, Jasmine wondered if she hadn't been the Wilson family heiress in high school and if Daniel
hadn't taken a liking to her, perhaps he would've been the ringleader in bullying her.
His nature was never kind.
"Jasmine, such a pretender, acting so pure, always luring boys. Strip her down, and let's see how she'll entice then."
"What on earth are you trying to do? I'll tell the teacher."
"Oh, I've heard about your multiple boyfriends outside school, so much for being innocent."
In high school, rumors and slander could destroy a person.
Some envied her beauty; others resented the teachers' favor.
"She's mine, Daniel's girl. Lay a finger on her again and see what happens," Daniel had once stood up for her.
"Let's date," he said later while perched on her desk and reaching out to her.
Jasmine's tentative hand was suddenly yanked into the abyss.
"No!" Jasmine cried out, trapped in a nightmare once again.
Haunted by the past.
The winter in San Francisco wasn't particularly harsh, but the nighttime breeze cut to the bone.
Jasmine curled up, pulling her blanket tighter around her as a ward against the chilling air.
"Get up."
Through the haze of her fever, Jasmine thought she saw a figure bathed in the soft glow of the park lights, standing against the
light as if he were a divine being sent to rescue her from hell.
"Are you here to take me away?" Jasmine's voice was hoarse, likely a hallucination from the fever.

"Yeah." The man's voice was deep and resonant.

Closing her eyes, Jasmine murmured, "I'm probably going to hell..."
"Why's that?"
"I should've been dead a long time ago..." Her voice was raspy with despair.
Had it not been for the swap orchestrated by her birth mother and the successful heart surgery she had received as part of the
Wilson family, she should have died early on. A defiance of fate, some might say.
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Hence, the path to damnation seemed certain.
"You're not dying today." Ethan touched Jasmine's forehead, frowning. "Liam, call our family doctor."
The warmth surrounding her grew more intense, and without thinking, Jasmine snuggled closer to the heat's source.
Ethan watched Jasmine nestle into his arms, his face betraying little emotion.
Liam, still trembling from being roused from his bed in the dead of night, now couldn't deny what he had previously refused to
believe: Mr. Douglas's discerning eye was no ordinary matter; he had indeed taken a liking to the woman named Jasmine.
Otherwise, knowing Mr. Douglas's character, he would never allow just any woman to come close to him.
Liam was taken aback by Mr. Douglas's choice - why Jasmine of all people?
It wasn't about her looks-she was undeniably beautiful, with fair skin to boot.
But that wasn't the point. The crucial fact was that this woman was no simpleton. From Liam's perspective, Jasmine's strategy of
repeatedly playing the victim in front of Ethan seemed like a calculated act of manipulation.
In San Francisco, Jasmine's notoriety as an imposter was well-known. She had swapped lives with the true heiress of the Wilson
family to revel in luxury, only to be reduced to her current state of misery once her deceit was exposed.
And due to her scandalous personal life, she'd been ruthlessly thrown into jail by her ex-fiancé, Daniel.

Now that she was freed, neither the Douglas family nor the Wilson family would let her off easily. If Jasmine wished to cling to a
life of affluence, aside from Ethan, there was no one in San Francisco who could protect her.
This woman was indeed clever.
"Mr. Douglas... Don't you think her frequent 'coincidental' appearances might be a bit orchestrated?" Liam whispered, hinting at a
cautionary note. "This woman; she's quite the strategist."