Amelie gave her a dismissive glance, not bothering to waste another word on her.
Just as she opened the door, she bumped into someone head-on.
Brennen Howell, his tall frame filling the space.
His deep blue eyes swept over the three people in the room, finally landing on Amelie's defiant face.
Elon frowned, annoyed by this uninvited intrusion. "Who are you?"
Brennen ignored him. He walked directly to Amelie's side. "Peyton sent me. Are you okay?"
It took Amelie a moment to place him. This was her best friend Peyton's older brother, Brennen Howell. She'd met him once, years ago at a party, but barely remembered him.
Jasmine, seeing another handsome, powerful man defending Amelie, interjected jealously, "Who are you? This is a family matter!"
Brennen's gaze fell on her, cold and dismissive, the authority in his stare making Jasmine instinctively shut her mouth.
Jasmine gritted her teeth viciously, feeling entirely stripped of her dignity. She figured that since Amelie was already injured, she might as well deliberately provoke her emotions to make her suffer even more.
Taking a step forward, Jasmine sneered viciously, "A woman who can't bear children is like a hen that can't lay eggs, it's just annoying to look at."
Expecting her words to sting, she was met instead with Amelie's cold sneer. Unhurriedly, Amelie pulled out her phone and hit play. A recording of Jasmine's earlier triumphant boasting instantly filled the room:
"After all, my child is the sole heir to the Hayes family."
Realizing Amelie had secretly recorded her, Jasmine and Elon's faces went pale.
Amelie walked toward Jasmine, who instinctively backed away, hiding behind Elon.
"You like to declare your sovereignty, don't you?" Amelie's voice was quiet but carried a crushing weight. "Let me help you repeat it."
As Jasmine stared in horror, Amelie raised her hand.
Crack.
The sound of the slap was sharp and loud, echoing through the cold room.
Jasmine clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Elon stood frozen for a moment, then snapped out of his shock. With a roar of rage, he lunged forward, shoving Amelie hard. "You dare hit her!"
Amelie lost her balance and stumbled backward.
Elon was still not satisfied; he took a few steps forward and raised his fist, wanting to punch her directly.
Fortunately, instead of falling onto the cold, hard floor, she fell into a solid, warm embrace.
Brennen had caught her, pulling her behind him and shielding her.
He fixed Elon with a cold stare, "Mr. Hayes, laying a hand on a lady seems to be in poor taste."
Elon looked at the imposing Brennen, and then at the weeping Jasmine.
He helped Jasmine to her feet, spitting at Amelie. "You just wait, Amelie! We are not done!"
"If anything happens to her child, I will never let you get away with it!"
The room fell silent, leaving only Amelie and Brennen in an awkward quiet.
Amelie pulled away from his hold, murmuring in a low voice, "Thank you."
Brennen let his hand drop, stuffing it back into his pocket, resuming his lazy posture. "Peyton would kill me if I watched her best friend get bullied right under my nose."
Amelie didn't respond, the outburst had drained all her energy, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.
Brennen's brow furrowed. He stepped forward and steadied her by the arm. "What did the doctor say?"
His touch made her body tense, but she was too weak to pull away.
"Superficial wounds," she said softly. "And low blood sugar."
Without another word, Brennen took out his phone and dialed a number. "Send a patient-appropriate dinner to VIP room three at the central hospital. Immediately." His tone left no room for argument.
He hung up and looked at her. "Until your friend gets here, I'm watching you."
Amelie wanted to refuse, but looking into those eyes, she found she couldn't, and just nodded silently.
