Chapter 5

The next few days passed without much happening. Jasmine had just finished a round of data simulations and was packing up when the laboratory door slammed open. Jessie Searle bolted inside, face drained of color. "Jasmine, hurry! Your mom and Jay are out front, causing a scene. Security can't stop them!" Jasmine's stomach dropped. Ever since she'd left that day, she'd stopped sending money home. Still, she never thought they'd come after her this quickly. Even from the far end, she could hear Jay's smug swearing and Helen's high-pitched sobbing, all mashing together into one ugly din. The entrance was packed with people. Helen was on the floor, smacking her thigh and screaming, "This is so unfair! My daughter finally makes it, and now she's pretending she doesn't even have parents!" Jay jabbed a finger in the guard's face, shouting, "Back off! I've got every right to ask my sister for money!" Jasmine shouldered her way through the crowd. "Mom! Jay! What do you think you're doing?" Jay ripped himself out of the guard’s grip and charged straight at her. "What am I doing? You think you're better than us now, Jasmine? I'm 200 grand short on my wedding, and you're paying up today!" Jasmine's voice was flat and cold. "I already send more than enough every month to cover the bills back home. Your wedding isn't my responsibility. You're not getting a single dollar from me." "Bullshit! You were throwing money around when you were with Niall. Now he dumps you, and you're suddenly broke? I'm already going easy on you, and you still don't appreciate it!" Jay shoved her without warning. Jasmine hit the floor hard, her elbows and knees slamming into the cold marble. Thin lines of blood seeped out from her skin. The whole place went dead silent. Everyone just stared. Jasmine braced a hand on the floor to stand, but a jolt of pain shot through her knees, and she couldn't move for a moment. Still, the raw sting of her scraped skin was nothing compared to the humiliation of Jay knocking her flat and leaving her sprawled on the floor in front of everyone. She looked up at the family she'd supported for more than ten years, and her voice went dead cold. "I already told you. I don't have money." "You bitch! Let's see how long you can keep mouthing off!" Jay snapped. He grabbed a metal lawn ornament from the planter beside him and whipped it straight at Jasmine. The crowd screamed. At the last second, someone leaped in front of her, and the ornament slammed into their back with a dull, brutal thud. It was Niall. He was there before she even registered it, taking the blow square between the shoulders. A low grunt tore out of him, and his face tightened, but he didn't move an inch. Jasmine just stared, stunned. Across from her, Jay's legs buckled, and he nearly folded. Helen looked worse, white as paper and shaking from head to toe. Now that Jay had hit Niall, any chance of getting money from Jasmine was dead. Their whole family was finished. Niall's voice rang out, clear enough for everyone to hear. "Call the police. Someone just assaulted a researcher and put everyone in danger. Pull the security footage and secure it." The wail of sirens swelled fast, rushing in from the distance. Jay and Helen went ashen. Helen was still wailing as the police dragged her off. "Jasmine! I'm your mother! You can't do this to your own family!" Jasmine watched as Helen and Jay were loaded into the police car. The crowd slowly broke apart, but the way they had pointed and stared still burned. She forced herself upright, but her legs wobbled under her. Niall caught her before she could go down, his gaze dropping to her scraped skin. "We're getting you to the infirmary." Jasmine looked up and caught the way his gaze dropped. The sight hit her with a rush of familiarity, dragging her straight back to high school. Back then, Niall had already been a genius, winning every competition and sitting at the very top of the honor roll. Cool and distant or not, he was still the guy every other girl in school had a crush on. Jasmine, on the other hand, was painfully average. Gary and Helen barely noticed her. In class, she might as well not have existed. She and Niall were never supposed to have anything to do with each other. Everything changed the day her period came out of nowhere, spreading into a bright red stain on her school uniform. She stayed glued to her seat, too embarrassed to move, waiting for the classroom to finally empty. Just as Jasmine was sinking into despair, she heard footsteps coming back. It was Niall. He set a pack of pads and a school jacket down on her desk. "Everyone's gone. It's pouring. No one will notice." His voice stayed even, his eyes carefully avoiding the stain. Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets. His hair was soaked through, his shoulders dark with water. In that moment, Jasmine's heart was pounding so loudly it drowned out the rain against the window.