Chapter 2049 Precious Sweetheart

The line went dead. Jasmine's mom stared at the silent screen, pain cleaving straight through her chest. The phone slipped from her fingers as she crumpled, sobs tearing free. “What did I ever do to deserve this? What horrible debt am I paying now?”
Jasmine's dad pounded the mattress with a trembling fist, tears streaking the deep lines of his face. “Ungrateful girl!” he cried, voice hoarse with equal parts fury and grief. “How did I raise such a heartless daughter?”
His wife knelt beside the coffee table, tears stringing pearls down her cheeks. Her voice quaked through the silence. “Were we wrong? Were we... wrong to send Lilith to swimming lessons, to favor Jasmine, and to believe her ugly lie? Were we wrong...” The words dwindled into sobs, as though each apology caught in her throat and turned to salt. Shame pooled in the room, sticky and airless, refusing to let the clock hands move.