The next morning,
Jasmine entered the change room just a few minutes after Paisley had entered. She saw her changing to her casual dress from her uniform, preparing to go home. Her shift was over. “Hi,” Jasmine greeted, her voice was quick but full of remorse. Paisley turned around to see her friend approaching where she was standing, step by step. “How are you?” she asked, with no interest in her voice as she returned to her dress sleeves, rolling them up.
Jasmine released a long, deep sigh, tossing her shoulder bag into her locker. “Are you angry about my attitude last night?” she asked, looking quite remorseful. Although, she knew for sure that Xavier would never cheat on her. He loves her so much and would never even think of hurting her. However, she felt sorry for how she had treated her friend last night. Paisley didn't deserve such treatment whatsoever. Paisley had been so good to her since when they were kids. She performed like her own mother and would do everything in her power just to make her happy. Just like how she had stimulated her to accept Xavier's relationship proposal, who only reinforced her happiness. But what she didn't understand now was how could Paisley think that Xavier was cheating on her? She of all people knows how much Xavier truly cares and loved Jasmine. So, why would she suddenly think Xavier was cheating on her? Twirling around to meet her friend's regretful gaze, Paisley's anger faded at once.
She hated moments like this between her and her friend. “I'm not angry at all, Jasmine,” she said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “But Jasmine, you need to believe this. Xavier isn't who you think he is” she almost yelled, recalling all that had transpired between her and Xavier in his office last night. Furrowing her brows, “What do you mean, Paisley?” Jasmine questioned, a trace of irritation appearing on her beautiful oval-shaped face. Paisley snatched her left wrist and hurriedly led her to a seat and sat on one as well, after which she narrated everything she and Xavier conversed about without leaving any stone unturned.
Jasmine couldn't say anything afterward, only staring into space. Her heart was conflicted, it seemed to be filled with all sorts of mixed emotions. Seeing her deathly pale expression, Paisley took her hand in hers, feeling so sorry for her best friend. “I'm so sorry, Jasmine. I know how much you love Xavier, but you need to take care of it right now. He's an asshole. Believe me, I would have blown up his dumb skull if I had a gun” Paisley seethed in a low menacing voice. Jasmine gave a slow nod twice then looked over at her friend's face, “Thank you very much, Paisley. Thank you for all you've done for me and that you'll keep on doing” she was only able to speak after a long time. “Come on, Jasmine. We're more than friends already” Paisley said with a smile, bringing a soft smile across Jasmine's face too. With that, Paisley pulled her into her warm embrace.
Jasmine came into Xavier's office and realized that he was also readying to go home. The despair expression dashing behind her eyes was quite evident, but seeing the bright smile Xavier shot at her, her stomach churned in contentment. And at that moment, her sorrow melted at once. Although, she hadn't believed what her friend had told her wholeheartedly. She trusted her boyfriend to the length she trusted her friend. However, she had vowed to get to the bottom of this. “Someone looks so happy this morning,” she identified, walking over to the visitor's seat and sat on it. Xavier's smile grew bigger as he buttoned his suit sleeves, “Yes, babe. I'm off work tomorrow” he explained the reason behind his wide grin, and Jasmine's lips twisted in a half-smile, staring at his face intensely, “But I'll miss you, Xavier” she pouted, lowering her gaze to her feet. “Aww…” Xavier moved close to her, grabbed her wrist, and made her stand on her feet, “I'll miss you too, baby” he admitted, rubbing her ears and the skin behind her ears, occasionally kneading her earlobe. “So, what will you be doing at home all day?” asked Jasmine, reaching out her hand to toy with his tie. “Just sleep. I'll be sleeping all day imagining you in my arms” Xavier answered without a moment's hesitation, looking into Jasmine's eyes adorably. Jasmine felt butterflies swarm up in her belly massively, while her heart seemed to be swimming in a stormy ocean. She felt extremely attracted to him, “I love you, Xavier, please don't hurt me” her voice choked with sobs which only caused a quicker of excitement to shoot through him. Combing her hair with his fingers, a deep thrill ran through him. Undoubtedly, Paisley would have told her everything but here she was, still clinging to him and even begging him not to hurt her, “Of course, babe. I'll never hurt you and I love you very much” he asserted and then snuggled her into his broad chest at once.
Work was moving smoothly. Jasmine had been going from one ward to another, checking and attending to her patients. She did well by expressing her usual cheerful attitude, but deep down, she was speculating on how she could go to Xavier's house the next day but couldn't come up with an excuse. She needed to go to his house uninvited for the first time. In the past, she would always inform Xavier whenever she was arranging to visit him but not anymore, this was the only idea she could come up with in order to discern whether her boyfriend was cheating or not. “I wish I can swap shifts with someone tomorrow” hearing this from a nurse, Jasmine swiftly raised her head to look at the person. “Why? Is there a problem?” the second nurse asked, looking worried. “Not really. It's just that, it's been a long while since I saw my boyfriend and would love to visit him unexpectedly tomorrow” the first nurse explained, her cheek morphing into a shade of red as she scribbled in her note. “You're very silly, Grace, you better don't try it and start going home already” the second nurse advised in a stern voice. They both seemed pretty close, inferring from their interaction. “Let's try it, Nurse Grace” Jasmine suddenly called out, and they both tilted their heads in her direction, stunned.
It seemed they were oblivious of her presence since they started their discussion. Evacuating her seat, she went closer to them and said, “Yes, Nurse Grace, let me take your shift tomorrow night while you take mine in the morning” Grace exchanged a glance with the second nurse who only shrugged and continued with what she was doing, “Okay, nurse Jasmine, let's do it” Grace agreed with pleasure, nearly jumping around the whole place. Jasmine only smiled, then went back to her seat.
The sunshine was falling warmly, hanging in the light blue sky, without the harshness of the summer. It was not too warm, wrapping the body like soft and comfortable long-worn cotton underwear. The wind that blew occasionally also didn't feel cold, the sunshine was just right. There stood Jasmine in the middle of the front yard of the house, a relatively blue bungalow with two luxury cars in the parking lot. She released a sigh she didn't realize she was holding, glanced over at the grocery bag she was carrying, then passed through the yard to the front door. She balled her hand into a fist in an attempt to knock on the door, but quickly shook her head and bent the doorknob, and set her foot into the living room. Staring at the disgusting yet heartbreaking scenery before her, she felt as if her heart was breaking into a million pieces inside her chest, and it was never going to be whole again. Her knee grew weak while her hands trembled wildly, compelling the grocery bag in her hand to fall off her hand and the contents inside it spilled to the floor.
The sudden thump seemed to attract the entangled couple from their heated fantasy. Xavier pulled out of the intense kiss first, his gaze meeting Jasmine, who already had tears pooled in her eyes. He stood properly, raked his fingers through his ebony hair, and looked away from Jasmine's face. Approaching where he was standing little by little with unsteady steps, “Tell me what I just saw isn't true Xavier” her voice wobbled as more tears streamed down her cheeks. Getting in front of him, she clutched his polo shirt in her slender fist, shaking him vigorously and yelling, “Answer me, Xavier, tell me it's not real!” Xavier looked down at her this time, his face expressionless and hard to read.
“What are you doing here in the first place?” those were words he could pronounce first. Jasmine clasped his clothing tighter, “I want you to answer the damn question now, have you been cheating on me, yes or no?” Xavier scoffed and saw that the girl she was smooching earlier was already standing behind Jasmine, looking quite upset. “Okay, just let go of my shirt first” he demanded then slowly yanked her hands off. “First, I was never in a relationship with you” he confessed. His mouth was curled into a smile and his eyes twinkled with mischievous charm. Upon hearing this coming out of his mouth, Jasmine felt her heart fall off her chest completely.