Chosen By My Mate's Father-in-law novel Chapter 92

Anger and jealousy tore through Gareth. He wanted more than anything to wipe off the hopeful look on his nephew's face. He wanted to tell Axel that he shouldn't bother asking Jasmine to be his girlfriend. Gareth wanted to tell his nephew that a woman as mature as Jasmine would never date someone as juvenile as him.

Gareth opened his mouth to say just that, but he closed it when his anger was replaced with a realization that made his stomach queasy. He had no right to interfere with Jasmine and Axel's love lives. Especially not Jasmine's. She had made it very clear that she wasn't interested in any kind of relationship with Gareth this morning. If Jasmine wanted to keep their relationship purely professional, Gareth would honor her wishes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that Axel was a man around the same age as Jasmine, and his nephew seemed to be very smitten with her. If Axel treated her well, who was he to be the one to keep them apart?

Gareth cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back.

"Jasmine is an independent, mature woman who can make her own decisions. I have no idea how she will respond."

Even though those were the words that came out of his mouth, Gareth's hands clenched into tight fists. Just the thought of another man touching Jasmine's soft skin, kissing her plump lips, or seeing her beautiful face when she came, made him want to rip out someone's throat. Even if his nephew was the man she eventually ended up with, Gareth knew this hot jealousy would always be burning inside of him when it came to Jasmine. His feelings for her were much more than surface level.

Gareth leaned toward Axel, making sure that he would truly hear what he was about to say. "Jasmine has been through a lot and not just in these last few days."

Axel nodded. "I know that."

Gareth shot him a warning look. "If you hurt her, I won't hesitate to make your life a living hell. I don't care that you're my nephew. That girl has been put through enough pain already."

"I never want to hurt her," Axel said with sincerity shining in his eyes. "I want to protect her. I want to take care of her. I want to love her."

Gareth's jaw clenched. Yeah, those were all the things Gareth wanted to do. But Jasmine wouldn't let him.

"I swear I'll treat her right, Uncle Gareth," Axel promised. "You have my word."

"You better," Gareth grumbled, then left his nephew standing there.

The barbed wire was back, but this time, it wasn't tangling his thoughts but his intense emotions.

***

"Welcome home, Isabella!" Michelle yelled when Gareth and she walked through the door.

His youngest daughter threw her arms around her sister and held her close. Gareth smiled. The two girls might fight sometimes, but when push came to shove, they truly did love each other.

Gareth had just picked up Isabella from the hospital. Beta Kevin had offered to get her after he dropped off Jasmine, but Gareth wanted to be the one to be there for his daughter and talk to her doctor.

Thankfully, Isabella's head wound had been superficial, and her brain scans didn't show anything concerning. Her wounds were healing, and her bruises were fading quickly. They only had to keep her in the hospital overnight because they wanted to monitor her after the amount of wolfbane injected into her system.

Now, the drug had mostly left her body, but Isabella was still pretty groggy and needed to allow her body and mind to rest in order to heal.

As they entered the dining room, Isabella's face fell.

"Did Jasmine already go home? I wanted to thank her for being the strong one when we were in that awful cell. She's the only reason I survived. Well, she and Elliot."

"She wanted to get home to see her mother." Gareth kept his voice neutral. He put a gentle hand on his daughter's shoulder and guided her to her seat. "You can thank her later. Both of you just need to focus on healing your body and mind after what happened."

Gareth, Michelle, Isabella, and Axel took their places, and the servers placed their drinks and plates in front of the four of them. Tonight's dinner was Isabella's favorite: duck with apricot chutney.

"I hope you now understand the importance of your bodyguards, Isabella." Gareth picked up his wineglass.

"I'll never ditch my bodyguards again," she promised. "What I went through…changed me. I realized what was really important in life." She picked up her fork and dug into her meal.

"I want to ask Jasmine to be my date," Axel said as he added more whipped cream to his pie.

"Ooo," Isabella sang, turning to her cousin. "You totally should. Then Jasmine and I will have an excuse to go shopping again."

Gareth looked at his daughter sharply.

"You must stick with your guards at all times."

Isabella nodded solemnly. "I will, Dad. I promise."

Gareth didn't want to request another ticket for Jasmine so that she could be Axel's date, but couldn't think of a legitimate excuse to tell Axel.

"I'll secure another ticket," Gareth muttered reluctantly.

"Thanks!" Axel said, pumping his fist.

Isabella clapped excitedly, and Michelle asked her sister what kind of gown she was going to wear.

As his daughters talked, Gareth saw a dopey smile cross Axel's face. He knew that his nephew was imagining Jasmine in a fancy dress and a mask. Maybe Axel would even ask her to be his girlfriend at the gala.

Gareth stood from the table and threw his napkin down on the plate.

He had lost his appetite.