[Short Flashback]
Many years ago...
Jasmine stood in a narrow alley in the poorer district of their neighborhood. Her eyes were fixed on a woman squatting just outside a small, dilapidated home. Stray hairs fell from the messy, low bun on the woman’s head, partially obscuring her face.
But not enough to hide the bruises along her cheek and jaw or that busted lip.
Jasmine slowly balled her hands into tight fists, staring at the pitiful woman who, heartbreakingly, was her mother.
"What did you do this time?" she scoffed, approaching her. Disgust and dismay twisted her expression as her mother looked up at her with weary eyes.
"Oh, you’re here?" the older woman smiled, wiping her hands on her skirt as she rose. "Are you hungry? I can help—"
She reached toward Jasmine’s bag, but Jasmine slapped it away.
"Don’t bother," she sneered, showing no sympathy for the bruises on her mother’s face. "You should take care of yourself first and stop making him angry. Geez! When will you ever learn?"
Rolling her eyes, Jasmine strode through the small entrance of their humble home. "Dad, I’m home!"
Her voice softened as she announced her arrival to her father, a stark contrast to her tone toward her mother. Jasmine, after all, despised her mother from the bottom of her heart.
Why?
Simple. Her mother was embarrassing—content with mediocrity, satisfied as long as they were "healthy" and living with a clear conscience. Jasmine, unlike her mother, could never settle for that.
She was the school belle. Admired by many, with secret admirers and lovers, who could fund everything she wanted and needed. A life of luxury was what she was meant to live, but sadly, she was born into the wrong family, or as she often said, her father had married the wrong woman.
Even at a young age, Jasmine vowed: she might have been born poor, but she would never die poor. Being poor wasn’t her fault, but dying poor would be.
From that age, she often accompanied her father to learn the ways of earning money. It started small, with gambling, and soon escalated to more ambitious ventures.
Years later, already earning well from her activities, Jasmine reconnected with an old friend. Through her, she heard about a reunion party for a club she used to be part of. Initially, she hadn’t planned to attend—until the friend whispered:
"Do you know Lawrence Young?"
Jasmine arched an eyebrow. "Lawrence Young... that pathetic fool?"
"Yes, the one who worked multiple jobs and couldn’t buy a new shirt because you asked him you needed a new phone — that Lawrence Young," the friend emphasized, grinning. "I heard he’s done well. He’s a big shot in the city now."
Jasmine felt a mix of intrigue and surprise. She remembered Lawrence—he had been one of her secret high school lovers. She hadn’t liked him much, but he had worked hard and fulfilled every request she had. In other words, he had been one of her piggy banks.
After all, Lawrence wasn’t the only secret lover she had back then. She had plenty who would give her allowances and things just because they wanted to please her.
Curious, she interrogated her friend, confirming that the once poor and clumsy boy was now a polished man in luxurious attire. The same boy who had walked home because he couldn’t afford a bus now drove a fancy car. The boy who had been mocked for his poverty now commanded respect, with people bowing to him just as he walked.
Jasmine wanted that life, and so she devised a plan to cross paths with him before the reunion.
As expected, Lawrence recognized her immediately. He had once been infatuated with her, but he was no longer the man who would see her as his savior. That day, he was with his wife, whom he introduced to Jasmine.
Loren Albert-Young.
In her world, she always got what she wanted — by any means necessary.
On the day of the reunion, she attended with a single goal: to change her life.
[PRESENT TIME]
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