Chapter 102

The bedroom felt quieter than usual when Azalea closed the door softly behind her. No sound except the ticking of the wall clock, impossibly loud in her own ears. She took a few steps inside, then stopped at the edge of the bed, as if her body had lost all sense of direction. The tray she'd been carrying—she'd set it down somewhere. She couldn't even remember where. All that remained was the crushing pressure against her chest.

Slowly, Azalea sat on the edge of the mattress. Her hands rose to cover her face, but the tears broke free anyway—spilling without permission. Her shoulders shook violently, her breath coming in gasps between sobs that grew deeper and deeper. Everything she'd just heard spun through her mind, striking without pause.

Jasmine. Her older sister—the one she'd always remembered as hardworking, patient, full of love. Accused of cheating while pregnant and nearing her due date.

The tears fell harder. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed in a fist, the pain radiating up into her throat. She imagined Jasmine standing alone against that accusation—body weakened, belly swollen, heart surely shattered. No one believed her. No one defended her.

"Jasmine…" Azalea's whisper was barely audible, her voice breaking apart.

Now everything made sense. The guilt that always surfaced in Enzo's eyes whenever that name was mentioned. Elsa's coldness toward Jasmine that had never truly resolved.

None of it had been without reason. None of it without pain. And that was precisely where it hurt the most—because all of that pain was born from a misunderstanding.

Her crying gradually subsided, replaced by small, choked sounds still caught in her chest. She lay down on the bed, hugging a pillow tightly as if it were the only thing preventing her from falling apart completely. Without realizing it, her tears continued soaking the fabric, leaving traces of a grief that ran impossibly deep.