Lights off. Bed untouched. Everything neat and organized
There was no sign of anyone in the room.
Where the fuck was she?
I shoved the door open with more force than necessary, stepping inside, my pulse already picking up.
“Kasmine?”
Nothing.
I stalked toward the bed, scanning the room for any sign that she’d just stepped out for a moment. Her shoes weren’t by the door. No worn clothes were tossed over the chair. No discarded book on the nightstand.
The longer I stood there, the more that uneasy feeling morphed into something darker.
My jaw tightened as I spun toward the bathroom, yanking the door open.
Empty.
“Fuck.”
I ran a hand through my hair, the first sting of real panic slipping beneath my skin.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed, but it went straight to voicemail.
My lips pressed into a thin line as I swiped over to the tracking app and opened it. Without waiting for the app to load, I was already taking long, furious strides out of her room
By the time I hit the stairs, I was seeing red.
“Mum?”
Jorja was startled at the urgency of my tone, her fingers twisting together in her lap. The way she flinched had my teeth grinding
“Where’s Kasmine?”
She didn’t answer immediately. Just that slight hesitation was enough to make my blood churrt. I didn’t wait for her to speak.
My thumb swiped fast over my screen, tapping into the tracking app before the thought even fully formed in my head.
A small, pulsing dot blinked onto the screen.
She was not her.
Izoomed in. My breath locked in my chest.
She was at Velari?
My jaw flexed so tight my teeth ached. I barely heard when orja finally spoke.
“She-she went out for dinner,” she said softly.
I lifted my head sharply, eyes narrowing on her. The nerves were all over her face.
“With who?”
Jorja hesitated again.
I stepped closer, my patience wearing razor-thin “Mum?”
She exhaled. “Jaden.”
Everything stopped.
It was like the world sucked all the air from the room in one sharp pull, leaving nothing but silence and the violent drum of my heartbeat in my ears.
Jaden.
For a split second, I wasn’t even standing in front of my mother anymore. I was back in that old place in my mind
-the one where he had embedded himself the day he vowed to me that he was going to take away the sister I loved so much from me, all because I told him never to go near Kasmine when he approached me in school and told me he liked her.
That was over ten years ago, but it is still very fresh in my memory. And to make matters worse, my parents had told me they had betrothed Kasmine to him two years later.
But he would never have her, even in his wildest imagination.
The time flashed at the top of my phone screen. 9:28 PM.
My gaze snapped back to Jorja. “When did he get back?”
Jorja sighed, rubbing at her temples. “Kes-
But I wasn’t listening. full of
My mind was moving too fast, too full of questions I couldn’t even ask because the fury was swallowing them whole.
Jaden had been gone. Out of the picture. And now, he was back.
And nobody thought I needed to fucking know?
Jaden had no regard for women. Especially Kasmine. He just wants her in order to taunt me… To show me he was winning after all. That’s all.
No wonder Mum n was nervous. Because why would he fucking keep a woman out this late? No respect for her or her family!
Fuck
Jorja shifted on the couch, worry tightening her features, “he’s just having dinner, Kester. You know this has to happen.
I stared at her, barely breathing.
She was trying to smooth this over. But she knew me better than that. She knew I was never in support of this.
Without another word, I turned on my heel and strode for the door.KASMINE
Jaden had begun our “date” with questions and answers. No one told me I was coming for an exam
“So, tell me, Kasmine..” He leaned back against his chair, swirling the wine in his glass like he was some aristocrat about to interrogate the help. “You’re what now Twenty-two?”
I blinked, fork freezing, midway to my mouth. “I’ll be Twenty-one in two weeks.”
He smirked. “Ah, still a baby.”
My jaw tightened. “I wouldn’t call myself that.
He let out a short, amused breath. “Of course, you wouldn’ You probably think you’re all grown up, don’t you?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
‘It’s just dinner. Get through it and go home.”
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