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My mother nods. “I think I know where all this is coming from but let me tell you this minute.” She snaps her fingers in my face. “This family will not recognize any marriage that’s not to Eve; I don’t care who it’s with. You will learn to—”
“Her name is Jasmine.” From the corner of my eyes, I see Damien stiffen. My parents, who are standing before me, freeze at the mention of her name.
“What did you say?” My father frowns.
“Her name is Jasmine,” I repeat. “Jasmine Ambrose. That’s who I want to marry, Dad. That’s the woman I’m in love with.”
My father continues to stare at me, unsure of how to react to the situation. But my mother…she’s never unsure. She knows exactly what she wants from every situation and cannot bear it not to go her way.
“Good luck to whoever Jasmine Ambrose is,” she says. “But she has no place in this family, Alec. If you truly love that woman, you will leave her alone and marry Eve.”
“Mother!”
“I’m sorry, Son.” She shakes her head, an unapologetic glare in her eyes. “But marrying Eve is the only way you will continue to function as a member of this household.”
I arch my brows. “What do you mean?”
“We will cut you off!” She growls. “You never listen to us! You make spontaneous decisions and run off doing what you want without consideration. Enough of that. If you don’t marry Eve, you will no longer be a part of this family.”
“Lillian!” My father sharply reprimands her. “What is wrong with you?”
I hold up my hand to stop him, irritated by his lateness. He’s had years to stop her; it’s too late today. “Threats don’t work on me, Mother,” I say. “Me and you are so alike in that aspect. I was hoping we could mutually agree on this, but it seems you’re willing to lose me rather than compromise, and so be it!”
“Alec!” My father steps in between my mother and me. “What is wrong with the both of you? We can come to an agreement, let’s sit down and talk instead of yelling words we cannot take back.”
“This is beyond a round table talk, Father. I’m in love with someone else. I cannot and will not marry Eve.”
“Then you should leave!” My mother yells in my face. “A son who is not willing to make little compromises for his family's success is not worthy.”
“You won’t know anything about worthiness, Mother,” I snarl. “You’ve not been a worthy mother to me, too.”
“How dare you!” She strikes me across the face so hard the side of my face stings.
“Lillian!” My father growls. “You will listen to me this minute! What is wrong with you? Why would you do that?”
I step away from them and walk towards Damien. “Prepare yourself,” I say, breezing past him. “We’re going back to New York.”
Chapter thirteen
Jasmine
I am sprawled in front of the TV watching my favorite show, but my attention isn’t on the characters acting their hats off on my screen; it’s on the brown file on my dresser upstairs.
I, Jasmine Ambrose, am five weeks pregnant.
I sit up on the chair, my mind swirling with possibilities. How would Alec react to this news? It’s only Friday, so I have until Sunday to figure out what I want to do with the pregnancy. It’s still early enough to be terminated, but somehow, I don’t want to. Yet, I can’t help but think that this pregnancy will complicate things further.
I shake my head and refocus my attention on the television, but my gaze drifts to my stomach, where new life forms. I rub my belly affectionately, awed that I’m carrying a part of me and Alec. It’s wild.
“Why are you smiling and rubbing your stomach?” I look up to see Riley standing at the bottom of the stairs. I didn’t even hear him come into the living room.
“Because I’m pregnant,” I mask it as a joke, curious to see his reaction.
“Ew.” He rolls his eyes and walks into the kitchen, out of my sight.
There are so many things I’m hiding from Riley, and this pregnancy is the least of them. He will freak out when he finds out. Riley reappears from the kitchen, holding a bottle of water.
“Because of you, I have to watch my basketball game on a small screen,” he whines. “When will you stop being a couch potato and find an apartment.”
