Chapter 23
Matthew didn’t fight back. He let the blood flow from the corner of his mouth and wiped it away.
Then, he looked at Jasmine with pleading eyes. “I was wrong, Jas. Please forgive me! If you’re still angry, hit me. Please, just hit me!”
She looked at them both and suddenly felt it was all absurd. Seven years ago, they had fought over her like this, too, except then it was about who could spend her birthday with her.
Now, it was about who could earn her forgiveness.
“That’s enough.” She turned and walked toward Sebastian, hearing Matthew’s suppressed sobs behind her.
The sound was like a wounded animal, reminding her of their junior year when he’d won his first supporting actor award. He had buried his head in her neck, crying that after all those years of struggle, he’d finally made it.
He said that without her, he wouldn’t have achieved everything he had then.
“Jas…” Matthew’s voice came in broken fragments. “I’d rather you hit me, curse at me… Anything but this…
Jasmine took a deep breath, turning one last time to look at the two men she had once deeply loved. In the morning light, their silhouettes overlapped with her memories of those two vibrant young men, then gradually blurred.
“Show them out.”
When the door slammed shut, Jasmine’s straight back finally trembled slightly.
Sebastian gently wiped away the tears that had yet to fall from her eyes. He murmured, “Just cry if you
want to.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s all in the past, and I… stopped caring long ago.’
One week before the wedding, Jasmine stood before the office’s floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the
city lights below.
Charles walked in with a stack of documents and softly placed them on the desk. “We’ve taken care of the handover in Horinton. Most of the long-time employees are willing to follow us to Jenvil.”
He adjusted his glasses and added, “It’s just that… Matthew’s studio sent a contract termination request this morning.”
“Let him do what he wants.” Jasmine turned to look at him. “Have you arranged your place here in Jenvil?”
Charles nodded respectfully. “As you requested, I’m staying in an apartment near the company.”
Chapter 23
He lingered, rubbing the edge of the file between his fingers. Jasmine caught the hesitation, raising an eyebrow as she asked, “Is there something else?”
Charles paused for a moment before saying, “Ms. Lane, Mr. Smith called this morning. He wants to explain the company’s situation to you personally.”
Jasmine’s fingertips paused slightly on the window frame. She hadn’t seen Timothy since that scene half a month ago, only handling the handover through lawyers.
“Tell him if it’s business, talk to legal. If it’s personal, there’s nothing to discuss,” she replied as she moved
toward her desk.
Charles nodded and was about to leave when Jasmine stopped him. “Wait.”
She took a velvet box from her drawer. “Send this back to Matthew.”
Inside the box was a silver cufflink that had lost its shine. It was the one she had personally fastened for Matthew when he won his first Best Actor award. A while back, it was stuck on her clothes when he was being rough with her, and she had only discovered it yesterday while organizing her wardrobe.
“Should I add a note?”
Jasmine glanced toward the window.
Snow was beginning to fall over Jenvil, the first sign that winter was truly here. She thought of the first snowfall in Horinton seven years ago, when Matthew had been bullied on set and she had gone to stand
up for him.
He had waited for her outside the studio until dawn.
When she came out, his shoulders were covered with snowflakes that had also left his hair white. He
looked like he was a ghost of the future.
He promised they’d grow old together. Yet, promises, as it turned out, could melt faster than snow.
Jasmine’s voice was so soft that it was almost a whisper. “Just write… ‘best wishes’.”
