“Yasmine, you’re a gem, way better than that rascal Anthony. You’re our little angel!” they exclaimed.
Anthony, pushing thirty and still the family clown, pulled silly faces behind his mother’s back, trying to get a rise out of me.
“Of course. Yasmine’s the golden child, and I’m just the stray you picked up,” he quipped with a wink.
A brief pang of jealousy nipped at me, and I playfully waved it away.
Amidst the laughter, my mother–in–law’s expression shifted as she remembered something.
“Yasmine, dear, Holly came looking for you, didn’t she? Is everything okay?”
I sobered up, assuring her, “Don’t worry, Mom. Holly won’t be bothering me again.”
After I had paid her back, Holly had tossed aside her college dreams to chase fortunes in Eastbridge City, diving headfirst into the stock market.
She thought she would strike it rich with her so–called previous life’s wisdom, but the stock market was no
1/2
child’s play.
She ended up broke, swallowed her pride, and returned home by train.
Our parents urged her to settle down with any bachelor in town, but Holly’s spirit was too wild for that.
She left, only to resurface in a grim human trafficking scandal.
Anthony’s army buddy recognized her cries for me and reached out. When I saw her, her eyes pleaded for rescue, but some chains were too heavy for one person to break.
Countless young girls had their youth stolen by her. She was beyond redemption.
“Do you know her?” Anthony’s battle buddy inquired.
I just shook my head and walked off.
Back then, the harshest punishment for human trafficking was death.
When I got home, I wired my parents the last chunk of change–a hefty amount.
It was more than enough for them to live out their days without financial worry, though I kept Holly’s fate to myself.
They were in the dark, never knowing that no one would visit them again.
So, they keep to the old homestead, waiting for their eldest daughter forever.
However, I had broken free from the family that bled me dry.
My career was on fire, with my brand’s advertising hitting TriView Media airwaves.
With my devoted husband and in–laws who loved me as their own by my side, I was set.
I was truly satisfied with my life.
I turned from a speck of dust into a shining gem.
I earned all the glory and joy.
From there on, I would only glow brighter, living each day to its most radiant.
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