𝔅𝔬𝔯𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔢 - Rafe Cameron

①⑤

...

The next morning, Jazmine sat with Sofia on the terrace. After their hospital visit, Jazmine had learned she was already one month pregnant. During the appointment with the gynecologist, Sofia had held her hand through the first ultrasound, and Jazmine had seen the tiny life on the screen.

Sofia smiled beside her, but Jazmine couldn't tear her eyes away from the grainy black-and-white image. The midwife had handed her a stack of vitamins to take and a list of tests to complete. She had also given her two ultrasound pictures. To anyone else, the blurry image didn't look like much—just a vague shape. But strangely, Jazmine had spent the rest of the night staring at it, unable to put it down.

Sofia broke the silence. "So... what do you want to do?"

Jazmine exhaled, her voice steady. "I've still got time to figure it out. We'll see."

Sofia hesitated, then added carefully, "Uh, he left another message on the answering machine. You know who I mean."

Jazmine's expression hardened. "Let him leave a hundred. I don't care."

"You're not even going to listen to them? Jazmine, he's your father."

Mike had been trying to reconnect with her, and she couldn't understand why. Maybe he'd heard about her relationship with Rafe and wanted to reach out for selfish reasons. Maybe he needed something from her. She doubted it was purely to mend their relationship.

He left multiple messages on her answering machine every day, but she never listened to them. When they occasionally crossed paths in town, he would smile at her, and she'd walk past him without a word. 

There had even been instances where food deliveries from his restaurant arrived at her place, though she'd never ordered anything.

"The fact that he's my father doesn't change anything," Jazmine replied coldly. "Just because he's family doesn't mean I'm going to treat him any differently."

Father or not, it didn't matter to her. Cutting him off was as easy as distancing herself from a casual acquaintance.

Sofia stood up, grabbing her bag. "Well, I have to get to work."

Jazmine took another sip of her hot chocolate. "I'll stop by for a drink later."

Sofia raised an eyebrow.

"Non-alcoholic," Jazmine clarified with a faint smirk.

Sofia laughed. "Good. Anyway, I really need to go—my new manager is a nightmare, and..."

As Sofia rambled on, Jazmine's phone buzzed. She glanced down at the screen.

For : Jaz ❤️
From : Rafe Cameron

"We need to talk."

She turned her phone face down, ignoring the message as she finished her drink. He sent her things like this every week, at least three times a day. It wasn't going to be what made her get up and go see him.

It buzzed again.

"I know you're ignoring me, but this is important. Come home please."

Jazmine sighed, standing up with an air of resignation. It seemed her quiet morning was about to get much more complicated.

...

Once home, Jazmine found Rafe sitting in the living room, hunched over, his head buried in his hands. Papers were scattered across the coffee table, a laptop still glowing faintly in front of him.