Her Family
Jasmine felt loved at that very moment. A feeling of warmth engulfed her thawing heart as she smiled at her brothers. This truly felt like home.
The two young men sat on either side of their older brother, Max. The main chair at the end of the table was left vacant for the head of the house, their father Edgar. This was a routine that the family adapted for a while now. They would have at least two meals of the day together, no matter what.
The three young men started to bicker among themselves about something pointless, however, Jasmine watched them fully amused. She never thought that she would be a part of a family, especially not one as lively as this. Almost all her life, she had been living in a lonely orphanage.
Yes, it was true that being an orphan was not her fault, but what she had been through had made her believe otherwise. She was often bullied, even among fellow orphans, for not having anyone to visit.
Whenever she fell ill, Jasmine would have to endure and nurse her own self back to health. There was no one around to take care of her, much less dote upon her. Luckily for her, she was blessed with a brilliant intelligent quotient.
The people she once trusted and loved had betrayed her. It was after the almost dying incident two years ago, that she came to accept the facts that she had once turned a blind eye too. They had always used her.
Her so called 'best friend' lied to her repeatedly as she naively listened to her poisonous words. The only man she had ever loved, more than anything in the world, betrayed her love on many occasions.
She had given up her dreams for him. She had sacrificed her own happiness just to make him happy. But where did that sacrifice get her? It only gave her a broken heart and a dead spirit. This was the truth that she had been trying to bury deep inside for the last two years.
A tear slipped out of her eye but before it fell, a warm hand wiped it away. A soft peck replaced the place where the tear had been. Her red rimmed emerald eyes drifted up to see that it was her father.
Edgar spoke softly with a warm grin, "Darling, those of the past are not worthy of your tears nor of your love. You are just like a strong warrior. Not everyone could survive what you did. So my baby princess, don't be sad alright? You will make your old man sad too."
The three sons were watching them quietly, yet even though looking on in silence, they were the best to display their support of their princess. A soft chuckle left Jasmine's lips as she saw what the boys were trying to do for her. It was something she hadn't gotten used to yet. "Guys, let's eat, shall we? Our old man must be so hungry from all the posing I made him do this morning. Besides, you still have to help me look like a queen for my upcoming events."
Her words broke the silence as the men followed her instructions. She was their beloved Princess after all. Whatever she wanted, she got. As the family ate their breakfast, Emilio could no longer contain his excitement. "Princess, shall I have the honor to select your gowns and be your make-up artist? I promise to make you look like the Queen that you are."
A giggle escaped Jasmines lips. She covered her mouth with a napkin, and a mock cold look took over her face. "I will think about it! Your taste in fashion concerns me."
Emilio's fork froze midair. How could he accept such an answer? He wanted his princess to be his muse. A pouty frown itched onto his handsome face. He was about to open his mouth to complain when he heard another childish giggle.
Jasmine couldn't contain her delight anymore. How could the most sought-after make-up artist in the country be lacking confidence when it came to dealing with her? Of course, she wanted him to be her designer and make-up artist. No one could make her look better than he would.
His pouty face had made her smile and she couldn't keep up her ruse. Seeing this was the case, Emilio felt his heart filled with warmth. Max, Travis, and Edgar watched this little teasing display with amusement.
Emilio blushed lightly and thought, "I am glad I could make you smile princess."
The table soon became silent once more, however, it was a comfortable silence. Suddenly Max's phone pinged. He ignored it at first but it continued pinging. The rest of the family looked at each other questionably before their gazes fell on the culprit.
Edgar had set a few house rules for his kids and one of them was that phones were strictly not allowed at the table. Max had somehow been the first to break that rule after so many years of living by it.
"Young man, did you forget the house rules?" Edgar asked with a strict tone.
Max sheepishly scratched his head. "I am sorry father. I have been away from the hospital for some time and am starting to become a bit anxious."
Edgar eyed his eldest child as a knowing glint appeared briefly in his eyes. This was the first time that Max had lied to him so smoothly or so he thought. Not wanting to intrude, he ignored the lie. "I'll forgive you, this time. You should check it out. It's probably important."
Max picked his phone from under the table and opened it to see what the issue was. A loud gasp escaped his lips as he saw the contents of the message. He slowly placed back the phone and his eyes looked straight at Jasmine. "Jazz, how do you think the art gallery will go?"
Jasmine immediately became alert. Her eldest brother rarely called her by her name or nickname unless it was a serious issue.
"I-I think it would be fine as long as I have my family's support." Jasmine replied. "Besides, you have taught me to be confident and courageous these past years. Thanks to all of you, I can now face any and every thing that comes my way. Why the sudden question though?"
"Jazz." Max said slowly. "I just discovered the guest of honor will be your ex and his plus one would be no other than your best friend turned enemy. I am a bit worried. Can you handle it all? It's been two good years since you interacted with them."
For a moment there was pin drop silence but this time it was not as comfortable as before. The men watched Jasmine's reaction to the horrid news she just received. On the surface she looked unaffected.
The truth, however, was that Jasmine's heart had grown colder to such things. Her face betrayed nothing as she spoke, "I am as ready as I could ever be to face them, brother. But first, I want to make them look for me. In the course of the two years that have passed, I have been growing career wise. I would like to create an international network for my work and gain recognition."
"You see, I was ridiculed for being talentless by the very person I forewent my talent and dream for. Now, I would like to remain just a name without a face to the world until I am ready to forgive and forget or to make them pay for the pain I went through."
A smile formed on Edgars face as he sent Jasmine a thumbs up. "You can count on us for anything, love. Anything. You are no longer alone. You have Max, Emilio, Travis and I."
The boys nodded in agreement to their fathers words. This evoked a smile to return onto her face.
"Thank you." Jasmine answered.
They finished their breakfast in silence and dispersed to their duties after they were done. Jasmine walked back to her room and went into the studio that was connected to her bedroom. The pleasant sounds of her playing the piano soon filled the mansion as the rest of the morning progressed.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
meanwhile, our girl has four super heroes looking after her and taking care of her. ust like me. i havee four strong protective brothers and my ultimate superhero, dad. bless you guys.
A King without His Queen
In a well-furnished modernly decorated masculine executive office, sat a rather huge man in a majestic chair. He had been swirling in his chair absentmindedly for almost thirty minutes now with his eyes shut. A knock come from the door making the huge man halt his swirling movement.
Lorenzo adjusted his stance as he sat up properly in his chair and stopped turning to face the door. He had opened his eyes which now reflected a hard and cold gaze. "Come in." Lorenzo called with a gruff voice. A pretty woman came into the office.
Her six inches heels clicked on the smooth office tiles until she stepped on the red carpet close to the desk. The office was humongous for one person, but this huge space was for an equally "huge" man, so it appeared rather ordinary.
Maya swayed her hips seductively from side to side as she walked towards the middle of the room where the working desk was. She was hoping to gain her boss's attention, but the man's gaze was firmly fixed onto the papers in his large hands.
"I am sorry for interrupting your work sir, but I came to remind you about the opening events of the famous artist and pianist 'MINE'. You and Miss Arya are to be the guests of honors and it would be ill of you to miss it." Maya did her best to make her seductive voice as pleasing as possible.
Lorenzo looked up at his secretary for a second before he turned his gaze back to the paper. "Thank you. You can go back to your work."
He had almost forgotten about the art event that would take place the next day. It was only a Thursday, but he was already suffering from a severe hangover after the previous night of partying.
Maya was hesitant to leave but she had been dismissed hence she walked away with a hint of disappointment on her pretty face. The office door closed with a soft thump, and all became silent once more. Lorenzo closed the document that he had been pretending to be busy with and he let out a groan.
It had been two years since he last had a peace of mind. He misses her a lot. He missed everything about her from the root of her ginger hair to the tip of her dainty toes. His lovely Jasmine. Only that he never treated her like his own, more like a prized possession.
Lorenzo closed his eyes once more as memories of his beloved filled his head. It was love at first sight for him, yet he tried extremely hard to hide it to an extent that he lost touch with reality. Jasmine came into his life like a storm and turned his world into a topsy turvy state.
The sound of her laughter still echoed in his head. Those exquisite, dimpled cheeks were his favorite things to squeeze. She made him feel loved and at home. She was his home, whereas of course he didn't treasure her presence thinking that she would forever be there. His taking her for granted was one such losses from reality.
Jasmines silly jokes had made him love her deeper, but how silly of him. He had believed that being macho would make her love him more, alternatively, it only instigated fear of him in her heart. Another loss from reality. He had hurt her beyond any forgivable means, yet she had stayed by him until the very end when she became intestate.
"Jasmine!" He moaned painfully.
His beautiful baby. A tear slipped out of his eyes as he recalled Jasmines harsh final words to him.
"You took my pride, as a woman. My dignity as a feeling human and my life as a person. As though that was not enough, you broke my will to live. You didn't just break my heart. NO! You did more than that!"
"You made me love all of you until I surrendered everything to you but then, you toyed with me like a cat playing with its food. I did everything for you. I gave up my life for you and in return you gave me nothing but pain after pain. You cut my heart into pieces day by day by your very hand!"
"I loved you to an extent that I thought it would be enough to compensate for your absent feelings. How stupid and naïve I was! The ultimate betrayal was what you did yesterday. You sold me to your friends just to secure a deal. You let your friends' toy with me like you always do."
"I believe that you have gained everything you ever wanted. Now that I have nothing else to offer you. I loathe you. I will never forgive you and I promise that what goes around will surely come around. Unfortunately, I won't be around to find out. I wish you a happy life regardless, for I don't want to act like you do!"
From then on, her once bright, emerald eyes had become lifeless until she committed suicide. Her blood had soaked the road as the heavy traffic came to a standstill. It was the color of her blood painting the black tarmac red that had made his heart stop. As he held her in his hands that marked the first day that he felt empty.
His tears flowed freely as his hand stretched and touched a button below his desk shutting the world off. The automatic blinds in his office covered the transparent glass and darkness shrouded the room. His breath become labored as images of her bleeding body taunted him.
"I am sorry my love. Forgive me dearest beloved. I am sorry." Lorenzo chanted his apology like a mantra as though it would bring her back to life. If only he was brave or manly enough to love her openly without any prejudice. If only he could turn back time.
The pain brought by her death was still fresh in his mind even though two years had already passed. The emptiness she had left behind he had tried hard to fill with parties, alcohol and he even tried to fill the gaping hole with lots of one-night stands, but they only relived his pain and made him forget temporarily.
It was precisely this reason that had made him abandon his home. No. His house which he had lived with his flower. He saw her face in every corner of that house. Wherever he turned, he would see her face. She had made his cold house into a warm place that he learned to call a home.
She had given him love like he had never been given before. It was a selfless love where she made all the sacrifices and never expected anything in return from him but his love. He still failed to give her even that though.
She had made him her king and had humbly served and submitted to his every manly whim. He had been too lost in her giving such that he forgot to give back. He had ended up treating her as his servant instead of his Queen. He had mistaken her willing submission for a natural occurrence thinking that he was more superior.
"My love, I miss you so much. I am a foolish and selfish man that has remained with everything that means nothing to him. This foolish King you made, suffers without his Queen. The only one that could fill the emptiness in his life, heart, and soul. The only one whose touch could imprint itself in his soul. I am sorry baby."
Lorenzo cried until there was no more tears left to shed. He stood up from his desk and turned the lights on. His drained figure staggered towards the office washroom where he cleaned up and emerged five minutes later like nothing happened. He resolutely sat at his desk and started working hoping that this night would not be a long one, like it always was when he was not drunk.
He needed to be in the best shape possible for the art event, hence there would be no liquor, no sex or party for him. With these thoughts in mind, he immersed himself in his work like the workaholic that he had now become. No longer the lazy playboy, who broke people's hearts left and right, like he had done with Jasmine.
Sometimes,we love too much that we forget to love ourselves. We become blind ro the hurt that we receive with hopes of wanting to give until we have nothing else to give. Loving is alright but we should always love ourslves more.
Like it ? Add to library!
También te puede interesar
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO