Chapter 4

Hours later, Diana parked her car in front of my parents' house and killed the engine. She turned to me with that fierce look she gets when she is ready to fight. "You sure you want to do this right now, Jasmine? We can turn around. No one says you have to walk into that trap today."

I unbuckled my seatbelt, my hands still a little shaky from the night before. "I have to, Di. Mom will keep calling. And if I do not show up, they will spin it like I am the dramatic one. Again. You know how this family works. I need to hear what they say to my face."

She nodded and squeezed my arm. "Fine. But I am coming in with you for moral support. And if anyone starts that gracious nonsense, I will speak up. You are not facing this alone."

We got out of the car. The house looked the same as always, that neat two-story with the white trim my mom kept perfect. I walked up the path, my steps heavy. My plus-sized frame felt even more noticeable today, like every curve was on display after what happened. Warm brown skin still flushed from crying earlier, natural hair pulled back into a protective style that suddenly felt like armor. I pushed the door open without knocking.

The living room smelled like the usual lemon cleaner Mom used and there they were, Margaret and Dennis on the sofa, sitting close like they rehearsed this, Ava in my favorite chair by the window, the one with the soft cushions I picked out years ago. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she held her chin up, one hand resting on her still-flat stomach. Ryan stood by the window, staring out like the backyard held all the answers. He would not look at me.

Mom stood up first, smoothing her blouse. "Jasmine, you came. Good. Sit down. We need to talk like adults."

I stayed standing for a second, feeling Diana right behind me. "Talk? After last night? I walked in on my fiancé with my sister, Mom. Three days before the wedding. And now we are all supposed to sit here like it is just another Sunday dinner?"

Ryan finally glanced my way, his handsome face pale. "Jasmine, I am sorry. I really am. It should not have happened like that."

"Like that?" I repeated, my voice rising a bit. I moved to the couch opposite them and sat down, folding my hands in my lap to keep them steady. My face stayed calm, like still water, even though my chest felt tight. "You mean I should not have seen it? Or it should not have happened at all?"

Ava shifted in the chair, her beautiful features twisted with what looked like regret. She was slim where I was not, and always the one who got the spotlight. "Jas, I did not plan this. It just... happened. We were talking one night and things got out of hand. I feel awful."

"You feel awful?" Diana cut in from beside me, her voice sharp. "You slept with your sister's man and you are pregnant. Awful does not cover it, Ava."

Mom held up a hand. "Diana, this is a family matter. Please. Jasmine, you need to understand that this does not have to be ugly. We can handle it quietly. Ryan's family has connections. Lancaster Corp is growing. A scandal right now would hurt everyone."

I looked, really looked at her. Margaret Reed, the woman who had chipped away at me since I could walk. Always the architect of making me feel like a liability because of my size. "Quietly? Like how you always told me to be quiet about how I felt? Remember when I was sixteen and cried because none of the dresses fit right for the school dance? You said, 'Jasmine, you would be so pretty if you just watched what you ate. Ava never has this problem.'"

Margaret sat back down next to Dad. "That was because I wanted you to fit in, honey. Men like Ryan do not usually go for girls who take up so much space. But he did. He overlooked it, so be grateful for that."

"Overlooked it?" I said, my words coming out steady but my hands tightening in my lap. "That is what you called it? For six years I heard that… From you... At every dinner. 'Ryan is lucky. You should shrink a little so he stays happy.' I did shrink, Mom. I turned down Parsons. I worked late on his collections. I designed the branding that made Lancaster Corp what it is. They were my patterns and my ideas. Not his."

Dennis sat there, saying nothing. He just stared at the floor, complicit in his silence like always. The man who never spoke up when Mom compared us. "Dad?" I asked, turning to him. "You got nothing to say? You knew about the wedding plans. You saw me working on everything."

He cleared his throat but kept his eyes down. "This is between you kids. Your mother is right. We need to think of the family."

Ryan stepped away from the window, running a hand through his hair. He still looked charming, even now, but weak. Like he could not stand up to any of this. "Jasmine, I messed up. I know that. I love you. Or I did. This with Ava... it was not supposed to go this far."

"Not supposed to?" I leaned forward a little, keeping my hands folded. "Did you love him while you were in my house, Ava? At my engagement dinner last month? When you helped me pick the flowers for the centerpieces? You smiled at me across the table and said how excited you were for us. Was that all a lie?"

Ava would not answer. She just looked at her hand on her stomach, eyes filling up again. That silence was the answer. It hung there, heavy in the room.

Diana jumped in. "This is messed up. Jasmine built that company with you, Ryan. She stayed up nights reworking those samples. Clients asked for her by name on the patterns. And you throw it away for what? A quick thing with her sister?"

Mom waved that away. "Enough. Jasmine, you have always been the mature one. The responsible sister. Ava is young. This pregnancy changes things. The baby needs a name and we think the right thing… the family thing, is for you to step aside quietly. Graciously. You can find someone more suitable later. Someone who fits better with your image."

"Step aside?" I said the words slowly, feeling them burn. "You want me to smile and pretend this is fine? After I gave everything to him? I skipped opportunities because Ryan said we were building something together. I made myself smaller in every way so his world could grow. And now you sit there telling me Ava is the better match because she looks the part?"

Ryan mumbled to the floor. "I am sorry, Jasmine. I never wanted to hurt you like this."

Ava finally spoke again, her voice small. "I did not plan this, Jas. But the baby is real. Mom is right. We have to think about that. You have always been so strong. You can get through this."

"Strong?" I repeated, my calm cracking just a bit. "Strong like how I smiled through all your comparisons, Mom? 'Ava has the spark. Jasmine has the stability.' Stability means I clean up messes, right? I forgive. I shrink. I do not take up space."

Margaret leaned forward, her face set. "This does not have to ruin the family. Ryan's connections help all of us. Ava can step into the role. You can keep designing if you want, but quietly with no public mess."

Diana stood up halfway. "Quietly? After they betrayed her? Jasmine, you do not have to listen to this."

I held up a hand to Diana, but I kept looking at them. My hands stayed folded tight in my lap. The chair felt wrong under me, like even my favorite spot in this house rejected me now. "You all planned this talk before I got here, didn't you? Dad silent, Mom directing, Ava playing the victim with her hand on her stomach, and Ryan staring out the window because he cannot face what he did."

Ryan turned a little. "It is not like that. I care about you. Six years means something."

"Six years of me building your dream," I shot back. "I created the wholesale strategy. The mood boards. The patterns that made people buy. And this is how you freaking repay me?”

Ava wiped at her eyes. "Jas, please. We can co-parent or something. But Mom is right. The family image matters. Ryan's company needs this to stay clean."

"Clean?" I asked, my voice low. "Nothing about this is clean. You took my fiancé. You are carrying his child. And now you want me to disappear so you can play happy family?"

Mom stood again, pacing a little. "Jasmine, be reasonable. You have always been the one who understands so why are you acting up now? Ava needs this chance. She has the look for the company events. You know how these things work in business. Appearances matter."

I didn't know what to say so I just scoffed.

Diana could not stay quiet. "Appearances? Jasmine is the talent behind Lancaster. Her designs made it pop. Clients loved her vision for plus-sized lines too. She celebrates bodies like hers. Not hides them. You all made her feel like she had to hide."

I looked at each of them in turn. Mom with her rehearsed words, Dad saying nothing, Ryan mumbling sorry to the carpet, Ava with her red eyes and chin up, hand protective on her belly. My sister. The one I helped with homework growing up. The one I let into my life.

The room felt smaller, the air thick with all the unsaid things. I sat there, hands folded, face calm on the outside. But inside, the rage built under the stillness. My sacrifices. My love. All thrown back because I did not fit the picture they wanted.

Mom kept going. "We can announce things carefully. No need for drama. You just have to step back graciously. It is the mature choice."

I did not nod. I did not agree. I just sat, letting her words land. The conversation dragged on, them repeating the same points. Family first. The baby. Ryan's future. My strength to handle it.

Ryan tried again. "Jasmine, say something. Please. I never meant for you to find out that way."

I finally stood up slowly, smoothing my skirt. My legs felt steady even if my heart raced. "I need my key back… To the studio. The one you gave me."

Mom blinked. "Jasmine, we are not done talking."

"We are," I said. I turned and walked out of the living room, Diana right with me. The front door clicked shut behind us, but the weight followed me down the steps.

Outside in the driveway, I sat in the car again and Diana got in the driver's side. My hands started shaking for real now and the rage sat right under the surface, hot and new.

What would they do next? How far would Mom push this demand for me to disappear?

I looked back at the house, the living room window where they all still sat. The conversation was not over yet… not by a long shot.