While Jasmine pulled dirty tricks to make others' lives difficult, I preferred to do it openly. Even though we were aiming for the same outcome, at least I was brave enough to do it in front of others."I'll cut to the chase, then. You know about the agreement between Colin and me. He promised not to contact you or see you for two years. But that night, you two spent a night together in a room. I can't and don't want to say what you did. I'm just disappointed that he broke his promise."How shameless of her and what the heck? She never mentioned what she did. Instead, she blamed others. How despicable. "Jasmine, why do you think he spent a night with me? Also, is there a section on the agreement that gives you the right to drug him so that you can take advantage of him?" I questioned her in a sarcastically modest way and leaned forward slightly.Jasmine choked on her words for five seconds. She glared at me with contempt and hatred. "Your reaction shows that there's no such sectio
"As for meeting privately, my parents did tell me that he came to stay over during Mardi Gras. But it isn't unreasonable for Colin to stay with his future in-laws during the festive holidays. Besides, I had trouble sleeping back then, so I took sleeping pills and fell asleep quickly."I didn't know that he came over, and I didn't meet him. How sure are you that he stayed in my room for more than 40 minutes? Do you have proof? If not, you can't accuse him of meeting me privately."So tell me, Jasmine. How come you think we're the guilty ones? You've tried to seduce Colin many times, even going so far as to drug him and put him in a vulnerable situation. Is that not a crime in itself? Do you think you're powerful enough to overrule the law?"I stared at Jasmine coldly, my eyes fixated on her. We were fighting a metaphorical battle. Jasmine's expression turned scary in a matter of seconds. Her features were all twisted and twitching, as if she had tons of insults to hurl at me but she
Sentiments and indifference were both sides of the same coin. Colin and I used to feel gratitude toward Jasmine for her sacrifice. Yet, she continuously took advantage of this sentiment until not an ounce of gratitude was left.She pulled many dirty tricks to steal Colin from me and hurt me. Now that I had a chance to fight back, why couldn't I return the favor? She tried to hurt me, so I hurt her back. "What do you mean, Jasmine? A loving couple can have intercourse, and can't we be verbal about our love?"Perhaps you've never been loved, so you don't know how intense it can be. Must I justify myself for moaning? Do you want me to tell you every detail? Who do you think you are that I must tell you everything?" My words silenced her. It felt great to see her twitching facial expression.The talk we had was going nowhere. I blinked my eyes and waited innocuously for Jasmine's answer. She must have never met a stubborn woman like me before. She intercepted me for two days consecutive
"You're a gem, Luna. No wonder Colin loves you so much. I'd keep you to myself too."Huh? I was confused."Don't be mistaken. I'm just saying that you have multiple facets. You're meek, bubbly, and stubborn at the same time. Last night and today, you showed me the cunning side of you. It's amusing."I still wasn't quite sure what was so amusing about me. I gave up looking for an answer and focused on pulverizing the stones instead. Silence filled the laboratory except for the sounds of our breathing and the metal clang produced by the collision between the tools and the stones.Nico was quiet, and I couldn't find a conversational topic either, so we focused on our work. However, in my mind, I felt that I forgot to ask Nico an important question. The talk with Jasmine ended on a sour note. On the surface, it seemed like she had lost, but in fact, she never had the upper hand in the talk.I won simply because I was in the right. But at night, when stillness consumed my life and I
"Luna, I used to think that you were an unpolished gem and Colin was the sculptor. I thought he would shape you until you become the brightest gem in the world."But I was wrong. You polish yourself. You know how to project your own radiance."I chuckled out loud. While I was very confident in my painting techniques, I wasn't as good as he said. "You flatter me, Nico." I performed a curtsy, and that made Nico laugh.He held the painting, his tall frame bent slightly forward as his brows danced with delight and approval. "I'm serious. Don't doubt my words."Fine. I should accept his compliment. As we chatted, an unknown number suddenly called Nico. Nico picked it up. I heard some static noise for about 30 seconds until I heard the villager's voice. He told us that he was visiting his relatives tomorrow at the address he had given us.He would be staying there for a few days and asked if we wanted to come with him. If yes, he could be our guide in the mountains. Thanks to our mutu
Zuri talked a lot. While his words were harsh, they revealed the truth behind rural life. In rural areas, youngsters often left to work in the city, leaving behind the elderly and children. The imbalance of manpower between the city and the rural areas was a common phenomenon.In the city, many young people from rural areas gathered in one spot and held sign boards to look for employment. As they weren't highly educated and did not possess any technical skills, they could only provide manual labor.Mom told me that manual labor was paid a lot by the hour. However, since those people had no one to rely on in the city, they had to spend a lot to maintain themselves. Everything was expensive in the city. It was very difficult for them to buy a house in the city with their hard-earned money.Zuri was visibly upset when he talked about the predicament. He whipped out a wrinkled box of cigarettes from his jacket. He wanted to light one up, but when he saw that he was on a clean bus, he pu
Zuri's relatives were a friendly couple. When they saw us, they didn't ask a lot of questions.We chatted briefly before they disappeared into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Zuri had nothing to do, so he joined them in the kitchen to help out. Nico was already gone for some reason. I checked the backyard and couldn't find him.Suddenly, I felt fear and regretted coming here. I once read a news article that a Year 1 university student was very close to a Year 2 senior. Everyone in her school knew how close they were. One day, the Year 1 student went missing.The lecturers turned to the senior to ask about her. The senior said that he did not know where she went. However, he claimed that she missed her mother a lot and she had expressed the intention to quit school. He even showed the journal the woman had entrusted to him to the lecturers.The last entry in her journal mentioned her lack of ambition at the university and the bullying she suffered because of her modest background. Sh
As for me, I was locked in a pigsty by the buyer, surrounded by heaps of pig dung. A short, filthy man kept urging me to submit to him, promising that if I bore him a son, I could sleep in the house with him and avoid further suffering.I thought seriously about it and decided that if it ever came to that, I would rather die than endure such humiliation.Tears welled up in my eyes, but I bit my lip to keep them from falling. I clenched my cold fingers in fear and glanced repeatedly at the door, calculating my chances of escaping. However, the wilderness was vast and unfamiliar, making the path to freedom uncertain.Soon, it was mealtime. Nico buzzed around like a bee, serving food and drink in a manner that seemed overly hospitable. I was beginning to suspect this was a deliberate ploy to win me over and make me feel at ease.What scared me the most was when Zuri suddenly appeared with a bottle of unknown liquor. He bit off the cap and poured the liquid into several white porcela