SWNOVELS Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR–CRACKS IN THE STORY
Whirling around, she stalked down the front walk, her hands fisted at her sides. She could hear Gabriel and Marcus’s concerned voices from inside, asking what was going on. Then her father’s heavy tread as he moved to the front door, alerted by the commotion,
“Anita? Girls? What in the world…” His gruff baritone trailed off as he took in the scene of his wife crumbling against the doorframe, sobbing in keening wails of anguish.
Jasmine didn’t stop, didn’t look back. Her rapid footsteps carried her down the sidewalk, across the street, as far away from the painful confrontation as she could get. Tears of rage and hurt blurred her vision, but she kept walking blindly.
How could her mother have done this? Lied about something so monumentally life–altering for over thirty years?
Jasmine had idolized Anita her whole life, loved her with every fiber of her being. She had been the one stability in Jasmine’s world when everything else seemed to collapse – her marriage, her hopes and dreams.
But now…now that image of her nurturing, loving mother was shattered into fragments too grimy to piece back together. All Jasmine could see was a coward – a woman willing to abandon her own child, then bury that sin so deeply that she betrayed her very flesh and blood.
The thought of how Elena must have suffered, how utterly alone she must have felt growing up, orphaned from her biological family…it made Jasmine’s heart shatter into finer and finer pieces. She could relate all too well to that isolation, that lost emptiness, after her divorce from Ethan.
At least then she’d had her family to cling to, to fall back on. Elena had had no one, forced to search in the dark for decades just for a sense of belonging, of identity. All because of Anita’s cowardly deceptions. Jasmine finally ground to a halt, doubling over as great heaving sobs tore from her body. She hugged her torso, feeling as if she’d been hollowed out and shredded from the inside. How could this be happening? How could her life be disintegrating in such fundamental ways?
After several long moments, she shakily rose and looked around, recognizing the park just a few blocks from her parents‘ home. Stumbling over to a secluded bench, Jasmine collapsed onto it and buried her face in her hands.
She had no idea how long she sat there, tears streaming down her cheeks, utterly devastated. It could have been minutes or hours..
All she knew was that every ounce of joy, of love, of trust for her mother had been irrevocably obliterated by this shattering betrayal.
Something brushed against her shoulder, causing Jasmine to jump. Looking up with puffy eyes, she was surprised to find Elena standing beside the bench, concern etched into her delicate features.
“Jasmine…” Her sister spoke her name in a pained exhalation.
Jasmine immediately recognized the raw understanding in Elena’s gaze. Of course, she would comprehend exactly what Jasmine was going through in this moment. After all, Elena had been the one irrevocably harmed by their mother’s choices initially.
Without a word, Elena simply sat down on the bench and wrapped her arms around Jasmine. Jasmine stiffened for a brief second before collapsing against her sister, their shared grief and hurt allowing them to find solace, understanding, in each other’s embrace.
They sat that way for a long time, two kindred spirits finally united after being torn apart for decades by the sins of their past.
Whatever came next, however much turmoil awaited, Jasmine knew one thing for certain in her life – she had Elena now. Her sister, her blood, her family. She wasn’t so alone in the world after all.
Over the next few weeks, Jasmine found herself inseparable from her newly–discovered sister, Elena. There was an undeniable magnetic pull between them, an inexplicable bond that transcended their years of separation.
They spent long afternoons together at cozy cafes, trading life stories and revelations over steaming mugs of tea.
Elena painted a difficult portrait of her upbringing always feeling like an outsider with her adoptive parents, knowing she was different and craving answers about her biological origins.
“I remember being maybe 5 or 6 years old, and just staring at myself in the mirror for hours,” Elena relayed in a hushed tone one afternoon. “Studying my features, almost willing myself to see some kind of reflection of where I came from in my own face.
Jasmine felt her heart clench at the profound loneliness and longing in her sister’s words. She could only imagine the aching isolation Elena must have felt, that gnawing sense that a vital part of her identity was missing.
As the days passed, however, Jasmine began noticing small…inconsistencies in the way Elena recounted certain details of her life. Nothing major, just tiny contradictions that rubbed against her subconscious like a feather.
Like when Elena mentioned being an only child to her adoptive parents one day. But another time, she seemed to refer to them having a son as well, her “adoptive brother.”
Or the time Elena went into vivid detail about her childhood home a cozy suburban two–story with a big backyard and wooden swing set. Yet on another occasion, she spoke about growing up in a city apartment with just a tiny balcony for outdoor space.
Little things like that, small discrepancies that seemed at odds with each other, began piling up in Jasmine’s mind, raising tiny red flags of doubt.
She did her best to brush them off, not wanting to judge or accuse Elena of anything untoward. After all, as an adoptee, Elena’s life story was most certainly fragmented and confusing at times.
Still, flashes of her ex–husband Ethan’s constant deceptions would creep into the back of Jasmine’s mind, putting her on guard during interactions with Elena from time to time. She couldn’t quite shake her lingering distrust, borne from that deep well of betrayal from her divorce.
Jasmine’s friend Claire picked up on these tensions immediately. From the moment she met Elena, Claire had been…skeptical. Almost suspicious for reasons Jasmine couldn’t put her finger on.
“I don’t know, Jas,” Claire said with a frown over lunch one day. “This whole situation seems shady to me somehow. Like your sister is laying the charm on extra thick.
Jasmine felt a flutter of irritation mingled with defensiveness. “Don’t be ridiculous, Claire. Why would she be doing that? This is my flesh and blood we’re talking about here.”
Claire raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And how well do you really know her, huh? Have proof besides what this Pl claims? Did you get a DNA test yourself?”
vall seen any actual
Shifting uncomfortably, Jasmine realized she had simply taken Samuel Briggs at his word regarding Elena’s identity. She regretted not demanding more concrete evidence in her initial shock and joy at learning she had a sister.
“Look, I’m happy for you that you’ve got this new family connection,” Claire stated, her voice gentler.” Really, I am. I just want to make sure it’s all legit for your sake. This woman did just conveniently show up out of nowhere, after all.”
Jasmine opened her mouth to protest, but found herself pausing, Claire’s words spinning in her head. What if…what if Elena wasn’t who she claimed? What if this was all some long con by a highly skilled grifter looking to exploit her?
The thought made Jasmine slightly ill. Surely Elena’s emotions, her evident longing to connect with her roots, couldn’t be faked…could they? She refused to believe her sister would be so calculating and evil as to fabricate such deception.
Yet that little niggling voice of doubt remained, stoking her insecurities. She managed a tight smile at Claire.
“Don’t worry, I appreciate you looking out for me. But I really don’t think Elena’s capable of that. Still… maybe I will ask Mr. Briggs for copies of the DNA results, just to be sure.”
Claire looked relieved. “Good idea, better to get confirmation, you know?”
Jasmine nodded distractedly, her mind already crafting careful ways to breach the subject with Elena.