The Supreme Heir

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

“I am so sorry, Dante…” She whispered again, her voice dragged down.

Dante gasped for the second time, his eyes wide with shock.

He was stunned, forced into silence by Jasmine’s words.

She had only apologized, but he already knew what that meant.

She didn’t choose him, and never in a billion years would he have thought that was ever going to happen.

“What do you mean, Jasmine?” He asked, his voice cracked and low.

“I can’t marry you…” Jasmine managed to voice out, causing Damien to snigger.

“There you have it, loser!” He blurted, cackling while he sneered at Dante.

“She just said she can’t marry you!” He made sure that his tone was loud enough for everyone to hear those words, looking around while he savored their reaction.

Sure enough, the crowd burst out laughing, making a mockery of the clown who had just been rejected most cruelly.

“He surely got what he deserved!”

“Look at him!” Many pointed, their eyes sparking with disdain.

“How on earth did he think that the beautiful damsel of the Hartwell family was going to choose him?”

“He must be delusional!”

The comments kept pouring, and even though Dante heard only a few, none of them was suitable in any way.

His heart sank deep into his stomach, his muscles contorting while he stared at Jasmine.

He tried to speak, but something had sealed his lips—something he couldn’t make sense of.

So he stood there like a bird drenched in rain, unable to get a grip on himself.

Jasmine looked away eventually, unable to deal with the cringe that hit her as she stared at him.

She could see the pain in his eyes, accompanied by the anger laced in it.

“You don’t mean that, Jasmine. You don’t…” Dante wished he was dreaming, but reality was facing him.

“I am sorry…” Jasmine apologized, but that was the opposite of what Dante wanted to hear from him.

“I don’t need your apology, Jasmine. I need you to…” Dante stopped the moment he realized that she had pushed backward when she saw that he was trying to get close to him.

“I think that’s enough…” Dorothy stood in the way, scowling at Dante while she made sure that he didn’t get any closer to her granddaughter.

“You heard the young lady…” She snorted, rolling her eyes almost at the same time as Nadia.

“She already made her choice. She doesn’t want you.”

“That’s right!” Damien seconded what his future grandmother-in-law said, nodding his head in satisfaction.

He turned to face Dante properly, making sure that they were looking directly into each other’s eyes.

“She will never want you, Dante. You were just a fling. You were in her past, and that is where you will forever remain…” He went further to grab Jasmine on the waist, drawing her closer to him while he sneered at Dante.

Jasmine looked away, hiding her face in the ground.

She knew that Dante was still staring at her, and that made her keep her face down.

When Damien saw that his attempt to spite Dante was working, he decided to continue since he was enjoying the moment.

“I know you were not invited, Date. But you can stick around. I am sure that you will love the food that we prepared for our guests. We have enough to eat and drink, and someone as hungry as you are can make do with a plate or two…” He sniggered, his voice laced with ridicule.

Dante felt a sharp pain in his chest, his blood boiling inside him as he stared at the intended couple.

He didn’t know who he was angrier at, his eyes moving from one of them to the other.

For the umpteenth time, he couldn’t produce any sound, not even when he tried to force his lips open.

“We should continue with the wedding…” Nadia suggested, and her grandmother nodded without delay.

She turned to face Jasmine, smiling while she drew closer to her.

“Don’t worry about him. He is just an idiot who is trying to ruin your special day..” She patted Jasmine on both cheeks while she held onto her smile.

She was very keen on disregarding the look of uncertainty she saw on her face, taking a deep breath as she grabbed both of her hands.

“People are watching, Jasmine…” She whispered after she had leaned closer to her cousin, still holding onto her persuasive smile.

“Don’t make Grandma upset. She might do something drastic if you get her angry…” She warned, causing Jasmine to turn to the old lady standing next to her.

Sure enough, she could see the impatience and annoyance etched all over her face, forced to swallow hard while she had her eyes on her.

“Dante?” She managed to find her voice, staring at Dante with the little courage she had left.

“I need you to leave at once.” She whispered, forcing a stern expression.

“You should leave and never return…” She said, taking a deep breath.

“You heard her!” Damien gnashed his teeth, scowling at Dante.

“Take your stupid self and leave this place…” He said, causing Dante to grunt in annoyance.

But he didn’t care, turning to face the officiant.

“Let’s get this done and over with…” His voice was impatient and imperative, and from the officiant’s quick reaction, everyone who was paying attention could tell that he was nervous.

His grip on the pamphlet he was holding became slippery, his eyes turning from one corner to the other.

Then he cleared his throat, turning to look at Dante.

He felt a little pity for him, but it wasn’t in his place to ask questions.

So he turned to face Jasmine, and then he sighed heavily.

“Are you ready, Miss Hart?”

“Are you supposed to be asking her that?!” Damien snapped, eyes glowing with annoyance.

But the officiant insisted on getting a response from Jasmine before he could proceed.

He kept looking her in the eyes, hoping to understand why she was mute and nervous.

“We can go on…” Jasmine nodded, and then the officiant nodded as well.

He turned to look at Dante, giving him a dismissive stare that was also accompanied by a silent plea. 

Dante nodded, and after he had stared at Jasmine in disbelief for a couple of seconds, he turned to leave.

“That’s right…” Damien sniggered, causing him to stop.

“You are a loser, Dante! Nothing good is going to come out of you! That is why you have lost, and I have won! I will continue to whoop your ass, man!” His voice rang in the air, causing laughter to erupt from everywhere.

Dante tried to ignore him, but the words were too heavy and loud to ignore.

He turned to face Damien, and from a distance, he said,

“I dare you to say that to me one more time, Damien!”