Chapter 6 — The Breaking Point

Chapter 6 — The Breaking Point

The first thing Jasmine felt was cold. The kind that seeps through skin and settles in bone. A faint, mechanical beeping pulsed beside her, steady and cruel.

When her eyes fluttered open, everything came back at once.

The hospital. The sterile white walls. The smell of antiseptic and sadness.

And her mother.

Maria lay still on the bed, her face ghostly under the pale light. Machines hummed softly, wires snaking from her fragile arms. Jasmine sat in the chair beside her, realizing she had fallen asleep there — her fingers still locked around her mother’s hand.

Her throat was raw, her body aching. When she touched her face, she felt the tightness of dried tears and the faint salt that had crusted along her cheeks. Her eyes stung, swollen and dark. She looked like someone who had forgotten what rest meant.

“Mom…” Her voice cracked. “Please wake up. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

The only response was the unfeeling rhythm of the heart monitor.

She bowed her head, pressing her forehead to her mother’s arm. “I’m getting married,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Not for love. Not because I want to. But because it’s the only way I can keep you here.” she felt any tear go down her cheek, "because we need the money, (sob) because i don't have a choice.

Another tear slid down her cheek and hit her mother’s skin. “So please, you have to fight. You have to wake up. I need you to tell me it’s going to be okay.”

The silence that followed was unbearable.

---

By the time she left the hospital, the sun had already begun to rise — a hazy orange bleeding into the city skyline. The air was cold, biting at her bare arms.

The drive home was in silence. The radio played, but she couldn’t hear it. The driver tried to start a conversation, but she didn't hear him speak. The world outside her window blurred into gray streaks of morning light. Every traffic light felt too long, every sound too sharp.

When she stopped at an intersection, her gaze drifted to a wedding boutique across the street. Mannequins in white gowns smiled behind the glass. The sight made her stomach twist.

She’d once imagined her wedding day would be filled with laughter, her mother crying tears of joy in the front row.

Now it would be business. A transaction. A deal sealed in silence. Somehow she felt the mannequin were more happy having to display wedding gown than she would be at her own wedding.

---

Her apartment door creaked open to darkness.

Everything looked the same, yet nothing felt right. The air was heavy, like the walls were holding their breath.

She stepped inside slowly, kicking off her heels, still in the wine-stained gown from yesterday. The faint scent of perfume mixed with the sour trace of spilled wine — reminders of how everything had gone wrong.

She set her purse on the table and froze.

Something felt… off.

The soft hum of the refrigerator. The ticking clock. The faint shift of air — too deliberate to be random.

Her pulse quickened. “Hello?” she called softly.

No answer.

She took one slow step toward the living room, then another. Her eyes darted to the hallway mirror — and in its reflection, she saw movement.

Before she could react, a hand shot out, grabbing her from behind. Something cold pressed against her throat.

Jasmine’s breath caught.

“What do you want?” she whispered, panic rising.

The silence stretched, every second louder than the last. Jasmine's heartbeat had tripled and fear grips her from each side.

Then, a low voice she knew too well murmured, “I should kill you right now for being too busy for me.”

Her eyes widened.

That voice—

“Jamie?”

The pressure on her neck vanished instantly.

Jasmine spun around, and there she was — Jamie, her best friend since childhood, grinning like a mischievous devil with a butter knife in her hand.

“You should’ve seen your face!” Jamie laughed, clutching her stomach.

Jasmine exhaled shakily, her heart still hammering. “Are you insane? I thought—”

But she couldn’t finish. Her voice broke mid-laugh, and suddenly the laugh turned into a sob.

Jamie’s smile faded. “Hey, hey… Jas?”

Jasmine tried to speak, but the words came out in gasps. She covered her face with both hands, tears slipping through her fingers.

Jamie dropped the knife and pulled her into a hug. “Okay, okay, shhh… what’s going on?”

And just like that, everything Jasmine had been holding in for days came pouring out.

“My mom—she’s in a coma. They said the tumor spread faster than expected. I can’t—” She hiccupped, breath catching. “I went to my father for help, and he said the only way he’d pay the bills was if I agreed to marry Alex Phillips. In my sister’s place.”

Jamie pulled back slightly, eyes wide. “Wait, your father made you—what?”

Jasmine nodded, sobbing. “And Alex… "my fiancee" he came to me. He said it was just business. He offered me ten million dollars, Jamie. Ten million for my life.”

Her voice cracked on the last word.

Jamie stared at her, heartbroken. “Jas, that’s—God, that’s awful. You can’t just—”

“I already signed the contract,” Jasmine said softly. “The wedding’s in a week.”

Jamie’s mouth opened, but no words came. She just hugged Jasmine tighter. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve been there.”

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” Jasmine whispered. “I didn’t want to be a burden.”

Jamie pulled back, eyes fierce. “You could never be a burden.”

They sat there on the floor, Jasmine’s head resting on Jamie’s shoulder. The apartment around them felt smaller now, the air heavy with unspoken pain.

For a long time, neither of them said anything. Only the faint sound of Jasmine’s breathing, slowly evening out.

Then — buzz.

Jasmine’s phone vibrated on the table.

She wiped her face and reached for it, half expecting bad news from the hospital. But when she saw the name on the screen, her chest tightened.

Alex.

Her thumb hesitated before she opened the message.

> Are you awake? We’re meeting my grandfather today.

For a second, she just stared at it, unblinking.

Jamie leaned over her shoulder. “Grandfather? What is this, a royal summons?”

But Jasmine didn’t smile. Her stomach turned. “He wants me to meet his family. Again.”

Jamie’s face softened. “You’re not ready for that.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Jasmine whispered.

She set the phone down slowly, her reflection catching in the dark window — mascara smudged, eyes hollow, dress ruined.

This is what desperation looks like, she thought bitterly.

Jamie reached out, brushing a strand of hair from Jasmine’s face. “Then we’ll fix you up. You’re going to face them looking like the woman they can’t break.”

Jasmine tried to smile. She just nodded.

Because no matter how much she wanted to fall apart, she knew one thing for certain — the moment she married Alex Phillips, her life wouldn't be her's anymore.

And she wasn’t sure if she could survive what came next. she didn't even know what would come next, and that was what scared her.