Chapter 3 The Scumbag Named Lionel

• “Sorry, I’ve gotten into the wrong car!” Yasmin apologized as she reached for the door handle, only to discover that the doors were locked from the inside.
• After several failed attempts at trying to open the door, she turned toward the man in the back seat and put up a defensive pose. “W-What do you want from me? I-I’m warning you! I know martial arts, and I’m not afraid to use it!” She was starting to panic.
• “Pfft!” the man in the back snickered. He was sitting elegantly with his legs crossed, his hands neatly folded on his lap.
• “I’m sending you to the hospital, miss!” explained the driver. Yasmin turned around and recognized him as the man with the gold-rimmed glasses.
• “Phew... I thought that I was about to get mugged and raped...” Yasmin heaved a sigh of relief.
• This is weird... Why do I feel like I can trust this guy when I don’t even know him? It’s almost as though he isn’t a stranger at all...
• “Don’t worry, you’re neither hot nor rich enough for us to do that.” The man in the back made no attempts to hide his insults at all.
• “Open the door! I’m getting off right now!” Yasmin could feel an inexplicable sense of hostility from him as she hurriedly refused his help.
• “Drive!” The man ignored her completely as he gave out the order.
• “Please don’t mind him, miss! That’s just how Mr. Holloway talks.” The driver started the car and began to drive. He then smiled at Yasmin through the rear-view mirror and asked, “How may I address you, miss?”
• “My name is Yasmin Jones.”
• The man sneered. “So you get into a stranger’s car and just tell them your name, huh? If he was truly a bad guy, you would’ve gotten raped, killed, and dumped in an alley!”
• The car fell into complete silence after that.
• Yasmin was fuming, but she didn’t dare retaliate as she was in their hands; she was fearful about what they could possibly do to her. How could a man this handsome and elegant say such nasty things?
• All the gratitude that she had toward him earlier had now diminished as she recalled how he had wiped his hands after touching her.
• Her cheeks were puffed up with anger, and the driver had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing. “Ahem... Ms. Jones, my name is Matthew Collins, but you can call me Matthew.”
• “Matt... I mean, Mr. Collins, where are you taking me?” Yasmin was still somewhat wary of him, and she wouldn’t have gotten into the car had she paid full attention earlier.
• We’ve been on the road for so long even though I haven’t told them my address... Have I really been kidnapped?
• The car came to a sudden halt, snapping her out of her train of thought. She looked out the window and saw that they had arrived outside Greenlake Hospital.
• Matthew turned around and urged, “Ms. Jones, you may alight with Mr. Holloway while I park the car.”
• Seeing as Mr. Holloway was already getting out of the car, Yasmin had no choice but to follow suit.
• Both of them hadn’t even looked at each other once the entire time.
• However, she couldn’t shake the nagging question in the back of her mind as they walked toward the hospital. He doesn’t strike me as someone kind enough to take me to the hospital. Why is he doing this? I’d feel a lot more at ease if he weren’t here...
• After parking the car, Matthew came running over as he handed Yasmin a coat. “Here, put this on.” Aren’t these guys being a little too friendly on our first encounter? Yasmin began to mull to herself as she hesitated.
• “What’s the matter?” As though he had read her mind, Matthew raised a brow in question and chuckled at her. “Well, it’s fine by me if you want to expose a little skin.”
• Yasmin instinctively looked toward Mr. Holloway when she heard that and saw him staring right at the hole on her dress. She quickly took hold of the coat and put it on in an attempt to hide her blushing cheeks.
• Who on earth is this guy? And why does he keep staring at me like that? For some reason, she felt jolts of electricity just by looking at him.
• The large coat hung loosely over her shoulders and reached all the way down to her knees. Feeling a little cold, she pulled the coat tightly around herself, noticing that there was a pleasant scent on it as she did so.
• After taking a number at the counter, Matthew brought her over to the doctor’s office. Yasmin had a ton of questions in her head at that moment, but she didn’t dare say anything as she simply followed behind him.
• Mr. Holloway kept silent as well as he waited outside the door with an icy expression on his face.
• Both men were so eye-catching that they attracted the attention of women wherever they went.
• Even the nurse who was treating Yasmin’s injuries kept stealing glances while asking her about them.
• Of course, Yasmin didn’t know a thing about their backgrounds. Her only concern was whether the injuries would leave scars on her arms.
• After having ointment applied on her burns, she left the doctor’s office with Matthew and Mr. Holloway escorting her once again.
• The silence eventually became too much for her to handle, so she decided to speak up, “Mr. Collins, who was that crazy woman from earlier?”
• Realizing that she had asked an inappropriate question, Yasmin was quick to shift the topic. “I mean... The guy whom she was talking about is such a scumbag for cheating on her while she’s pregnant! His name is Lionel, right?”
• Matthew shot her a glare when he heard her words, but Yasmin was completely oblivious to his response as she carried on, musing, “Gosh, there are so many irresponsible jerks in the society these days...”
• She got cut off when she bumped into someone. Immediately, she froze as she looked up and saw that it was Mr. Holloway.
• “Your name is Yasmin, right?” Mr. Holloway turned around and asked before she could even apologize.
• Yasmin nodded. “Yeah...” She was unsure of his intentions, but her instincts told her that he wouldn’t have asked her such a question without reason.
• “I don’t think you’ve caught my name, Yasmin.” Mr. Holloway had his hands in his pockets as he squinted at her.
• Yasmin turned toward Matthew and shuddered a little when she noticed the strange look on his face. Did I say something wrong? Hmm... I don’t think I did... Screw it, let’s just see where this goes!
• “Who are you?”
• Mr. Holloway slowly walked up to her, flashing her a grin for the very first time. “I’m the scumbag named Lionel!”