CH007

The sky was a bleak and heavy with the promise of rain that seemed to mirror the sorrow weighing on Mia’s heart. The quiet and somber cemetery held a sense of finality that pressed down on her with every step.

Jasmine Jaiswal’s grave stood stark and solitary, marked by a simple headstone that read: "Beloved wife, daughter and sister, may you find peace in the afterlife."*

Yet, there was no peace here, not in this place and definitely not in Mia’s heart.

A jar of ashes had been released to her family, her step mother and it was said,by the police to contain the remains of what was believed to be her body after the explosion. Poor Jasmine.

Mia knelt before the grave with her knees sinking into the damp earth as she clutched a single white rose in her trembling hand. The petals were already starting to wilt from the time she kept them, much like the hope that had drained from her life since Jasmine’s death.

Her fingers hovered over the headstone tracing the letters of Jasmine’s name, as if trying to bring her back, to make sense of the senseless, of what she still couldn't believe to be true.

“Jasmine…” Mia’s voice came and in a choked whisper. Tears welled up in her eyes blurring her vision until the world became a wash of gray and green. “I’m so sorry… I should have done more. I should have saved you… I should have protected you”

The weight of her guilt was almost too much for her to bear. Mia had always tried to protect Jasmine, to be there for her when no one else was,not as if there was anyone else to.

But in the end, it hadn’t been enough. Jasmine had trusted the wrong people, believed in love where there was only deceit and now she was gone.

Mia’s sobs broke the silence of the cemetery, her grief pouring out in ragged gasps. She had no family except for her sickly father lying in the hospital bed because of stroke, no one to turn to in this moment of unbearable sorrow.

Jasmine had been more than a friend; she had been a sister, a confidante, the one person who understood Mia’s soul. And now she was gone, leaving Mia alone in a world that felt colder and more unforgiving than ever.

As she wept, Mia’s thoughts turned dark filled with images of Arun and Maya the people responsible for Jasmine’s death.

The sight of Arun who stood by the side of the entrance of the cemetery made her stomach turn.

How could he stand there pretending to mourn the death of his ex wife in front of the paparazzi when he was the one that orchestrated Jasmine's downfall?

And Maya, whom she could not see anywhere near the cemetery except for her mother and brother, how could she, Jasmine's own sister, how could she have been so wicked to betray her so cruelly.

Mia was called back to reality when she saw Maya and her fiancee, Marshall Yugo walk into the cemetery.

A ort of her wanted her to confront Maya, to embarrass her in front of the reporters waiting for aby news to pick at the funeral of the detained criminal caught up in the gas explosion.

Because why would she be allowed to be happy after being one of the major contributors to Jasmine's death, why did she have Marshall Yugo who was one of the most eligible bachelors in the town, why did she seem so lucky in life, with everything, with everyone.

"You two came late" Mrs Jaiswal's sharp and cutting voice came at them, breaking the hateful gaze Marshall Yugo and Arun Ruge had stood giving each other at the entrance of the cemetery.

Maya understanding that her mother was trying to help her not call attention to themselves immediately held Marshall's hand firmer and began to walk him into the cemetery and away from Arun's hateful gaze.

"Let's offer our condolences to my late sister, hunny, let's not waste our precious time" she affectionately said, believing she was leading him out of Arun's presence, he who hated him for taking her away from him as well as being richer than him in the billionaire ranks of Qhezon City.

He slightly nodded his head and followed her in. She was a for and would be made one when she finally gets to know whom he really is and what his intentions towards her were. Bold of her to believe his words about loving her.

As they stepped further into the cemetery, his eyes caught sight of the girl that was by the headstone crying.

She was the only one who did so, the others seemed not to care or should he say that it seemed they were all satisfied with what happened and the fact that the late Jasmine was no more. Inheritance cases it must be. He chuckled within him

The thought of Maya being happy with Marshall Yugo filled Mia with a rage she had never known. They all were living their lives, free and unburdened while Jasmine was gone, reduced to a name on a headstone. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

Mia’s hand clenched into a fist, crushing the delicate petals of the rose she still held by her hands as she was bent near the tomb. She had warned Jasmine about Arun, even begged her to leave him but Jasmine had clung to the hope that he could change, that their love could survive, that he would one day forget his ex and belong to her entirely but in the end that hope had been her undoing.

As the first drops of rain began to fall, Mia made a vow. She wouldn’t let Jasmine’s death go unanswered. Arun and Maya had to pay for what they had done and Mia would make sure of it. Even if it meant sacrificing everything, she would bring them to justice in the name of Jasmine Jaiswal.

“Rest in peace, Jasmine, rest on my Sucre" she finally and tearfully was able to mutter.