The way she was exaggerating now just made her even more endearing.
“Thanks, Jasmine, but you look very beautiful yourself,” I said, smiling genuinely.
The compliment landed with a force I hadn’t anticipated. A deep, lovely blush crept up her neck and stained her cheeks, making her look even more exquisite. It was so potent, so sincere, that it made me want to laugh again, just out of sheer delight. It was a good feeling, this lightness. Refreshing, actually. I hadn't laughed like this, so purely and without a second thought, for as long as I could remember.
It felt like a small, unexpected reprieve. I could just take this as the calm before the storm… or, in my case, the calm before another storm, since there had always been a storm in my life. It was either one problem or the other,
