Chapter 5

Diana started the car but kept it in park right there in my parents' driveway. She turned to me, her eyes sharp with that protective fire she always carried. "You okay? Say something, Jasmine. That whole meeting was pure garbage. Your mom basically told you to vanish so Ava could play house with your man."

I sat there with my hands in my lap, staring at the house through the windshield. My fingers would not stop shaking. I clasped them tighter together but the tremble stayed. "I told them I needed the key back. To the studio. That is all I said before I walked out. Did you see their faces? Mom looked like I ruined her perfect script. Dad just sat there. Ryan mumbled " Sorry " to the floor like a coward. And Ava... she kept touching her stomach like that made everything okay."

Diana let out a long breath and leaned back against the headrest. "I saw it all. Margaret with her 'be gracious' talk. Like you owe them anything after they stabbed you in the back. She has been doing this your whole life, hasn't she? Making you feel like the problem because of your size, your curves, the way you take up space in the world."

"Yeah," I said, my voice low but steady on the outside. The rage burned underneath, hot and quiet. I rubbed my hands on my skirt to calm the shaking. "Since I was little. She would look at me and say, 'Jasmine, you would be so pretty if you just tried harder with your hair or your clothes.' Then she would turn to Ava and gush about how graceful she looked. Ava is twenty four now and still the shining star. I am twenty seven, the older sister who is supposed to be mature and step aside. Mature means I swallow it all and smile."

I turned to Diana, needing to get the words out before they choked me. "In there, Mom said the pregnancy changes everything. The baby needs a name. Ryan's family connections matter for Lancaster Corp. She looked me dead in the eyes and said I should step aside quietly. Graciously. Because Ava is the better match for a man like him. She even threw in that Ryan never really loved me the way I deserved anyway. Deep down I knew it. Those were her words, Di."

Diana gripped the steering wheel hard. "She said that? After you poured six years into that man? You designed the branding for his first collection. You turned down Parsons' full scholarship because he needed you here. You worked late nights building mood boards and patterns for free. Clients loved your work. You made Lancaster Corp worth something. And she wants you to disappear so Ava can have the spotlight?"

"Exactly," I replied, the words coming faster now. My hands kept shaking no matter how hard I pressed them together. "I asked Ava straight up. Did you love him while you were in my house? At my engagement dinner? When you helped pick the flowers? She would not even answer. Just looked at her stomach. Ryan said it was a mistake. Stress from the company. He called me baby like that would fix the image of them together in his bed."

I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat. The car felt too warm suddenly, even with the windows cracked. "Dad said nothing. Dennis Reed, always silent. He lets Mom run everything. When I asked him if he had anything to say, he mumbled about it being between the kids. Complicit. That is what he is. He knew I was not shrinking myself for nothing. I loved Ryan completely. Forgave every little thing. The late nights. The comments about how lucky he was to be with someone like me."

Diana reached over and took one of my shaking hands in hers. "You are not the one who needs to shrink, Jasmine. Never were. Your talent is big. Your designs celebrate women who look like you. Warm brown skin, curves, natural hair in those protective styles that look beautiful on you. Those dimples when you smile, which you have not done much lately. You are the extraordinary one. They all made you forget it."

I squeezed her hand back, feeling the steadiness there. "In the meeting, I sat with my hands folded like always. Face calm. But inside? I wanted to scream. Mom kept pushing. 'You are the more mature one. Ava is young. Think of the family.' Ryan stood by the window the whole time, not looking at anyone. Ava in my favorite chair, chin up but eyes red. They rehearsed that, I know it. Mom had her lines ready about how this does not have to be ugly."

"Family," Diana scoffed. "Some family. Your mom architected this whole diminishment of you. From the time you could walk. Making you feel like a liability because of your size. Telling you to be grateful Ryan overlooked it. And now she wants you to step aside for the pregnancy. Like your six years mean nothing compared to Ava's spark."

I nodded, my voice catching a little. "I built something in that studio. Four hundred hours on the wedding dress alone. Last night I redesigned the neckline bold and sweeping because I decided I am done hiding. Done making myself smaller. I cried a little in there from exhaustion and hope. Then I walked into the penthouse with champagne and the sketch. Heard the music. Heard him say Ava's name. Saw them. Counted to four. One. Two. Three. Four. Then I left quietly. Picked up the bottle and walked out."

We sat quietly for a moment, the engine still off. The house loomed behind us. I could see shadows moving in the living room window. They were probably still talking about me. How to handle the situation. How to keep it clean for Ryan's image.

"I told them I needed the key back," I said again. "To the studio. Mom tried to keep the conversation going. But I stood up, smoothed my skirt, and said it calmly. Then I left. Now my hands will not stop shaking. I am not okay, Di. But I am not broken either. I feel... decided. Like something clicked. I do not know what comes next, but I cannot keep forgiving this easily."

Diana started the car finally, backing out slowly. "Good. That decided feeling? Hold onto it. You loved too completely. Forgave too easily. That is your heart, but it does not mean you let them walk all over it. Ryan was weak. He loved the way you made him look good, not you. Ava desperate for validation. Your mom the one who decided long ago her plus sized daughter was a problem."

I looked down at my hands, the shaking slowing but still there. "What do I do now? Go back to the studio and get my things? Everything I built there. Mood boards. Pattern collections. Client files I did for free as help. I signed something three years ago. Thought it was a formality. But it was for Lancaster Corp."

"We will figure that out," Diana said, driving away from the house. "One step. First, you are staying with me. No going back to that penthouse. Pack what you need. And that key? If Ryan does not hand it over, we make copies or something. You earned that space."

My phone buzzed in my bag. I pulled it out. Ryan's name again. I showed it to Diana. "He wants to talk more. Says the family meeting was just the start. Mom probably put him up to it."

"Do not answer," she said. "Let them sit with what they did. You sat through all that with your hands folded and face like still water. But you are done shrinking. That rage under the stillness? Use it. Channel it into your designs. That capsule collection for plus sized women we talked about. Bold. Celebrating every curve like yours."

I slipped the phone back without replying. The car moved through the streets, familiar ones I had driven with Ryan before. "I remember when we met. He was charming, full of big talk. I brought the vision. Turned his half idea into a real brand. Wholesale strategy. Flagship collection framework. All me. Now Ava gets to play the role because she is slim and pretty in the way Mom likes."

"Ryan will learn he traded a diamond for nothing," Diana added. "You are the talent. The one with the eye. He had you, not some team. You are the reason Lancaster is worth anything."

We pulled up to her apartment building. I sat there a minute longer, hands finally still but the decided feeling growing stronger. Not broken. Dangerous in a new way. Ready to stop forgiving so easily.

But as I reached for the door handle, my phone buzzed again. This time a text from an unknown number. "Public announcement coming soon. Ryan and Ava. Stay strong, Jasmine."

I read it out loud to Diana. Her eyes widened. "Already? They are moving fast."

The rage flickered hotter. The wedding that would never happen for me, but announcements rolling out. How public would this get? Would my name get dragged? Or erased completely?

I stepped out of the car, the decided part of me pushing forward. But inside, the questions spun. What would the announcement say? Who would believe my side? And how much more would they take before I stopped letting them?