Chapter 6

Jasmine's POV 

I stood there rooted to the floor, alternating between lashing out and just staying silent. I settled on the latter, staring at him like he had just grown horns. He cleared his throat awkwardly before looking everywhere except my face. He almost looked nervous, but Hunter Carrington wasn’t the type of man to be jealous. 

I noticed my parents quietly leaving the sitting room to give us privacy, and I just leaned against the countertop. I was being forced into a corner here, and for the first time, I was starting to doubt if I ever meant to Hunter as much as I thought I did. 

“Hi, how are you?” He asked quietly, and I wanted to empty my heart, telling him how much the past two weeks wrecked havoc in my life, how I was planning to resign and disappear, but I didn’t tell him any of that. I just nodded with a weak smile. 

“I know I should have explained things to you better. I am sorry about that.” He started, and I felt the irritating knots in my stomach again. He was about to give me an offhand explanation, and suddenly I was supposed to understand. I cleared my throat. 

“The marriage is for how long, and when does the contract expire for the merger?” I asked instead, and I saw the visible shock on his face before it disappeared again. He took the barstool beside me and eased into it, and I stepped back a bit instinctively. He looked hurt. He wasn’t wearing any cologne today, and the faint smell of his aftershave softly filled my nose.

‘It’s for five years, and we can’t have a divorce unless we have a child together. After five years, and a baby, we are free to go our separate ways.” He added softly, and I tried to calm my rising rage. How dare they make a contract like this, that’s designed to keep us trapped with each other, and even after the divorce, we still get to have a permanent link to each other. 

“I get it, I guess I will see you at the altar in three weeks then.” I found myself saying before walking off, and I could feel Hunter’s eyes on my back as I walked out. I had no idea why I said that, or why I was doing any of these things. 

***

I tossed and turned around in bed, trying to get some sleep, but it was almost impossible. The events of the day kept replaying in my head, and I didn’t know whether to be happy that I’m finally getting my dream come true, or the fact that I wasn’t Hunter’s first choice when it came to the person he had to marry. I had so many questions, too, but most importantly, was Hunter really interested in doing this? 

Tired of tossing around in bed, I got out and walked down to the kitchen. I needed a drink again, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle my alcohol right now, especially with my feelings all over the place, and I didn’t want to end up embarrassing myself by doing something insane. 

I hated how Lily always came first, every time, in school or in life. I was denied a lot of things because Lily wanted them. I wanted to go to Art School and do something that made me happy, but I wasn’t allowed to because someone needed to watch Lily in College so she wouldn’t go astray, like it was any of my business. I was tired of coming second, being the fixer every time my sister messes up. 

I picked up a sweatshirt hanging off my couch and threw it on. I needed to clear my head and get in the right headspace. A walk would help out much more than an alcohol bottle right now. I pushed my door open, and I was shocked to find Hunter in my driveway. He looked disheveled, like he couldn’t sleep, just like me. 

I felt pity for him for a split second; he didn’t deserve this. None of us did, if we are being honest. The Hunter i knew hated being tied down, and he never had a girlfriend for longer than six months. How was he even going to thrive in our supposed marriage? I put a lid on my trailing thoughts; it wasn’t the time to start being all over Hunter again and forgetting to care for myself. 

“I never wanted to put you in a difficult spot, Jas. I never wanted any of this, and I never knew about the stupid contract until three weeks ago. I didn’t want to make things weird for you, and I just decided on Lily. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” He started, and that made my heart ache a little more. It should have made me feel relieved that he considered our friendship and didn’t want to put us in a tight spot, but it still hurt like a bitch. 

What kind of a fool couldn’t tell I was in love with him for all these years?

“So you chose the same stepsister who made my life hell, and that I spent half of my childhood telling you about? That’s quite very considerate on your end. The only reason you’re even here is because she did the most Lily thing ever, left you because she knew it would fall on me. Somehow I’m supposed to be understanding that and just accepting that all is well.” I shouted, and it came out harsher than I intended. 

I could see him visibly recoil, and the hurt was very much present on his face. I looked away, mumbling to myself, and I tried to walk past him, but his hands caught mine. I tried to shrug it off, but he pulled me into a hug instead. 

“I know I’m asking for the impossible here, but the thought of losing our friendship would literally kill me. I just want to go into this knowing I’m doing it with my best friend, and when it all ends, I want to walk away knowing that friendship is still there. Please, Jas.” He whispered lowly, and I balled my fist beside me, refusing to hug him back. 

I badly want to wrap my hands around him and tell him everything will be okay. I hated the fact that the only thing he didn’t want to lose was our friendship, and it didn’t even make me feel better at all. 

“Can we talk about this tomorrow, when we are both clearheaded?” I asked quietly after a while, and he nodded before walking off my lawn awkwardly. He kept looking back multiple times, and I stood there unmoving. He gave me a little wave before getting back in his car, and I watched him drive off with whatever was left of my sanity. I rushed back inside as soon as the car was out of sight, and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. I hate my life so much.