My heart caught at his unexpected apology. But before I could process it, Han turned back to the crowd to tell them, “You see, Jasmine saved me. She risked her own life to save mine. I have never been the recipient of such loyalty. But it wasn’t just her loyalty that made me want to bind her to me. She is clever, fun, beautiful, and a natural teacher—everything she is, everything about her turned me desperate to make her mine officially. So I forced the issue with marriage. But that is no way to begin a union.”
He shook his head. “I should have done it the right way, and that is why I’m here tonight.”
Han walked forward, and I had no idea what he was about to do until he stopped in front of my father at the patio dining table…and dropped to one knee.
This time my voice joined all the murmurs from the crowd.
“Han?” I asked. “Han, what are you doing? Don’t…”
But Han did.
“Sir, I am sorry you’ve never met me before,” he said to my father. “But I am very much in love with your daughter. She is awesome and doesn’t put up with my bullshit. She also fills my life with sunshine and happiness. Will you please do me the honor of giving me her hand in marriage?”
My heart vibrated in my chest like something about to explode.
But my father just looked Han up and down, taking in everything from his tailored suit to his neck tats.
Dad might be sick, but that hadn’t affected his mind. I’m sure he figured out exactly what Han was with his scan.
Nonetheless, he turned to me and asked, “Jazz, is this what you want?”
That would be the question. And everybody at the party, including Han, turned to me for the answer.
33
HAN
Everybody stared at Jasmine, waiting for her answer with bated breath. Including Han.
He knew…knew how much she would hate the position he’d placed her in with his proposal. But he’d had to try.
If there was a chance he could keep her forever, he had to forget about the past, lower his shields and take it, putting everything on the line. Because Jasmine…
She was worth it, and he did not want her or her family to go another day, not knowing how he felt about her.
But at the end of her silence, she started shaking her head.
“No…no…I can’t…” she said, breaking his heart.
She clutched at the neckline of her dress as if she were trying to stave off a panic attack. And this must have truly been love because Han found himself wanting to go to her. He wanted to comfort her and assure her everything would be all right even though she’d turned down his proposal and his confession of love.
He stood up and took a step toward her.
But she held up her hands before he could go to her.
“No,” she growled like an animal cornered. “Don’t. Just don’t—Rashid? Rashid, where are you?”
Her sister’s tech billionaire fiancé rolled forward in his wheelchair. “Yes, Jazz, do you need Faizan to throw him out? You are protected here.”
Faizan stepped forward, looking more than happy to intervene.
But then Jasmine answered her brother-in-law, “No, I don’t want you to throw him out. I want you to pay me four-thousand, three-hundred and seventy-six dollars for my Jeep. I need it in cash. Right now. Can you do that? Can you help me out?”
Han stilled. Jasmine was asking for help. For the first time since he met her. She was asking for help. To get away from him.
Everything shriveled inside of him.
And Rashid Zaman must have realized how out of character that was for her. He immediately answered, “Of course, Jazz, of course. Faizan, go grab the money from the safe.”
Han sensed but could not see Faizan go back into the house to seek out the safe. He would bring back the means for Jasmine to destroy their bond, but Han could only watch his wife as she put the pieces in place to rip them asunder.
As if to confirm his guesses, she turned her gaze back to him. The shock from when he asked her father for her hand in marriage had disappeared from her expression, and a hardened resolve rooted in its place. “I have all the money to pay you back now. I want…I need you to say you’ll give me a divorce and let me go.”
So many calculated answers ran through his head. Han’s surrogate father, Raymond “The Manchu Boy” Zhang, had raised both him and Victor to always have an extra card handy in their back pocket. “Cheating is allowed on the Table of Life, noble even—as long as you win.”
Han could tell her she must fully transfer the money into his account and then arrange to have her access to it blocked. He could claim interest, just as Kuang Jr. had. He could….
