2.

Jasmine

“You should be ashamed of yourself! I thought you would do better!” My mother's voice vibrated off the kitchen tiles. “A woman who can’t keep her home?! Good thing your father is in his grave, he wouldn't have to carry the burden of a failure!” 

I slammed my fist on the sink. Suddenly, the large turkey on the tray waiting to be seasoned looked like Edwin, and I wanted to shred it into pieces. 

“Mum, please!” I snapped back at her. “I’m no longer a child, I can do whatever I want!” 

“Exactly my point, Jasmine! You're no longer a child. What would people say?” she countered, walking into the kitchen with her hair tied in a bun and her Christmas apron tied around her waist. 

“If I could hit you and knock some sense into you, I would! Why can't you be like Cashmere!” She barked, locking her eyes at me as she swung her spatula in the air. 

“Just because Cashmere got married to a f*cking billionaire, doesn't mean her life is perfect! She ran away from home when she was twenty-one, and two years later, she called to tell you she's getting married, and you forgave her! We haven't seen her in five years,” I yelled back at her, unable to take her crap anymore. 

“I’ve done everything you asked! I married Edwin because you decided he was the best for me! I’m done letting you push me around, Mum. If we can't find a mutual ground, then I'm leaving!” 

“Jasmine Annie Januraury! You will not break the Christmas tradition your father made, just because you can’t stand the fact that Cashmere renovated our house into an estate and her husband funded our New Year's trip!”

“And she had to invite the entire town for Thanksgiving? That's it!” I thundered, loosening the apron around my waist and slamming it onto the breakfast table filled with vegetables. 

“I’ve been the one helping you with preparation for the past two hours, and I don't see your perfect little princess here with her man—” before I could speak again, the doorbell chimed out loud, pulling both our attention. 

“Aww, guys, please, can you keep it down? You’ve been at each other's throats for the past two hours. I just put Jhayson to bed,” Audrey, Cashmere’s twin, spoke, walking into the kitchen in her PJs. 

Her brown hair was all messed up, and she had a stain of breast milk on her top. She reeked of baby vomit, and she had bags under her eyes. 

That’s right, I haven’t heard the high-pitched screams of Willow and Blair, the twins who are always at each other's throats—a good sign they must finally be asleep. Audrey and her husband, Owen, were breeders, populating my mother's house, so they were always here for Christmas.

She sighed out loud and stamped her foot heavily, leaving the kitchen. 

The doorbell rang again, twice this time, like whoever it was became impatient. My mother turned to me with that annoying sass on her face, and I knew what she expected me to do, without saying a word. She had her fancy maids, Cashmere got for her, but obviously, I should be the one to run errands.

I ground my teeth, cursing under my breath as I walked to the door. 

I don’t know how much more of this I could take. This was the first time Cashmere was to attend any family event in five years. She didn’t even show up for our father’s burial. 

The doorbell rang again… and I yelled out of control. 

“I’m coming, Cashmere, for God's sake, I heard the bell the last two times!”

I yanked the door open, ready to yell at her even more, but she wasn’t the one. 

Is that a butler? 

“Excuse me, ma’am, we're here to take in the luggage of Mr and Mrs Walton,” he said politely before giving a low bow and moving to the side. 

A large van came into view, and four more able-bodied men pulled fancy large luggage from the trunk. 

“Are you serious? It’s just a two-week holiday, there’s no need to bring the entire wardrobe here!” I sighed, stepping out, giving them room to take the luggage inside. 

I walked a few miles away from the house into the large garden since I was already feeling suffocated by Cashmere’s presence, and I hadn’t even seen her. 

Butlers? Really? She had to rub it in my face. I exclaimed. This day could not get any worse, even if it tried. 

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and a familiar scent came along with it. Faint at first, but it grew thicker. I unconsciously slid my lower lip into my mouth, trying to recreate the best, most obnoxious kiss I had ever had. I could almost taste the minty breath of the stranger at Maison du Cafe.

What I wouldn't give to have a conversation with him right now. I bet he’d laugh if he heard how absurd my mother was. Pressuring me to be with a man when Audrey has three kids, and she barely looks at them. All she cares about is Cashmere and her rich husband.

“I must be dreaming, long waves of caramel hair,” an oddly familiar voice called from behind me. My eyes snapped open immediately. “Sharon?” the voice called out in surprise. 

My heart skipped a beat. 

I spun around, refusing my brain from tricking me into hearing voices, and my eyes widened in shock when I saw the tall, well-built man in a black suit with moongrey eyes standing in front of me. 

I pinched myself really hard, trying to wake up from this wild fantasy. But when I opened my eyes, he was still standing there, and the wind blew into his hair, making my heart thump in a slow, amused rhythm.  

“Matilda’s husband…” I called out in surprise, but I corrected myself immediately. “Ex-husband, I mean,” I said, giving off a low, awkward chuckle as blood rushed into my cheek.

He gave off that low, dark, amused chuckle before his eyes scanned my head down to my feet and then back up at my lip, where it lingered a little longer. 

“Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked, a little confused because he wore a fancy suit just like the one at the Cafe, and he still had that thick beast musk scent, so there’s no way in hell he was one of the butlers. 

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same—” he didn't finish speaking before I heard that light, almost mature, feminine voice call out, pulling my attention to someone walking over to us.

“Bear, I told you we should stick together, you can’t just leave me and wander off.” 

A large bucket hat rested over her long blonde hair, probably to shade her from the sun. She wore a whine slick dress that clung perfectly to her curves, and it made the bump on her stomach very visible, her skin glistening against the sunlight as she walked towards us in black pencil heels, like the grass would irritate her skin. 

That sass mirrored my mother perfectly, and I knew without a doubt that was… CASHMERE.

Wait.. I tilted my head, trying to put the maths together, but my brain refused to function. 

My breath caught in my throat, and I stood there like a mindless child as Cashmere stopped beside him and slid her arm between his biceps. The diamond ring on her finger caught the light. Then she pressed a kiss on his lips. She had little to no excitement on her face, and I couldn’t bear to look at him. 

“Jasmine…” she called out loud, tightening her grip on his bicep, and her other hand swept across her baby bump. “My Goodness, it’s been years. I see you’ve already met Galvin, MY HUSBAND.”