SWNOVELS Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX–FAMILY TIES
She stepped forward imploringly, grasping at Jasmine’s hands in desperation. “Please, you have to believe me. Finding you, connecting with you, it’s the most important thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re my sister, my family the only real family I’ve ever had!”
Jasmine felt her resolve wavering for a fraction of a second at the naked anguish in Elena’s expression. There was no way such visceral emotion could be faked…could it?
Clenching her jaw, Jasmine pulled her hands free and took a step back, refocusing on the turmoil and accusation burning within her.
“So you’re admitting to criminal behavior, then? To deceiving and using people?” She shook her head slowly. “How can I trust anything you’ve told me, Elena? How do I know you’re not spinning some longer con, just trying to get at me for money or or valuables?
At this, Elena’s eyes flashed with such searing hurt and outrage that Jasmine momentarily felt like recoiling from the force of it.
“Money? You think this is about money for me?” she cried out, indignant rage dripping from her words. After decades of being utterly alone in this world, the first time I find a connection to my blood family and you think I’m what? Trying to exploit you for financial gain?”
She advanced on Jasmine, stabbing a finger into her chest with surprising force.
“You have no idea what I went through as a kid, Jasmine!” Elena raged, her voice rising to a shout.
“Being cut off from my roots, never knowing where I came from or why my own mother didn’t want me! You got to grow up in that perfect little family while I was passed around the system like discarded trash!”
Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat at the explosive vehemence of Elena’s reaction, an undeniable kernel of truth and torment igniting within it. A flicker of guilt momentarily gnawed at her, allowing her defenses to falter slightly.
And in that instant of weakness, Elena pounced like a lioness.
“I spent years wondering if you even existed,” she said in a quieter, rawer tone. “Imagining what it would be like to have that family connection, that bond with someone who was tied to me by blood and history. You have no idea how much it means to me to finally have that with you!”
Elena grasped Jasmine’s hands again, holding them to her chest as fresh tears traced down her cheeks.
“Please, Jas…I’m begging you, as your sister – don’t shut me out now. Not after all this time spent trying to find you and bring us together. I’ll answer any questions you have, explain every mistake I’ve made if that’s what you need. But please…don’t abandon me like mom did.”
The plaintive anguish in her voice sent a shockwave of guilt and doubt crashing through Jasmine. Was she really about to turn her back on her own flesh and blood, her long–lost sister who had suffered immense emotional turmoil, simply because of some past indiscretions?
Wavering, Jasmine slumped down onto the couch, suddenly drained. She searched Elena’s tear–streaked features intently, praying she could still sense truth and authenticity behind those familiar eyes that mirrored her own.
“I…I don’t want to abandon you, Elena,” Jasmine said in a strained tone. “Truly, I don’t. You have to understand how this looks from my perspective, though-”
“I know, I know,” Elena interjected fervently, sinking down to her knees in front of Jasmine. She clasped Jasmine’s hands almost reverently.
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I I can say is that my love for you, my desperate need to connect with the family I never knew real, Jasmine.”
“And I’m not pretending my past is spotless or that I haven’t made grave mista that deeply regret. All
She held Jasmine’s gaze with an intensity that made the air thicken around them.
that is all
“I’m willing to do anything to prove that to you,” Elena stated in a low, fervent tone. “No more lies, no more deceptions. If you’ll give me one more chance, just one, I swear I’ll spend every day making it up to you.”
Jasmine felt her throat thickening with emotion as she studied her sister’s imploring expression. Her treacherous heart wanted so badly to accept Elena’s words, to cling to the profound balm of having her long–lost sibling in her life.
But her mind, that nagging well of doubt that Ethan’s betrayal had lodged within her, urged extreme
caution.
Drawing an unsteady breath, Jasmine squeezed Elena’s hands.
“Okay…okay, I’ll give you one more chance,” she stated in a wavering tone. “But I need to take things slowly, Elena.”
Jasmine let herself into her apartment, feeling emotionally drained from the intense confrontation with Elena, She headed straight for the kitchen to pour herself a large glass of wine, desperate to dull her senses for a little while.
As she sank onto the couch and took a deep sip, her phone began buzzing in her purse. Frowning, she fished it out to see her father’s number flashing across the screen.
“Hey Dad, what’s up?” She answered, unable to mask the fatigue in her voice.
“Jasmine, sweetheart, I need you to come over to the house right away,” Henry’s gruff baritone responded, tinged with an unusual undercurrent of tension. “Your mother and I…we need to discuss something with you.
Jasmine felt her stomach drop slightly at the weighted tone of her father’s words. Taking another fortifying sip of wine, she exhaled heavily.
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’ve….I’ve had kind of a hellish day, to be honest.”
“I’m afraid not,” Henry replied, a hint of gruffness leaking into his voice now. “This is important, Jas. It’s about your mother…and Elena.”
Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat as realization washed over her like a cold bucket of water. Of course, her parents would have to be brought into this whole mess at some point.
Rubbing her temples, she fought against a rising wave of weariness at the thought of opening that particular emotional ordeal.
“Alright, alright I’ll be over soon,” she acquiesced quietly. “Just…give me thirty minutes, okay?”
Twenty minutes later, Jasmine found herself pulling up in front of her childhood home, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she mustered her resolve. She could see the porch light burning cheerfully. masking the turmoil that no doubt awaited her inside.
Drawing a steadying breath, she ascended the front walk and rapped her knuckles against the wooden door, plastering a thin smile onto her lips. It was her father who answered a moment later, his craggy features softening slightly at the sight of her.
“There’s my b
best girl,” he rumbled affectionately, pulling Jasmine into a tight hug.
Despite herself, Jasmine felt a small measure of comfort and security envelop her within the safe circle
of her father’s strong arms. She had always been a daddy’s girl, ever since she was a tiny thing perched
on Henry’s broad shoulders.
Releasing her, Henry ushered Jasmine inside where her mother sat on the living room couch, hands clasped tightly in her lap
Anita looked up, her expression a gut–wrenching mixture of trepidation and sorrow as Jasmine entered. Mother and daughter regarded each other across the expanse, a vast ocean of hurt and deception
stretching between them.