Chapter 3

Jasmine’s POV

The loud shrill of my alarm woke me, and I sat up. I reached for my phone on the bedstand, and it was fully charged. I looked around the room, and memories of last night started coming back. Hunter kissed me, and I kissed him back. I slowly reached for my lips, and weirdly, I can still feel how his lips felt on mine last night.

This was wrong; I shouldn’t be reminiscing on kissing my best friend, who has plans to propose to his girlfriend soon, and being drunk wasn’t an excuse. My emotions were torn, and I hated every bit of it. He left obviously before I woke up, and the neat arrangement of the other side of the bed proved that. I was going insane not knowing if he remembered, too, or if this was going to affect our friendship.

I showered in a hurry and packed my bag for work. I got into my car and drove like I was being hunted. The elevator ride was slower than usual, and it gave me a chance to think about my actions for a moment. Did I regret kissing Hunter? Definitely not, but would it affect our friendship? I hope it doesn’t.

I walked into my office, and as I was setting my bag down, I heard loud voices from the hallway: my boss and Hunter. They were teasing each other as usual, and I hoped he didn’t come in here to see me. It would be too awkward; I can’t walk out of my office without being seen. I wonder what he was doing here that early.

I was still arranging my desk when my office door was pushed open. His perfume hit my nose before I even saw the man. I pretended to be looking for something among the stacks of files on my desk.

“Someone woke up in a serious mood today. How are you, amigo?’ he asked in a light voice, but I could swear I heard something else. It seemed like he was trying to make things appear casual. I finally looked up, and I smiled awkwardly. He was holding a cup of latte.

“I should never drink again. My whole head hurts.” I lied, as I sat up and he placed the latte on my table. I couldn’t help but notice how his eyes looked everywhere except directly at me. My stomach churned in fear. Was he that repulsed? Was he disgusted by what happened between us?

“That’s solid advice. I didn’t even know how I ended up at yours from the bar. I woke up on the couch this morning, and I just knew I drank way too much. I was going to wake you, but judging by the empty tequila bottle, I figured you needed extra minutes. Anyway, I brought you coffee for your possible hangover, and I should get going. I have a long day ahead of me.” He smiled at me before walking out.

He was tense in here, and I hated myself even more. I should have pushed him away, I should have sent him home. Now I have ruined our friendship. I couldn’t even bring myself to drink the latte. I just buried myself in my work. It was easier that way than facing the possibility that I may have just lost my best friend.

When the devil is adamant that you have a bad day, I don’t think anybody can stop it. The loud clicks at the door, and the extra loud laughter with my coworkers from the hallway, was all I needed to know that my bad day was just about to get worse. My door was pushed open, and there stood my step-sister in all her glory.

“Hello, sister, it’s been quite a while. You no longer return my calls.” Lily whined, and I just smiled, tight-lipped at her. If you know Lily, you know the best thing to do is to just ignore her. My parents’ golden child, and she knew exactly how to get under your skin. Nothing I ever did was enough; I was always compared to Lily. She reveled in every bit of attention, and it always made me feel inferior. She destroyed my self-esteem before I even knew what it was called.

“Hi there, sis, I was going to call this weekend, but you know how crazy work can get,” I replied before going back to the file I was reviewing. I noticed her from the corner of my eyes as she removed her coat and hun it on my coat hanger, poured herself a glass of wine meant for important business meetings, and finally sashayed to sit in my guest chair.

“I dropped by because I wanted to be the first to tell you this. I am engaged, and I am going to be getting married next month,” she announced, placing her hands on my table. That caught my attention, and I finally looked at her hands. The large diamond was definitely attention-grabbing. I feel genuinely sorry for whoever willingly chose to spend the rest of their life with Lily. They probably hate themselves so badly.

“Wow, congratulations, sis. I’m so happy for you. I’m sure mom and dad are going to be thrilled about this news.” I clapped my hands, faking my excitement. And the glint in her eyes made me uncomfortable. She was probably expecting a different reaction from me, but growing up with her taught me that not giving her the reaction she wants hurts her even more.

“You’re not going to ask who the groom is?” she asked, and that’s what took me aback. Lily has never been interested in sharing personal details of her life with me, so I don’t ‘copy’ them. I couldn’t even get a skincare routine out of her the last time I had a bad case of acne.

“I’m sure it’s your boyfriend. Jasper.. John, I am bad with names, you know that.” I replied lightly, and she shook her head with excitement.

“It’s not Jacobs, I dumped that loser months ago. It’s Hunter Carrington. Your best friend.” She replied with so much excitement, and I felt my stomach churn in disgust. I looked back at her, and I could see a satisfied smirk spreading across her face. She definitely got the reaction she wanted out of me.

“What… do you mean?” I stuttered, unable to keep my heart from racing. She blew imaginary dust off her nails, then she took another sip of her wine while pretending I didn’t ask a question before she finally got up.

“You heard me right, sister. I am going to be Mrs Carrington in six weeks. I hope you’re not going to be a problem to me. It’s not like you’re in love with him or anything. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt your little best friend.” She replied in a sweet voice that made me sick to my stomach.

“Oh, and mom said I should let you know that you’d be in charge of the planning since you know Hunter and I so well. And you have a great eye for decor. I trust you’d make it magical for me, sis.” She added with a smirk, and she walked to the coat hanger to retrieve her coat.

She sashayed out of the door, and I watched her leave with the last bit of my heart shredded to pieces. The girl Hunter had been seeing was my step-sister who I always told him about how bad she treated me. How ironic.