Chapter 34: 34. Confrontation

**Jasmine**

I tugged at the scarf around my neck. A smile graced my face. Conroy offered me the green cloth when I told him my neck felt cold.

Despite the heat during the day, the nights were pretty chilling. Maybe the full moon had something to do with that.

We walked in the park side by side, my arm around his elbow while the other held a strawberry ice cream cone. If anyone saw us, I hope they thought we looked like a cute couple.

I brought the ice cream to his mouth. Despite his sullen expression, he gave me a smile and took a bite out of it with his lips. I grinned in satisfaction.

"Don't look like that, Conroy," I said. "Didn’t her parents say that they had a tip-off that she was relaxing with his cousins in Florida? She's safe and that's all that matters."

"I agree but… Why didn't Ella tell me anything? I would have thought she would have been excitedly sending me pictures and talking about how her day went."

I glanced down at the pavement. "Lil brother, I'm sorry to have to say this but, I don't think she's being a good girlfriend. She gave you such a scare and continued to ignore you. Maybe she thinks you're not enough. Or even worse, she believes that you love her so much that you'll readily accept her when she comes back. You're the only person in this world I love and I would never do that to you."

A darkness was cast over his gaze. He must have really liked her. What a pain.

To disturb our walk further, his phone rang. The person calling was someone unexpected.

I glanced at the device. "Who is it?"

Conroy's brows furrowed. "It's Nickoya. That woman's sister."

That woman. He must mean his ex. But why is his sister calling him? What kind of relationship do they have? Are they close enough for her to be calling him at night?

My fingers cracked the cone. What ice cream remained plummeted to the ground. I tugged his arm so that we would continue moving and he wouldn't have to see that.

As he talked with her, I zoned in on her voice.

"... then they drove off. It took me a while to get it because it didn't make sense to me. But I'm sure of what I saw."

"No." Conroy shook his head. "Avery would have said something. And why would he hold her and open the door for Bianca? He hates her more than me."

"They looked way too close for it to be nothing. Don't be fooled. I never liked Avery to begin with, too unpredictable. Do what you must because I'm not looking forward to my sister embarrassing us any further."

The call hung up and I pretended to look at the bushes to my left.

"What was that about?" I asked.

Conroy sighed. He slid the phone back into his pocket and shook his head. "She said Bianca and Avery looked close. She probably misunderstood what it was. Forget it. Tomorrow I'll talk to him and see what he says. Even if he did go there, he wouldn't do it without a reason."

"You're completely right." I nodded and agreed, but only because I didn't want to talk about them anymore. Did that bitch interrupt our date over something like that? Couldn't she wait until tomorrow?

Do I have to take care of her too?

"What happened to your ice cream?" He asked, brows furrowed.

"What? Oh." I chuckled. "That's long gone. I acted it all while you were busy chatting. It tasted great! I couldn't resist."

"I'm happy you liked it. I'll buy a couple of boxes and put them in the freezer. You can have some any time you want. Until the buzz around you being here calms down, you can enjoy some ice cream without having to go out."

I smiled, pushing all those nasty thoughts aside. "Now that that's settled, remember that little trail leading away from the main path? What do you say we head there?"

Conroy's eyes widened. "Damn, I forgot all about it. Sure! You might have to lead me there, I don't trust myself to remember where it was."

"She won't be leading you anywhere," an annoying voice interrupted.

The smile dropped off my face immediately. With caution, I turned away from Conroy and stared at the one who made the noise.

Bianca and Avery were standing side by side. That man had a file in his left hand along with a little bag. But my focus wasn't on him.

It was on a certain woman who decided to interfere with the special scene Conroy and I partook in.

It was supposed to be a bonding moment between me and him. I would have shown him more of my womanly side and played into his emotions more to get him to accept that I'm not just his sister. I can be so much more.

But she ruined it. Twice! When her sister called to tell Conroy about her, and now. The fury I felt was describable. Maintaining contact with Conroy was the only thing that kept me calm.

Conroy's gaze switched between the two, a confused expression planted on his face.

"Dude, what are you doing here? And with *her*?"

**Bianca**

Avery lowered his head. A twinge of uncertainty flashed in his eyes before he raised them again with newfound determination. "Can we speak to you somewhere more private? Jasmine can wait here, but what we have to say can't wait."

I averted my gaze so I wouldn't have to look at Jasmine's eyes by accident, but discomfort in Conroy's laugh was hard to miss.

"*We?* What are you, an item? Don't be ridiculous. I'm not leaving Jasmine alone for one minute. Anything you want to say to me, you can say to her. So speak. Why did you come here instead of calling me? And again, why is she here?”

I looked at Avery. “Do you want me to go first?”

Avery shook his head. “It’s better if he hears it from me. No matter what he thinks of me afterwards.”

As Conroy waited impatiently, Avery raised his head and stared directly into his best friend’s face.

“Bianca didn’t kill your parents. Jasmine did. And we have all the proof.”