Chapter 42 What She Chose

Chapter 42 What She Chose
Nikolai:

I slammed the glass on the table harder than I intended to. I was almost drunk, but it did nothing to quiet the chaos inside my head. Nothing did.

I stood in my study, staring at nothing. The silence was unbearable. She was gone. Jasmine, no—Elena.

My jaw tightened. I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling sharply.

Why? That was the only question that mattered. Why would she leave? She had been in my arms just hours before. She had said she loved me. She had looked at me like I was everything. So what changed? What made her run?

My mind kept circling back, replaying every moment, searching for something I missed. Someone I missed. 

And then, it clicked. The masquerade event. I straightened slightly, my grip tightening around the glass in my hand.

She had left me to get drinks, which was normal. But she had taken longer than necessary. At the time, I hadn’t thought anything of it because I was occupied with someone.

Now, now it felt wrong.

Then my thoughts shifted again, to another memory. The masked charity night.

I saw it clearly now, she was speaking to a man in a mask. I had approached them, asked what he wanted. And the man had said that he was just admiring.

A bitter scoff left my lips. Admiring. I should have killed him then. My mind moved again.

Faster now, connecting the pieces.

The event I attended alone. The one where Dante cornered me, threatened me.

The memory hit harder this time because now it made sense. Everything made sense.

I set the glass down and moved fast.

I stepped out of the study and through the hallway as I yelled for Matthew.

He appeared moments later, alert.

“Don?”

“We need to find that fucking soldato.”

Matthew didn’t move. He didn’t react the way I expected. Instead, he studied me, carefully.

Then he sighed.

“Let it go.”

I stopped.

“What?”

“If Dante has anything to do with her being gone, which he obvious does,” he said evenly, “then she’s gone for good.”

The words landed heavy and cold.

“She chose her family over you.”

My jaw clenched.

“That’s not what happened. You don’t know what happened.”

Matthew’s expression didn’t change.

“You don’t know that.”

I stepped closer, my voice dropping.

“I know she didn’t just disappear.”

“People like her do,” Matthew replied.

That made something inside me snap.

“She’s not like that, not anymore.”

Matthew held my gaze.

“Then prove it.”

We both stood in silence for a while. Then he added, quieter this time,

“Or accept it.”

I didn’t respond. Because I couldn’t. Because a part of me, hated how much sense it made.

“She chose her family over you,” Matthew repeated. “Maybe it’s time you do the same.”

I turned away immediately, I couldn’t stand there and listen to that. Not when I wasn’t ready to believe it. Not yet.

I took my car keys, I was going for a reckless drive. I didn’t have a place I was going to. I just drove. Through the city, through the streets that blurred into one another.

New York stretched endlessly before me, alive and indifferent, like nothing had changed. Like she hadn’t just vanished from it.

My hands tightened on the wheel. I tried to think. Where would she go?

And then, I saw her. Well, not her. But someone close enough.

I slammed the brakes hard, keeping my eyes locked onto the familiar figure moving through the crowd. 

Tasha. Jasmine’s best friend.

I was out of the car before the engine fully settled.

“Tasha!”

She didn’t turn. Of course she didn’t. Why would she?

I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the annoyed looks, the muttered complaints.

“Tasha!”

This time she stopped, and turned. Her expression shifted instantly when she saw me. She was confused, and afraid at some point. 

Then she stepped back slightly.

“I—do I know you?”

I forced my voice to stay calm.

“You don’t,” I said. “But I know Jasmine.”

That got her attention. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“What about her?”

“I need to find her.”

“Why?”

I didn’t answer that, not fully.

“She’s gone,” I said instead. “And I need to know where she went.”

Tasha hesitated, studying me. Trying to decide if I was a threat, or something worse.

“She sent me a message,” she said finally.

My focus sharpened.

“When?”

“This morning.”

“Let me see it.”

She hesitated again. Then slowly pulled out her phone. She opened the message and handed it to me.

I read it once. Then again, each word hitting harder than the last.

Goodbye. Not see you soon, or wait for me. But goodbye.

My grip tightened slightly around the phone before I handed it back.

Jasmine left. She was not forced. She was not taken. She left.

“You know what’s crazy?” Tasha said suddenly.

I looked at her.

“She was supposed to be in Japan. She lied, and now she sends this? Like I’m supposed to just… understand it?”

I said nothing. Because there was nothing to say.

Tasha scoffed lightly.

“If you do find her,” she added, her voice colder now, “tell her she’s a piece of shit for this.”

The words were harsh. But deserved. Then she walked away. Leaving me standing there.

Then Matthew’s words came back. It was clearer this time. 

“She chose her family over you.”

My jaw clenched. My chest tightened. But this time, I didn’t fight it. Because the truth was right in front of me. She had a choice. And she made it. She chose Elena Vorn over Jasmine.

I turned slowly and walked back to my car. I got in, and this time, I knew exactly where I was going.

The drive felt different, like something inside me had finally settled. Or maybe finally broken.

I pulled up in front of a familiar mansion. One I hadn’t visited in a long time. One I had no intention of visiting again, until now.

I stepped out of the car and walked up to the door. Rang the bell, and a few seconds later, it opened.

Francesca Fletcher stood there. Her lips curved into a slow, knowing smirk the moment she saw me.

“I thought you’d never come back to your senses.”

Moving forward, Jasmine didn’t exist. Only Elena Vorn.