Page 52 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

"Excellent. I'll come get you when I'm done, and we will go visit your sister."

Smiling, he picked up the remote. "Sounds good. Just show me how to work this thing before you leave."

"Of course." She kept forgetting that he didn't know the most basic things and needed to learn everything.

After showing him how to operate the remote and bringing him a bottle of water so he would remember to stay hydrated, Jasmine headed across the vestibule to the other penthouse.

37

JASMINE

Jasmine stood in front of the door of the other penthouse, took a deep breath, and rang the bell.

Margo answered a moment later, her mask of worry turning into relief when she saw her. "Thank goodness you're here." She ushered her inside.

The tension was palpable in the air, emanating from the siblings but mostly from the figure hunched on the plush living room sofa.

When Rob turned to look at her, Jasmine was struck by how much he resembled his sister. His hair was a darker shade of blonde than Margo's, but he shared the same Nordic features—high cheekbones, clear blue eyes, and fair skin. Those eyes were now red-rimmed.

"Hi, Rob." She approached him with a smile attached firmly to her face. "I'm Jasmine, Margo's friend."

He seemed puzzled by her appearance. "Do you live here?"

"No. I live across the hall in the other penthouse. The owners of Perfect Match were kind enough to provide lodging for several of us here."

That was the cover story Margo and Frankie were using with their families, and she could work with that.

She sat next to him. "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry you're going through this."

Rob cast an accusing glance at his sister. "Did you tell all of your friends about your duped brother?"

Margo winced. "I'm sorry. I've been suspicious of Lynda for a long time, and I've been pretty vocal about it. Jasmine was the one who prompted me to tell you my suspicions. She said that it's better to suffer a little pain now than much more of it in the future."

"Thanks," Jasmine said with a note of sarcasm in her tone. "Why don't you throw me under the bus?"

"Sorry." Margo winced again. "I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes. I need to talk to Negal."

Rob didn't say anything, but he watched his sister leave with an accusatory look in his eyes.

For a moment they sat in silence, the weight of Rob's pain pressing on Jasmine in an almost physical way. Finally, Jasmine spoke. "You know, I went through a breakup not too long ago. It wasn't as dramatic as what you're going through, but it still hurt."

Rob looked up, a flicker of interest in his eyes. "What happened?"

Jasmine sighed, thinking back to those days that now felt like a lifetime ago. "There wasn't any big betrayal or fight. We just realized we weren't right for each other. But even without a major reason, it was still hard. Letting go of someone you care about hurts even if you know that it's for the best. I knew that both of us needed to find the right person and that compromising would only make us miserable in the future. "

"But I love Lynda," Rob's voice cracked. "I can't believe she could be so deceitful, but even worse than that was how nasty she turned when I confronted her. The way she talked to me, it was as if she hated everything about me. Why was she marrying me, then? How do I move on from that?"

Jasmine's heart ached for him. The pain of betrayal was a unique kind of agony, one that couldn't be easily soothed with words.

"She probably didn't mean most of what she said. You caught her red-handed, and she got defensive. Not that I'm excusing her behavior. She is a nasty piece of work. What I'm trying to do is to take the sting out of her words. I don't know what insults she hurled at you, but you shouldn't take any of them to heart because none are true."

Rob let out a breath. "Thank you for saying that, but you don't know me. What if I deserve the insults?"

"I know you a little bit from what Margo has told me about you. You are smart, successful, and you are a nice guy who takes people at face value because you are an honest man who doesn't expect deceit from others."

He arched a brow. "You mean a patsy?"

She shrugged. "There could be worse things to be called."