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She had her own dragon to face.
Chapter 24
“It certainly took you long enough to come into the house.”
Jazz stopped in her tracks and did a quick count of how many steps she’d managed to take before her mother’s first complaint hit.
Three.
She had only taken three steps into the room.
“Hello, Mother,” she said smoothly, attempting to keep her tone calm despite the anxiousness churning in her belly. “I wish you would have waited for me to introduce you to—”
“I know exactly who he is, Jasmine Jane,” Victoria bit out. Turning around, she untied the apron around her waist and slipped it off. Her mouth was pinched as she folded the fabric neatly.
“Good, so we can skip introductions later,” she answered with false cheer. “How are the flowers coming along? Do you need help with the arrangement?”
“I finished it already.” Gesturing to the lilies that were arranged artfully in a crystal vase as if she were presenting a new car on a gameshow, her mother’s lips twisted. “It would have been nice to have your assistance earlier instead of watching you act like trash in full view of everyone.”
“Mother…Victoria…” Jazz paused to regroup. She refused to let herself get riled up today. Inhaling a calming breath and starting again, she smiled once more. “The flowers look beautiful. They always do.”
She tried not to laugh when Victoria narrowed her eyes, the rest of her face expressionless. Her mother was probably trying to show how upset she was but was stopped by the recent fillers that she had injected into her face.
“Are you not going to explain yourself?” Victoria asked.
Jazz took a step back and looked at her mother.Reallylooked at her mother…something that she hadn’t done since she was little, back when she watched her mom apply her makeup before heading to the hospital.
What she saw was sad.
This woman, who she had aspired to be like for so long, was one of the unhappiest people that she had ever met.
“Mom?” Jazz hadn’t called her mother that in so long that it visibly startled the other woman. “Leo makes me happy.”
When her mother looked away to avoid eye contact, she took a step closer. This was a conversation they needed to have, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.
“He makes mereallyhappy,” she repeated, her voice steady and full of the love she felt for him. “Don’t you want me to be happy?”
Her mom folded her hands in front of her.
“Dinner should be ready soon. Will you tell Crystal to use the blue china this evening, please?”
Disappointment hit Jazz so hard, she felt sick. Looking down at the rug, her eyes studied the pattern, unable to continue her search for a bit of warmth from the woman who birthed her. It was too painful to keep trying to find some sort of emotion, anything that showed her there was love there.
“Of course, Mother.” She moved to leave the room, her heart sinking with every step.
“Jasmine…”
She stopped at the sound of her name and turned around.
“Never mind,” her mother said, turning back to the table to fuss with the flowers she had previously arranged.
Jazz turned back toward the door; her steps stiff as she retreated. When she reached the threshold, she stopped.What the hell was she doing?This wasn’t what she’d come here for. This wasn’t the relationship she wanted with her mother.
Instead of walking out, something the old Jasmine would have done, she closed the door. The staff already had enough to talk about without hearing the conversation she was determined to have before the evening was over.
Her mother turned and frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m tired, Mom,” she sighed. The relationship they had was exhausting and she couldn’t do it anymore. “Aren’t you tired too?”
