The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 87

Jasmine knew what she had done was reckless.

She shouldn't have dropped the bombshell that the wedding was off right when tensions were running so high.

Valery was bound to misinterpret the situation and think the wedding was canceled because she had ruined the engagement party.

She would blame herself. She would be miserable.

Yates had a point.

Her parents had a point too.

Their proposed solution was objectively the smoothest way to fix the immediate crisis.

But Jasmine simply couldn't marry Yates.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment rebellion.

Ever since Cassidy and Parker Quincy had started spiraling toward divorce, Jasmine had felt a creeping dread about her own future with Yates.

If someone as fierce as Cassidy couldn't break free from the suffocating chains of marriage, what chance did she have?

Where did that leave her?

Was she going to be locked in a cage for the rest of her life?

It was a terrifying realization—she hadn't even tied the knot yet, and she was already looking for the exit.

The fear had been haunting her for months.

Eventually, the truth clicked: she wasn't actually terrified of marriage.

She was terrified of a lifetime of subservience.

She and Yates had grown up side by side. There was no fiery romance or grand passion; they had simply drifted together out of habit, acting out a script written for them.

It was what Valery had wanted.

It was what both sets of parents had demanded.

But when push came to shove, Yates and her parents were firmly on the same team.

They considered Jasmine family, but she would never be as important as Valery.

For twenty-six years, since the day she was born, she had played second fiddle.

But what good did understanding any of this do?

She couldn't escape.

She couldn't abandon her sister, couldn't defy her parents, possessed zero financial independence, and could never stomach the crushing guilt of walking away.

Sometimes, Jasmine felt utterly useless.

Growing up, Nora's situation had been ten times worse than hers.

Yet Nora had broken out.

When the slap struck her face, the reality finally became clear to Jasmine.

They knew full well how suffocating it was to be tied down.

They were deliberately breaking her spirit.

They were allowed to claim the moral high ground; she wasn't.

Her destiny was subjugation.

Whether Valery was in the picture or not.

The only reason Jasmine had pushed through her terror to accept Yates's proposal was because, in the darkest, most shameful corner of her heart, a tiny spark of hope had lingered.

She had secretly hoped that if Valery were ever gone, Jasmine wouldn't have to be the runner-up anymore. She could finally have a free, happy life.

But it was a lie.

Freedom and happiness weren't charities to be handed out.

They had to be fought for and seized.

In that moment of absolute clarity, a primal instinct for survival flared to life within her.

She realized that staying would kill her.

Her family was like a patch of thorny vines creeping up from her ankles, binding her arms and legs in a vice grip. Any attempt to struggle or fight back would only shred her to ribbons.