Rebirth 175
175
In the past, Yasmine had a gentle aura, but now she was sharp, like a porcupine with its quills raised.
Irene's lips curved slightly, it reminded her of the sharp-tongued Yasmine from a few years back. The phone rang, she picked it up to see it was Yonas. Hey, Yonas."" The voice on the other end questioned sharply. "Where are you?"
Tm at the cafe," she replied softly.
Yonas's voice e grew sharper. "With whom?"
Irene picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and slammed ut back down. "It's just me now. If you want to know who I was just meeting, you should already have an idea." "Yasmine?" Yonas gosped.
Irene chuckled, "Yonas, what are you worried about! I didn't tell her anything important, just wished her luck in the competition."
"You're overstepping Yonas said, his tone frosty
Irene's face darkened as she heard the busy tone on the phone. She stood up angrily and left.
Helen came down from upstairs, just in time to catch the conversation. Her face turned red with shock at what Xavier had said. "She wants thirty-three million! That was a huge sum, and with the family's dwindling resources after Yonas and Morgan's repeated attacks on them, she had witnessed the household's struggles. She had even overheard her brother making phone calls in the study, borrowing money to pay for shipments.
The Flynn family's factory was overflowed with too much stock, and payments were yet to be collected. Although the assets totaled in the billions. the liquid assets were quite limited. Helen even suspected that the family might not have even a million available at the moment, and yet Yasmine was asking for 33 million!
Yvette was quite frustrated. She hadn't expected Yasmine to ask for such an outrageous amount. But the real culprit was Helen. If it weren't for her messing around with that guy and getting caught on camera, none of these issues would have arisen. Marrying Xavier wasn't just about love for her. it was also about the support from the Flynn family that would help her family return to its former glory. But now, the Flynn family was struggling. and Xavier was constantly covering his sister's missteps. "How on earth are we supposed to come up with that kind of money?" Yvette questioned anxiously.
Selena's face turned red with anger. "No way! You already gave her 30 million dollars during the divorce, isn't that enough? What about all those houses and cars that weren't even reclaimed? Can't those cover the 33 million?" Xavier looked at Helen with a serious expression and asked, "What do you
think?
Helen thought,
Xavier sighed, "Helen, have you ever considered how much trouble you've caused the family! I can help you this time, but remember, it cost us 33 million to get you our of this mess. You're not a kid anymore, right? Do you have any idea what our family is going through How many more millions do you think the Flynn family can afford to lose on you?"
"Xavier. I know I was wrong" Helen said, filled with fear about what everyone would think once the video was released.
Selena, her eyes red with emotion, hugged Helen tightly and said with a pained hear, "Helen, it's my fault for not being capable enough, letting that awful woman bully you endlessly! What kind of bad karma does our family have to have gotten tangled up with a troublemaker like Yasmine!"
Xavier laughed out of exasperation, Mom, if it weren't for Yasmine, that video would have already been out there!
"How can you defend her when she's extorting us! Xavier, don't forget, she only wants that video to get back at your sister And you still see her as å good person!" Splena said, beyond exasperated.
Xavier's gaze was icy and sharp. He knew that talking to his mom was pointless. He thought. Has she forgotten that Helen was the one who
kidnapped Yasmine first!>
Yvette listened to their heated argument, and her head started to hurt. If it were up to her, she would definitely walk away. After all, that's 33 million dollars on the line. She hadn't even gotten back the 30 million dollars from before. And the last 5 million she lent to Helen felt like it vanished into thin air. She couldn't possibly bring herself to ask for it back, could she?
"Alright, talking about it now is pointless, I'll transfer the money to Yasmine, Xavier said.
Helen and Selena hugged each other, crying, while Yvette followed Xavier back to the room.
Inside the hotel. After meeting with Irene, Yasmine couldn't calm her mind, leaving her unable to write her paper. Nathan's intentions were not wrong. After all, the Wens and Rongs were family friends. A marriage between Yonas and Irene would further strengthen the bond between the two households. Truly, if she had chosen to break up, she should have made a clean cut. Lingering ties would only do her more harm than good.
Knock, knock, knock! It was almost an instinctive reaction as she glanced at the door. She didn't need to open it to know it would be Yonas. Slowly, she moved to the door, her hand resting on the handle. Peeking through the peephole at Yonas standing outside, his chiseled features made her heart ache more with each look. She missed him dearly-his gentle eyes filled with emotion and the cedar scent that clung to him.
This time, though, she didn't open the door. The doorbell rang again, and she leaned against the door, raising her voice, "Yonas, go home. It's time to end this. There was silence from the other side of the door for so long that she thought Yonas had already left, and she collapsed weakly to the ground, the cold floor stinging her skin.
"End it? What counts as ending it? Never seeing each other again till we're old and gray?" Yonas chuckled bitterly.
Yasmine's eyes dimmed. Saying it's over and hearing him say it's over were two different things, and her heart felt a pang. She remained silent, and Yonas continued, "Yasmine, just trust me one more time, please? Don't break up with me." He said the final sentence with resignation.
That door remained shut tightly, and he knew Yasmine was listening, but her closed heart was just like that door, shut firmly against him. "Yonas, just leave. Don't come looking for me again," Yasmine said slowly, closing her eyes as if drained, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "Im sorry, Yasmine, Yonas murmured, staring at his toes. His eyes were filled with exhaustion, with pain so deep it couldn't be expressed. The door separating them-he didn't know how he walked away but only knew he ended up at a bar.
In the bar, Yonas was drowning his sorrows, choosing to vent through alcohol. He never believed drinking would solve anything, but experiencing such inner turmoil, he wanted to try numbing his pain with booze,Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.
The bar was enveloped in music, the dance floor swaying with decadent bodies.