Chapter 12
Matthew shook his head. “No, Jas, that’s not it! Tim and I have only ever wanted you. Lynette was just a tool for us to test your feelings for us! We don’t even like her!”
Jasmine’s hand trembled slightly. She cocked her head up, speechless.
He continued, “After college, we each built our own careers, and things started going well… But we knew you could only marry one of us. You treated me and Tim the same, and we didn’t know who you’d choose
“So, we made a choice to test who you cared about more.”
She staggered back a couple of steps.
After all the pain she had endured, the countless sleepless nights and endless tears, he was telling her it had all been a test, a twisted game set up to see who she loved more?
Sebastian hugged her shoulders. “Need me to step in?”
Jasmine shook her head and turned to Matthew. “Just leave. I won’t ever forgive you two.”
“No!” he yelled, begging. “Jas, I swear I was wrong. I know where we went wrong! Give me a chance -I’ll do anything you want me to!”
Staring at the broken, desperate version of Matthew made Jasmine feel he was no more than a stranger
now.
Was this still the proud man she once admired? The boy who would rather break than bend, who swore he would carve out a future with nothing but his own hands?
“Go,” she said weakly, “and don’t look for me again.”
Meanwhile, Sebastian gave a slight nod and signaled his bodyguards to take the wailing Matthew away. His cries and pleas faded into the distance.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
Jasmine forced a smile. “I’m fine-used to it, even.”
She walked into the villa, numb, with Matthew’s words still echoing in her ears.
She pulled out her phone and saw dozens of missed calls and unread messages-some from Timothy,
some from Matthew, and even some from Lynette.
Instead of reading them, she deleted them all.
Her phone rang again as she stepped into the shower. It was an unsaved number.
“Hello?”
“Jasmine!” Lynette’s shrill voice screeched through the phone.
“You think running back to Jenvil means you’re safe? I’m telling you-Tim and Matt are both mine! Don’t you dare try to steal them away from me again!”
Without a word, Jasmine hung up and blocked the number. She stood before the bathroom mirror and slowly undressed herself.
The bruises around her neck had deepened into a painfully visible, dark, angry red.
As the water poured down on her, she finally broke down in tears. Seven years of youth and devotion, and this was the ending she got. Saying it didn’t hurt would be a lie.
Still, she was now back in Jenvil, a place where she could look forward to life. There would be no more drowning in the past, and things would finally get better.
After her shower, she curled up in bed and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
Meanwhile, back in Horinton, a storm was quietly brewing inside the villa.
