Chapter 82.2
Chapter 82.2
Jasmine’s inner anxiety about the relationship met a spark of doubt, exploded, and her resentment towards him, who ignored her anxiety, burst out.
Her crushed expectations and disappointments, despite still wanting to love him and desperately trying to salvage broken trust, shattered sharply and poured out.
It was more of a cry that she was in so much pain, stripped of all her usual optimism, warmth, and skilled communication.
Looking back now, Richard tried his best in his way. It just didn’t reach her ears—she was busy dealing with her wounds.
What if she had been more patient and listened to him? If they had sat down, held hands, and talked more calmly? If they had tried to believe and understand each other, instead of belittling their values and self-pitying, shared and soothed the anxieties they tried to hide from each other?
Would things have been different?
Suddenly, she had that thought. Without realizing it, Jasmine opened her mouth and spoke.
“Isn’t it a matter of trust? It means persuade me and prove yourself so I can trust you. Because I want to trust you, so please do that.”
‘Or, believe in me. Recognize this about me. How can you not understand that I think this way about you?’
“When I hold you, nothing else in the world matters. Everything else I’ve built up feels worthless in those moments. When you laugh, I feel like doing anything for you like an idiot. And you say this is nothing?”
Richard’s words from some time ago, shouted in frustration, flashed through Jasmine’s mind, intermingled with Marian’s bitter self-mockery and her past tearful laments.
“Why are you pushing me like this? Why are you lying? Why do you keep creating these situations? Why?”
“Then why are you so sure it’s all the same? How can you be so certain that I don’t love you, that it’s all just my delusion, that it’s all fake? How do you know? How can you be so sure? Even I feel like I’m going crazy!”
“You say you love me? You can’t even say it properly, so what exactly do you love about me? And you expect me to believe you?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m scared. I don’t want to get hurt. If I believe and then get disappointed, the blow would be too much. Everyone lives like that.”
“I’d rather you tell me a convincing lie. I’d willingly believe it.”
In that moment, Jasmine felt like she understood something.
Ah, why were we, back then, so clumsy and immature?
She suddenly fell silent, smiling sheepishly at her friends who were looking at her.
“Well, I just had a thought.”
After a brief, curious silence, Nikki exchanged glances with Lichang and grinned.
“Our little Jasmine suddenly seems very cool.”
“Oh, our baby has grown up! Oh my gosh, I can die without regrets. I was worried when she’d finally escape her singlehood.”
Aisha pretended to wipe away tears dramatically, and Jasmine pouted, pretending to be annoyed at the teasing. Lichang chuckled, then, with a thoughtful expression, looked at Marian, who seemed deep in thought.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What do you want right now? Never mind your husband’s stance, what do you purely want? Maybe you should just follow your heart.”
To avoid regret later.
Was it a mistake to think those words were directed at herself? Jasmine looked at Marian, who furrowed her brows and sighed.
“I don’t know. I think it’s his fault for acting suspiciously. And he has no proper explanation for it either. But regardless of who’s right or wrong, I can’t say I don’t love my [email protected] husband.”
Isn’t it because I love him that I feel so betrayed and angry?
Finally, Marian sighed and spoke her true feelings.
“I understand what you’re saying. I guess I need to talk to him.”
“Wow.”
“But not right now. If I see him now, I’ll probably get so mad I’ll fall over backward. I don’t want to see him.”
“Fine, that’s up to you.”
Lichang smiled elegantly, raising her glass.
They chatted for a while longer and then parted ways at a reasonable hour. Given how busy everyone was, finding time to gather for brunch like this was something to be thankful for.
After sending the weary Marian off in a carriage to meet with lawyers, Jasmine strolled leisurely along the riverside. The capital’s lifeline, shimmering golden in the autumn sunlight, was picturesque. It was one of Jasmine’s favorite streets.
The flower shop where the red-haired lady behind the counter could be seen through the flower beds, the open-air cafe where people leisurely read newspapers and enjoyed coffee, the upscale clothing stores, the shoe and hat shops, the pearl-brick hotel with its wrought-iron terrace under a wine-colored roof, the bakery emitting the delicious smell of fresh butter and baked bread, the sidewalk paved with tiles the color of ripe confectionery, where mischievous children giggled and ran, the freckled boy with a bread cap, and the trees casting cool shadows like a sunset.
Jasmine bought a small flower from a girl carrying a flower basket, brought it to her nose, and walked leisurely. If it weren’t for the bonnet and parasol, her skin might have tanned slightly on this clear autumn day.
Jasmine smiled faintly as she walked, enjoying the mix of pleasant scents from the nearby flower shops and pastry shops combined with the cool autumn breeze.
It was a delicate, refreshing feeling, neither overly excited nor sad.
An awesome story 💖💖
Thank you for the translation 💜
You are welcome, Israella!