Chapter 11. Distant

“What are you doing here, Jasmine?” Alexander fixed his old friend with his signature blank look.

“It’s been quite a while, Alex. I came to say hi,” Jasmine brings the cup of steaming coffee to her lips, taking a small sip. “You never bothered visiting after all these years,” her doe eyes met his, softening with each second that ticked by.

“I was busy,” he clenched his jaws, regarding the lady standing right in front of him with a calculative stare. “What are you really doing here, Jasmine?”

Her shoulders deflated in disappointment or frustration; Alexander wasn’t quite sure. “Is it so hard to believe I came to make sure my friend is still alive?” She made a move to take another sip, but she pulled it off from her lips, dumping the rest of its contents down the sink.

“If you don’t need me here, I can leave,” she shook her head, dropping the mug in the sink before going around Alexander and into the sitting room.

Isabella was sitting there with her frie