Mariella didn’t plan the confrontation.It just happened.
Jasmine was sitting alone in one of the unused classrooms after Evidence class, staring blankly at her laptop screen, hair tied back, eyebags dark and swollen. She looked like someone who had forgotten how to breathe properly. Everyone else poured out of campus in noisy clusters, while Jasmine looked carved out, hollow, quiet, unreachable.
Mariella walked toward her slowly, heart pounding.
“Jas,” she said softly. “Can we talk?”
Jasmine didn’t look up from her laptop. “I’m busy.”
Mariella took a deep breath and sat beside her anyway, ignoring the wall Jasmine was trying to build. “I already know. About your dad. Index Development. The accusations.”
Jasmine’s fingers stilled.She didn’t blink.
Mariella continued, voice gentle. “W
