Chapter 435 - That smart head of yours
Chapter 435: Chapter 435 - That smart head of yours
Jasmine gave a little shrug, her fingers playing with the handles of the hand bag sitting in her lap.
"Man, I was seriously stressing that she might just go find somebody else to use instead. If that happened, we’d be stuck constantly looking over our shoulders, wondering who the hell was spying on Sera at the house or even sneaking around the office. That kind of paranoia would straight-up drain the life out of us."
Corvine leaned back in his seat, letting her words sink in deep. She was totally right. If Coco was dead set on getting that information, one failed attempt wasn’t gonna stop her.
She’d just hunt down the next person she could twist around her finger. The idea lit up all kinds of possibilities in his head, each one feeling sharper and more useful than the last.
Before he could spill any of those thoughts, Jasmine turned to him with this bright, hopeful smile that lit up her whole face. "Hey, can we make a quick stop first? I really wanna grab a gift for Sera."
From the back seat, Esperanza shot forward like a rocket, her big eyes sparkling with pure joy. "And I want ice cream!"
That sweet little demand cracked the heavy mood wide open, and the whole car filled with warm, genuine laughter.
"Looks like we’ve got ourselves two super important missions today," Corvine said with a deep chuckle, already steering the car toward the nearest ice cream shop.
Esperanza kicked her tiny feet happily the whole way, practically vibrating with excitement.
The second that cone landed in her hands, her face exploded with the brightest happiness you’ve ever seen, way brighter than the afternoon sun blazing outside.
"This is sooooo good!" she squealed, like it was the best thing in the entire universe.
Corvine couldn’t help grinning at her adorable energy as he drove Jasmine over to this cute boutique she’d picked out.
She vanished inside for a few minutes while he hung back with Esperanza, who was laser-focused on guarding her melting ice cream like it was treasure.
When Jasmine finally came back out, she was carrying this beautifully wrapped gift bag and wearing the most satisfied smile. The elegant paper and fancy ribbon made it impossible to even guess what was hiding inside.
Corvine glanced at it, his curiosity totally piqued. "So what’d you end up getting for her?"
The question hit Jasmine like a spark, painting her cheeks this deep, fiery red in an instant. "It’s... you know, girls’ stuff," she mumbled, clearly not about to spill any more details.
Her super embarrassed face was so cute that Corvine just smiled softly and let it slide without teasing her even a little.
Instead, a bigger question popped into his mind. "What do you actually want for your future, Jasmine?"
She blinked at him, caught off guard. "My future?"
"Yeah," he nodded, genuinely wanting to know. "What are your big goals? Your wildest dreams? Who do you wanna be someday?"
Jasmine stared out the window for a moment, then this shy, sweet smile crept across her face.
"I really loved seeing all those women at your office. The way they dressed so sharp, the way they worked together like a real team, they all just looked so damn confident and powerful."
She let out a soft little laugh full of quiet admiration. "When Esperanza gets bigger and doesn’t need me every second anymore, I think I’d love working somewhere like that."
She hesitated, then added with an awkward little grin, "Well, if I’m not married by then or anything."
Corvine raised an eyebrow, surprised. She was still so young with tons of years stretching out ahead of her. In his eyes, she had all the time in the world to chase whatever she wanted.
But the way she talked made it sound like she’d already talked herself into settling for something way smaller and safer.
"That’s it?" he asked, trying to keep his tone gentle.
Jasmine frowned, looking genuinely confused. "I don’t get it."
He studied her for a second before pushing a little more. "Don’t you wanna be the boss someday? Running your own company, just like I do?"
She’d grown experienced the pack house surrounded by strong leaders. He couldn’t wrap his head around why she wasn’t aiming for the stars.
Jasmine slowly shook her head. "I don’t think that’s even possible for me."
"Why the hell not?"
"It would take forever," she said, looking down at her hands with a helpless little smile. "I don’t even have a normal human education. I’m already so far behind everybody else it’s not even funny."
Her voice warmed up like sunshine as she talked about the place she truly loved. "I’d rather just stay at the pack. I wanna raise a happy family someday, you know? And if that doesn’t work out, then I’d rather spend my time training hard and become a really strong warrior. Those feel like the things that actually make sense for me."
Corvine stayed quiet, watching her. A faint smile stretched his lips, but there was zero warmth in it this time.
Up until that exact moment, he’d felt himself getting seriously pulled toward Jasmine, her huge heart, her total honesty, even that wild fiery red hair that kept catching his eye in the best way.
But now this huge truth sat right between them like a wall. Their dreams couldn’t be more different.
His whole life had been built on chasing success, pushing for more growth, and climbing higher than anyone ever expected. Every win just made him hungry for the next one. That burning drive was basically who he was at his core.
Jasmine wanted something completely opposite, a peaceful, cozy life filled with family and the pack she loved so much.
Neither dream was wrong. They just didn’t fit together at all.
No matter how much he admired her, he couldn’t ignore how completely mismatched they really were.
Not even that beautiful red hair he was crazy about could overpower how much ambition meant to him.
Back on the yacht deck in the present, Voren’s face turned stormy as the recount hit everyone hard. "I can’t freaking believe she played me like that," he growled, frustration pouring out of every single word.
He’d trusted Coco enough to actually let his guard down, and now he kept replaying every damn moment in his head, torturing himself over how he’d missed all the red flags screaming at him.
To everyone’s surprise, Seraphine wasn’t mad at all. Instead, the corners of her mouth curved up into this amused little smile.
Voren stared at her like she’d lost her mind. "You’re seriously finding this funny right now?"
She kept that calm, knowing smile and looked straight at him in a way that made Voren think they were not on the same page.
"Coco’s turning into a massive problem," he went on, his voice getting harder and more intense. "The longer we let her run around free, the more dangerous she’s gonna get. I need to take her out for good."
"Not so fast," Seraphine cut in gently, and suddenly both men snapped to her, staring like she’d just sprouted wings or something.
The confident spark in her eyes made it crystal clear she already had some clever plan cooking.
Corvine crossed his arms, curiosity completely taking over his earlier confusion.
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Voren’s face despite himself. "Alright, what kind of brilliant scheme is running through that smart head of yours?"