JASMINE’S POV
Hildegard hugged me and rubbed my back while I wept like a baby.
The pain of the betrayal was unbearable.
How could they all leave me just like that?
Xaden. Nanny Nia?
The only home I had come to know was the Crescent pack.
Despite all the awful things I had grown to face, it had still been my home.
This meant I would never go to my daughter’s grave.
I was abandoned here in the midst of strangers.
It broke me.
"Even Nanny Nia." I wept. "I thought she cared about me. I thought she really did. So it was all a pretense."
Hildegard quickly let me go and caught my cheeks in her hands.
"No!" She said. "Don’t ever say that. Nia loved you like you were her own. I’ve never seen her love or care for anyone like you."
I turned my cheeks away and cried, unable to believe anything Hildegard had to say.
"If she did, then why didn’t she stay?" I said. "I understand Xaden is going. But her? She became my family. She took care of me when I had no one to turn to. And now she left me?"
I coughed violently and shook my head, refusing to believe this.
I withdrew from Hildegard’s grip and began to walk in the direction of my room.
"No, Jasmine," Hildegard said, going after me. "She wanted to stay. She didn’t even want to leave you. She had wanted to stay even though she wasn’t being paid. She didn’t mind working for the royal family to stay near you. Nia would never leave you. Not by her own free will."
I sniffed as I coughed into my arm and staggered down the hall.
I don’t care if anyone was looking at me; I just wanted to get out of here.
I pushed the bedroom door open and went in.
Hildegard caught my hand and forced me to look at her. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"LOOK AT ME, JASMINE!" She snapped aloud.
I jerked at the force of her words.
She caught my arms and shook me.
In a much calmer voice, he said, "Look at me, Jasmine. I want you to look at me."
"Nia, that I know, would never have left you alone unless she was made to," Hildegard said. "I want you to understand that. Don’t let this change anything about how you feel about her. Okay?"
I managed to nod my head, but in all earnest, I was weak.
Then she pulled me into a hug again.
This time, I didn’t cry anymore.
I just rested my head on her shoulder while she rocked back and forth.
Did this mean I’ll never go back to the Crescent pack?
I thought of my conversation with Xaden about lashes.
Was this what he meant by a fresh start?
Leaving me here all alone.
"Excuse me." A small female voice said.
Hildegard let go of me, and we turned to find a petite maid peeking at us.
"I’m sorry to interrupt you." The girl said. "But Her Majesty has sent for....her."
She was referring to me.
Hildegard nodded. "Thank you."
The girl curtseyed and left.
"Do you want to rest first?" She asked me, worry written all over her face. "I can tell Rose that you’ve had a stressful night and-
I shook my head as I wiped my tears. "No, I can’t do that. She is the Queen. If she wants to see me, then she has to. Moreover, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about that."
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