Jasmine's POV
The tears refused to stop falling, each sob muffled by the silk pillowcase beneath my face. My chest ached with the weight of everything that had happened today. Ebony's cold shoulder, the maids snickering while Sylvia humiliated me and my children, and my own helpless silence through it all.
I should have stood up for myself, for them. But after the disaster of my first night here, I couldn't risk another scene. The consequences would be too severe.
Another wave of grief crashed over me, and I pressed my face deeper into the pillow to muffle the sound.
The soft click of my door opening made my entire body tense.
"Mommy!"
Panic shot through me as I quickly wiped my face and forced myself upright, praying my swollen eyes wouldn't give me away. The door burst open wider, and my twins came racing in, their laughter echoing off the marble floors.
"We're back!" they announced in unison, their faces glowing with excitement.
