Earlier, Jasmine thought such words would instantly set Natalie off into a fit of rage. But to her surprise, she actually smiled at her and answered politely, “Thanks for your concern. We’re all doing fine.”
Failing to provoke her half-sister, Jasmine raised an eyebrow and continued to mock, “You went from the daughter of a rich family to a homeless bumpkin overnight. Now, you’re dressed in cheap clothes and working a menial job. Do you seriously think I’ll believe you when you say you’re doing fine?”
Despite the scorn that laced her taunts, Jasmine was unable to hide the jealousy that shone in her eyes.
The reason for her envy was that Natalie did not look the slightest bit defeated. On the contrary, she thought the way Natalie carried herself now was even more confident and graceful than before. Jasmine could see how flawless Natalie’s skin was even without any makeup on her face. All that combined to make her look even more youthful as there was a sort of inner glow to her.
This was the kind of look that money couldn’t buy.
Even with her heavily made-up face, there was no way Jasmine would be able to outshine Natalie’s beauty.
More so, Natalie merely smiled in response to Jasmine’s insults without saying a single word. Her smile was so confident that it made Jasmine feel profoundly unsettled.
“What are you smiling about?” Jasmine demanded.
“Nothing much. I was just thinking about how you should be spending your time on coming up with more designs rather than standing here and taking pity on me.”
Although Natalie was abroad for the past few years, she had heard about some of the rumors going around the fashion industry – rumors about what Jasmine had been doing.
Looking at Jasmine, who was currently fuming in anger, Natalie knew her words had clearly hit a sore spot with her half-sister.
“You!” Jasmine yelled while balling her fingers into fists.
At the same time, a childlike voice called out sweetly, “Mommy! Mommy!”
From the other end of the corridor, two little kids suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a pair of twins – a boy and a girl.
Hearing her babies calling for her, Natalie did not waste any more time verbally sparring with Jasmine. She walked past her half-sister and headed toward the children.
The younger of the two, Sharon, lunged toward her mother and cooed, “Mommy, Aunt Joyce is looking for you.”
“Alright. Let’s go find her then.” Natalie stroked her daughter’s soft, silky hair. Holding on to one child in each hand, she led them away from that place.
Meanwhile, Jasmine was staring at the two kids in utter shock as she watched Natalie walk off. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen each other, but she actually has children now?
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