"At Silver Hollow restaurant," Jasmine finally said. She wasn't exactly lying, it was where she met him. Ava looked a little confused, though she still didn't believe it. "Interesting," she turned to Chad. "Care to briefly discuss it? To lighten the place up a little?" she ended it with a giggle. She knew Chad since forever and could easily detect when he wasn't being honest. What Chad did next made her freeze. He circled his hands round Jasmine's waist pulling her closer than before. "I had been there for dinner, trying to get some quiet after a long day. I didn’t expect she’d be there at the same time too. I bumped into a waitress who spilled my coffee, and some of it ended up on her.” The crowd laughed lightly and Jasmine looked at him intensively, trying to figure out where he was heading to. He continued. “ I spent the next few hours making this up to her and I guess from then…” He trailed, turning to look her in the eye, her breath hitched. “I just couldn't stop thinki
The walk to their room was silent and the both of them didn't say a word. Jasmine could feel the space between them still filled with tension. Coming to think of it, she didn't really know the reason why Ava and him had separated and truthfully, she didn’t care, that wasn't what she was paid for and her job, was not to pry into his personal affairs. Chad swiped his key card between the door and it immediately opened. As soon as they entered, the door shut behind them. She sighed, exhausted. It was well past 9 PM, and after the long annoying exchange with Ava, she was ready to crash. They were sure the next day would be far more intense than today. It was a retreat after all. Without saying anything else,she walked over to the bed, took two pillows and a blanket. “Where are you going?” Chad asked. She turned to look at him, adjusting the blanket over her arm. “The couch,” she answered simply. “Unless you want us to sleep on the same bed?” His sharp blue eyes studied her for a mi
The snow had calmed just a little and more guests had already arrived at the retreat making it now livelier than the day before. Jasmine tugged her winter gloves tighter, closing the exposed skin from the chilling cold. She walked into the ski area, her foot leaving a print mark on the snow as she walked. Groups of people were already gathered together laughing and having fun as they should have while others were putting on their gears and getting their slopes ready. She hadn't been on a ski trip in years. Actually, scratch that, she’d never been on a ski trip ever in her life. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She turned to face Chad. He was directly behind her putting on his gloves and as usual looking effortlessly handsome. "Is this even safe?" She said, a little quieter now. "It’s not rocket science, Jasmine," he said. "You just have to listen to instructions." "Right, because listening to you has always worked out so well for me," she muffled. He didn't respond. Instea
Chad stormed out and walked back to the direction of the mansion leaving Jasmine bubbling in frustration. He was so confusing and unbelievable, she just couldn't understand him. She followed after him. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, quickening her pace to catch up. At first, he didn’t answer, his shoulders tense, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "How do you expect me to play the part of your fiancée when you won’t tell me anything?" she pressed. "What the heck is up with you?" That made him stop. Slowly, he turned, his expression unreadable, but his voice was ice-cold. "I pay you to be my pretend fiancée—not to pry into my personal life," he said sharply. "Know your limit." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Jasmine standing in the cold. Jasmine stood frozen in place, her breath forming small clouds in the chilly air as Chad disappeared into the distance. Had they just had their first fight? It was a strange realization, conside
“Haven't we met?” Jasmine’s pulse quickened as Olivia studied her. Would she remember? Would she call her out for their last encounter? Olivia hadn’t exactly been the easiest customer back then, and Jasmine had definitely lost patience with her attitude. Just as Olivia’s lips parted, about to say something, a voice called out, interruping. “Miss Jasmine?” Jasmine turned to see a retreat staff member standing a few feet away, her expression tense. She frowned, quickly pushing back the nerves Olivia had stirred. “Yes?” “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s urgent.” Jasmine glanced at Georgia, who raised an eyebrow, clearly curious. She then looked back at the staff, nodding. “Alright.” With an apologetic glance at Olivia and the others, she stood and followed the staff member outside the café. The moment they stepped into the cold air, Jasmine’s heart rate picked up. “What’s the matter?” she asked. The staff member hesitated before speaking. “It’s about your fiancé, Mr Blackstone
Jasmine followed Chad as he walked into the retreat mansion. She didn't know whether to call it a mansion or hotel because as big as it was, it held at least thirty plus guests. The moment they stepped into the mansion they heard a voice coming through the speakers. "Attention all residents of the Reed's retreat, due to severe weather conditions, there is an official lockdown. No one goes out. Please remain indoors and follow all safety protocols given by staff until the storm clears." Whispers followed as the guest watched the snow fall outside, all looking confused by the sudden storm. Meanwhile, Jasmine glanced at Chad who she half expected some kind of reaction, but he paid no attention to the warning and continued walking. She ran after him as they reached their suite. He pushed the door open, stepped inside, and without hesitation, dropped his bags on the sofa. For a second, Jasmine thought he might actually stay. Maybe, this storm had forced him to slow down and face what
Jasmine was woken the next morning to the intercom announcing another shared festivity. She threw on a blue sweater, a scarf, and a warm coat before stepping out of her room. The hallways were quieter than usual, probably because guests were still asleep or reluctant to leave their cozy rooms with the storm raging outside. As she made her way down to the main hall, she looked outside, the snowstorm had only worsened overnight. The snow had already buried the ground long ago and even the pathways made it clear that no one was going anywhere anytime soon. She sighed, rubbing her arms. The room still had this freezing cold around it despite the multiple fireplaces. Five more days until Christmas, and instead of feeling festive, she felt trapped. The retreat was supposed to be a peaceful, luxury winter getaway. Something out of her normal boring life but instead it felt more like a cage. And Chad? Well, he wasn't making it any better. As usual, he was nowhere to be found. She didn’
Jasmine's heart was still racing as she searched the area. She didn't know what her next move would be but she had to act. After searching the highs and lows of the house she ended up back in her room but the moment she opened the door she saw Chad He was sitting at the edge of the bed lowering his head lost in thoughts. The lights in the room were turned off leaving the place dark. Frustration bubbled inside her. "Where have you been?" she demanded, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. "I've been looking for you all morning, Chad. People have started to suspect things." “Watch your tone.” He said coldly and she shivered for a second before continuing. "Are you even listening to me?" she crossed her arms. "We agreed to this arrangement, but you disappearing like this is making things worse. If you don’t want to be here, then why did you even bother?" Still, nothing. Jasmine clenched her jaw. "God, I don’t know why I even care anymore. Maybe because I'm the one stu
The week came in a blur, and Jasmine had to return to work. Though she dreaded the idea, it was either that or she would be eating the scraps off the street for breakfast, lunch and dinner.Her mind wandered back to the New year's event, she hadn't heard anything from her Dad since then and for some reason she'd stopped herself from actively trying to connect to him, though her curiosity was at its peak. Where had he been all these years? Why did she feel something different, strange being around him?However her thoughts were interrupted by a crashing noise. She looked over to see she'd bumped into another of her work colleagues. Both her food tray and the others scattered all over the place. Shit! Shit!!Had she spaced out? She had been completely unaware of her surroundings and worst of all, this was the third time this week. She quickly bent down to help with the cleaning but before she could touch anything, Mr Whitman's voice echoed from the back of the room.“Jasmine. To the
“Mina.” His voice cracked.Jasmine took two steps backwards shaking her head. “This can't be real. You're dead.”Her father, John, took a step into the light, a side smile on his face. “I am not, and I can explain everything. I just want you to believe me.”“How? Mom? Since when? Where have you been all this while?” Questions kept spilling out of her mouth uncontrollably.“I can explain, Mina. I just want this to be between us.”Her mind scrambled to make sense of his words. “What do you mean between us? We have to tell mom. Do you have any idea how hard this has been for her?”She shook her head as if trying to wake up from a terrible dream. “I must be hallucinating. You died! I went to your funeral.”John took two steps forward until he was just a few steps away from her. “I will explain everything, I just need you to promise me you won't tell your mom.” She didn't say a word and stared at him disoriented. He reached out, holding her palm in his. “You're all grown up now.”His han
The Withers family were all gathered at her Aunt Chelsea’s house. It had become their tradition to spend the New Years and Christmas there ever since her father died.Chelsea was much younger than Jasmine's mother, Nimani. If anything, she was half her age. Chelsea was her step-aunt from her Dad’s—or at least, that was how she understood it from her mother's description. All she truly knew was that they were related, and her mother had a really close relationship with Chelsea even before her marriage to her father. Chelsea brought the last tray of her MasterChef recipe, placing it gently on the table, her face beaming with pride. “Voila..” She took the tray lid off dramatically. “This year's Christmas special! Or at least what we would have had if Jasmine had showed up and did not just magically disappear. “Jasmine rolled her eyes at her. She could tell from the false anger Chelsea played that she just wanted to dig into where Jasmine had actually gone.“Can we just have dinner f
Jasmine stared at Peter, dumbfounded. She couldn't formulate any words to fill the internal confusion she felt.Peter didn't wait for Jasmine to register an answer and instead gave a firm nod.“I'll be waiting.” With that, he turned away and left.Images of the previous night rushed back into her head. After all that, he'd just vanished the next morning. Was it something she did?Finally, dragging the life back into her dead, shocked body, she turned back into the room. But just a few steps away, a sinister chuckle stopped her cold.She didn't need to turn to know it was Ava—who else would be that jobless to pause their own life just to enjoy someone else's misery?“What's wrong, darling?” Ava mocked.When Jasmine didn't turn, she continued, “Do my ears hurt, or did I just hear that Chad abandoned you?”Jasmine's throat tightened.“Oh, please… don't act like you didn't see this coming. He's Chad Blackstone of course, do you really think he cares about you?” Jasmine stiffened as Ava c
Earlier….Kol strolled into the rooftop party, hands tucked into his pocket lazily as he walked through the crowd, he noticed the people dancing like college freshmen teens in their first-ever frat party.The first person he spotted was Ava, who was slumped over some guy practically swallowing his lip in hers. When she noticed his presence, she dismissed the guy with a simple wave. The guy hesitated, clearly wanting more but one stern look from her, and he scrammed.“What brings you here?” She asked as soon as Kol halted in front of her.A snowflake dropped on his suit and he withdrew his hands from his pocket brushing it away.He looked at the sky, the snow was starting all over again. Then finally looked at Ava. “The hotel is a bit suffocating and I'm not used to staying cooped up in one place.” He said with the most nonchalant facial expression he could pull on. He didn't really fancy Ava or the retreat but he was tired of staying in the hotel especially since neither Chad nor Jas
By the time help finally arrived, Jasmine had long fallen asleep and Chad's mind was a whirlwind of emotions.Fortunately, Peter had arrived at the retreat the morning before Christmas and had come prepared for any kind of unexpected turn of events including an extra car.Peter moved to the passenger's seat ready to move Jasmine into the other car however Chad had other plans and would rather do it himself. Once both Jasmine and Chad were carefully settled in the vehicle, Peter started the engine and headed south to the hotel.Chad leaned back against the seat, the quiet hum of the car engine filling the space. His eyes drifted to Jasmine, still asleep against the window. Her face looked peaceful, her lips slightly parted, her breath fogging the glass faintly.He wasn’t sure how long he watched her, but then she stirred. Her brows knitted together, and she shifted, then a soft whimper escaped her lip. She was having a bad dream. Suddenly, her body tensed, her head turning slightly
Chad strolled back into the hall, he headed straight for the hall where he'd last seen Jasmine.For some reason after the conversation with Ava, he was even more eager to see her now. Why did he behave so defensive when Ava had called her all those names? It didn't make sense. He barely knew Jasmine—at least, not in the way that should have made him care. And yet, something about the way Ava had spoken about her had unsettled him.He wondered how she'd even know about her mother's illness? and worse about their relationship being a fake? But that was the least on his mind. Right now, all he wanted to do was to see her.Just as Chad rounded another corner, he spotted Jasmine walking straight from the opposite direction. She hadn't noticed him yet but when their gaze finally crashed she looked a little taken aback. She blinked in surprise. "Didn’t you just—" she paused abruptly, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something more. Chad raised a brow waiting for her to continue
Earlier…Chad's face had shifted from its usual stone cold expression. It seemed to change anytime he was around her, he'd started to wonder whether if she had some certain control over him or if he was just overthinking it.He looked down at the paper in his hand, Jasmine's name was scribbled on it.A slight smile crept to the corner of his lips. It seemed he and Kol had similar ideas. Kol had asked him to put on an act, making Jasmine think she had him as her Secret Santa.He walked down the hall, his mind immersed in thoughts of what he would get her. He wasn’t a gift person, heck, the last time he got a gift for a woman was when he was with Ava, and even then, she was the one who basically handpicked the gift.The memory of their kiss kept replaying in his head. Why had he made such a move on her? It wasn’t part of the contract. She was just his fake fiancée, that was it.He shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. It had to be because he finally saw his brother after so long. T
Everyone in the retreat had gathered to witness the Christmas gift giving, there were a lot of shouts and giggles from the crowd as they handed one another the most expensive gifts. Jasmine on the other hand, had gotten a watch, it was the cheapest at the store yet it managed to run her account almost dry. She'd wrapped it carefully in a silver gift box, making it look more expensive than it actually was. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t fancy. It was the thought that counted. Right?She looked across the hall searching for Kol and Chad. Or at least one of them, if she managed to even tell them apart. She wondered if people weren't curious about how Kol had just shown up out of the blue.As she debated whether to keep searching or give up, a soft tap on her shoulder startled her.“Miss Jasmine?”She turned to find one of the retreat staff dressed in a black blazer, with her hair tied in a bun.“Yes?”“If you’d follow me, please.” The lady responded. She didn't wait for Jasmine to reply