(un)Cuff me, Mister!

Broken dam

"I'm putting him on my list of people I should avoid," Jasmine said to herself.

Remembering how she was trying to kiss Felix, Jasmine felt embarrassed.

She covered her face with the clothes that she was holding and muffled her scream in it.

"230688! What the hell are you still doing there? Get back to your cell!" a warden yelled out to her. Jasmine quickly hurried towards her cell room.

She walked inside her cell before it was automatically locked by the warden.

Mama V was already inside, sitting on her bed, staring at the wall.

Jasmine walked to Mama V's bed, "Mama V, are you alright?" she asked. Mama V was acting differently from usual.

However hard life inside the prison, Jasmine never saw Mama V was lost in thought, like now.

Usually, when Jasmine walked inside the cell, Mama V would welcome her with a warm smile.

Mama V snapped out of her reverie, hearing Jasmine call her. She turned to Jasmine and smiled, "I'm fine, Jade," said Mama V.

Just like Warden Agnes, Mama V called Jasmine by her nickname.

"Are you sure? Is something bothering you, Mama V?" Jasmine asked.

Mama V shook her head and gave a reassuring smile to Jasmine, "It's nothing. Just reminiscing about the past. I have lived in this prison and forgot how the world outside looks like," Mama V said.

"Did you miss anyone outside this prison wall?" asked Jasmine.

Mama V was the one who usually listened and gave her comfort behind this prison wall. Jasmine thought she could do the same for the older lady.

A melancholic glint appeared in Mama V's eyes, "I don't have a family outside of this place," she said. Mama V murmured something that Jasmine couldn't hear.

"What happened to you?" Mama V asked, seeing how Jasmine was wearing wet clothes.

"I spilled water on myself," replied Jasmine.

Shaking her head, "you are so clumsy" Mama V commented. Jasmine was really a clumsy girl and could be an airhead sometimes. Mama V had noticed this by observing Jasmine.

"Did your family come to visit you? The warden was looking for you at the cell earlier. I told him you were at the library," Mama V said.

Jasmine's face fell when she heard what Mama V asked. Her mind played back the event that happened in the visitation room before.

Remembering what Lawyer Gu said to her made Jasmine's heart crumpled into a billion pieces.

How can Joshua do this to her? How can he abandon her here, in this foreign country?

Was their ten years of relationship meant nothing to him?

He abandoned her when she was at her lowest. How could he?

"Jade?" Mama V called for Jasmine's attention.

Jasmine turned to look at Mama V, and her lips quivered, "he abandoned me, Mama V. Joshua... he abandoned me," Jasmine broke into another round of crying.

Mama V pulled Jasmine into a hug and caressed Jasmine's back.

"I know it's hard. But that man doesn't deserve you. Cry. Cry all you want. After that, you have to be strong and fight," Mama V said.

"How can I fight, Mama V? Joshua is my everything. I love him. How can he do this to me? How can he let me rot here in this prison?" Jasmine asked. Her heart was in pain.

"Forget about him. He was not everything for you. And from what you told me, I think there was a possibility that it was that boyfriend of yours who put you in this prison," said Mama V.

Jasmine stopped her cries, "What?" she asked with unbelievable eyes.

Mama V wiped the tears from Jasmine's face, "haven't you thought about it? How did the drug get into your bag? Did anyone else have access to your bag? Why wasn't he on the same flight? Are you sure he was at Cratia? Or did he never leave Alscot in the first place?" asked Mama V. "I've seen a lot of cases like yours before. Those poor girls," Mama V sighed sadly, "may their soul rest in peace," she prayed for them.

Jasmine felt like something was choking her when she heard what Mama V said, and her face drained of its colour.

Mama V held Jasmine's face and tapped her cheek lightly, "I don't mean to make you sad. But that is the reality. There is a possibility it was him who did this to you."

"Why would he do this to me?" Jasmine asked.

Mama V shrugged, "Money, possibly. That's how it always was. I heard there was an organisation that used to trap girls like this. When all hope seems lost, they offer a 'way out' that these girls couldn't refuse," Mama V said.

Jasmine's eyes shook, 'The slave contract.'

She gritted her teeth and her tears started to fall again.

Mama V cupped Jasmine's face, "forget about him. You have a family, right? Think about them. Fight your freedom for them. They are waiting for you."

'Mom. Dad.'

Her father's image suddenly entered her mind. She remembered how her father was against her when she wanted to throw her future away to be with Joshua. Her father insisted for her to focus on herself rather than focus on her relationship with Joshua.

'Joshua will abandon you when you both face trouble.' Her dad once said.

Jasmine was glad that she had taken the deal that her father had made with her.

Back then, her plan was to attend community college while working part time for their living expenses. She knew her parents would not support her financially if she decided not to go to Oakleaf University. She was prepared to live a hard life with Joshua.

However, her father made a deal with her, he would support all her living expenses and university fees if she went to Oakleaf University and completed her degree in flying colours. In exchange, her father won't say anything about her choice to be with Joshua.

Since it was a win-win situation for them, Jasmine took the deal. Her father just wanted her to have a secure future.

Life was hard and earning money was harder. Jasmine had known this now.

Imagine if she was hardheaded and went with her initial plan?

Maybe her relationship with Joshua won't last till the next year if they moved in together back then.

However, Jasmine looked around her now.

'I'm in a prison cell now, dad. It was still no use for me to have a degree from a University,' Jasmine cried harder on Mama V's shoulder.

'I'm so sorry, dad. Mom.'

Mama V was right, she shouldn't cry for the man that had abandoned her. However, Jasmine continued to cry for her parents, who loved her.

Jasmine could guess that things must have been hard on her father's end, too. Her father was a respected policeman.

'My capture in Cratia must have affected Dad's position as the head of the narcotics division. Is that why dad and mom can't come here?' Jasmine asked in her mind.

'Or is it that dad and mom are so ashamed of me?' she wondered. That's why they haven't come to see her till now.

'Oh, wait!'

No. How can Jasmine forget? Although her mother was from Cratia. She never went back here for the last 25 years of Jasmine's life. It was like her mother was running away from this place.

Was that why her parents couldn't visit her?

Because of her mother... family?