Chapter 9: Choosing her publicly
1411 Words
The distance didn’t feel like peace.
It felt like something unfinished.
For Jasmine, the silence was louder than the rumors had ever been.
Because at least with rumors, she knew what she was fighting.
Now—
She was fighting herself.
Three days.
That’s how long it had been since she told Jayden they needed space.
Three days since she stopped sitting under the tree.
Three days since she ignored every message.
And yet—
She still thought about him.
Constantly.
“Just talk to him,” Lyla said, sitting across from her.
Faye nodded. “You’re not as okay as you look.”
Jasmine gave a faint smile. “I never said I was okay.”
“Then why are you doing this?” Lyla asked gently.
Jasmine looked down at her hands.
“Because I know how this ends.”
Faye frowned. “You don’t.”
“I do,” Jasmine said quietly. “People like him… and people like me… we don’t last.”
Lyla leaned forward slightly. “Or maybe that’s what everyone wants you to believe.”
Jasmine didn’t respond.
Because part of her wanted to believe that too.
But wanting something—
Didn’t make it true.
Across campus, Jayden wasn’t trying to pretend anymore.
He wasn’t okay.
And for the first time—
He didn’t hide it.
“You look terrible,” Chad said bluntly as Jayden sat down heavily.
“Thanks,” Jayden muttered.
Lyon watched him quietly. “You haven’t slept.”
Jayden rubbed his face. “I don’t need sleep.”
“You need clarity,” Lyon corrected.
Jayden leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
“I know what I want,” he said.
Chad raised an eyebrow. “Then what’s the problem?”
Jayden exhaled slowly.
“She doesn’t believe it.”
That was the real issue.
Not the rumors.
Not the pressure.
Jasmine didn’t believe she could stay.
“She’s protecting herself,” Lyon said.
“And me,” Jayden added.
Chad shook his head. “That’s not her decision to make.”
Jayden sat up.
“I know.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Chad asked.
Jayden didn’t hesitate this time.
“I’m going to show her.”
Not tell.
Show.
The next morning, the campus felt different.
Tense.
Like something was about to happen.
People didn’t know what.
But they felt it.
Jasmine walked through the courtyard carefully.
Eyes forward.
Steps steady.
But inside—
Nothing felt steady.
The whispers hadn’t stopped.
If anything, they had grown more confident.
“She scared him off.”
“Told you it wouldn’t last.”
“Back to reality.”
Jasmine kept walking.
Until—
She heard her name.
Not whispered.
Called.
“Jasmine.”
She froze.
Because she knew that voice.
Jayden stood at the center of the courtyard.
Not at the edge.
Not hidden.
In the middle.
Where everyone could see him.
And everyone did.
“Come here,” he said.
Not loud.
But clear.
Jasmine hesitated.
Her heart beating faster than she wanted to admit.
Every instinct told her to walk away.
To avoid this.
To keep the distance.
But her feet—
Didn’t move.
The entire courtyard watched as she slowly turned.
And walked toward him.
“What are you doing?” she asked quietly when she reached him.
Jayden didn’t answer immediately.
Instead—
He reached for her hand.
Jasmine’s breath caught.
“Jayden—”
But he didn’t let go.
And that—
That was enough.
The murmurs started instantly.
Louder.
Confused.
Shocked.
Jayden turned slightly.
Not away from her—
But toward everyone else.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said.
His voice calm.
But firm.
The courtyard went silent.
“I’ve heard what people have been saying,” he continued.
“About Jasmine.”
He paused.
Then added—
“And about me.”
Jasmine’s hand tightened slightly in his.
Not pulling away.
But holding on.
Jayden looked around.
Meeting eyes.
One by one.
“You don’t know her,” he said.
“And you definitely don’t know me.”
Margaret stood at the edge of the crowd.
Leah beside her.
Both watching.
Carefully.
“So let me make something clear,” Jayden continued.
“This isn’t a joke.”
“This isn’t temporary.”
“And it’s definitely not a mistake.”
The words spread through the crowd like a shockwave.
Jasmine turned to look at him.
Her eyes searching his face.
“Everything you’re saying about her…” he added, his voice tightening slightly,
“…says more about you than it ever will about her.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Margaret stepped forward slightly.
“Are you serious right now?” she said.
Jayden looked at her.
“Yes.”
Leah crossed her arms. “You’re turning this into something bigger than it is.”
Jayden shook his head.
“No,” he said. “You already did that.”
He turned back to Jasmine.
His expression softening slightly.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
Jasmine’s breath hitched.
“Not because I have to,” he continued.
“But because I want to.”
Her eyes filled slightly—
But she blinked it back.
“You said this was easier,” Jayden added quietly.
“But I don’t want easy.”
The world around them faded.
Just slightly.
“I want real,” he said.
“And this—”
He squeezed her hand gently.
“—is real.”
Jasmine stared at him.
Everything she had been holding back—
Every doubt.
Every fear.
Every expectation of loss—
Clashing with what was right in front of her.
“You don’t understand what this costs,” she whispered.
Jayden nodded.
“Then let it cost me.”
That—
That broke something.
Not in a bad way.
In a way that opened something.
Jasmine looked down briefly.
Then back up.
“And what if it’s not enough?” she asked.
Jayden didn’t hesitate.
“Then we’ll make it enough.”
Silence.
Then—
Slowly—
Jasmine didn’t pull her hand away.
And that—
That was her answer.
The courtyard erupted.
Not loudly.
But intensely.
Whispers.
Reactions.
Shock turning into something else.
Because this time—
It wasn’t rumors.
It was truth.
Jayden had chosen.
Publicly.
Clearly.
Without hesitation.
And that changed everything.
Across the crowd, Margaret stood frozen.
Her expression unreadable.
But her chest—
Tight.
Again.
That same strange feeling.
Unfamiliar.
Unwelcome.
Leah noticed.
“You okay?” she asked quietly.
Margaret shook her head slightly.
“Yeah,” she said.
But it didn’t sound convincing.
Because something about this moment—
Didn’t just feel like losing.
It felt like something deeper.
Something she couldn’t explain.
Later that day, Jayden sat with his father again.
The investigation had already begun.
Files.
Records.
Names.
Dates.
“I found something,” his father said.
Jayden leaned forward immediately.
“What?”
“There was an incident,” he said slowly.
“Years ago. At a hospital.”
Jayden’s expression sharpened.
“What kind of incident?”
His father looked at him.
Measured.
“A newborn mix-up.”
The words landed heavily.
Jayden’s breath slowed.
“What does that have to do with Jasmine?”
His father didn’t answer immediately.
“Records are incomplete,” he said.
“But the timing…”
He paused.
“It matches.”
Jayden’s heart started racing.
“You’re saying—”
“I’m saying,” his father interrupted calmly,
“that her past might not be what she thinks it is.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Jayden leaned back slightly.
Processing.
“Keep digging,” he said.
His voice steady.
But firm.
His father nodded.
“I will.”
Back on campus, Jasmine sat under the tree again.
For the first time in days.
Jayden joined her.
Quietly.
Neither of them spoke at first.
But this time—
The silence felt different.
Not distant.
Not uncertain.
Connected.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Jasmine said softly.
Jayden smiled faintly.
“Yeah,” he said.
“I did.”
She looked at him.
Really looked.
And for the first time—
She allowed herself to believe it.
Just a little.
That maybe—
Just maybe—
This wasn’t going to end the way she expected.
But somewhere beneath it all—
A truth was getting closer.
And when it surfaced—
Nothing would stay the same.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD