novelxo Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO- FIRST TIME MEETING
“Elena…she knows all this?” Jasmine asked thickly. “About how we were separated?”
Briggs nodded, “She’s had to piece it together over the years, hiring me to finally confirm the truth and locate you. It’s been an intense journey for her as well.
Jasmine was quiet for a long moment, processing it all. Finally, she looked up, her eyes shining resolve.
“I need to meet her,” she stated. “Please…can you arrange it?”
An hour later, Jasmine found herself seated at a quiet cafe in the village, her heart pounding. She had asked Briggs to coordinate a meeting between herself and this mysterious sister, Elena.
Scanning the room anxiously, she startled slightly as a young woman approached her table. Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat as she took in the striking resemblance – they could easily be mistaken for twins.
“Jasmine?” The woman spoke in a soft, lilting voice thick with emotion. “I’m Elena…”
Jasmine stood up shakily, at a complete loss for words as she drinking in the sight of her apparent sister for the first time.
Oh my god…you…you really do look just like me,” she finally managed.
Elena’s eyes shone with tears as she pulled Jasmine into a fierce hug. Jasmine stiffened for a moment before melting into the embrace, overwhelmed by the moment.
They finally broke apart, studying each other in wonderment as they took their seats across the small table.
“I…I can’t believe this, Jasmine stammered out. “I had no idea…”
“I’ve spent most of my life wondering about you,” Elena replied, her voice thick. “Dreaming of what it would be like to finally meet my sister.”
Jasmine felt her own eyes well up at the profound longing in the other woman’s words. So many questions and thoughts swirled in her mind.
“Tell me everything,” she said impulsively. “I need to know…”
Elena nodded, wiping at the tears spilling down her cheeks as she collected herself.
“I was adopted at birth by a lovely couple” she began, her voice strengthening as she spoke. “They were wonderful, loving parents and gave me an amazing life. But I always knew, deep down, that I was adopted. I didn’t look like them at all.”
She managed a wavering smile at Jasmine. “Now I can see why.”
Jasmine couldn’t help but return the smile, her heart aching at the emotional reunion.
“When I was 16, I started looking for my biological parents,” Elena continued. “Just to know more about myself, my origins, maybe meet them if they were open to it. It took years of paperwork and dealing with red tape, but I finally got my original birth certificate a few months ago.”
She looked at Jasmine meaningfully. “That’s when I saw our mother’s name – Anita Delacroix. And that she’d had another child just a couple of years after me.
Jasmine listened raptly, picturing their teenage mother having to give up a baby, only to be forced to keep that agony secret for decades afterward.
“I knew I had to find this other child you,” Elena said intensely. “To finally connect with my biological family. I hired Mr. Briggs and…well, you know the rest.
She reached across the table, taking Jasmine’s hands in her own as tears streamed down both their faces.
“I spent my whole life feeling alone, like half of me was missing.” Elena said in a choked voice. “And now… I’ve found you, Jasmine. My sister. My family.”
The depth of raw emotion and longing in Elena’s words pierced Jasmine’s heart. She had no idea the profound alienation this woman had suffered, always knowing she was adopted but never knowing she had a sibling out there too.
As Jasmine listened to Elena recount her incredibly difficult journey to uncover the truth and find her, she realized just how much this meeting must mean to her sister.
Years and years of searching, wondering, being incomplete – it all led to this profound moment between them.
Over the next couple of hours, the two sisters traded their life stories, dreams, and experiences over platters of food and endless cups of coffee.
Jasmine sympathized with Elena’s struggles growing up as an adopted child, forever feeling a void of her biological origins. And Elena matched Jasmine’s every emotional battle her recent divorce, her lost pregnancy, the tumultuous road to finally reclaiming her passion for art.
What could have been an incredibly awkward, stunted conversation flowed like two souls reuniting after an eternity apart. Every laugh, every pause, every searching look between them held depths of meaning, of missed moments now being treasured.
As the shadows lengthened outside the cafe’s windows, Jasmine came to a heart–wrenching realization. This woman across from her – her sister who she had never known existed was the closest living family she had left in the world.
She had lost so much, gone through hell with her divorce and the cruelty of her ex–husband Ethan. But in that pit of loneliness, she had found Elena, her long–lost kin who had been just as alone.
Reaching across the table, she grasped Elena’s hands tightly in her own, holding her sister’s watery gaze as the words came pouring out from the depths of her soul.
“I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve gone through,” Jasmine said, her voice thick with emotion.
“The loss, the emptiness, feeling un–tethered from your roots. But I promise you, Elena – you don’t have to feel that way ever again…”
Jasmine pulled up to the familiar two–story home where she had grown up, feeling a mixture of nostalgia and trepidation. She had agreed to have dinner with her parents and teenage brothers tonight before their bi–annual vacation.
Normally, these family dinners were a warm reunion filled with laughter and Jasmine’s mother’s outstanding cooking. But tonight, her mind was utterly preoccupied by the shocking revelation about her Jong–lost sister Elena.
As she rang the doorbell, Jasmine felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Should she confront her parents about Elena’s existence tonight? Or wait until after their vacation?
The door swung open and her brother Gabriel’s smiling face appeared. At 17 years old, he had grown a charming young man, his mop of dark hair perpetually falling over his eyes in that way girls found so appealing.
Into
“Jasmine! You’re early, as usual,” he teased, pulling her into a big hug.
Jasmine managed a strained smile as she hugged him back tightly. “Yeah, well you know how I hate being lato.”
Pulling back, Gabriel studied her with a small frown. “You okay? You seem…off.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, Jasmine replied quickly, brushing past him into the house.
The mouthwatering aroma of garlic, tomatoes, and baked bread filled the air, making Jasmine’s mouth water instinctively. At least her mother’s cooking could trigger those nostalgic sense memories.
“Mom and Dad aren’t back from the store yet.” Gabriel informed her as they made their way to the. kitchen. “Marcus is in there, trying his hand at cooking for once.”
A small smile finally formed on Jasmine’s lips at that Her brothers had inherited none of their mother’s culinary talents, more often than not leaving a wake of charred messes in their path.
Sure enough, Marcus was standing over the stove, frowning in concentration as something sizzled in a
pan.
“Jasmine! You’re early,” the 16–year–old said in surprise, looking up with the same mess of tousled dark hair as his brother.
“Nice to see you too, squirt,” Jasmine replied, ruffling his hair affectionately before peering into the pan. Whatcha got going on there? Doesn’t look too disastrous.”
Marcus rolled his eyes good–naturedly at her teasing. Ha ha, very funny. I’m making mom’s famous garlic knots to go with dinner.”
“Well, keep a close eye on those,” Jasmine warned lightly. “Don’t want to burn down the house before mom and dad get back.”
For a blissful half hour, Jasmine allowed herself to be absorbed into the comfortable rhythm of cooking with her brothers.
Grabbing a knife, she began deftly chopping vegetables for a salad, her mind temporarily pushed aside from its turmoil.
Gabriel kept shooting her sidelong glances, however, clearly aware that something was weighing on his sister’s mind. He wisely held his tongue for the time being.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE- A HORRID SECRET
The sound of keys in the front door signaled the arrival of their parents at last. Jasmine felt the knot instantly re–form in her stomach as her mother’s cheerful voice rang out.
“We’re home! And we picked up a cake for dessert from the bakery.”
Her father’s deeper baritone chimed in. “Smells amazing in here. The kids haven’t burned anything down yet, have they?”
Jasmine’s mother, Anita, appeared in the kitchen doorway, her warm brown eyes crinkling at the sight of Jasmine. At 54 years old, she retained an undeniable beauty and youthful grace about her.
“Jasmine! You’re here early, darling.” She moved forward to embrace her.
Jasmine hugged her mother stiffly, her body tense for reasons her mother couldn’t fathom. She managed a tight smile as they parted.
“Hey mom,” she said simply, turning her attention back to the salad so she wouldn’t have to meet her mother’s concerned gaze.
Anita frowned slightly at Jasmine’s uncharacteristic demeanor as their father, Henry, joined them in the kitchen.
“Well, something smells delicious in here,” the greying, mustachioed man boomed in his usual jovial way. Nice work, kiddos.”
Over the next hour, the family bantered and laughed as they brought all the food to the table, piled their plates high, and dug into the simple but wonderful home–cooked meal.
Anita, ever the attentive mother, kept shooting questioning looks at Jasmine. Gabriel eventually reached over and squeezed her arm gently.
“You’re acting really weird tonight, Jas,” he murmured under the chatter of the table. “What’s going on?” Jasmine opened her mouth to reply, to finally confess the bombshell about Elena. But her gaze slid past Gabriel to land on Anita, laughing at something Henry had said. The words shriveled up in her throat, unable to escape..
Instead, Jasmine shook her head and forced a bright smile. “Nothing, Gabe. I’m just a little stressed about an upcoming art show, that’s all.”
She pushed her plate away, having barely eaten anything despite her mother’s delicious cooking.
“You know, mom, I think I’ll pass on dessert tonight,” she stated, rising from the table abruptly. “I’m not feeling too well, to be honest.”
Anita looked up in surprise. “Oh no, are you coming down with something? Do you need some ginger ale or antacids?”
Jasmine waved her off, the familiar cloying concern only intensifying the roiling storm Inside her. “No, no I’ll be fine. Just need to get some air. You all enjoy the cake – I may take a walk.”
She knew she was being rude and abrupt, the complete opposite of her typical demeanor during these family gatherings. But Jasmine was practically shaking with the effort of containing her inner anguish about Elena’s existence.
How could her mother act this way – so warm and happy, asking about her well–being? After keeping such a colossal, life–altering secret from her for over 30 years?
Fighting a surge of bitter rage, Jasmine turned on her heel and strode out of the dining room, pulling her light jacket on.
“Jasmine? Jasmine, wait!” Her mother called out, confusion and hurt lacing her tone.
Gabriel and Marcus exchanged bewildered looks, but Henry simply sighed and shook his head slowly.
Jasmine didn’t look back, shoving her feet into sandals and wrenching the front door open. She gasped in a breath of the crisp spring air, praying it would cool her heated emotions.
Her mother’s hurried footsteps sounded from behind her.
“Jasmine! Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
Clenching her fists at her side, Jasmine finally whirled around, pinning her mother with a look of absolute betrayal.
“You lied to me,” she stated, her voice shaking with barely controlled fury. “My whole life, you lied to me!”
Anita’s eyes widened in shock and bewilderment. “What? Jasmine, what are you talking about?”
“Elena!” Jasmine spat out, watching her mother flinch as if slapped. “My sister, Elena! You never told me I had an older sister, one you were forced to give up at birth!”
She watched a myriad of emotions flash across Anita’s pale features shame, remorse, fear. Unable to meet Jasmine’s blazing gaze, her mother seemed to collapse in on herself.
“H–How…?” Was all she could stammer out.
“A private investigator,” Jasmine stated coldly. “One that Elena hired to finally track me down after decades of being kept in the dark about my own flesh and blood!”
Tears streamed down Anita’s face as she clutched at Jasmine’s hands. “Sweetheart, I…I never wanted to hurt you. To keep that from you. It was the most painful thing I ever had to go through…having to give her up…
“But you
did give her up,” Jasmine cut in harshly, yanking her hands free from her mother’s grasp. “And then you what? You just tried to erase her existence? Like you didn’t just abandon your own child to who knows what kind of life?”
Jasmine’s voice dripped with disdain and accusation “Did you ever think about her? Wonder where she was or how she was being raised?”
“Every single day!” Anita cried out, anguish twisting her features. “Not a moment went by where I didn’t think of her, where I didn’t ache with the loss!”
She reached out imploringly. “Jasmine, you have to understand – I was just a child myself. Seventeen years old, kicked out by my parents when they discovered I was pregnant. I had nowhere to go, no money, nothing. Giving Elena up was the only choice I had if I wanted to survive, if I wanted to someday give her a better life…”
Jasmine recoiled from her mother’s pleading grasp, disgust and heartbreak warring within her. “So you just decided having another baby with Dad a couple years later was that ‘better life‘ you could give a child? While Elena was out there, alone?”
Hot tears streaked down Anita’s cheeks as she shook her head vehemently. “No, no that’s not what I meant! I wanted you both so desperately. I loved you from the moment I knew I was carrying you. But ! was so scared, so ashamed of what had happened before…”
“So you lied!” Jasmine exploded, all the hurt and confusion over Elena’s revelation detonating within her. You lied to me, to Dad, to Gabriel and Marcus for our entire lives! You kept this gigantic secret, like
Elena’s existence was some shameful mistake you could just bury!”
“No, Jasmine, please!” Anita reached for her again, panic creeping into her voice. “I never wanted to hurt you! I was trying to protect you, us, our family..
But Jasmine remained
could no longer avoid.
coily unmoved, her heart shattering into pieces as she finally spoke the truth she
“I don’t even know you,” she said in a trembling voice thick with emotion. “All these years, I never really knew you at all. You’re a stranger to me…”
The desolation in her mother’s eyes nearly broke Jasmine in that moment. It was clear the woman recognized she had irrevocably shattered the precious bond with her daughter, maybe beyond repair.
“Jasmine…please…” Anita’s voice cracked like splintered glass.
But Jasmine could no longer bear to be in her mother’s presence. She had to get away before she completely combusted from the inside out.