?Chapter 1098:


    Everything felt different now. The same words that once made her heart flutter now tasted like lies.


    A soft, bitterugh slipped out. It sounded strange in the quiet room. Then the tears came, soaking into the pillow until she stopped trying to wipe them away.


    The door opened quietly. Ste stepped inside, her footsteps soft but certain.


    One look at Jasmine made Ste’s chest tighten. She went to the bedside, her voice gentle. “Are you in pain? How’s your shoulder?”


    Jasmine blinked up at her and gave a small shake of her head. “I’m fine. Thank you.”


    But the pain wasn’t in her shoulder—it was lodged somewhere much deeper.


    This was the first time she’d really let someone in. The first time she’d believed in love the way people talked about it in movies. And it had ended like this.


    After a long pause, Jasmine looked at Ste, her voice barely a whisper. “Ms. Russell… have you ever been betrayed by someone?”


    Ste perched on the edge of the bed. Her eyes softened, then drifted somewhere far away. “Yes,” she said quietly. “And not just once.”


    Her tone was calm, but there was a shadow behind it—like a ce she didn’t visit often.


    Jasmine’s lips parted slightly. She hadn’t expected that. To her, Ste seemed untouchable, like someone who always knew better. She’d thought only women like herself got fooled.


    “How did you get through it?” she asked carefully, afraid she might’ve gone too far. “You don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal.”


    Ste stayed silent for a moment, thinking. Then she said, “You remember the pain—but you stop ming yourself for it. Every betrayal teaches you something. It hurts, yes, but it also sharpens you. One day, you realize you’ve be someone who sees people more clearly.”


    Ste had never romanticized pain, but she did believe it could teach a person something—if they let it.


    Falling hurt, yes, but it also made people watch their steps more carefully next time. Everyone made mistakes; what truly mattered was how they rose after the fall.


    Jasmine’sshes fluttered slightly before she asked, her voice soft and uncertain, “Was it… because of love too?” She remembered all those TV shows preaching the gospel of independence—telling women to focus on their careers, glow on their own, and steer clear of men. It sounded empowering, at least on screen. But living that way was never as easy as it looked.


    Ste’s lips curved into a faint, wistful smile. “Yes. Because of love.”


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    Time had long dulled the sharpness of that memory. The pain no longer cut as deeply—it had settled into her story like a faded thread among many, something that once mattered far more than it did now.


    Jasmine bit her lip, unsure whether to pry further.


    But Ste caught the hesitation and answered anyway. “We were married,” she said quietly. “He cheated. So I left.”


    Jasmine was stunned. She’d always thought Ste was only a few years older, someone who had everything figured out. She’d never imagined Ste had been married—let alone divorced.


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